Presentation

The main objective of this subject is for the student to understand the importance of companies having an explicit strategy defined, communicated and related to the General Management of the company and the Operational Management or functional areas.

The student after completing the subject must be able to formulate business strategies using several Advanced Strategic Planning Tools simultaneously. Therefore, he/she must know how to choose the Strategic Planning tools appropriate to the company, environment and specific sector. Apply them and extract from the biased and partial visions by the intrinsic limitation of the tools the strategic lines of action and specify a strategy for the company to aspire to the achievement of a sustainable competitive advantage.

Basic Competences

• CB6: Possess and understand knowledge that provides a basis or opportunity to be original in the development and / or application of ideas, often in a research context.
  
• CB7: That students know how to apply the knowledge acquired and their ability to solve problems in new or unfamiliar environments within broader (or multidisciplinary) contexts related to their area of study.
  
• CB8: That students are able to integrate knowledge and face the complexity of making judgments based on information that, being incomplete or limited, includes reflections on social and ethical responsibilities linked to the application of their knowledge and judgments.
  
• CB9: That students know how to communicate their conclusions and the knowledge and the reasons behind them to specialized and non-specialized audiences in a clear and unambiguous way.
  
• CB10: That students have the learning skills that allow them to continue studying in a way that will be largely self-directed or autonomous.

General Competences

• CG1: Master and integrate techniques, instruments and management methods necessary for the development of their professional activity.
• CG2: Increase the knowledge of the management of companies and the different areas of management.
• CG3: Know and assess the incidence of environmental variables in business management and in the achievement of organizational objectives.
• CG4: That students know how to communicate their conclusions, present projects, results, plans, knowledge and the reasons behind them to specialized and non-specialized audiences in a clear and unambiguous way.
• CG5: That students are able to integrate their knowledge of various functional areas of the company with generally incomplete or limited information of the company environment to make decisions and solve problems in complex and multidisciplinary situations.

Specific Competences

• CE1: Ability to formulate and implement corporate strategies at the managerial level.
  
• CE2: Learn the systematics and management of some of the strategic analysis tools in order to adopt the necessary strategies to obtain competitive advantages.
  
• CE3: Understand the relationship between business objectives and the strategy of the company as well as know techniques of monitoring and deviation of objectives.
  
• CE4: Know the existence, applications and limitations and use in the management of Information Systems for Decision Making.
  
• CE5: Know how to manage management indicators to make business decisions based on them.
  
• CE7: Know and know how to use innovation management techniques. Creation of temporary competitive advantages for innovation.
  
• CE12:Understand the functional organization of the company. Interrelations between areas. Identify and understand the factors and dimensions that are part of the company at functional level and the characteristics of its administration system
  
• CE14: Knowing the existence, applications and limitations of business information systems and their impact on decision making, competitiveness and speed of reaction.
  
• CE17: Be able to perform a sectoral market analysis.
  
• CE22: Be able to relate business management decision making to macroeconomic changes.
  
• CE23: Knowing how to use negotiation and leadership techniques to lead teams of people in order to achieve specific business objectives that have been delegated.
  
• CE29: Provide rationality and ethical commitment and social responsibility to business management. Know the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility.

Transversal Competences

• CT1: Interpret, with the necessary means, relevant, reliable and structured information for decision making and problem solving.
  
• CT2: Decision-making skills in changing environments due to technology.
  
• CT3: Know how to use ICT technologies for management and for decision making.
  
• CT5: Know and understand the necessary elements for the definition of an internationalization strategy of the company.
  
• CT6: Communicate in an efficient, structured and orderly manner, the most relevant aspects of a Project.
  
• CT7: Provide the student with the knowledge and skills necessary to interact in the international environment.
  
• CT8: Facilitate the process of student integration to the professional business world.
  
• CT9: Provide students with learning skills that allow them to continue studying autonomously.

The different tasks and activities programmed during the semester have been developed with the goal of adapting the learning process to the different capabilities, necessities and interests of the students.

The activities included in the subject are:

• Practical cases. Will provide the student with actual business situations that will need to analyse and, after that, make decisions, evaluate the consequences and alternatives. They will allow acquiring intellectual skills to face sudden situations or to plan action programs adapted to a changing environment where there is no math logic.
  
  In the weekly program you can check when complete them and in the Virtual Classroom you will find all the information about how to develope them and how and when submit them.
  
• Participation in events. During the course you will be participating in different events. Some of those events are attendance to online classes, collaborative work.
  

These activities are combined with the following aspects:

• Personal Study
• Tutoring. he tutoring class can be implemented through different tools and means. During the course of the subject, the teacher-tutor plans the individual tutoring on specific days for the resolution of academic-oriented doubts through “Consultation sessions”. Supplementing these sessions, students have also available the “Ask your teacher” forum through which they can formulate questions and check the corresponding answers on general aspects of the subject. Due to the very nature of the media used, there are no fixed schedules for the students.
• Mandatory on-site final exam

The hours dedicated to each activity are detailed as follows:

You can personalize your study plan choosing the type of activity that best matches your profile. The tutor will advise you and help you elaborate your study plan. S/he will always be available to guide throughout the course.

Basic bibliography

The section Basic Bibliography is essential for the course. If any document (reading, article,…) is not available in the virtual classroom, you will have to find it by other means: UNIR bookshop, virtual library…

The necessary texts for the study of this subject have been elaborated by UNIR and are available in a digital format to consult, download or print inthe virtual classroom.

Complementary bibliography

• Abell, D. F. (1980.). Defining the Business. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.
• Ansoff, H. I. (1976). La Estrategia de la Empresa. Pamplona: Universidad de Navarra.
• Argenti, P. A. (2014). Comunicación Estratégica. España: Lid.
• Caldas, M. E., Reyes Carrión, A, Heras, J. (2017). Lean Startup y plan de marketing (empresa e iniciativa emprendedora). Madrid: EDITEX.
• Castro, J. M. (2016). Innovación comienza aquí. Mapa de las macrotendencias que señalan el futuro de su empresa. España: Libros de Cabecera.
• Chiavenato, I. (2017). Planeación estratégica. Fundamentos y aplicaciones. Nueva York: Mcgraw Hill.
• Macías, M. (2017). El camino para innovar: Cómo pasar de la idea al modelo de negocio creando valor para tus clientes. España: Ed. Planeta.
• Remolins, E. (2017). Manual de supervivencia para dinosaurios empresariales: como desarrollar el ADN de la innovación en un mundo en cambio continuo. España: Libros de Cabecera.

The evaluation system is based on the following numerical chart:

The grade is made up of two components:

The exam is done at the end of the four-month period and is ON-SITE and COMPULSORY. It comprises the 60% of the final grade and so that the grade obtained in this exam is added to the final grade it is obligatory to PASS it.

The continuous evaluation comprises the 40% of the final grade. This 40% of the final grade consists of the grades obtained in the different training activities carried out during the four-month period.

Studying online means you can organize your study as you wish, as long as you meet the due dates of the different assignments (activities, tasks and tests). In order to help you, we propose the following steps:

1. From our online platform you will have access to each of the subjects you are enrolled. Apart from this, you can access to the Aula de información general. In this section, you have available all the documents on how to use the different tools included in the virtual classroom, how a subject is organized and you will also have the possibility to organize your study plan with the tutor.
2. Do not forget to check the weekly program. You will see which part of the content of the course you have to work on every week.
   
3. After knowing your work for the week, go to Units in your virtual classroom. There, you will have access to the study material (theory and practice) from the unit you need to study throughout the week.
   
4. Begin with the reading of the Key ideas of the unit, they constitute the content of the unit and the basic material of study. Check also the In deep section which contains supplementary material.
   
5. Devote some time when doing the Practical Cases and Test. In the subject Program we will detail which are the corresponding activities for each week.
   
6. We strongly recommend to take part in the events of the course (On-site virtual classes, Trabajo colaborativo, etc.). To know the exact date for each one of these events you must visit the communication media on the Virtual Classroom. Your teacher and your tutor will inform of the subjects news.
   

In the Aula de información general of the master you will always find available the documentation where we explain how the units are structured and what you will be able to find in each one of its sections.

Remember that in the Aula de información general you can check how the different tools of the virtual classroom work: email, forum, online classes, sending the tasks, etc.

Please, take into account the following tips…

• Whatever you study plan is, go often to the virtual classroom so that you are always up to date about the course and you are in contact with your teacher and your tutor.
  
• Remember you are not alone: send an email to your tutor if you have any doubt. If you attend the online classes, you can also ask your teacher about the contents of the unit. Also, you can always write your doubts and questions about the contents in the Forum of each subject (Ask the teacher).
  
• Be active and participate! Whenever it is possible, attend the online classes and take part in the forums. The exchange of information, opinions, ideas and resources enrich us and the course.
  
• And, remember, you are studying online: your effort and perseverance are the key element to obtain good results. Don’t leave everything to the last minute!!!