STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT

Professor: Cristian Popescu

Contact information: crispopescu_12@yahoo.com; Mobile 0722 593 586
Suggested Texts: 1. Strategic Management. Concepts and Cases, 4th Ed.,
A. A. Thompson & A. J. Strickland
IRWIN, Homewood, Illinois, 1987

2. Strategic Management. Concepts and Experiences, 4th Ed.,

L. W. Rue & P.G. Holland
McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1986

Course Objective: This course is designed to provide students with a broad exposure
to the strategic management, from both a theoretical and
managerial perspective. Its aim is to make students aware of
terminology, concepts, and techniques that are part of the world of
strategic management. The course relies upon teacher notes, study
cases, and optional the above suggested textbooks.

Grading criteria: One exam over class materials 30%

One individual project assignment and presentation 20%
One group major case study presentation and report 20%
Four individual case study reports 4x7,5% 30%
Total 100%

Course topics

1. Course introduction. The process of strategic management.

• Defining the business. Establishing strategic objectives. Formulating strategy.

2. Industry and competitive analysis. The firm`s own situation.

• Industry structure; industry economic and business characteristics; industry
attractiveness.
• The Porter`s Five Forces Model of Competition.
• SWOT analysis.

3. Business Strategies
• Generic business strategies: strategy of low-cost, strategy of differentiation,
focus and specialization strategy;
• Combinations of generic business strategies for different types of industry
environments and competitive situations;
 4. Building and defending Competitive Advantages
• Achieving competitive advantage via low-cost strategies; pitfalls in pursuing a
cost advantage;
• Creating competitive advantage via differentiation strategies; pitfalls in
pursuing a differentiation competitive advantage;
• Achieving competitive advantage via focus strategies; pitfalls in pursuing a
focus strategy;
• Offensive and defensive strategies to protect competitive advantages

5. Corporate Strategies

• Concentration on a single business

• The strategy of vertical integration
• The strategy of diversification
• Abandonment and liquidation strategies
• Corporate turnaround, retrenchment, and portfolio restructuring strategies

6. Techniques for Analyzing Corporate Diversification Strategies

• BCG matrix;
• GE matrix.

7. Implementing strategy
• Matching organization structure to strategy; functional organization structure;
geographic forms of organization; decentralized business units; strategic
business units; matrix forms of organization;
• Creating commitment, corporate culture, support systems, and leadership.

Tentative schedule
Week 1 - Course organization: syllabus; schedule; allocation of case studies to groups
Week 2 – Analyzing a case study
Week 3 – Course topics 1,2
Week 4 – Course topics 3
Week 5 – Course topics 4
Week 6 – Course topic 5
Week 7 – Course topics 6,7
Week 8 – Case study presentation: Apple computer
Week 9 – Case study presentation: Ice-Fili
Week 10 - Case study presentation: Samsung Electronics
Week 11 - Case study presentation: KFC in Japan
Week 12 - Case study presentation: Kodak
Week 13 – Session 1 Projects presentations
Week 14 – Session 2 Projects presentations