Rapidly changing global business environments have changed the way in which organisations traditionally developed and implemented corporate strategy. As the world moves towards a knowledge-based economy, senior executives are faced with challenges and contradictions of efficiency versus creativity and exploitation versus exploration when effecting significant strategic change in their organisations. This unit invites students to reflect on the ambiguity and the unpredictability of organisation life and explore the links between strategy development, corporate culture, and managerial action. In addition, the unit provides students with different perspectives on strategy and examines concepts, theoretical frameworks and techniques that are useful in understanding, formulating and implementing successful strategy. It also describes the origins and development of business strategy, the existing strategic paradigms, competing or alternative theoretical frameworks and their implications.
On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
Selected readings will be made available via the unit VU Collaborate site.
This unit is not compulsory for any specific course. Depending on the course you study, this unit may be taken as an elective.