The “Strategic Management” course is part of the BBA program at colleges affiliated with Pokhara University, designed to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of strategic management principles. This course covers key areas such as strategic analysis, formulation, implementation, and evaluation, with a syllabus that outlines essential topics and skills. Students will learn to develop effective strategies that align with organizational goals and adapt to changing market conditions.
The primary objective of the “Business Environment in Nepal” course is to help students understand how various environmental factors impact business operations. It aims to enhance their analytical skills to evaluate elements such as political stability, economic trends, and legal frameworks within the Nepalese context, preparing them to make informed decisions in their future careers.
Table of Contents
Course Objectives
This course aims to familiarize students with the basic concepts of strategic management and enable them to formulate, implement, and evaluate strategies for businesses. The course also aims to develop a comprehensive and integrated view of business. The ultimate objective is to develop skill of practical and integrated application of different fields of management in order to make strategic decisions.
Course Description
Starting from the establishment of a company’s direction by preparing mission statement and vision, this course will proceed to the identification of opportunities and threats emerging from the external environment and assessment of strengths and weaknesses arising from the internal environmental forces. Development of tools needed to match opportunities and threats with strengths and weaknesses will be the next step. Concepts of removing possible hurdles in the implementation of strategy will be followed by the discussion on the implementation of no strategy. Finally, issues related to strategic evaluation and control will be discussed.
Course Outcomes
Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:
- Establish and evaluate mission statement. Long-term objective, vision and short-term plan for the business;
- Analyze the external and internal environment and identify opportunities, threats, strengths, and weaknesses of the firm and there by formulate appropriate strategies for business;
- Plan pre-implementation and implementation phase; and
- Monitor and evaluate implemented strategies.
Course Contents
Unit I: Introduction – 4 hours
Meaning of strategy and strategic management, Strategic Management Model; Characteristics of strategic management; Formality in strategic management.
Unit II: Company Direction – 3 hours
Mission and mission statement; Vision; Strategic intent; Strategic objective vs. Financial objective; Policies; Long term and short term objectives.
Unit III: External Environment Analysis – 10 hours
PEST analysis-political, legal, economic, socio-cultural. Technological, ecological, and international environment analysis framework (individualism vs. collectivism, totalitarian system vs.democracy. Common law vs. civil law system; Determinants of culture; State of technological stage; Impact of ecological and international factors); Industry and competitive analysis-Porter’s five force model; Strategic group mapping; Monitoring competition.
Unit IV: Internal Analysis – 5 hours
Resource to competitive advantage pyramid; internal analysis approaches – value chain; functional approach; and Resource based view (RBV); Benchmarking.
Unit V: Strategic Options and Choice Techniques – 10 hours
Porter’s generic strategies: Cost leadership, Differentiation, Grand Strategies (concentration, market development, growth and expansion, product development, innovation, vertical and horizontal integration, concentricandconglomeratediversification.retrenchment/turnaround, divesture, liquidation, bankruptcy, joint venture, and strategic alliance); Corporate level analytical tools – BCG and GE nine cell matrices; Business level analytical tools -grand strategy selection matrix and grand strategy cluster.
Unit VI: Strategic Implementation – 11 hours
Concept and steps of strategy implementation, Operational is ation of strategies: Annual objectives; functional planning (Finance, Marketing, Human Resource, R&D, Production Operations, MIS and General Management); Communications, Guidelines and policies, Institutionalization:structure, types, matching structure with strategy; Resource allocation and budgeting and role of leadership in strategy implementation.
Unit VII: Strategic Evaluation and Control – 5 hours
Difference between strategic and operational control; Strategic control tools – premise control, strategic surveillance, implementation control, and special alert.
Basic Texts
- Pearce, J. A., Robinson, R.B., & Mital, Strategic Management: Formulation, Implementation, and Control. New Delhi:TataMcGrawHill.
- Hitt, M.A., Ireland, R.0., Hoskisson, R.E.&Manikutty. S. Strategic Management: A South-Asian Perspective. New Delhi: Cengage Leaming.
References
- Dess, G.G., Lumpkin. G.T., & Eisner, A.B. Strategic Management: Text and Cases. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill.
- Thomson, A., & Strickland, Strategic Management. New Delhi: Tata Mc Grew Hill.
- Relevant journal articles and cases.