Durham University
Programme and Module Handbook

Postgraduate Programme and Module Handbook 2007-2008 (archived)

Module BUSI5A215: GLOBALIZING STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT (DL)

Department: Economics, Finance and Business (Business)

BUSI5A215: GLOBALIZING STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT (DL)

Type Tied Level 4 Credits 15 Availability Available in 2007/08 Module Cap
Tied to N1D317
Tied to N1D217
Tied to N1D314

Prerequisites

  • None.

Corequisites

  • None.

Excluded Combination of Modules

  • None.

Aims

  • To introduce students to the concepts and practices related to managing in a globally volatile, complex, dynamic environment within which organisations, national and international institutions and individuals interact. The elective is designed to be an advanced strategic management course presenting material that is highly contemporary.

Content

  • Globalisation forces, drivers, challenges to organisational forms and processes
  • The evolution of new organisational forms and the changing management landscape affecting all sizes of firms from SMEs to TNCs
  • Administrative heritage, change management and strategic inertia
  • Internationalisation theories of the firm revisited - challenges for strategic management
  • Networked, globally linked, adaptable international organisations: beyond strategy, structure, systems - Intra-firm collaboration
  • Typologies of MNCs - traditional strategies for international firms contested
  • Tensions in managing integration and responsiveness
  • Review of Strategy - Strategic Innovation
  • Inter-firm collaboration: strategic alliances
  • Mergers and Acquisitions
  • Cross-cultural strategic management
  • Leadership and global management

Learning Outcomes

Subject-specific Knowledge:
  • By the end of the module, students will:
  • have developed a more critical understanding of the dynamics of globalisation on strategic management;
  • understand the issues involved in managing change and strategic inertia;
  • have explored the challenges of strategically managing innately more complex, diverse and uncertain organisations within a global context;
  • have developed reflexivity to comprehend theoretical underpinning and intellectual standing in the evaluation of the material being analysed;
  • have an awareness of the range of problems involved in the interpretation of complex, ambiguous, conflicting and often incomplete material and the paradoxical nature of managing such contradictions and tensions.
Subject-specific Skills:
  • By the end of the module, students will:
  • be able to conceptualise about strategy from different perspectives;
  • have improved their critical thinking and analytical skills to question 'taken for granted' assumptions about strategy and management.
Key Skills:

    Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

    • The module is delivered in discrete Units. These are designed to enable the learning outcomes to be achieved through a combination of specially written material, directed reading, reflection through self-assessed assignments and guidance for further reading. Module tutors provide feedback on formative work and are available for individual consultation as necessary (by email, telephone, post or fax).
    • The written assignment will test students’ understanding of relevant concepts and their ability to apply and interpret what they have learned to the analysis of a particular issue in depth.

    Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

    Activity Number Frequency Duration Total/Hours
    D L Study Units (a combination of specially written material, directed reading, self-assessed assignments and guidance for further reading) 150
    Total 150

    Summative Assessment

    Component: Written Assignment Component Weighting: 100%
    Element Length / duration Element Weighting Resit Opportunity
    Written Assignment 4,000 words maximum 100%

    Formative Assessment:

    None.


    Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University