Year
2024Credit points
10Campus offering
Prerequisites
NilIncompatible
MGMT640 Strategic Management and Decision Making
Teaching organisation
150 hours over a twelve-week semester or equivalent study period
Unit rationale, description and aim
Knowledge about strategic management is essential in successfully determining the direction of an organisation’s future in a dynamic environment. This unit provides the conceptual frameworks and skills required by management for effective strategies for sustainable competitive advantages. Strategic management includes the formulation and implementation, as well as the process of control and review of strategic direction of an organisation. Using a distinctly global, ethical and practical approach to business, the aim of this unit is to provide students with strategic management knowledge in order to create economic and social values which enable a balanced development of organisations and stakeholders, business and society and common good.
Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
| Learning Outcome Number | Learning Outcome Description | Relevant Graduate Capabilities |
|---|---|---|
| LO1 | Design and implement strategies, and build decision-making abilities to generate creative and ethical decisions to achieve the common good | GC1, GC2, GC3, GC4 |
| LO2 | Analyse strategic business environments and critically develop the process of formulation, implementation, evaluation and communication of sustainable strategies in national and global settings to responsibly solve managerial problems | GC1, GC2, GC3, GC4 |
| LO3 | Distinguish and critique different means by which organisations achieve competitive advantage for sustainability | GC1, GC2, GC3, GC4 |
| LO4 | Critically evaluate complex issues related to strategic management processes and communicate this to various stakeholders to achieve competitive advantage for sustainability | GC1, GC2, GC3, GC4 |
| LO5 | Reflect, synthesise and evaluate domestic and international organisational strategies in a variety of industries and circumstances | GC1, GC2, GC3, GC4 |
Content
Topics will include:
- Introducing strategy and strategic thinking
- Strategic management process
- Business environmental analyses
- Business competitive advantage for sustainability
- Ethical issues in strategic management for the common good
- Business, corporate and global strategies
- Corporate governance for sustainability
- Implementation, change and organisational sustainability
- Global issues in strategic management
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
Attendance mode
Students will have face-to-face workshops to achieve the learning outcomes. Students are able to explore the knowledge base underpinning sustainability management through a series of on campus workshops. These workshops are designed to support students to actively participate in the construction and synthesis of this knowledge both individually and in groups. By participating in these workshops, students will systematically develop their understanding of sustainability strategies.
ACU Online
This unit uses an active learning approach to support students in the exploration of knowledge essential to the discipline. Students are provided with choice and variety in how they learn. Students are encouraged to contribute to asynchronous weekly discussions. Active learning opportunities provide students with opportunities to practice and apply their learning in situations similar to their future professions. Activities encourage students to bring their own examples to demonstrate understanding, application and engage constructively with their peers. Students receive regular and timely feedback on their learning, which includes information on their progress.
Assessment strategy and rationale
Assessment is an integral part of the learning process. Assessment tasks in MGMT605 are aimed at developing and measuring student’s achievement of both the learning outcomes and graduate attributes noted above.
In this unit to achieve the learning outcomes, three (3) main pieces of summative assessment are used. The first piece of individual based assessment focusses on developing contemporary strategic management concepts and theories and apply it in business decision making. The second assessment is group based and it aims to develop skills to plan and implement business strategies through a comprehensive case study. The third piece of assessment is a critical reflective journal, which draws on a student’s developed understanding of strategic management knowledge to achieve organisational performance for the common good.
To pass this unit, students must demonstrate competence in all learning outcomes and achieve an aggregate mark of at least 50%. Marking will be in accordance with a rubric specifically developed to measure the level of achievement of the learning outcomes for each item of assessment. Students will be awarded a final grade which signifies their overall achievement in the Unit.
Overview of assessments
| Brief Description of Kind and Purpose of Assessment Tasks | Weighting | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
Assessment Task 1: Strategy report This assessment task consists of a 1000-word report on two contemporary strategic management concepts relating contents/topics from current published peer-review journals. This assessment requires students to analyse how the chosen concepts help businesses achieve ethical decisions and competitive advantages for the common good. Submission Type: Individual Assessment Method: Report Artefact: Written report | 30% | LO1, LO3 |
Assessment Task 2: Case study This assessment task consists of a 1300-word written case study entailing the practical application of strategic management knowledge. This task requires students to work collaboratively to analyse global problems of the case study and generate research-based responsible and global solutions and recommendations and communicate this effectively to various stakeholders. Submission Type: Individual/Group Assessment Method: Case study report Artefact: Written report | 30% | LO2, LO4 |
Assessment Task 3: Critical reflective journal This assessment task consists of a 1700-word written journal entailing the reflection and critical evaluation of strategic management knowledge. This task requires students to work autonomously to synthesise their knowledge in strategic management and their experiences in order to shape themselves in the role of a manager. Submission Type: Individual Assessment Method: Reflective journal Artefact: Written journal | 40% | LO3, LO5 |
Representative texts and references
The latest editions of:
David, FR, David, FR & David ME 2020, Strategic management: A competitive advantage approach, concepts and cases, 17th Edition, Pearson, UK.
De Wit, B 2020, Strategy: An international perspective, 7th Edition, Cengage, UK.
Hitt, MA,. Ireland, RD & Hoskisson, RE 2019, Strategic management: Competitiveness and globalization - concepts and cases, 13th Edition, South-Western Cengage, US.
Johnson, G. Whittington, R. Scholes, K. Angwin, D & Regner, P 2019, Exploring strategy – text and cases, 12th Edn, Pearson, UK.
Lynch, R 2018, Strategic management, 8th Edition, Pearson, UK.
Rothaermel, F 2020, Strategic management, 5th Edn, McGraw Hill, Australia.