Competitive Strategy and Organization Design

Excel in Competitive Strategy & Organization

Acquire theoretical knowledge & tools to master internal & external strategic management challenges

About This Specialization

Paired with humorous elements and illustrating examples, the Competitive Strategy and Organization Design specialization is the ideal choice for curious individuals who enjoy unique learning experiences and innovative teaching approaches. Its style is likely to appeal especially to young, middle-aged and young-at-heart learners. The specialization is indended for learners interested in engaging in fundamental theories and concepts of strategy and organization and applying these to practice. Employed professionals and management students will benefit from deepening and refreshing their existing knowledge by means of our specialization. Learners with non-business backgrounds will gain valuable additional business insights complementing their existing knowledge. Participants will learn to understand and analyze ● behavior of organizations in situations in which strategic decisions are interdependent ● strategies to build up and maintain a customer base ● internal workings of an organization as well as its interaction with the outside world, i.e. partners, complementors and competitors ● the design of an effective organization that can compete, grow and adjust flexibly to different environments This specialization is the only online learning program in which students can learn and laugh at the same time. That said, we are looking forward to learning and laughing with you!

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4 courses

Follow the suggested order or choose your own.

Projects

Designed to help you practice and apply the skills you learn.

Certificates

Highlight your new skills on your resume or LinkedIn.

Projects Overview

The specialization is designed for gaining knowledge on the theory and concepts of competitive strategy and organization design. Through illustrating real-world examples, interviews with industry experts as well as own hands-on project experience learners have the opportunity to immediately apply newly gained theoretical insights to practical challenges.

Throughout all modules of the specialization, students’ learning process is aided through plenty of interaction opportunities.

In the final industry project, learners can apply all the knowledge gained throughout the specialization to solve a real-life business problem faced by our partner company.

Courses

Intermediate Specialization.: Some related experience required.

COURSE 1
Competitive Strategy
Upcoming session: Sep 4 — Oct 23.
Commitment
10 hours of videos and quizzes
Subtitles
English, Chinese (Simplified)
About the Course
In this six-module course, you will learn how businesses and organizations behave in situations in which strategic decisions are interdependent, i.e. where my actions affect my competitors' profits and vice versa. Using the basic tools of game theory, we will analyse how businesses choose strategies to attain competitive advantage. This course is also available in Chinese. Please go to our course catalog to access the Chinese version of Competitive Strategy.
COURSE 2
Advanced Competitive Strategy
Upcoming session: Sep 4 — Nov 6.
Commitment
7.5 hours videos and quizzes
Subtitles
English, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazilian), Chinese (Simplified)
About the Course
Advanced Competitive Strategy will introduce new topics and modules with even more real world examples and opportunities for student interaction than in the previous course Competitive Strategy (https://www.coursera.org/learn/competitivestrategy). In Advanced Competitive Strategy, we will look at how companies can build up and maintain their customer base by increasing switching costs and facilitating strategic customer lock-ins. We will find out how firms can increase their profits by pursuing suitable price discrimination and product differentiation strategies. We will look at examples of what is acceptable behavior under the premises of EU competition and US antitrust policies and discover exciting ways of how companies can increase their returns by strategically making use of network effects and economies of size. We will further intensify our newly acquired knowledge about network effects and discuss strategies that are explicitly tailored to network markets. We will analyze the workings of mergers and acquisitions and, moreover, support you in considering alternative strategies that can help companies grow organically.
COURSE 3
Strategic Organization Design
Upcoming session: Aug 21 — Oct 9.
Commitment
6 weeks of study, 5,5 hours/week
Subtitles
English
About the Course
Strategic Organization Design will introduce new topics and modules with even more real world examples and opportunities for student interaction than its predecessors Competitive Strategy (https://www.coursera.org/learn/competitive-strategy) and Advanced Competitive Strategy (https://www.coursera.org/learn/advanced-competitive-strategy). The final course in the Competitive Strategy and Organization Design specialization covers the internal workings of an organization and its interactions with the outside world. Where the first two courses mainly covered the way firms interact with the outside world, in particular competitors and complementors, the third course looks at the way a firm’s organization should be designed to compete effectively.
COURSE 4
Competitive Strategy and Organization Design Project
Upcoming session: Oct 2 — Nov 20.
Subtitles
English
About the Capstone Project
This industry project is designed to allow you to apply the knowledge you have gained throughout the specialization for advising a real company. Our partner company will approach you with two specific questions the company is currently facing and that relate to the content of the specialization. You are asked to choose one of these questions and conduct an in-depth research on the topic. You need to collect relevant information, analyze it and relate it to the content you have learned throughout the Specialization. Based on your findings you will write a final report summarizing your research and consult the company how to deal with the issues they are facing.

Creators

LMU Munich is recognized as one of Europe's most renowned and traditional academic and research institutions, attracting inspired scholars and talented students from all over the world since 1472.
As one of Europe's leading research universities, LMU Munich is committed to the highest international standards of excellence in research and teaching. Building on its 500-year-tradition of scholarship, LMU covers a broad spectrum of disciplines, ranging from the humanities and cultural studies through law, economics and social studies to medicine and the sciences.

Tobias Kretschmer
Professor

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