Week 1 – Intro to Supply Chain and Clusters The focus on this class will be in supply chains. The professor has extensive experience in supply chains so there will be real world examples in the lectures. The majority of the class looks to be case studies and papers, with exams, and discussion posts. There …

Week 5 – Industry Dynamics and Firm Innovation We finish up the final week with a bit of a busy schedule. We are expected to both finish up a traditional fifth week of work and a final week that includes a consultant type slide deck for Wendy’s, which is currently undergoing financial difficulty. Our readings …

Week 4 – International Strategy This week is the same as those before, with a reflection and discussion post on specific topics, which are essentially papers to be written. The readings included Ghemawats “Distance Still Matters” where we explored barriers due to geography. We explored Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and how those six items can help …

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 …