Mastering Strategy Dynamics - online

General

The course runs over a period of 14 weeks and falls into three parts: weeks 1 to 6 - orientation and core concepts leading to an understanding of the strategic architecture. Weeks 7 to 10 add on understanding of resource attributes and development and looks at how rivalry for resources works. In weeks 11 to 14 the framework is extended to consider policy making (goals and controls), the role of intangibles and concludes with a session on capabilities.

Course management

An email is sent to you each week, on a 14 week schedule, inviting you to look at the next class. However the materials are available at all times so you can work through at a faster or slower pace.

Each class consists of suggested reading, lecture segments, application using the worksheets and some also include additional exercises.

Support regarding the course content is available to participants via online chat, forum or by direct email. Participants who have signed up for Option 2 also benefit from advice and assistance regarding the application of the approach to their own business issue.

Week 1: Orientation

Week 2: - Performance Through Time (Chapter 1)

Why the over-riding imperative for strategy and strategic management is to help improve performance over time, an issue just as vital to organizations in the voluntary and public service sectors as to commercial businesses

In the class segments (total 37 minutes) Kim uses the example of Amazon.com to illustrate 3 key questions that management needs to address in strategy planning. He goes on to look at the distinction between profitability and growth, issues about setting objectives and finishes off with thoughts about how the approach can be used in public services, voluntary and not for profit organisations.

Week 3: Resources Drive Performance (Chapter 2)

The importance of rigorous causal analysis and how this exposes fundamental relationships between resources and demand, revenues, costs and profits. Also shows equivalent principles in non-commercial settings.

In the class segments (40 minutes) Kim develops the concepts of strategic plans and strategic issues. Examples are drawn from the budget airline industry and a law firm. He then considers standard types of resource in a selection of industries before looking at a case in the charitable sector.

The class is supplemented by two exercises looking at the performance of the budget airline "Ryanair". The mystrategy exercises are described in detail in accompanying PDF files and also demonstrated in Flash videos (An additional 19 minutes)

Week 4: Resource Accumulation (Chapter 3)

Accumulation and depletion of resources (how they fill and drain, over time) and the deeply fundamental role of this principle as core theory underlying organizations' performance over time.

In the class segments (28 minutes) Kim illustrates in more detail the impact of resource accumulation and depletion on performance and considers the drivers of resource flows. He then goes on to look at issues of business management: management control and external factors.

The class is supplemented by two exercises that explore customer flow issue and staff flows. The mystrategy exercises are described in detail in accompanying PDF files and also demonstrated in Flash videos (18 minutes)

Week 5: The strategic architecture (Chapter 4)

Complementary resources and development of the 'strategic architecture' diagrams that form the basis for planning and analysis. How combining three basic causal principles enables the laying out of an integrated core business system for any kind of organisation.

Kim illustrates the strategic architecture by developing the airlines example introduced in earlier classes. In segment 4.1 he introduces the Bass Diffusion model and demonstrates different types of relationships that are key in developing a rigorous causal architecture.

Week 6: Review and catchup

Week 7: Resource attributes (Chapter 5)

How the varying quality of resources — larger vs. smaller customers, more vs. less appealing products etc — affects how an organization performs over time.

In the class segments (35 mins) Kim illustrates the attributes of customers and looks at 3 ways to change the quality of a resource. He demonstrates 3 important issues about customer size and a useful approach to customer profiling.

Week 8: Resource Development (Chapter 6)

How resources often develop through stages, at each of which they contribute differently to performance.

In the class segments (25 min) Kim explains the customer choice pipeline, a key framework in resource development, and goes through some fundamental principles of how it works

Week 9: Rivalry (Chapter 7)

Just three rivalry mechanisms cover all competitive interactions between firms. In the case of customers these are

• winning new customers
• stealing customers from rivals
• obtaining a larger share of business from shared customers

Organizations may also compete for other resources, such as employees or providers of funds, making the mechanisms equally relevant to public services and voluntary groups

The class segments, 54 mins, cover the 3 types of rivalry and go on to look at competition and market development

Week 10: Review and catchup

Week 11: Goals and Controls (Chapter 8)

Strategic decision making covers a wide range of issues, the first question in the life of an organization being whether or not to take part in the business activity at all. Over the life of the organisation the questions change and Kim explores the different stages and looks at policy to steer strategy.

In the class segments (30 mins) Kim carries on to talk about issues that arise when there are conflicting objectives and when policies may interfere with each other.

Week 12: Intangible resources (Chapter 9)

It is widely accepted that intangible or soft factors have a substantial impact on organizational performance – a damaged reputation can destroy a business, strong staff motivation can drive powerful growth, proprietary knowledge can give rise to market-leading products, and so on.

In this class (41 mins) Kim deals with three major categories of intangibles and discusses their impact on organisational performance

Week 13: Capabilities (Chapter 10)

For long term viability, organisations need the capability to build and sustain resources. Making use of capabilities to design and deliver strong strategic performance faces the same difficulties as those encountered with intangible resources; namely a terminology that is wide-ranging, inconsistent and abstract.

In this class Kim defines capabilities, and clarifies how they differ from resources. He then explores how they can be built and contribute to performance.

Week 14: Review and course wrap-up