Short course

MBA Essentials - Advanced Strategy

Start date
Friday 8th March 2024
Duration
Four days
Time commitment
100 hours total commitment
Mode
In person
Cost
£2,625 - Scholarships available
Subject
Business, Strategy
Level
Postgraduate Microcredential
Credit
10 credits
Assessment
Individual assignment

Flexible and practical, the MBA Essentials – Advanced Strategy is designed to fit in with existing career commitments, enabling managers across a range of industries and sectors to boost their career prospects. The module is delivered in an intensive four-day block spread over one long weekend.

Advanced Strategy takes an in-depth view of the process of strategy formulation and implementation through the lens of key themes/topics pertinent to the contemporary strategists.

Using a combination of cases of (un)successful firms, some readings and, most importantly, lively discussion, this module will explore the ways in which long term advantage is built and continuously influenced by contextual issues at firm and industry levels. Students will focus particularly on how the thinking, actions and capabilities of the strategist develops in this process; the mind-set needed to build and sustain competitive advantage over time, and on the strategic implications of understanding what defines firm's success.

By the end of the module students should be able to:

  • Demonstrate a critical understanding of the nature of strategy and the different ways of thinking about strategy including the kinds of issues it raises for organisations in decision-making and implementation
  • Distinguish between different approaches to strategy decision-making and implementation, and the pertinent issues around leading and managing change, and critically apply appropriate models and framework
  • Develop and critically evaluate a range of strategic implementation options and identify strategic decision-making and communication processes, including different approaches to such decision making, and the risks and ethical considerations involved
  • Demonstrate skills in critical thinking, analysis and synthesis; including identifying and questioning assumptions, weighing evidence appropriately, identifying and challenging false logic or reasoning, and generalising in a way which recognises the limits of knowledge in strategy

Why study at University of Birmingham?

  • Modular delivery over long weekends (Friday to Monday) limits the impact of study on your work commitments
  • Birmingham Business School holds triple-crown accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the Association of MBAs (AMBA) and the European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS)
  • Birmingham Business School is the UK’s oldest business school, bringing more than 100 years of innovative teaching and research
  • The University of Birmingham is a member of the Russell Group, an organisation of the UK’s top 24 research-led universities
  • The University of Birmingham is also a member of Universitas 21, the leading global network of research-intensive universities

What is a microcredential?

Microcredentials are designed to upskill you for work in rapidly growing industries, without the time and cost commitment of a full degree. Your microcredential can stand alone as an independent credential, and some also offer academic credit to use towards a degree.

  • Learn with expert instructors: Complete courses led by experts with a dedicated group of professionals.
  • Earn a professional credential: Finish your learning and pass your assessments to gain an accredited credential.
  • Advance further in your career: Use your microcredential as evidence of your specialised skills and progress further in your industry.

How to apply?

When clicking on the Apply Now button you will be directed to an application specifically designed for the programme you wish to apply for where you will create an account with the University application system and submit your application and supporting documents online.

To be eligible for assessment, your application must be complete and submitted before: Friday 26 January 2024 for Overseas/International students and Friday 9 February 2024 for Home/UK based-students (23h59 - UK time). Before submitting your application, please make sure it is complete. Otherwise, your application will not be reviewed. 

 Find out more

Register your interest for this short course to request more information about the course and for scholarship information.

Entry requirements

In order to be accepted onto the MBA Essentials – Advanced Strategy, you must possess:

  • A good Honours degree (or equivalent), or equivalent professional qualification
  • Five years work experience with evidence of extensive managerial experience or professional responsibility. Three years exceptional work experience meeting this criteria will also be considered

Please note we will also consider candidates without a first degree or professional qualification but with at least ten years’ work experience including significant managerial responsibility.

International entry requirements

IELTS 6.5 (with no less than 6.0 in any band).

IELTS 6.5 with no less than 6.0 in any band is equivalent to:

  • · TOEFL: 88 overall with no less than 21 in Reading, 20 in Listening, 22 in Speaking and 21 in Writing
  • · Pearson Test of English (PTE): PTE Academic 67 with no less than 64 in all four skills
  • · Cambridge English (exams taken from 2015): Advanced – minimum overall score of 176, with no less than 169 in any component

If you are currently studying at a Chinese university, please view our specific entry requirements including our list of acceptable universities for further study at Birmingham.

To be eligible for assessment, your application must be complete and submitted before: Friday 26 January 2024 for Overseas/International students and Friday 9 February 2024 for Home/UK based-students (23h59 - UK time). Before submitting your application, please make sure it is complete. Otherwise, your application will not be reviewed. 

What will you receive?

Our MBA Essentials – Advanced Strategy will allow you to focus on specific areas in order for you to develop your career in the way that you want to. This module is designed to equip you with the skills and knowledge of advanced strategy  which will meet the needs of a wide range of learners and organisations.

What you will receive:

  • 10 UK Credits at Postgraduate level from University of Birmingham
  • A Postgraduate Microcredential certificate from University of Birmingham

Certification of UoB academic credit for PG microcredential courses is through production of an official University of Birmingham Microcredential certificate and transcript managed by UoB Student Records.

The skills you will gain

Demonstrate a critical understanding of the nature of strategy

Distinguish between different approaches to strategy decision-making and implementation

Develop and critically evaluate a range of strategic implementation options and identify strategic decision-making and communication processes

Demonstrate skills in critical thinking, analysis and synthesis

Meet your instructors

Professor Oded Shenkar

Professor Oded Shenkar, The Department of Strategy and International Business Chair in International Business

Professor Shenkar has conducted research in international business for twenty-five years, starting with his doctoral dissertation on the Chinese bureaucracy which involved work with the department of Sociology and the East-Asian Institute in addition to the Graduate School of Business at Columbia University. He has published numerous books (the most recent being "Copycats: how smart companies use imitation to gain a strategic edge", Harvard Business Press 2010, which has eleven foreign editions; and "Navigating global business: a cultural compass" (with S. Ronen), Cambridge University Press 2017). He has also published well over 100 articles in major refereed journals and his work has been widely cited in major media such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times and The Economist, among many others. He appeared before the US-China Congressional Commission and is Vice President and Fellow of the Academy of International Business.

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