Corporate Strategy

In this course you will learn how corporations create, capture, and maintain value, going beyond the management of a single line of business. It is thus a complement to (and should typically follow) a course on Business Strategy, which focuses on developing and sustaining competitive advantage for a single business unit. Here, you will be able to better understand and learn the tools to analyze and manage decisions from a corporate-level perspective, which emphasizes the management of multiple businesses and multiple stakeholders. Examples of such decisions include vertical integration, diversification, mergers and acquisitions, strategic alliances, international expansion, global strategy, corporate governance and corporate social responsibility.You will: • Understand how corporations create and capture value as multi-business enterprises. • Learn tools and frameworks to assess choices regarding corporate scope, corporate transactions and global strategy. • Learn to analyze complex business situations and develop coherent corporate strategies. • Understand the role of corporate governance and stakeholder management in modern companies.

This course is part of the iMBA offered by the University of Illinois, a flexible, fully-accredited online MBA at an incredibly competitive price. For more information, please see the Resource page in this course and onlinemba.illinois.edu.

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Syllabus

Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Week 1
Course Orientation
Module 1: Corporate Scope
You will become familiar with the course, your classmates, and our learning environment. The orientation will also help you obtain the technical skills required for the course.
Week 2
Module 2: Corporate Transactions
This module focuses on corporate strategy with particular emphasis on the scope of the firm. Both vertical integration (vertical scope) and diversification (horizontal scope) are addressed. The module seeks to explain the relative advantages of (and alternatives to) vertical integration and diversification; and when and how they can be used to create a competitive advantage.
Week 3
Module 3: Global Strategy
This module focuses on corporate strategy with particular emphasis on transactions used by companies to change or manage the scope of the firm. Mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, and strategic alliances are the specific transactions focused on. Challenges and best practices with respect to each are discussed.
Week 4
Module 4: Stakeholders and Governance
This module focuses on global strategy and strategies for competing around the world. It explains how companies can expand into other countries using different entry modes, and why multinational enterprises adopt different global strategies.

FAQ

When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?

Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:

The course may not offer an audit option. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid.

The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.

What will I get if I subscribe to this Specialization?

When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.

Is financial aid available?

Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

Reviews

Really happy about the content of the course as it is recent and updated.

Case Studies are also interesting keeping in mind with the interests of present youth.

Fantastic Course. Great complement of the previous one. The professor is great. Learned a lot of new things which are directly applicable if you work within an organization. Highly recommended.

I enjoyed watching videos made by the prof somaya and from this course I understood different strategies that firms can take to stay at the top in their businesses.

Good course but I find quizes very different from what we get from the class. Very interesing way to show the subject and I liked real examples.