040578 EK EC GCM: International Strategic Management (EK) (2024W)

(1) Written Examination: There will be a comprehensive written exam to assess the learning accumulated during class discussions. The exam will constitute of multiple-choice questions, True/False questions and one essay question.

(2) The Project Assignment: The purpose of the project is to provide the students an opportunity to examine the nature and dynamics of strategic management efforts being undertaken by the contemporary organisations. The students will be working in (self-managed) teams of up to four (4) students for this project. They may opt to work on any one of the following (two) projects;
Project Option I
The team(s) will choose a company operating successfully in the EU and will perform an in-depth analysis of this entity (along with the industry in which it is operating) focusing upon the key dimensions of its strategic management effort. The scope/size of the project organisation does not matter - i.e. it could be as small as a (single) retail outlet operating in just one city or as large as an MNE - what matters the most is the technical accuracy (i.e., how well does the team apply strategic management concepts learned in the course). The specific task at hand is to collect information relating to various components of strategic management effort using options such as: (1) The teams could approach a firm and gather information/data through direct interactions (face-2-face, telephone, mail etc.) with the appropriate officials in that firm; (2) they could gather relevant information/data from secondary sources like web, company documents or research reports. However, it is advisable for the teams to prefer the first option for gathering the data/information as it may eventually lead to superior learning and evaluation outcomes.
Project Option II
After having scanned the local business environment of Vienna, the team will set up a business concern and develop a strategic business plan for it. The entity selected for this purpose could be anything like a restaurant, amusement park, fitness studio (may be for females), sports complex, hospital, or business school etc. While reporting the elements constituting the external environment and the opportunities and threats posed by this external environment have to be as factual and logical as possible. However, for the internal environment, the team can make reasonable assumptions while elaborating upon the strengths and weaknesses of the hypothetical concern while making an appeal to the resource-based view (RBV) of the firms. The strategic plan needs to exhaustively take into account the elements like environmental analysis (SWOT), strategy, implementation and contingencies etc. The deliverable of the team project would be a 15-20 pages Formal Report that should present an exhaustive discussion on the following;
1. A vision that gives meaning to all the firm’s stakeholders of the firm’s objectives.
2. A strategic plan that operationalises the goals and objectives of the firm.
3. The resource endowments specific to the firm and those that are homogeneous to industry participants.
4. Specification of the current and desired strategic positioning in order to respond to market demands.
5. The means necessary to implement the strategic plan while taking into account the functional areas of business.
6. The means to evaluate the overall strategic management effort.

A detailed description of the project report would be supplied as one element of the course material.

The deadline for submission of the project report is 15.01.2025.
The submission needs to be made electronically (through Moodle).
(3) Class participation