Strategic Planning: Target Markets and Business Decision-Making

Explore the importance of strategic planning and decision-making in a business

In such a fast paced world, it’s becoming ever more vital for organisations to put strategic choice at the heart of a business plan.

This two-week course aims to provide you with the tools to make smart strategic choices and improve your decision-making skills within a business context.

Build your understanding of strategic planning

Strategic choices are integral to the successful running of a business, and should be undertaken at a variety of levels. This course will give you access to the knowledge to make plans at all three levels: Corporate level strategy (the foundational questions of what you want to achieve), business level strategy (how you’ll compete), and market level strategy (how to grow your business).

BCG explained: the Boston Consulting Group Matrix

When defining a strategy for your business, the Boston Consulting Group matrix (or BCG matrix) will help with long-term strategic planning. With the BCG matrix, you’ll assess the dynamic environment, considering portfolio and investment growth opportunities and whether to develop or discontinue products.

Conduct in-depth research into strategic leadership and strategic direction

You’ll cover the basics of strategic direction and leadership, competitive dynamics, and how these can help you build an effective senior management team. You’ll also explore how strategic leadership creates value for a business.

This course is designed for intermediate-level business managers and students to gain more knowledge about strategy and globalisation. This course aims to equip you with the concepts, framework and techniques needed for better environmental scanning.

You can enhance your learning experience by following related courses, designed by Coventry University:

• An Introduction to Macro Environmental Analysis and Business Strategy
• Internal Analysis of a Company: From Value Chain to SWOT Analysis
• Competitor Analysis: From Business Level Strategy to Organisational Structures
• Strategic Goals: How to Master Corporate Strategy

• Corporate-level Strategy - diversification
• Welcome to the course
• BCG matrix
• Assessing the dynamic environment
• Does diversification create value?
• Strategic direction and leadership
• Welcome to Week 2
• Strategic action: Which way to go?
• Strategic leadership and competitive dynamics
• Summary activities