In this course you will learn how organizations create, capture, and maintain value. In doing so, you’ll develop an understanding of how and why this process is fundamental for sustainable competitive advantage. You will be able to better understand value creation, and capture and learn the tools to analyze both competition and cooperation from a variety of perspectives, including the industry-level (e.g., five forces analysis) and the firm-level (e.g., business models and strategic positioning).
Business Strategy
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Business Strategy
This course is part of Strategic Leadership and Management Specialization
Instructor: Deepak Somaya
82,360 already enrolled
Included with 
Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals.
4.8
(1,921 reviews)
Intermediate level
Some related experience required
Flexible schedule
Approx. 18 hours
Learn at your own pace
97%
Most learners liked this course
Skills you'll gain
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Shareable certificate
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Assessments
1 quiz, 4 assignments
Taught in English
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This course is part of the Strategic Leadership and Management Specialization
When you enroll in this course, you'll also be enrolled in this Specialization.
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There are 5 modules in this course
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.
What's included
3 videos6 readings1 quiz1 discussion prompt
The Leading Strategically module will lay the foundation of business strategy course. You will learn about mission, vision and values and their role in overall strategy landscape. You will learn about the VARS framework for analyzing business models and SWOT framework for understanding the fit and coherence of business strategy.
What's included
10 videos4 readings1 assignment1 peer review
The Environmental Analysis module will focus on a key aspect of business strategy – analyzing and understanding the external environment of a firm. You will learn about the macro-environment of firms and the PESTEL framework for macro-environmental analysis. You will also learn about firms’ industry environment and understand how to predict industry profitability by using the 5-forces framework.
What's included
9 videos4 readings1 assignment1 peer review
The module on Internal Analysis and Competitive Advantage will provide an in-depth understanding of the origins of unique company strengths and how they can produce a competitive advantage. You will learn about the origins and consequences of fundamental internal differences among firms using the analytical viewpoints of activities, resources, and capabilities. You will be introduced to the strategic tools of value chains, value networks, and the V-R-I framework to help you analyze the implications of these within-firm differences for (sustained) competitive advantage.
What's included
8 videos4 readings1 assignment1 peer review
The Strategic Positioning and Strategic Renewal module brings together the internal and external aspects of strategic analysis to formulate an overall strategy for the firm. You will learn about the two main “generic strategies” that businesses can pursue, which can be complemented by broad or narrow scope to yield four key types of strategic positioning. You will also learn about “dual” strategies and why and how a firm's strategy must be adapted to strategically renew its positioning.
What's included
10 videos6 readings1 assignment1 peer review1 plugin
Instructor
Instructor ratings
4.8 (378 ratings)Offered by
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University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Build toward a degree
This course is part of the following degree program(s) offered by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. If you are admitted and enroll, your completed coursework may count toward your degree learning and your progress can transfer with you.¹
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