Corporate Strategy

Curriculum

• What does the course cover

  1 Lesson 1 Min

  Introduction to the course and what you will learn in the lessons to come.

  What does the course cover
• Why companies need a Strategy and how a Strategy helps firms

  3 Lessons 15 Min

  The term “strategy” refers to the ways companies achieve their goals. In this section, you will learn why companies need strategy and how to distinguish between corporate and business strategy. We also discuss the importance of the mission, vision, and values statements.

  Why companies need a Strategy

  Distinguishing Corporate and Business Strategy

  The Misssion, Goals, and Values statements
• The industry life cycle model

  6 Lessons 19 Min

  Just like everything else in life, most industries have a lifecycle too. The four stages of the Industry Lifecycle model are Introduction, Growth, Maturity, and Decline. This section describes how product demand and business health looks like during each one of them.

  Introducing the industry life cycle model

  Here is why you need to know about the industry lifecycle model

  The introduction stage

  The growth stage

  The maturity stage

  The decline stage
• The five forces model

  7 Lessons 27 Min

  The 5 Forces Model is one of the most widely used corporate strategy frameworks. It helps analyse the competitive environment in a given industry. The section goes into more detail about the 5 forces influencing the level of competition: the threat of new entrants, the threat of substitute products, the rivalry among existing firms, the bargaining power of buyers, and the bargaining power of suppliers.

  The five forces model - An invaluable tool for practitioners

  The threat of new entrants

  The threat of substitute goods

  Competitor analysis

  The bargaining power of suppliers

  The bargaining power of buyers

  Porter's five forces in practice
• Game theory applied in a corporate context

  4 Lessons 9 Min

  Michael Porter’s 5 Forces framework provides a holistic view and considers multiple layers of an industry’s dynamics. However, it has one major drawback – it is static. Game theory, on the other hand, considers the interactions among competitor companies. We discuss this alternative framework in more detail.

  The essence of zero-sum games

  Game theory and why it is useful in strategy

  Understanding the Prisoner's dilemma and its implications in the business world

  Gametheory shown in practice
• Understanding the concept of competitive advantage

  6 Lessons 18 Min

  This section introduces a company’s internal decision-making process. This is one of key factors determining the success of a business. This part of the Business and Corporate Strategy course examines how to use internal processes to gain a competitive advantage.

  Internal decision making

  Introducing the company life cycle model

  What is a competitive advantage and why companies need it

  Acquiring a sustainable competitive advantage

  The fundamental role of resources and capabilities

  Acquiring a competitive advantage
• Competing with the other companies in the industry

  5 Lessons 18 Min

  This part of the course focuses on Porter’s competitive strategies theory. According to it, every company must choose between one of three fundamental strategies: cost leadership, differentiation, and niche positioning. The best way to set up a business is to settle on one from the very beginning.

  Focusing on competitive strategy

  The cost leadership strategy - sell cheap

  Differentiation - be better and different

  Niche strategies - serve a specific sub-segment of people in the best way

  Hybrid strategies and why they can be dangerous
• The types of growth strategies used by companies

  5 Lessons 16 Min

  The two drivers that create value for a business owner are revenue growth and profitability. This section describes the difference between organic and inorganic and horizontal and vertical growth.

  The main types of growth strategies

  Organic growth - building a solid foundation and growing from the inside

  Inorganic growth - Using the potential of M&A to acquire third party companies

  Growing horizontally

  Growing vertically
• The SWOT framework

  2 Lessons 7 Min

  The SWOT framework allows us to combine internal and external analysis. SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Strengths and Weaknesses are related to a firm’s internal environment, while Opportunities and Threats refer to the external environment.

  SWOT analysis - a useful framework for strategic analysis

  SWOT analysis in practice - analyzing Starbucks