Strategic Decisions for Business module (BU52019)

You will be introduced to to strategic issues faced by firms operating in a global environment. It will help you understand and use various economic concepts of competition and incentives in organisations. Topics will cover outsourcing and production, identifying competitors, market concentration and implications of different market structures.

What you will learn

In this module you will:

• learn to choose between buying (outsourcing) or to produce at each stage of the chain of production
• identify competitors for a product
• measure market concentration in an industry
• understand the implications of different market structures for prices, outputs, profits, and social welfare
• apply economic principles and reasoning to a variety of business decisions
• learn the main theoretical developments of firm behaviour and strategy in economics
• discuss the role of the government in the regulation of the market and promotion of competition

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• summarise the essential features of complex and dynamic economic environment
• use various key economic concepts of competition (static and dynamic) and incentives in business organisations

Assignments / assessment

Class test (20%)

Weekly online quizzes (20%)

• One online quiz for 8 weeks of the semester

Final exam (60%)

• 1,500 word essay

Teaching methods / timetable

You will learn by taking a hands-on approach. This will involve taking part in lectures and workshops. You should expect a weekly lecture of up to 2 hours per week and a workshop of 1 hour every other week.