General provisions

Master's Programme in Business and Management - specialisation 'International Business', 'Marketing', 'Organisation'. Master's Programme in Accounting and Financial Management - specialisation 'Accounting, Governance and Financial Analysis', 'Strategic Management Control'.

Entry requirements

A Bachelor's degree, equivalent to a Swedish Kandidatexamen, from an internationally recognised university. Also required is 90 credits in business studies. Proficiency in English equivalent to the Swedish upper secondary course English 6. As all teaching takes place in English, very good language skills in English are a necessity to be able to partake in the course.

For incoming exchange students exceptions can be made from the requirement of 90 credits in business studies, provided that special reasons are considered to exist.

Learning outcomes

Upon completion of the course, the student should be able to:

• explain and apply different theoretical approaches to strategy,
• distinguish between, and select, different theoretical models for different empirical contexts,
• understand, compare and synthesise different theoretical perspectives on strategy,
• critically evaluate and examine different strategic ideas and assumptions,
• orally present and discuss concepts, theories, and arguments from the strategy literature,
• understand the concept of strategy in relation to the students' selected program specialisation ("International Business", "Marketing", "Organisation", "Accounting, Governance and Financial Analysis" or "Strategic Management Control", respectively) and how strategy is applied within this specialisation.

Content

This course focuses contemporary challenges for strategy in terms of context, content and career (professional roles). The aim is to equip students with analytical skills and conceptual tools to understand and act upon strategic issues that may arise in organisations. The course focus on how to initiate, develop, maintain and assess processes that contribute to competitive advantage through formulation and implementation of strategies.

Instruction

The course is based on a series of lectures, literature seminars, case discussions and group and individual work. Detailed information about the different specific work activities and submission deadlines will be provided at the beginning of the course. The course is taught in English.

Assessment

The examination consists of two modules:

1. Seminars, assignments and individual written test, 5 credits (U, G)
2. Individual written test, 10 credits (U, G, VG)

and a collective grade is given for the entire course, 15 credits.

In Module 1, the examination is carried out individually and in groups, while the examination in Module 2 is an individual examination. Grading criteria are presented in the study guide that applies to the course section. Examinations that are not submitted on time will not be graded, unless special circumstances can be substantiated. Any supplemental assignments considering Module 1 must be submitted at the latest at a time specified in the study guide.

In Module 1 the grades Fail (U) and Pass (G) are used. In Module 2 the grades Fail (U), Pass (G) and Pass with distintion (VG) are used. For a Pass (G) as a collective grade of the entire course, a Pass (G) is required on Module 1 and 2, respectively. For a Pass with distinction (VG) as a collective grade of the entire course, a Pass (G) is required on Module 1 and a Pass with distinction (VG) is required on Module 2.

Students who have not attained a passing grade on Module 1, can be examined without re-registration via a make-up exam at subsequent course sections. Students who have not attained a passing grade on Module 2, can be examined without re-registration via a re-exam at subsequent course sections.

If there are special reasons for doing so, an examiner may make an exception from the method of assessment indicated and allow a student to be assessed by another method. An example of special reasons might be a certificate regarding special pedagogical support from the University's disability coordinator.

Uppsala University does not accept cheating or plagiarism. Suspected incidents of cheating or plagiarism are reported to the Vice-Chancellor, which may issue a formal warning to the student or suspend the student from studies for a certain period.

NOTE: Only completed courses can count toward a degree.