COURSE OUTLINE
Course Name
Course Code
Credit Hours
Course Prereq.
Code
Course Type
Program
Semester
Instructor:
Course Description
Strategic Management
MGT-625
3
None
Prepared
On
11th January,
2019
Revised
On
24th Feburary,
2024
Core Course
Elective
MBA
Spring 23
Dr Harris Laeeque
The goal of this course is to explain in a clear, comprehensive, but concise way why strategic management is
important to people, the companies they work for, and the societies in which they live. Often people are unaware
of how the strategy-making process affects them. We are all used to going to work and visiting companies such
as restaurants, stores, and banks to buy the goods and services we need to satisfy our many needs. However, the
actual strategic management activities and processes that are required to make these goods and services available
to us commonly go unappreciated. Similarly, we know that companies exist to make a “profit,” but what is
profit, how is it created, and what is it used for? Moreover, what are the actual strategic management activities
involved in the creation of goods and ser- vices, and why is it that some companies seem to be more effective
and more “profitable” than others? This course’s goal is to provide the “big picture” of what strategic
management is, what strategic managers do, and how the strategy-making process affects company performance.
This course provides a focused, integrated approach that gives students a solid understanding of the nature,
functions, and main building blocks of strategic management.
Taxonomy Level: Cognitive Domain
Course Learning Outcomes
Program Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this course students will be able to be able
to:
CLO1 Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of strategic
PLO 1
C2
management concepts, frameworks, and theories, explaining
Major the fundamental principles that guide organizational strategic
decision-making.
CLO2 Proficiently apply strategic management tools and techniques
PLO 1, PLO 2
C3
to real-world business situations, translating theoretical
knowledge into practical strategies and recommendations for
diverse organizational contexts.
CLO3 Critically analyze complex business scenarios, deconstructing
PLO 2, PLO 4
C4
challenges, identifying key issues, and evaluating strategic
alternatives to make informed, data-driven recommendations.
Teaching & Learning Methodology
Teaching and learning goes hand in hand. The best learning occurs when teachers and students both came
prepared to the class ready to deal with the issues that are presented. In this spirit, it is expected that
students will assume the responsibility for their own learning, which includes:
Sr. No
1



Regularly attending the class (atleast 75 % attendance is compulsory to take your final exam)
Respect & listen to the one who is talking
Present their ideas in a clear and articulate way
The teaching methodology will include:
 Lectures
 Articles / Case Studies
 Discussions
 Activities
 Small Scenario Analysis
 Group Project
Textbook(s)
 Thompson, A. A., Strickland, A. J., & Gamble, J. E. (2021). Crafting and executing strategy.
McGraw-Hill US Higher Ed USE.
Reference Book(s)
 Dess, G. G. (2007). Strategic management: Text and cases. Mc Graw Hill.
 Hill, C. W., & Jones, G. R. (2011). Essentials of strategic management. Cengage Learning.
 David, F. R. (2011). Strategic management concepts and cases. Prentice hall.
Case Studies
Will be provided in the class.
Magazine Articles/ Published Material
Will be assigned as reading assignments in the class.
Grading Policy
Assessment Instruments
Percentage
Quizzes
15%
Assignments + project
20%
Mid Term Exam
25%
Final Exam
40%
2
Week/
Contents
Session
What Is Strategy and Why Is It
Important?
Week
1
 What do we mean by strategy?
 A company’s strategy and its business
model
 What makes a strategy a winner?
 Why crafting and executing strategy
are important tasks
Charting a Company’s Direction: Its
Vision, Mission, Objectives, and Strategy
Week
2
Week
3
Interactive Discussion: Initiate a discussion on
real-world examples of successful and
unsuccessful strategies.
Reading: Honda’s dominance of the US
motorcycle industry: Deliberate or emergent
strategies?
 What does the strategy-making,
strategy-executing process entail?
 Stage 1: Developing a strategic vision,
Debate: Organize a debate on the statement: "The
mission statement, and set of core
development of a strategic vision is more
values
important than setting objectives."
 Stage 2: Setting objectives
 Stage 3: Crafting a strategy
Real-World Examples: Provide examples of
companies with distinct strategic visions.
Charting a Company’s Direction: Its
Strategic Initiatives Analysis: Assign students to
Vision, Mission, Objectives, and Strategy analyze recent strategic initiatives of a chosen
company. Evaluate how well these initiatives
 Stage 4: Executing the strategy
were executed, and discuss the implications for
 Stage 5: Evaluating performance and
the company's performance.
initiating corrective adjustments
 Corporate governance: The role of the Interactive Debates: Organize debates on topics
related to strategy execution and corporate
board of directors in the strategygovernance.
crafting, strategy-executing process
 The strategically relevant factors in
the company’s
 Macro-environment
 Assessing the company’s industry and
competitive environment
Learning
Objectives
Addressed
CLO 1
CLO 2
CLO 3
Reading: How perceptual limited succeeded by
rallying around the founder’s original mission
Class Discussion: Facilitate a class discussion on
companies that have successfully or
unsuccessfully implemented strategic visions.
Evaluating a Company’s External
Environment
Week
4
Activities (Critical Thinking) Discussions
Topics, Case Studies, Roleplays, Movie Clips,
Assignments, Research Papers, Presentations
CLO 1
CLO 2
CLO 3
CLO 1
CLO 2
CLO 3
External Environment Scanning Exercise: Assign
students to scan the external environment of a
real company. Have them identify and categorize
factors from the macro-environment.
Industry Trends Debate: Organize a debate on
emerging trends in a specific industry.
CLO 1
CLO 2
CLO 3
Mini-case: Disruptive innovation from Netflix
Case Study: Husain, S., Naheed, K., & Isa, M.
(2016). Veet: facing a cultural challenge in
3
Evaluating a Company’s External
Environment
Week
5
 The five forces framework
 Complementors and the value net
 Industry dynamics and the forces
driving change
 Strategic group analysis
 Competitor analysis
 Key success factors
Pakistan. Emerald Emerging Markets Case
Studies, 6(2), 1-16.
Five Forces Analysis Workshop: Conduct a
workshop where students apply Porter's Five
Forces framework to analyze a specific industry.
Strategic Group Analysis: Guide students in
analyzing strategic groups within an industry.
Case study: Qureshi, J. A., Shamsi, A. F., & Arif,
F. (2022). Pakistan State Oil: multidimensional
strategic issues of a market leader. Emerald
Emerging Markets Case Studies, 12(1), 1-27.
CLO 1
CLO 2
CLO 3
Quiz 1
Evaluating a Company’s Resources,
Capabilities, and Competitiveness
Week
6
 What are the company’s most
important resources and capabilities,
and will they give the company a
lasting competitive advantage over
rival companies?
 What are the company’s strengths and
weaknesses in relation to the market
opportunities and external threats?
 How do a company’s value chain
activities impact its cost structure and
customer value proposition?
 Is the company competitively stronger
or weaker than key rivals?
 What strategic issues and problems
merit front-burner managerial
attention?
Company Benchmarking Task: Have students
select two companies from the same industry and
conduct a benchmarking task.
Resource and Capability Audit Exercise: Assign
students to conduct a resource and capability
audit for a chosen company.
Competitive Advantage Debate: Organize a
debate on what constitutes a lasting competitive
advantage.
CLO 1
CLO 2
CLO 3
Case Study: Nasreen, K., & Afzal, M. T. (2020).
Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats
in higher education: a SWOT analysis of Allama
Iqbal Open University Islamabad (Pakistan).
Asian Association of Open Universities Journal,
15(3), 321-333.
Reading: Differentiated product Jaguar F-Pace
SUV
The five generic competitive strategies
Week
7
 Types of generic competitive
strategies
 Low-cost provider strategies
 Broad differentiation strategies
Competitive Strategy Debate: Organize a debate
where students defend and critique the
effectiveness of low-cost provider and broad
differentiation strategies.
Brand Positioning Exercise: Engage students in a
brand positioning exercise, focusing on how
companies employing differentiation strategies
position their brands in the market.
CLO 1
CLO 2
CLO 3
Marketing Campaign Analysis: Analyze
marketing campaigns of companies following
either low-cost or differentiation strategies.
4
The five generic competitive strategies
Week
8
 Focused (or market niche) strategies
 Best-cost provider strategies
 The contrasting features of the five
generic competitive strategies: A
summary
Market Entry Simulation: Use a market entry
simulation where students must choose between a
broad market approach or a focused/niche
strategy.
Niche Identification: Assign students to analyze
different industries and identify potential niche
markets within those industries.
CLO 1
CLO 2
CLO 3
Reading: Amazon’s blue ocean strategy
Quiz 2
Week
9
Week
10
MIDTERM EXAMS
Strengthening a Company’s Competitive
Position
Reading: Tinder swipes right for first-mover
success
 Launching strategic offensives to
improve a company’s market position
 Defensive strategies—protecting
market position and competitive
advantage
 Timing a company’s offensive and
defensive strategic moves
 Strengthening a company’s market
position via its scope of operations
Strategic Timing Analysis: Explore case studies
or real-world examples to analyze instances of
strategic timing in business.
Strengthening a Company’s Competitive
Position
Week
11
Week
12
 Horizontal merger and acquisition
strategies
 Vertical integration strategies
 Outsourcing strategies: Narrowing
the scope of operations
 Strategic alliances and partnerships
Strategies for Competing in International
Markets
Analysis of Failed Strategies: Analyze cases of
companies that failed to execute successful
offensives or defensive strategies.
CLO 1
CLO 2
CLO 3
Debate on Defensive Strategies: Organize a
debate where students argue for or against the
effectiveness of various defensive strategies.
Case Study: Shaikh, A. R., & Qazi, A. A. (2020).
Chohan decoration services Pakistan–survival
amid covid-19. Emerald Emerging Markets Case
Studies, 10(4), 1-17.
Mini-case: Cementing a merger of equals
between Lafarge and Holcim has been difficult
Analysis of Failed M&A Cases: Analyze cases of
failed mergers and acquisitions, discussing the
reasons behind the failures and the impact on the
companies involved.
Industry Trends Presentation: Assign student
groups specific industries and have them present
on current trends related to mergers, outsourcing,
and strategic alliances.
Reading: The global delivery services industry:
Economic disruption of tariffs and trade wars
CLO 1
CLO 2
CLO 3
CLO 1
CLO 2
CLO 3
5
 Why companies decide to enter
foreign markets
 Why competing across national
borders makes strategy making more
complex
 Strategic options for entering
international markets
Strategies for Competing in International
Markets
Week
13
 International strategy: The three
main approaches
 International operations and the quest
for competitive advantage
 Cross-border strategic moves
 Strategies for competing in the
markets of developing countries
 Defending against global giants:
Strategies for local companies in
developing countries
Corporate strategy

Week
14




What does crafting a diversification
strategy entail
When to consider diversifying
Building shareholder value: The
ultimate justification for diversifying
Approaches to diversifying the
business lineup
Choosing the diversification path:
Related versus unrelated businesses
Corporate strategy
Week
15
 Diversification into related
businesses
 Diversification into unrelated
businesses
 Combination related-unrelated
diversification strategies
 Evaluating the strategy of a
diversified company
Market Entry Strategy Workshop: Conduct a
workshop where students work in groups to
develop market entry strategies for a hypothetical
company.
Interactive Cross-Cultural Exercise: Engage
students in a cross-cultural exercise where they
explore the cultural dimensions impacting
international strategy.
Quiz 3
Case Study: Kashif, M., Mingione, M., & Noori,
M. F. (2017). Peri-Peri Original: the expansion
decision in Pakistan. Emerald Emerging Markets
Case Studies, 7(2), 1-15.
Market Expansion Simulation:
Create a simulation focused on market expansion
in developing countries.
CLO 1
CLO 2
CLO 3
Industry-Specific International Challenges: Break
the class into groups based on industry focus.
Each group analyzes the unique challenges and
opportunities of competing internationally within
their specific industry.
Interactive Discussion: Facilitate an interactive
discussion on the timing of diversification.
Strategic Group Analysis: Task students to
analyze how companies within the same industry
diversify and position themselves differently to
gain a competitive advantage.
CLO 1
CLO 2
CLO 3
Case Study: Dogar, M. N. (2018). Business case
for diversification–Adult Basic Education society
(ABES), Pakistan. Emerald Emerging Markets
Case Studies, 8(4), 1-23.
Class Polls: Use live polls or surveys to gather
students' opinions on diversification preferences.
Debate on Related vs. Unrelated Diversification:
Divide the class into groups and conduct a debate
on the merits and drawbacks of related and
unrelated diversification.
CLO 1
CLO 2
CLO 3
Company Analysis Presentations: Assign student
groups to analyze and present on a diversified
company of their choice.
Quiz 4
6
Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility,
Environmental Sustainability, and
Strategy


Week
16




What do we mean by business
ethics?
Where do ethical standards come
from
How and why ethical standards
impact the tasks of crafting and
executing strategy
Drivers of unethical business
strategies and behavior
Why should company strategies be
ethical?
Strategy, corporate social
responsibility, and environmental
sustainability
Week
17
Students’ projects
Week
18
Final Exams
Debate: Organize a structured debate where
students discuss the drivers of unethical business
strategies.
Ethical Dilemma Role-Play: Create scenarios
depicting ethical dilemmas in business.
Group Discussions: Conduct group discussions
on the origins of ethical standards.
CLO 1
CLO 2
CLO 3
Case Study: Fatima, T., Bilal, A. R., & Imran, M.
K. (2019). Dhuan ‘n’Dukhaan: a case of
successful green venture start-up in
Pakistan. Emerald Emerging Markets Case
Studies, 9(1), 1-31.
Final project presentations
CLO 1
CLO 2
CLO 3
ASSIGNMENTS

Assignment-I: Strategy Critique and Analysis
The assignment requires students to select two companies—one recognized for successful strategy execution and
another for strategy failure. Students analyze and compare the business models of the chosen companies, identifying
key success factors contributing to the effective strategy of the successful company. They then delve into the reasons
behind the failure of the second company's strategy, proposing revised strategies based on course concepts and
presenting their findings in a comprehensive report.

Assignment-II: Environmental Analysis and Competitive Intelligence Report
Students analyze a real company's macro-environment, industry dynamics, and competitive factors. Using tools
like the five forces framework, they assess complementors, industry changes, and perform strategic group and
competitor analysis. The goal is to offer strategic insights for informed decision-making and improved competitive
position.

Assignment-III: Why competing across national borders makes strategy making more complex:
Compare and contrast the strategic challenges faced by companies operating solely in their domestic market with
those operating internationally. Identify and analyze the unique complexities and complexities associated with
international competition.
FINAL PROJECT
7
The final project, due 10 days before exams with a 5000-word limit, focuses on Zara's strategic management. Task 1
involves analyzing Zara's external and internal environment, identifying three critical factors, and evaluating current
competitive advantages. Task 2 requires a critical evaluation of Zara's motives for global expansion, proposing at least
three global entry strategies. Task 3 centers on improving Zara's global supply chain through horizontal and vertical
integration, outsourcing, and strategic alliances, with recommendations for profitability using a relevant model.
Course Instructor: Dr Harris Laeeque
Senior Assistant Professor
Department of Business Studies
Email: shlaeeque@bahria.edu.pk
8
MBA Program Goals
PLO 1- Application of Business Knowledge
Demonstrate understanding and analysis of specialized business issues or problems by making decisions
and recommendations for improvements based on the practical application of concepts, skills, knowledge
and techniques.
PLO 2- Effective Communication
Emphasize on oral communication skills for professional connections and effective written communication
including official documentation and correspondence in a business environment.
PLO 3- Leadership skills
Depict Leadership skills and abilities to lead and manage in teams along with effective decision making for
solution of business problems.
PLO 4- Critical thinking
Develop skills that can be used to critically analyse and evaluate business problems in a range of applied
business situations through application of concepts, skills, knowledge and techniques learned in various
functional areas for effective decision making.
PLO 5- Ethical Consideration and Behavior
Ensure students are able to identify ethical concerns in a business situation and demonstrate the application
of ethical guidelines to address business problems ways in that are ethically and socially responsible.
9