Strategic Management

• • Study schedule to be announced prior to the commencement of the study term.

Equivalent subjects

You should not enrol in this subject if you have successfully completed any of the following subject(s) because they are considered academically equivalent:

• TAS-JNB519-Strategic Management (No longer available)

Additional requirements

No additional requirements

This subject introduces you to the theory and practice of strategic management, focusing on strategic thinking and decision making. Throughout your study you will be asked to place yourself in the position of a strategic manager and to use your creativity and ingenuity in mapping out strategies that will help your organisation maintain a competitive edge. To assist you meet this challenge, we will discuss in detail the various stages that make up the strategic management process. We will use a number of examples from the Transport and Logistics Industry to show how the process works in practice (we will also use examples from different industries). Use what you learn about the process as a guide, but always remember that mechanically following a process or technique, however well tried and tested, is no substitute for creative thinking!

As postgraduate students, you will be expected and encouraged to be creative and conceptual in applying strategic management theory. The key lies in how well you, as a strategic manager, can make opportunities out of threats (challenges) and devise ingenious ways of making them work.

Students should draw upon all the relevant knowledge and skills gained from previous subjects. The work from Management is useful: The topics of Leadership, Communication, the External Environment, Managing Change, Organisational Culture, Organisational Structure Design and Evaluation. Topics covered in Finance for Decision-Making relevant to this subject. For example, budgeting, ratio analysis and interpretation of financial statements is particularly useful to strategic managers.

• Discussion posts (online) (10%)
• Discussion posts (online) (20%)
• Formulation of a strategic plan (30%)
• Take-home exam (40%)

Current study term: 20 Feb 22 to 29 May 22