Online courses directory (19947)

This is a "How to" use Bayes' theorem using Bayesian Belief Networks to solve complex problems.

This course is about both the design and execution of human resource management strategies. This course has two central themes: (1) How to think systematically and strategically about aspects of managing the organization's human assets, and (2) What really needs to be done to implement these policies and to achieve competitive advantage. It adopts the perspective of a general manager and addresses human resource topics (including reward systems, performance management, high-performance human resource systems, training and development, recruitment, retention, equal employment opportunity laws, work-force diversity, and union-management relationships) from a strategic perspective.

Strategy, innovation, ideas. You need all three to be successful in the global economy. But how do you connect your innovative ideas with a winning strategy? Enroll in this course to find out. You’ll learn about the “Innovation and Ideation Process” that will help guide you in decision-making, business sustainability, and organizational change. You’ll gain a competitive advantage (and earn a certificate to prove it). A certificate of completion is available. To qualify and receive certificate of completion for course, individuals must participate in the discussion each week and score at least 85% on weekly mastery exercises. Cost of enrollment: $75.00 OpenLearn™ courses at CSU-Global are not credit bearing. However, students who wish to get credit for their coursework after successfully completing the course can sign up for the online proctored exam. The proctored exam costs $250 and can be attempted twice within a 12 month period. Students who successfully complete the exam will receive three (3) upper division undergraduate college credits for MGT475ex - Strategic Innovation and Ideas. This exam credit may apply towards an undergraduate degree at CSU-Global and may be transferable to other institutions (CSU-Global is a regionally accredited university; however, the amount of transferrable credit accepted by other institutions is at their sole discretion).

In this business and management course, you will develop a strong understanding of how firms compete by learning about important analytical approaches that underlie  business strategy.

This course will show you how a business views itself in its "totality" and in the context of its environment. The course will be taught from the perspective of a manager or chief executive officer (CEO). 

This course aims to equip you with a good understanding of:

• What managing a firm strategically implies?
  • How one analyzes the industry in which a firm competes?
  • How does a firm create competitive advantage?
  • How does a firm sustain its competitive advantage?

The Strategic Management course addresses common misconceptions and presents a modern approach towards business models. Increase your ability to manage your present or future company. Expect engaging presentations, unique graphics, discussions and much more.

Learn to proactively take control of your workplace and projects by making more strategic decisions and plans.

The free online course Strategic Management - Corporate Strategy introduces you to the concept of corporate strategy and how it defines the markets and businesses in which an organisation chooses to operate. The course begins by introducing you to the important issues involved in corporate strategy such as directional strategy, portfolio strategy and parenting strategy. You will also learn about relative cost advantage and competitive strategy. Next you will learn about tools and techniques that are used as part of the corporate strategy process. You be introduced to the Boston Consulting Group's Growth-Share Matrix and learn how it helps businesses analyze their business units, that is, their product lines. You will also learn more about the General Electric - McKinsey matrix which is a nine-cell portfolio matrix and was developed by GE to screen their large portfolio of strategic business units (SBU). It is similar to the BCG growth-share matrix in that it maps strategic business units on a grid of the industry and the SBU's position in the industry. You will learn how the GE matrix attempts to improve upon the BCG matrix. This free course will be of great interest to all professionals working in the area of corporate strategy who would like to learn more about the tools and techniques used in corporate strategy. <br />

The free online course Strategic Management - Decision Making Process and Tools looks at how top managers use the decision making process and associated tools to implement long-term goals and objectives. The course begins by introducing you to the decision making process involved in strategic management. You will learn about important decision making steps, from determining the mission or purpose of an organization to specifying objectives and goals to formulating a strategic plan and through to monitoring, reviewing and evaluating the strategic plan. The course then introduces you important topics in strategic management, such as strategic competitiveness, strategic risk, strategic flexibility, and internal and external analysis and what role they play in the decision making process. Finally, you will learn more about the 7-S Framework from McKinsey. This management model is used as an organizational analysis tool to assess and monitor changes in the internal situation of an organization. The components of the 7-S Framework are: Structure, Systems, Style, Staff, Skills, Strategy and Super Ordinate Goals. You will learn how a change in any one of these components of an organization can be analyzed to determine its effect on the other components. This course will be of great interest to managers and professionals in the area of strategic management, who would like to learn more about effective decision making processes that can guide a business’s future direction.<br />

The free online course Strategic Management - Implementing Strategy introduces you to the activities and choices required for effective implementation and evaluation of a strategic plan. The course begins by introducing you to the concept of implementing strategy and describes who will carry out the strategic plan and what should be done to align the company’s operations in a new direction. You will then learn about business functions and the factors differentiating Stage I, II and III companies. You will learn about different types of synergy such as production synergy, marketing synergy, financial synergy and organisational synergy. You will learn about mergers and acquisitions and the advantages and disadvantages of each in terms of organisational strategy. You will also learn about diversification and tools that can be used in this area such as SWOT analysis, GAP analysis, and Competition and Risk analysis. This free course will be of great interest to business managers and professionals who are working in the area of strategic management and would like to learn more about practices and procedures of implementing and evaluating strategy.<br />

This course focuses on some of the important current issues in strategic management. It will concentrate on modern analytical approaches and on enduring successful strategic practices. It is consciously designed with a technological and global outlook since this orientation in many ways highlights the significant emerging trends in strategic management. 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.

This course is intended to be an extension of course 15.902, Strategic Management I, with the purpose of allowing the students to experience an in-depth application of the concepts and frameworks of strategic management. Throughout the course, Prof. Arnoldo Hax will discuss the appropriate methodologies, concepts, and tools pertinent to strategic analyses and will illustrate their use by discussing many applications in real-life settings, drawn from his own personal experiences.

This course provides an overview of key concepts in strategic management in the construction, real estate, and architecture industries. Topics include supply chain analysis, market segmentation, vertical integration, competitive advantage, and industry transformation. This course is of interest to students seeking more understanding of the business dynamics of real estate and construction; seeking to provide value in firms which they may join; or seeking to build a foundation for their own entrepreneurial pursuits.

Help your organization survive, drive, and thrive on fundamental technological changes in your industry. This advanced strategic management course helps you translate strategic insights into smart strategic decisions on positioning, partnering and being socially responsible.

1. Positioning the Firm:

• How can strategy portfolios guide corporate strategy and help decision-makers scope the activities of their organization?
• How can general strategies help organizations gain competitive advantages in their industries?
• How can organizations make competition irrelevant and create uncontested market space?

2. Orchestrating Strategic Alliances:

• What is the case for cooperative strategy? When should we move from a competitive to a cooperative mindset?
• What are strategic alliances and what is their payoff?
• How can firms build and orchestrate collaborative ecosystems to enhance their (innovative) performance?

3. Embracing Social Responsibility:

• What is the role of business in society? How do organizations contribute and cause harm to the public good?
• What exactly are the social responsibilities of organizations?
• To whom are they responsible and for what? Why should they care?
• How can ethics inform strategic decisions? How can we encourage ethical behavior and reconcile responsibility and profitability? 

All key ideas are illustrated through a case study on Tesla and its role in the technological transformation of the global automotive industry.

This course is part of the "Managing Technology & Innovation: How to deal with disruptive change" MicroMasters program designed to teach the critical skills needed to be successful in this exciting field. In order to qualify for the MicroMasters Credential, you will need to earn a Verified Certificate in each of the six courses of the RWTHx MicroMasters program.

Engage in rigorous strategic analysis to complement your intuition with the deep insights needed to help your organization prosper in times of transition. This foundational course enables you to design effective strategy processes, spot fundamental market and technology changes in your industry and renew your organization’s internal resource base.

1. Unpacking the Process of Strategy:

• What precisely is strategy and why does it matter? What are the origins of the concept and how can we define it?
• What are the building blocks of strategy and how can they be arranged as a process?
• What distinct conceptions of the strategy process co-exist and what are their respective advantages and disadvantages?

2. Analyzing Industry Structures:

• What is the role of the industry and its structure for firm performance? How can we analyze industry structures?
• How can we unpack industries and identify the most attractive strategic positions to occupy therein?
• How do we identify what it takes to outcompete others in our strategic group?

3. Developing Internal Resources:

• Can firms succeed in generally unattractive industries? What is the role of firms’ internal resource base in this regard?
• How can we find out which resources and capabilities are likely to have the greatest strategic value?
• What are dynamic capabilities and how do they matter for firm survival and performance?

All key ideas are illustrated through a real-life case study on Tesla and its role in the technological transformation of the global automotive industry. 

This course is part of the "Managing Technology & Innovation: How to deal with disruptive change" MicroMasters program designed to teach the critical skills needed to be successful in this exciting field. In order to qualify for the MicroMasters Credential, you will need to earn a Verified Certificate in each of the six courses of the RWTHx MicroMasters program.

Marketing research may be divided into methods that emphasize understanding "the customer" and methods that emphasize understanding "the market." This course (15.822) deals with the market. The companion course (15.821) deals with the customer.

The course will teach you how to write, conduct and analyze a marketing research survey. The emphasis will be on discovering market structure and segmentation, but you can pursue other project applications.

A major objective of the course is to give you some "hands-on" exposure to analysis techniques that are widely used in consulting and marketing research factor analysis, perceptual mapping, conjoint, and cluster analysis). These techniques used to be considered advanced but now involve just a few keystrokes on most stat software packages.

The course assumes familiarity with basic probability, statistics, and multiple linear regression.

15.320 Strategic Organizational Design focuses on effective organizational design in both traditional and innovative organizations, with special emphasis on innovative organizational forms that can provide strategic advantage. Topics include when to use functional, divisional, or matrix organizations, how IT creates new organizational possibilities, and examples of innovative organizational possibilities, such as democratic decision-making, crowd-based organizations, internal resource markets, and other forms of collective intelligence. Team projects include inventing new possibilities for real organizations.

Insights social media strategies for the Busy Small Business Owner to Accelerate YOUR Social Capital

All the great tools and techniques you need to provide Analytical Evidence in support of a strategic recommendation

All the great tools and techniques you need to trigger Powerful Thinking when confronting strategic uncertainty

All the great tools and techniques you need to achieve Impactful Answers on a thorny strategic problem