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Topic outline

  • Unit 1: Introduction to Strategy

    Before designing a winning strategy for your organization, let's first review some definitions. This unit will define key terms related to the course. You will see the terms explained in more detail as you navigate the course. However, it is critical to start with a good solid foundation. A few key terms discussed in this unit are strategy, markets, firms, and management. This unit describes how firms must navigate the marketplace and remain competitive. Management often wants to identify their competitors; however, this would be a risky mistake. There are vast considerations companies need to address to create a winning strategy.

    A great example of how corporations make moves in the marketplace comes from Microsoft and Google, two well-known tech companies. They are competitors, but they do not compete in all of the same markets. Google primarily competes in the search engine market, where Microsoft has also started to devote more resources with a new "decision engine" called Bing. Likewise, Microsoft competes in the operating system market, and Google has recently diverted resources to compete in this market with Chrome OS. However, competitors do not always compete in the same markets. For example, Apple competes in many markets with Google and Microsoft but makes these companies' products available on its platform. Apple does not have a search engine, so it allows Google and Microsoft to compete on the iPhone. Identifying markets and industries gives a firm the foundation to develop goals and strategies. Microsoft may aim to take 5% of the search engine market from Google and then create a plan to accomplish this.

    This unit focuses on topics such as those mentioned above. However, the course will also look at how other smaller businesses and departments might design strategies at different levels within a firm.

    Completing this unit should take you approximately 3 hours.

    • To help you get acclimated to the course and its structure, take a look at this introduction video hosted by the professor who created the course.


    • Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

      • define strategy in its many forms;
      • discuss the participants in strategy as a hierarchy; and
      • analyze market structures.
    • 1.1: Definition

      • This video introduces strategic management, starting with a traditional approach. It leads you through the major concepts that will follow in the course. Do not be overwhelmed by the scope of strategic management. You may want to have the course syllabus in front of you and note the flow of the course as you watch the video.

      • The videos in this course come from a wide range of business experts, scholars, and organizational leaders. Therefore, you might hear the narrators encourage you to participate in activities outside of our course. Also, the narrators might offer you access to other resources you might consider using as a helpful tool to expand your knowledge of strategic management.

        Pay attention to the critical concepts stressed in the instructions included with each activity as you progress through the course.

        Before you watch this video, write down your definition of strategy. Pay attention to the role of strategy in achieving organizational goals. This professor has recorded many informational lectures on strategy that we cannot specifically reference in this course because of copyright issues. However, as you continue through the materials in this course, you are encouraged to do your own independent research to access other items by the professors with presentation styles that are meaningful to you.

      • Consider this high-level introduction to Strategic Management and its applications. Outline or take notes as you read, and pay attention to the key points identified in each section. Consider the three-legged stool explanation 5 minutes into the Kryscynski video you just viewed, especially the summary. How do the three legs compare with this book's three main processes of strategic business management?

      • 1.1.1: Strategy

        • Watch this video, which challenges strategic managers to ask the right questions to build a winning business strategy. Start thinking about the metrics, strengths, weaknesses, inputs, and outputs you will need to think about your company's performance.

      • 1.1.2: Markets

        • Read this short article and study the diagram. This is a good reference item identifying and defining the four basic market structures. In developing a strategy, one needs first to determine the structure the firm is competing in.

        • This video defines and explains competition in each market structure from an economic viewpoint. In which structure might uniqueness be the most important? In which structure might uniqueness be the least important?

        • As you watch this video, pay attention to the terms you've heard in your economics courses. Pause the video and review any terms that are unfamiliar to you. Can you name at least one business or service in your community that is an example of (near) perfect competition?

        • Watch this video for a better understanding of monopolies. Consider the current evolution of these two structures (perfect competition vs. monopoly) in an expanding global-enterprise environment.

      • 1.1.3: Firms

        • In microeconomics, the purpose of every business is to make a profit. In business strategy management, this profit motive is often opposed by organization goals that bend towards social welfare or the firm's reputation. Read the section on the firm's pricing objectives. Can you identify a business that appears to promote a non-profit business goal, such as being a "green" organization?

        • Read this section, which serves as an overview of the strategic planning process from a market plan perspective. Various stakeholders may look to a firm to maximize different objectives. Think about how firms are in a competitive marketplace and how they can survive and thrive long term.

    • 1.2: Strategic Hierarchy

      • This chart summarizes the many levels in a business that may be affected by a strategy decision. As you examine this chart, think about how each level of strategy is interrelated to the others. You must strategically manage a more complex organizational structure to be effective and efficient. Any structure must leverage each part's strengths.

    • 1.3: Industry Analysis

      • 1.3.1: Industry Classification Systems

        • Read the introduction, which explains how industries are categorized in the United States. This system allows governments to measure the overall business activity in each sector of the economy.

        • The SIC Division Structure is a list of categorizations of businesses and industries. Explore the many classifications and think about how strategies might differ among industries.

      • 1.3.2: Porter's Five Forces

        • Read this section to learn the difference between internal and external forces and how they affect organizations. Attempt the exercises at the end of the section.

        • Read this article, which explains Porter's five forces to consider in business strategy development. This model has been the classical approach to industry analysis since the late 1970s.

        • This section provides an update to Porter's five forces model to account for the effect of technology on strategic management. Thoroughly read the material for this section, then exercises at the end of the section. How would you apply Porter's five forces model in the world today?

    • Study Sessions

      These study sessions are an excellent way to review what you've learned so far and are presented by the professor who created the course. Watch these as you work through the unit and prepare to take the final exam.

    • Unit 1 Assessment

      • Take this assessment to see how well you understood this unit.

        • This assessment does not count towards your grade. It is just for practice!
        • You will see the correct answers when you submit your answers. Use this to help you study for the final exam!
        • You can take this assessment as many times as you want, whenever you want.
      • Once you submit your answer, evaluate it using the provided guide to responding.