Strategic Execution

Objectives

This module is designed to focus the students in Strategizing methodologies for structuring and disseminating strategic thinking within organizations. It covers two areas: foundations of strategic thinking and methodologies of strategizing (“Strategic Intent-based Planning”), with a special focus on foresight through scenario-based planning and on implementation monitoring through the Balanced Scorecard system. It aims to enable the recognition and articulation of, under a planning perspective, the base models of strategy and value creation/appropriation. The main learning outcomes are:
•The ability to read and understand the current and prospective business environment and its impact in the creation and evaluation of strategic options.
•The ability to interpret the unique internal conditions of each organization and its impact in the creation and evaluation of strategic options.
•The ability to implement a model of strategic execution based on the concept of balanced scorecard system.

General characterization

Code

14208

Credits

2

Responsible teacher

Emanuel Gomes | Luís Almeida Costa

Hours

Weekly - Available soon

Total - Available soon

Teaching language

Portuguese | English

Prerequisites

Available soon

Bibliography

• “The Art of the Long View”, by Peter Schwartz, Wiley 1996 (Reprint Oct 2007).
• “Scenarios, The Art of Strategic Conversation” by Kees van der Heidjen, Wiley 2005, 2nd edition (Reprint 2010).
• “Thinking in New Boxes, a New Paradigm for Business Creativity” by Brabandere, Luc and Alan Iny, Random House 2013 (1st edition).
• Linking the Balanced Scorecard to Strategy, Kaplan, Robert and Norton, David, California Management Review (Fall 1996)
• The Strategy Map as a visual representation of Organizational Strategy, excerpted from Strategy Maps: Converting Intangible Assets into Tangible Outcomes, Kaplan, Robert, David Norton, HBSP 1574BC
• The Strategy-Focused Organization FAQ, excerpted from The Strategy-Focused Organization: How Balanced Scorecard Companies thrive in the New Business Environement, Kaplan, Robert, David Norton, HBSP 1714BC

Teaching method

The course will be a mix of theory, case studies/exercises and real-life situations’ discussion. A “Hands-on/Board Decision Making” approach to the subject will be used as a basis of class participation. Likewise, the course will count heavily on the students’ active participation, both in class and in its preparation. Students will be required to form teams (with a maximum of 5 elements).

Evaluation method

The assessment of this CU is done together with the block of CUs of the same area of knowledge. This assessment has 3 moments, which together define the final grade of the CUs:
•Individual exam with a weighting of 50% of the total mark
•Group work with a weighting of 35% of the total grade value
•Individual reflection-action exercise carried out at the end of the CU, with a weighting of 15%. The set of individual action-reflection exercises is a journaling activity, which will constitute a learning portfolio capable of synthesising the contributions of the Executive Master for that student.

Subject matter

The main topics covered in the course are:
1) Revisiting the foundations of Strategic Thinking.
2) Strategizing methodologies for options generation and selection.
3) Strategic Intent Planning Model and Use.
4) Strategic Execution based upon the creation and use of the Balanced Scorecard system.