MARKETS - 2021/2

Module Overview

To be competitive in today's increasingly difficult and demanding markets it is vital for companies to identify market opportunities and challenges and react accordingly. Companies need to understand market dynamics and develop strategies to compete in the right markets in optimal ways. This module provides the foundations for doing just that by introducing students to theories and practices of strategic management. It investigates how business strategies are formed and how they are implemented and develops the conceptual, analytical, and practical skills for students to be able to contribute to the strategic process.The module makes the critical connection between the business model and value proposition, investigating the idea of strategic alignment between the two. It provides students with a thorough overview of strategy in the context of organisational structure, culture, relationships, and organising. 

Module provider

Surrey Business School

Module Leader

O'BRIEN Justin (SBS)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None.

Module content

Indicative content includes:

• Understanding markets and competition


• Industry attractiveness, industry value chain and industry lifecycle


• Internal business resources, capabilities, and core competencies


• Strategic planning process and strategy cycle


• Strategy in practice: understanding the strategic process


• Value and creating value propositions


• Business models and business strategy


• Aligning the business model and the value proposition 


• Realising strategy: organisational design, systems, and culture


• Current trends in strategic management

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

COURSEWORK (INDIVIDUAL) - 100%

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate critical understanding of the subject matter and mastery of the learning outcomes through practical application.

The assessment is based on the integrative collaborative project that students engage in during the guided group project work sessions and showcases students' subject-specific knowledge and cognitive skills as well as their practical ability to apply their learning to complex problems and tasks in the relevant domain of professional practice. At the end of the module students submit a group report, which counts for 100% of the total mark for the module.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

• Group report (3,500 words)

In the event that any student would not be able to complete the group report they will be given an alternative assessment in the form of:

• Individual coursework (3,000) words similar to the content of the group presentation and worth 100% of total marks.

Formative assessment

Formative feedback is offered on an ongoing basis during seminars/group discussions, active earning sessions and project tutorials, which may be done face-to-face or online (synchronously).

Feedback

Summative feedback is provided in writing, separately for each of the elements of assessment.

Module aims

• Introduce a range of key theoretical perspectives pertinent to understanding of business and corporate strategy in the context of market competition.
• Equip students with a sound understanding of the process of strategic management and the different components of the strategy development cycle.
• Enable students to integrate theoretical concepts and models in Strategy with practical application to business situations.
• Familiarise students with current trends in strategic management.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to combine research-informed academic content with applied learning through project work.

Learning and teaching follows a student-focused, experiential, flipped-classroom methodology with online elements.

It comprises lectures, seminars, group discussions, study trips and assignment tutorials. It also includes active and self-directed learning - both group and individual.

Prior to attending the lecture and seminar, students are expected to undertake the essential reading and complete any set work for the sessions.

Active learning is supported by engagement with practice through group project work, study trip and invited guest speakers.

Assignment tutorials are there to provide formative feedback in preparation for the assessment.

The learning and teaching methods include:

• Lectures are mainly designed to illustrate and explain theoretical concepts and models.


• Seminars/group discussions redesigned to develop a more practical insight into the applied nature of the various topics covered: they help explore the theoretical concepts and models by reference to a range of topical issues and case studies.


• Active learning includes engaging in  classroom practical exercises, video and case analyses, and group project work.


• Active learning through online study (synchronous and asynchronous);


• Self-directed learning pertains to engaging with learning materials and undertaking desk-research required for classroom participation and assessment.


• Study trips and designed to allow students the opportunity to observe the phenomena they study in practice and engage with the relevant practice and practitioners in their own setting and context.


• Assignment tutorials support students in their project work through systematic review of progress, discussion and formative feedback from an academic tutor. These may be run face-t-face or online (synchronously).

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: MANM453

Other information

Module Leader change is needed to Dr K Zdunczyk - this has been agreed with the HoD and ED PGT

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2021/2 academic year.