Course 2024-2025

Strategic Decision Making [EINGM104]

  • 3 credits
  • 20h
  • 2nd quarter
Language of instruction: English

Learning outcomes

After this course, the student should be able to:
 
  • Define the practice of "strategic management", its actors, its key elements
  • Define the strategic management process, its different stages, its objectives, as well as the difficulties related to this activity
  • Understand what strategic decisions entail, what procedures can be used to solve unstructured problems
  • Understand the link betwen strategic management models and theories and the decision making
  • Provide conceptual and / or technical solutions to strategic management issues in any organization
  • Addressing the strategy problem with a critical view: understanding which strategic management tools are the most appropriate, targeting the strengths and weaknesses of the different theories studied during the lecture
  • Adopt a human view of the strategic management process and assimilate the basic concepts of ethical and responsible management

Objectives

Students will receive theoretical courses and a portfolio of readings to familiarize them with different school of thoughts in strategic management. Various traditionnal strategic models are covered (SWOT, BCG, Porter, Ansoff, Mc Kinsey ...). Methodological tools for diagnosis, analysis, choice and strategic deployment are also taught. The role of consultant and strategic manager, good communication and relational practices in a negotiation framework, case studies of strategic successes and failures, the concepts of culture, identity and organizational image, the notion of leadership (principles of psychodynamic leadership), the notions of limited rationality, action and sensemaking are some of the other topics also discussed in this course.

Content

Part I - Foundations of the Strategy
Part II - Unstructured decision making
Part III - Diagnosis of the company and its environment
Part IV - Strategic Formulation
Part V - Prioritization and Strategic Implementation

Teaching methods

The course builds on a mix of online material (under the form of videos and texts) and regular classes.

Evaluations

The grade is based 100% on the group assignment. In a first part of the assignment (80%), students are invited to develop a full strategic analysis of a company, ranging for the strategic diagnosis and problem statement to the proposition of a new/revised strategy. Students are also invited to think about the implementation of the strategy, its overall feasability and relevance given the strategic envrionement. In a second part (20%), students are invited to review the work of another group to develop a critical view on their own document and discover others' piece of work. Students are invited to evaluate the relevance of the propositions, identify strengths and weaknesses of the work, quality of models used by the other groups, etc. 

Language of instruction

English

Location for course

NAMUR

Organizer

Faculté des sciences économiques, sociales et de gestion
Rue de Bruxelles, 61
5000 NAMUR

Degree of Reference

Master's Degree