This course focuses on key issues in formulating and implementing strategies in business organization, in a way to create a sustainable competitive advantage. These issues are approached from the perspective of general manager, responsible for organizational success in today’s global, turbulent economy. The emphasis is on pragmatic and action oriented general management skills. However, a considerable body of theory has evolved within different disciplines that has salient implications for the strategy discipline. Therefore the course will emphasize interdisciplinary nature of the strategy field.

The perspective of this course is that of a general manager whose responsibility is to maximize the overall performance of the firm or the performance of a business unit within the firm. To achieve this objective, general managers must analyze the drivers of the firm’s current performance and identify external changes that may affect this performance. On this basis, their job is then to find ways to better leverage the firm’s internal resources in order to sustainably improve performance. 

 At the corporate level, general managers’ responsibility is also to define the scope of the firm’s activities, to implement strategic moves that will affect this scope, and convince shareholders and stakeholders of the relevance of their strategy.