Curriculum: PCHMB5806 Business Strategy

发布人：余曙暑 发布日期：2023-04-19

 

 

Course Description
This course focuses on the competitive strategy of the firm, examining issues central to its long- and short-term competitive position. Students are placed in the role of key decision makers and asked to address questions related to the creation or reinforcement of competitive advantage.  The initial focus is on industry analysis and competitive advantage as it derives from the firm's strategic investments. We study the nature of global strategy and also how the nature of strategy is different in an internet world. The process through which strategic change takes place is then examined. We conclude by addressing the development of firm-specific capabilities and core competences that contribute to a firm’s competitive advantage.

 

Sharing from Students

Why the business strategy matters？

Even after many years in sales , but I still don’t have the clear answer. That is why I am quite excited to the upcoming Business Strategy course and expected to know how to formulate a business strategy.

The course started from the concept of strategy, then went deeper to the Porter’s Five Forces Mode which is a fundamental for the industry analysis, identify the industry’s structure, determine corporate strategy, and analyze the competitive environment.

At the Global Strategy session, we followed the local responsive framework of Bartlett & Ghoshal to identify the strategic priorities and how to balance the benefits of Global integration & Local responsiveness in the global business environment. Consider the highly competitive environment, strategic alliances and M&A are important ways to grow rapidly.

Then, the Prof. Akz Zaheer brought us into the digital business world and got to know how the platform business model changes the world. Corporate culture is another interested topic for the business strategy, it is hard to figure out what it really is, but it is an incredibly powerful factor in a company’s long-term success.

Besides the theories, the real case analysis practices were also very useful. After the Prof. William Ho snapped his fingers, we were becoming the CEO in the real cases, and tried hard to find the perfect strategy for business success. Actually, we were not just learned the knowledge from the teaching materials, but also learned more insights from the real business stories and rich business experience by the Professors and other classmates.

After submitted the final exams, I believe that was not the end of learning business strategy, but the beginning of the learning journey. We will benefit from what we have learned today, which enables us to conduct business analysis from a business strategy perspective.

Lastly, I would like to quote Prof. Aks Zaheer’s opening remark: “Everyone in the firm today in particular, has to build strategy because the world is so competitive.”

—— John LIU

 

 

从前一直在思考一个问题，战略到底是“干”出来的（实践主义），还是“想”出来的（唯心主义）。而企业战略又是什么？是一个部门聚精会神撸三个月的ppt吗 还是公司领导人的个人意志表达。带着问题期待着，CHEMBA的策略课程到底会带给我们什么。

Aks Zaheer和William Ho两位教授的课堂，充分阐述了西方与东方思维对战略的理解，反复刻画、殊途同归。高频应用的波特五力模型，正正是这门课的真谛。关于战略，大道从简，真理至真。关于战略，没有一个道理不能通过4天2位教授理论+10个案例+实操经验讲清楚的。来回重现的波特五力模型，帮助每位同学快速重建战略分析的架构与思维框架。当然，在两位教授的精彩分享下，结合当下，同时还给我们补充了全球化、数字化、多元文化等趋势下对战略考量的思考视角。

谈及Business Strategy最迷人的一点，那应该是这门课协助我们施展开思维框架，将各种虚无的问题落到一个个具体的、细致的矩阵中去、一个个巧妙能在多元素下的思考模式，为我们面对的企业发展问题给出了具体抓手和思考路径。

在重多课程之中，Business Strategy可能是单位时间内安排最多Case Study的一门课程，一摞摞企业案例下，每一家熟悉的企业，每一次当时的变革，就像似一个个娓娓道来，发生在平行时空的故事。

镜头一转，却是真真实实发生在商场如战场的那个当下，殊不知，每家企业的走向又是由谁来执掌掌舵，困扰掌门人的问题各式各样，又应如何拆题、分析再解题。

此时能回想起，William教授在课程最后的赠语：“希望经历了Business Strategy课堂的各位GM和CEO（现在时和将来时语境下）在未来有任何企业发展问题的时候，可以再翻翻我们今天学习的内容，The big picture of Strategy Formulation我相信，你会找到你想要的解题思路。”

但愿这门课程终将成为我们CHEMBAers在商业社会生存和思考的Guidebook 手握制胜法宝，由此执笔，不断谱写自己精彩的、独特的商业故事。

—— Sara Feng

 

Instructor

Aks Zaheer

Professor, Curtis L. Carlson Chair in Strategic Management

Carlson School of Management

Aks Zaheer received his PhD in strategic management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his Master's in Business from the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad. His current research examines the antecedents and consequences of interfirm and organizational networks, the antecedents and consequences of trust in organizations and in interfirm exchange, phenomena such as innovation and strategic alliances, in contexts such as healthcare and medical devices, among others. He has published in many journals, including Administrative Science Quarterly, Organization Science, Strategic Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, and Academy of Management Journal, receiving the School's Outstanding Research Award in 2014 and in 2021. He is currently Dean of the Fellows of the Strategic Management Society (elected Fellow in 2014). He was named the Outstanding Core Teacher of the Year for the Full-Time MBA Program in 1995, 2005, 2009, 2010, and 2011; received the Curtis Cup Outstanding Professor Award in 2006, 2015 and 2020 for Carlson Executive MBA teaching, in 2018 for the Outstanding Professor in the Carlson School's Vienna Executive MBA Program, Excellence in Teaching Awards for 2004, 2009, 2012 and 2014, commended for teaching excellence in Business Week's guide to the 50 Top Business Schools in 1997 and named one of the World's 50 Best B-School Professors by Poets and Quants in 2012.