TMGT 632 - Telecommunications management
and strategy
Aims
This course is about the
formulation and analysis of corporate strategy, the
set of objectives and policies that other collectively determine how a
business positions itself to increase its returns and create economic
value for its owners and other stakeholders. It addresses two central
questions: "which businesses should we participate
in?" and "how should we compete?" You will learn
analytical techniques for diagnosing the competitive position of a
business, evaluating business strategies and identifying and analyzing
specific business options. These concepts and frameworks will help you
to address complex and unstructured questions in
corporate strategy, in order to provide a solid foundation for
managerial decision making.
The course explores in detail the application of strategy through the
study of the telecommunications industry, including its interaction
with regulation.
It further explores the application of corporate strategy to the use of
ICTs in organisations.
Objectives
The objectives of this course are:
- To acquire familiarity with the principal concepts, frameworks
and
techniques of strategic management.
- To gain expertise in applying these concepts, frameworks and techniques in order to:
- understand the reasons for good or bad performance by an enterprise
- generate strategy options for an enterprise
- assess available options under conditions of imperfect knowledge
- select the most appropriate strategy
- recommend the best means of implementing the chosen strategy
- To integrate the knowledge gained in previous and parallel courses.
- To develop your capacity as a general manager in terms of:
- an appreciation of the work of the general manager
- the ability to view business problems from a general management perspective
- the ability to develop original and innovative approaches to strategic problems
- developing business judgement
- To improve your skills in oral and written communication.
This course is designed with a global outlook in order to highlight the emerging
trends in strategic management. It also has a strong focus on the strategic
management of telecommunications and information systems.
The course is intended to provide the students with a pragmatic approach that will
guide the formulation and implementation of corporate, business, and functional strategies.
Assessment
- Three groups assignments:
- analysis of a non-ICT company (25%)
- a plan for an information-based business (25%)
- analysis of an ICT company (25%)
- Five case study write-ups to be undertaken individually. (5% each)
See also assignments.
Materials
Robert GRANT (2005) Contemporary
Strategy Analysis: Concepts,
Techniques, Applications, 5th edition, Blackwell Publishers, Oxford.
See also additional reading.
Policies
Syllabus
The course is taught in three parts, the first being a conventional
business strategy course, the second relating strategy to the
telecommunications sector and the third relating corporate strategy with
the use of ICTs and the alignment of the two.
- Corporate strategy
- Introduction and the concept of strategy
- Industry analysis and competitive positioning
- Intra-industry analysis
- Competitive advantage 1
- Competitive advantage 2
- Focus strategy and cost advantage
- Sustaining competitive advantage
- Competitive economics, sustainability and globalisation
- Multi-business firms
- Alliances
- Global strategy
- Corporate strategy
- Emerging trends in strategic management
- Student presentations 1
- Student presentations 2
- Regulation, technology and strategy - the telecommunications industry
- Sectoral regulation and liberalisation
- The growth of cellular mobile telephony
- Universal service
- Portability of names, numbers and addresses
- International trade negotiations
- Assigning and licensing spectrum
- Governmental aid and support
- Manufacturing
- Data protection and privacy
- Cybersecurity
- Dispute resolution
- Competition law
- Benchmarking regulation
- Student presentations 1
- Student presentations 2
- ICTs and corporate strategy
- Technology and strategy
- Business-to-business electronic commerce
- Retailing
- Strategy and the Internet
- Not for profit
- Outsourcing
- Risk management
- Wireless applications and devices
- Directing the ICT function
- Student presentations 1
- Student presentations 2
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