Lectures strategy and organization
Week 1 Introduction to the Course and Introduction to Strategy
− Strategy as war
o Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without
strategy is the noise before defeat. – Sun Tzu
o
− Strategy as planning
o Strategy as planning
▪ Determination of long-run goals and objectives of an enterprise and
the adoption of courses of action and the allocation of resources
necessary for varying out these goals
▪ What are we going to do in the next years? What do we want to
achieve?
▪ Mainly relates to the strategic planning function of firms
o Strategic plans should include different time horizons
▪ Short term (horizon 1), how do we defend and build our core
business?
▪ Medium term (horizon 2), how do we build emerging businesses?
▪ Long term (horizon 3), how do we create new viable opportunities?
o Strategic plans should incorporate different levels
▪ Corporate = overhanging structure
▪ Business = what we consider as firms → most used
▪ Operational
o Downsides
▪ Very static
▪ Need to fill the boxes, can mean that everything becomes dry
documents, no one really dives in.
− Strategy as differentiation
, o Strategy is about being different, and that the difference is valuable. It means
deliberately choosing a different set of activities to deliver a unique mix of
value
o Copying industry leaders cannot lead to sustainable competitive advantage
o Porter’s approach is rooted in industry analysis and requires that firms make
trade-offs
− Strategy statements
o What is it?
▪ Contains the fundamental goals that the organization seeks →
mission, vision nor objectives
▪ Scope or domain of the organization’s activities
▪ The advantages or capabilities it must deliver all of theses
o Mission → what business are we in?
o Vision → what do we want to achieve?
o Objectives → what do we have to achieve in the coming period?
o Scope → customers or clients; geographical location; extend of internal
activities
o Advantage → what is competitive advantage of the firm
Week 2 SWOT, PESTEL and internal analysis
− SWOT
o Idea
▪ External and internal environment
▪ Strengths and weaknesses = internal
▪ Opportunities and threats = external → things that are true for each
competitor in the market
▪ What is happening in the market? Where does the firm move?
▪ How can we match internal and external factors?
▪ Basis of lot of strategic analysis
o Strengths
▪ Things your company does well
▪ Qualities that separate you from your competitors
▪ Internal resources such as skilled, knowledgeable staff
▪ Tangible assets such as intellectual property, capital, proprietary
technologies, etc.
o Weaknesses
▪ Things your company lacks
▪ Things your competitors do better than you
▪ Resource limitations
▪ Unclear unique selling proposition
o Opportunities
▪ Underserved markets for specific products
▪ Few competitors in your area
▪ Emerging need for your products or services
▪ Press/media coverage of your company
o Threats
▪ Emerging competitors
, ▪ Changing regulatory environment
▪ Negative press/media coverage
▪ Changing customer attitudes toward your company
− External analysis
o
o External = outside the firm
▪ Competitive landscape → active in the market
o Looks same for firms two firms in the same market
o Tools is not the end goal, only a tool to structure the ideas and thoughts
about the environment
− External PESTEL
o Often macro-environment
▪ Spill over to industry itself?
▪ Want it to be relevant for the specific firm
▪ Why is it relevant for the firm? → if not, keep it short
▪ Judgement about if it is useful for a particular firm is important!
o Politics
▪ Government policy
▪ Political stability
▪ Corruption
▪ Foreign trade policy
▪ Tax policy
▪ Labor law
▪ Trade restrictions
o Economic
▪ Economic growth
▪ Exchange rates
▪ Interest rates
▪ Inflation rates
▪ Disposable income
▪ Unemployment rates
o Social
▪ Population growth rate
▪ Age distribution
▪ Career attitudes
▪ Safety emphasis
▪ Health consciousness
Week 1 Introduction to the Course and Introduction to Strategy
− Strategy as war
o Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without
strategy is the noise before defeat. – Sun Tzu
o
− Strategy as planning
o Strategy as planning
▪ Determination of long-run goals and objectives of an enterprise and
the adoption of courses of action and the allocation of resources
necessary for varying out these goals
▪ What are we going to do in the next years? What do we want to
achieve?
▪ Mainly relates to the strategic planning function of firms
o Strategic plans should include different time horizons
▪ Short term (horizon 1), how do we defend and build our core
business?
▪ Medium term (horizon 2), how do we build emerging businesses?
▪ Long term (horizon 3), how do we create new viable opportunities?
o Strategic plans should incorporate different levels
▪ Corporate = overhanging structure
▪ Business = what we consider as firms → most used
▪ Operational
o Downsides
▪ Very static
▪ Need to fill the boxes, can mean that everything becomes dry
documents, no one really dives in.
− Strategy as differentiation
, o Strategy is about being different, and that the difference is valuable. It means
deliberately choosing a different set of activities to deliver a unique mix of
value
o Copying industry leaders cannot lead to sustainable competitive advantage
o Porter’s approach is rooted in industry analysis and requires that firms make
trade-offs
− Strategy statements
o What is it?
▪ Contains the fundamental goals that the organization seeks →
mission, vision nor objectives
▪ Scope or domain of the organization’s activities
▪ The advantages or capabilities it must deliver all of theses
o Mission → what business are we in?
o Vision → what do we want to achieve?
o Objectives → what do we have to achieve in the coming period?
o Scope → customers or clients; geographical location; extend of internal
activities
o Advantage → what is competitive advantage of the firm
Week 2 SWOT, PESTEL and internal analysis
− SWOT
o Idea
▪ External and internal environment
▪ Strengths and weaknesses = internal
▪ Opportunities and threats = external → things that are true for each
competitor in the market
▪ What is happening in the market? Where does the firm move?
▪ How can we match internal and external factors?
▪ Basis of lot of strategic analysis
o Strengths
▪ Things your company does well
▪ Qualities that separate you from your competitors
▪ Internal resources such as skilled, knowledgeable staff
▪ Tangible assets such as intellectual property, capital, proprietary
technologies, etc.
o Weaknesses
▪ Things your company lacks
▪ Things your competitors do better than you
▪ Resource limitations
▪ Unclear unique selling proposition
o Opportunities
▪ Underserved markets for specific products
▪ Few competitors in your area
▪ Emerging need for your products or services
▪ Press/media coverage of your company
o Threats
▪ Emerging competitors
, ▪ Changing regulatory environment
▪ Negative press/media coverage
▪ Changing customer attitudes toward your company
− External analysis
o
o External = outside the firm
▪ Competitive landscape → active in the market
o Looks same for firms two firms in the same market
o Tools is not the end goal, only a tool to structure the ideas and thoughts
about the environment
− External PESTEL
o Often macro-environment
▪ Spill over to industry itself?
▪ Want it to be relevant for the specific firm
▪ Why is it relevant for the firm? → if not, keep it short
▪ Judgement about if it is useful for a particular firm is important!
o Politics
▪ Government policy
▪ Political stability
▪ Corruption
▪ Foreign trade policy
▪ Tax policy
▪ Labor law
▪ Trade restrictions
o Economic
▪ Economic growth
▪ Exchange rates
▪ Interest rates
▪ Inflation rates
▪ Disposable income
▪ Unemployment rates
o Social
▪ Population growth rate
▪ Age distribution
▪ Career attitudes
▪ Safety emphasis
▪ Health consciousness
