Business Strategy Certificate

Part-time certificate program for executives and specialists who

• Seek comprehensive basics and continuing education in strategic management,
• Hold responsibility for strategic management and want to complement their practical experience with thorough theoretical understanding and research,
• Develop strategy,
• Will soon be taking over strategic responsibilities.

The four-month Business Strategy Certificate Program starts with an onsite seminar that gives participants the insights they need for the distance-learning module and prepares them for their project paper.

Subjects

1. Seminar

The on-site seminar "Strategic Management" covers:

• Strategic management
• Business segments (for example, planning units)
• The strategic call for action
• Promising strategic options
• Strategy formulation
• Changing structures
• Successfully implementing strategies

2. Distance Learning

The distance-learning unit, set in an international context, broadens and deepens participants’ knowledge. In addition to their literature assignments, participants take a four-week distance learning course designed and taught by leading US professors.

Description

This module explores the differences among the strategies and systems that managers use to increase productivity. A key topic is how organizations can achieve the scale, scope and efficiency that come from being large and the flexibility, speed and responsiveness of being small. The course covers Harvard University Professor Michael Porter's Industry and Competitive Analysis Framework, the importance of core competencies and analysis of the value chain for finding business opportunities.

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Walter Rodriguez

3. Project Paper (Practical Part)

The practical part of this program ensures that participants’ studies relate to their current jobs. Participants select a subject or a project and write a 30- to 50-page project paper. The paper should build participants’ knowledge and skill in their specific business areas.

4. Certificate

After successfully completing this program, participants are awarded the “Business Strategy Certificate” from SGMI Management Institute St. Gallen.