Week 3 – Corporate Level Strategies We continued our readings and diving into corporate strategy. Again we started off with a Porter reading, this one his “From Competitive Advantage to Corporate Strategy” article. Then we went into Prahalad’s “The Core Competence of the Corporation” and reviewed vertical integration and portfolio management as well as diversification …

Week 2 – Business Level Strategy We continued reading influential classic business papers this week, with Porter’s famous “Generic Competitive Strategies.” We talked about differentiation, overall cost leadership, and focus in one of those categories. We then read “Blue Ocean Strategy” by Kim, which I’ve actually read before ever starting my MBA program because I …

Week 1 – Concept of Strategy, External Analysis and Internal Analysis This class is going to be centered around reading classic business strategy readings and then analyzing them. The first reading was from Porter and was his classic “What is Strategy” which I found interesting. The readings were well chosen I thought, with Collis’ “Can …

Week 5 – Efficiently Communicating Your Branded Message to Target Customers We review advertising, market communications, integrated market communications (IMC), owned/paid/earned media, and social media. There is a lot of work this week it feels. There is a reading quiz, two module assignments, a reflection post, and two extra credit posts. I believe the professor …

Week 4 – Setting Prices and Designing the Optimal Distribution Channel to Access your Target Customers We study pricing, which I find interesting. We get into pricing metrics and psychological pricing. We review break-even and cost plus pricing, which I’ve studied in Finance and Accounting previously. We review distributions channels, supply chains, push/pull strategies, the …

Week 3 – Developing and Maximizing the Product Offering for your Target Customers We study product, how core, primary and augmented product relate to each other. We study goods and services. We dive deep into branding, branding elements, identity, collateral, personality, and various strategies. We look at new products and innovation, including new product development …

Week 2 – Segmenting the Marketplace to Find and Reach your Target Customers We learn about segmentation and targeting strategies. We develop target personas that might use the products of our employers. We review positioning and repositioning strategies. We end the week with a good understanding of STP – Segmentation, Targeting, and Positioning. I meet …

Week 1 – Creating Marketing Strategies to Match the Behavior of Your Customers The first week of class and it is going to be an interesting session. This is the course they warn you about in the program due to the amount of work that is due, and there is a lot of work. I …

Week 5 – Capital Budgeting and Cash Flow Analysis Our last week of class and the professor kindly is allowing us to finish the weekend with our exams. Usually we have until Friday of the fifth week and it makes it very difficult, but thankfully two extra days means I can catch up on Saturday. …

Week 4 – Fixed Income Securities and Common Stock Securities – Valuations We learned how to value bonds and common stocks and I learned a lot about bonds especially. It’s always been an unknown for me, but now I can calculate the value based on interest rates and how yields work. The latter always confused …