Strategic Risk Management (337)

MA International Tourism Business Administration

MA International Hospitality Management

Module Code: 337

Aims:

This module examines the nature and complexities of decision-making in the service environment. It explores the challenges of operating in both stable and unstable environments, and considers the modernist, postmodernist and neo-modernist views toward strategic management. There is an emphasis on understanding the complexity and risk of strategic perspectives in both the internal and external environments. These considerations are made in the light of political decisions, bureaucracy and inconsistencies impacting on the future direction of service organisations.

Learning Outcomes:

The learning outcomes highlight the key skills and knowledge students should derive from this module.

On completion of the Strategic Risk Management Module, students should be able to:

1. Evaluate current thinking in organisational decision making in unstable, dynamic environments
2. Evaluate techniques to understand the internal and external environment
3. Analyse key challenges facing organisational decision makers
4. Analyse and evaluate strategy options for organisational decision makers in order to manage enterprise-wide risk.

Teaching & Learning Methods

This module employs a range of teaching strategies including lectures, workshops, case studies, and guest lectures.  The study visit, whilst not assessed in this module, provides an opportunity to apply procedural techniques gained in commercial service development.

Assessment Strategy

The assessment plan for the module is designed to cover the learning outcomes.

Assessment	Hand Out	Hand In	Weighting
Individual Essay	Week 1	Week 6	50%
Group Presentation and report	Week 4	Weeks 13 and 15	50%

Module structure.

The module is designed with three interrelating components: strategic analysis; risk analysis and management; and strategic development, formulation, and implementation. The delivery of each of these components will extend over three weeks. In each of these, the first and second week will consist of three-hour lectures, with the third week given over to group presentation workshops. In the workshops, students will deliver presentations based on their understanding of the foregoing lectures’ concepts and theories as they apply to their group case study. In this way, students receive on-going support for their learning and understanding of the module, together with the opportunity to incrementally build, and develop, their assignment presentations and reports.

Transferable skills covered in this module

The following transferable skills are developed as an integral part of the programme through:

Communication

An investigative written group report based on Strategy and Risk Management

Working with others

Negotiating and developing effective ways of presenting outcomes of the team in an investigative written group report

Application of number

An examination requiring analysis of financial data and completion of calculations relating to financial performance

Programme schedule:

Week Number	Lecturer(s)	Lecture Content	Date/Day
2	DJ	Introduction to module, and the identification and analysis of strategic risk	Monday 10th February
3	DJ	The management of strategic risk	Monday 17h February
4	DJ	The strategic management process and group formation	Monday 24h February
5	DJ	Analysing the internal environment.	Monday 3rd March
6	DJ	Analysing the external environment – 1	Monday 10th March
7	TBA*	Analysing the external environment part – 2	Monday 17h March
8	TBA*	Generating and selecting strategy	Monday 24th March
9                                      Residential trip               Monday 31st March
Easter break
10	TBA*	Managing strategic change	Monday 28th April
11                                     May Day bank holiday
12	TBA*	Final presentation workshops	Monday 12th May
13	TBA*	Assessed presentations	Monday 19th May
14                                    Spring bank holiday
15	TBA*	Assessed presentations	Monday 2nd June

TBA* = to be arranged

Lecture outline

Week 2:  Introduction to the module and the identification of risk

• Introduction to module.
• An introduction to strategic risk management

• The characteristics of strategic risk management.
• Challenges to the risk and return linear model
• The typology of risk. Internal and external spheres of risk. What is uncertainty?
• Stake and uncertainty. The relationship between an uncertain operating and remote environment and chaos theory.
• The argument for a postmodernism perspective in handling change. Developing a structure for handling risk.
• The centrality of the financial measurement of risk.
• Introduction to risk management 

Reading.

         Clarke, C.J. and Varma,S. (1999) ‘Strategic Risk Management:

          the New Competitive Edge’ Long Range Planning, 32 (4) 

Thomson (2002) Chap.24

Nader, J. S. (2002) The Manager’s Concise Guide to Risk. Wiley Finance.

www.hotel-online.com

www. grmservices.com/site/investment/social/htm  (current

articles on global risk)

Week 3:  The management of strategic risk.

• Traditional types of risk management. The risk management process: Clarke and Varma (1999).
• The Shell 7-stage model.
• Risk response strategies, and the 4 ‘T’s framework.
• Assessing the risks of investments in other countries.
• Managing risks
• Risk as the 4^th. Dimension

      JOHNSON, SCHOLES & WHITTINGTON (2011), Chaps. 6, 10, &11

      THOMPSON & MARTIN (2005), Chaps. 20 & 23.

      ANDERSEN (2006) Chap. 3 & 6.

Week 4:  The strategic management process and planning direction (Group formation and case study assignment briefing)

• An introduction to the modernist, neo-modernist and postmodernist paradigms as they relate to strategic risk management.
• Mission Statements, Visions and business objectives.
• Stakeholder analysis.
• Power and politics in organisations.
• Corporate Social Responsibility.

Reading.

EVANS, CAMPBELL & STONEHOUSE (2003), Chaps. 3, 4, 5 & 6

JOHNSON, SCHOLES & WHITTINGTON (2011), Chap. 1 & 4.

LYNCH (2009) Chaps 1 ,2 & 6

THOMPSON & MARTIN (2005), Chaps 1 and 2.

WICKHAM (2000) Chaps. 3, 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10

Week 5: Analysing the internal environment

• Organisational culture and its effects on strategy.
• Cultural web analysis.
• Internal audit to include Resource Audit and Value Chain analysis.
• The importance of unique resources and core competences.
• Summary of the sources of competitive advantage.

Reading    

Johnson, G. Scholes, K. and Whittington, R. (2011) Exploring Corporate Strategy,  8^th. Edition. FT Prentice Hall Pearson Education, Harlow. Chapters 3 & 5.

Cole, G. A. (1997) Strategic Management, Second Edition. Letts Educational, London. Chapter 10.

Lynch, R. (2009) Strategic Management, 6^th. Edition. Pearson Education, Harlow. Chapter 4.

Thompson, J. and Martin, F. (2005) Strategic Management – Awareness and change. 5^th. Edition. Thomson Learning, London. Chapter 7.

Week 6:  Analysing the external environment (part 1)

• What is External Strategic Auditing?
• A firm’s scope of influence
• The remote/macro Environment – PEST Analysis
• Impact of the Macro-economic environment on firms and their strategies

Reading:

See below

Week 7: Analysing the external environment (part 2)

• The operating environment
• Analysing customers (Segmentation)
• Industry Structure (Porter’s 5 Forces Model)
• Porter’s concept of competitive advantage
• Industry Life-Cycle
• The competitive environment and competitor analysis including strategic group mapping
• Models:  Boston Matrix(BGM), G E Matrix, Product portfolio and Product Life Cycle
• SWOT summary of internal and external audits

Reading for external analysis parts 1 and 2:

Johnson, G. Scholes, K. and Whittington, R. (2011) Exploring Corporate Strategy,  8^th. Edition. FT Prentice Hall Pearson Education, Harlow. Chapter 2

Greenley, G. (1989) Strategic Management. Prentice Hall International (UK) Ltd. Hemel Hempstead. Chapter 3, pages 75 to 82.

Cole, G. A. (1997) Strategic Management, Second Edition. Letts Educational, London. Chapters 3, 4 & 5.

Lynch, R. (2006) Corporate Strategy, 4^th. Edition. Pearson Education, Harlow. Chapters 3, 4, 5 & 20.

Thompson, J. and Martin, F. (2005) Strategic Management – Awareness and change. 5^th. Edition. Thomson Learning, London. Chapters 3 & 4.

Joyce, P. and Woods, A. (1996) Essential Strategic Management – From modernism to pragmatism. Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford. Chapter 5.

Week 8 Lecture: Generating and evaluating strategies.

• Generating strategic options.
• Application of the TOWS model.
• Resource-based options and constraints.
• Porter’s Generic strategies.
• Market/environment-based options and constraints.
• Ansoff’s Growth Matrix.
• Creative and innovative strategies.
• Internal and external development. Mergers and takeovers.
• Attitudes towards risk and strategic selection criteria
• Strategic choice, and models of assessing suitability, acceptability, feasibility and risk.

Reading.

AMBOSINI (1998), Chap 4, 5 & 17.

EVANS, CAMPBELL & STONEHOUSE (2003), 10 & 11.

JOHNSON, SCHOLES & WHITTINGTON (2011), Chaps. 6 & 7.

JOYCE & WOODS (1996), Chap.6.

LYNCH  (2009), Chaps. 13 & 14.

WICKHAM, (2000) Chaps. 12, 13 & 19.

Week 9 Residential trip

Week 10:  Managing Strategic Change

• Organisational structures and leadership typologies.
• Implementation of strategies, and the management of change.
• The role of culture in organisational change.
• Barriers and resistance to change.
• Incremental and transformational change.

Reading.

JOHNSON, SCHOLES & WHITTINGTON (2011) Chap. 9 & 10.

PETTIGREW, THOMAS & WHITTINGTON (2005) Chap 10.

THOMPSON & MARTIN (2005) Chap. 17

PETTIGREW & WHIPP (2004) Chap 4, 5 & 6.

Week 12: Final workshop presentations

Week 13: Case Study: group presentations (Assessed)

Week 15: Case Study: group presentations (Assessed)