Steer Your Business to Success
Generate value and demonstrate global impact in four courses.
About This Specialization
This Specialization covers both the dynamics and the global aspects of strategic management. With cases drawn from leading companies like Disney, Microsoft and Zappos, you'll learn how to evaluate industry evolution, build and sustain competitive advantage, formulate and assess business strategies, and align efforts to organizational strategy. In the final Capstone Project, you’ll apply your skills by creating a comprehensive Strategic Analysis for an existing business or a venture of your own.
Created by:
5 courses
Follow the suggested order or choose your own.
Projects
Designed to help you practice and apply the skills you learn.
Certificates
Highlight your new skills on your resume or LinkedIn.
Courses
- Beginner Specialization.
- No prior experience required.
COURSE 1
Foundations of Business Strategy
Current session: Sep 18 — Oct 23.- Commitment
- 4 weeks of study, 5-6 hours/week
- Subtitles
- English, Vietnamese, Portuguese (Brazilian)
About the Course
Develop your ability to think strategically, analyze the competitive environment, and recommend firm positioning and value creation. In this course, we will explore the underlying theory and frameworks that provide the foundations of a successful business strategy and provide the tools you need to understand that strategy: SWOT, Competitor, Environmental, Five Forces, and Capabilities Analyses, as well as Strategy Maps. We'll apply these tools in case studies of industry leaders Google, Redhook, Piaggio and Apple.COURSE 2
Advanced Business Strategy
Upcoming session: Sep 25 — Oct 30.- Commitment
- 4 weeks of study, 2-6 hours/week
- Subtitles
- English
About the Course
Advance your strategic analysis skills in this follow-up to Foundations of Business Strategy. In this course, you'll learn the tools to analyze strategy across time (competitive dynamics), industries ( corporate strategy), geographies (international strategy), and institutions (non-market strategy). We'll introduce the tools you need to complete a comprehensive evaluation and understand the strategy dynamics of an industry: Competitive Lifecycle, Internationalization and Stakeholder Analyses, and Diversification Matrices. We'll apply these tools in case studies of industry leaders Disney, Orascom Telecom Holding, Sony, and GE Healthcare India.COURSE 3
Business Growth Strategy
Current session: Sep 18 — Oct 23.- Commitment
- 4 weeks, 2-5 hours/week
- Subtitles
- English
About the Course
Get the tools you need to analyze, evaluate and recommend specific actions organizations can take to grow their value and avoid common growth pitfalls. Learn to determine how best to build value, whether by scaling existing markets, entering established markets or creating new markets through innovation and acquisitions. Apply these concepts in case studies of industry leaders JetBlue, Starbucks, Intel Corporate Venturing and Tata Motors.COURSE 4
Strategic Planning and Execution
Current session: Sep 18 — Oct 23.- Commitment
- 4 weeks of study, 2-5 hours/week
- Subtitles
- English, Vietnamese
About the Course
Avoid the pitfalls of strategy planning and execution with the tools and skills from this course. You'll learn the pillars of strategy execution--analysis, formulation, and implementation--and how to use the 4A model to effectively approach strategy execution. Finally, a panel of leaders from entrepreneurs, nonprofits, and industry, share their expertise gleaned from years of successful strategy planning and execution.COURSE 5
Business Strategy in Practice (Project-centered Course)
Upcoming session: Oct 23 — Dec 25.- Commitment
- 8 weeks of study, 2-4 hours/week
- Subtitles
- English
About the Course
A Capstone Project is an assignment designed specifically to apply and showcase the skills you learned in the Specialization. To this end, the Business Strategy Capstone Project, a comprehensive Strategic Analysis, provides an opportunity for you to synthesize concepts and knowledge from the four prerequisite courses in the specialization. You may continue with the organization you selected for previous assignments or select a new organization for this project. You will analyze the current state of the organization, strategic issues facing the organization, strategic paths the organization might pursue, make a recommendation of the best path for the organization to pursue, and write an Executive Summary. Your finished project will serve as an artifact showcasing your ability to conduct research on/within an organization, select and apply the most appropriate analytical tools, build a well-supported case for a specific position, and effectively communicate key points with executive leadership.
Creators
Michael Lenox
Senior Associate Dean and Chief Strategy Officer
Jared Harris
Samuel L. Slover Research Chair in Business Administration
Scott Snell
Senior Associate Dean for Executive Education
FAQs
More questions? Visit the Learner Help Center.
