Business Strategy (BUSA90026)

Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)

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For information about the University’s phased return to campus and in-person activity in Winter and Semester 2, please refer to the on-campus subjects page.

Please refer to the LMS for up-to-date subject information, including assessment and participation requirements, for subjects being offered in 2020.

Overview

Availability(Quotas apply)
April
June
September
FeesLook up fees

Formulating, or contributing to the formulation of, the business strategy of the firm is one of the key roles of a General Manager or Chief Executive. It involves not only integrating and coordinating the activities of different functional areas, such as marketing, operations management, accounting, human resource management and finance, but also a conscious building and sustaining of the firm’s competitive advantage (s), and making critical choices as to which products, markets and segments the firm should compete in. As a result, the manager needs to have a clear understanding of the factors and forces which shape the success (or failure) of the firm and the industry. This subject provides an introduction to the frameworks and tools commonly used in developing and assessing business strategies. It is also intended to develop the student’s decision-making skills from the perspective of top management.

Intended learning outcomes

Desired outcomes right after taking Business Strategy:

  • The student should be able to competently analyse a firm's competitive strategy: articulating the firm's competitive environment, how the firm is positioned relative to competitors/collaborators in the market and along the value chain, how the firm creates and sustains competitive advantage (or fails to do so), how the firm develops and/or acquires new resources and capabilities in order to remain competitive.
  • Example outcome: If given a case study (e.g., from HBS) or an article about a company (e.g., from HBR or The Economist), the student should be able to use concepts and frameworks from Business Strategy to conduct a critical analysis of the firm's strategy, covering the scope stated above.
  • Based on the analysis, the student should be able to offer recommendations for how the firm could be strategically positioned/repositioned if necessary, as well as to propose ways in which it might need to change internal resources/capabilities and external linkages in order to fit with the proposed strategy.

Desired outcomes after completing the MBA:

  • This could be reflected in the student having a whole-firm view of strategy, both at the business unit level (business strategy) as well as at the corporate level (corporate strategy).
  • In addition to the above, the student should be able to link strategy to other areas of management, including marketing, operations, finance, managing people, and innovation.
  • One application of this outcome is that the student should be able to demonstrate familiarity when using the relevant concepts/frameworks from Business Strategy to the analysis of cases such as those used for recruitment by consulting firms and other potential employers.

Last updated: 3 November 2022

Eligibility and requirements

Prerequisites

Code Name Teaching period Credit Points
BUSA90001 Financial Accounting
June (On Campus - Parkville)
April (On Campus - Parkville)
March (On Campus - Parkville)
September (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
BUSA90480 Leadership
September (On Campus - Parkville)
March (On Campus - Parkville)
Summer Term (On Campus - Parkville)
June (On Campus - Parkville)
September (On Campus - Parkville)
March (On Campus - Parkville)
 6.25
BUSA90481 Social Responsibility and Ethics
September (On Campus - Parkville)
Summer Term (On Campus - Parkville)
June (On Campus - Parkville)
June (On Campus - Parkville)
September (On Campus - Parkville)
March (On Campus - Parkville)
 6.25
BUSA90224 Managing People
January (On Campus - Parkville)
September (On Campus - Parkville)
June (On Campus - Parkville)
April (On Campus - Parkville)
September (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
BUSA90193 Managerial Economics
January (On Campus - Parkville)
June (On Campus - Parkville)
September (On Campus - Parkville)
April (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
BUSA90060 Data Analysis
September (On Campus - Parkville)
January (On Campus - Parkville)
June (On Campus - Parkville)
April (On Campus - Parkville)
September (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5

Corequisites

Code Name Teaching period Credit Points
BUSA90093 Financial Management
June (On Campus - Parkville)
April (On Campus - Parkville)
September (On Campus - Parkville)
January (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5
BUSA90243 Marketing
April (On Campus - Parkville)
January (On Campus - Parkville)
September (On Campus - Parkville)
June (On Campus - Parkville)
 12.5

Non-allowed subjects

None

Inherent requirements (core participation requirements)

The University of Melbourne is committed to providing students with reasonable adjustments to assessment and participation under the Disability Standards for Education (2005), and the Assessment and Results Policy (MPF1326). Students are expected to meet the core participation requirements for their course. These can be viewed under Entry and Participation Requirements for the course outlines in the Handbook.

Further details on how to seek academic adjustments can be found on the Student Equity and Disability Support website: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/student-equity/home

Last updated: 3 November 2022

Assessment

Due to the impact of COVID-19, assessment may differ from that published in the Handbook. Students are reminded to check the subject assessment requirements published in the subject outline on the LMS

April

DescriptionTimingPercentage

Case preparation and discussion

  • 500 words (equivalent)
Throughout the teaching period20%

Syndicate assignments and presentations (up to 3)

  • 2500 words (equivalent)
Throughout the teaching period20%

Final examination

  • 2 hours
Hurdle requirement		End of the teaching period60%

June

DescriptionTimingPercentage

Case preparation and discussion

  • 500 words (equivalent)
Throughout the teaching period10%

Review questions

10%

Syndicate assignments and presentations (up to 3)

  • 2500 words (equivalent)
Throughout the teaching period30%

Final examination

  • 2 hours
Hurdle requirement		End of the teaching period50%

September

DescriptionTimingPercentage

Case preparation and discussion

  • 500 words (equivalent)
Throughout the teaching period15%

Syndicate assignments and presentations (up to 3)

  • 2500 words (equivalent)
Throughout the teaching period35%

Final examination

  • 2 hours
Hurdle requirement		End of the teaching period50%

Additional details

Geoff Martin: (April)

  • Case preparation and discussion (20%)
    • Equivalent to 500 words
    • Throughout subject
  • Syndicate assignments and presentations (up to 3) (20%)
    • Equivalent to 2,500 word assessment
    • Throughout subject
  • Final examination (60%)
    • Hurdle requirement
    • 2 hours
    • End of subject

Kwanghui Lim: (June)

  • Case preparation and discussion (10%)
    • Equivalent to 500 words
    • Throughout subject
  • Review questions (10%)
  • Syndicate assignments and presentations (up to 3) (30%)
    • Equivalent to 2,500 word assessment
    • Throughout subject
  • Final examination (50%)
    • Hurdle requirement
    • 2 hours
    • End of subject

Brandon Lee: (September)

  • Case preparation and discussion (15%)
    • Equivalent to 500 words
    • Throughout subject
  • Syndicate assignments and presentations (up to 3) (35%)
    • Equivalent to 2,500 word assessment
    • Throughout subject
  • Final examination (50%)
    • Hurdle requirement
    • 2 hours
    • End of subject

EMBA:

  • Class participation and discussion (15%)
    • Throughout subject
  • Quiz (15%)
    • 1 hour
    • Midway through the subject
  • Syndicate Project (30%)
    • Report (equivalent of 750 word assessment)
    • Presentation (equivalent of 750 word assessment)
    • Midway through the subject
  • Final Exam (40%)
    • Hurdle requirement
    • 90 minutes
    • End of subject

 

 

Last updated: 3 November 2022

Quotas apply to this subject

Dates & times

  • April
    Mode of deliveryOn Campus (Parkville)
    Contact hours30 hours
    Total time commitment170 hours
    Pre teaching start date30 March 2020
    Pre teaching requirementsstudents are required to complete approximately 15 hours of readings to prepare for the subject during pre-teaching period
    Teaching period 6 April 2020 to 11 June 2020
    Last self-enrol date 2 February 2020
    Census date24 April 2020
    Last date to withdraw without fail22 May 2020
    Assessment period ends18 June 2020

    April contact information

    Melbourne Business School

    Degree Program Services

    Email: programservices@mbs.edu

  • June
    Mode of deliveryOn Campus (Parkville)
    Contact hours
    Total time commitment170 hours
    Pre teaching start date22 June 2020
    Pre teaching requirementsstudents are required to complete approximately 15 hours of readings to prepare for the subject during pre-teaching period
    Teaching period29 June 2020 to 3 September 2020
    Last self-enrol date26 April 2020
    Census date17 July 2020
    Last date to withdraw without fail14 August 2020
    Assessment period ends11 September 2020
  • September
    Mode of deliveryOn Campus (Parkville)
    Contact hours30 hours
    Total time commitment170 hours
    Pre teaching start date14 September 2020
    Pre teaching requirementsstudents are required to complete approximately 15 hours of readings to prepare for the subject during pre-teaching period
    Teaching period21 September 2020 to 26 November 2020
    Last self-enrol date19 July 2020
    Census date 9 October 2020
    Last date to withdraw without fail13 November 2020
    Assessment period ends 3 December 2020

Additional delivery details

This subject is only available to students admitted to GD-BA, MC-BAPT, MC-BAPTME, or students with permission of the MBA Course coordinator

This subject is a quota subject and places are limited. Students may provisionally enrol via the Student Portal, but places are not guaranteed until selection is completed. You will be notified in writing by the Student Centre if you are selected.

The students will be selected on the first come, first served basis. If any student is approaching the course completion date, s/he will get priority in enrolment.

This subject is equivalent to BUSA90027 in MC-BAPTME

Last updated: 3 November 2022

Further information

Last updated: 3 November 2022