Why do some companies appear to have little difficulty in growing and changing whilst other companies decline and even collapse? Why do companies fail in markets that are showing considerable growth? Why is it that in many businesses, 80% of the total available profits are earned by just the top 3 or 4 companies?

The answer is simple and straightforward - but it is not easy. Companies that grow and change are companies that know how to build robust strategies that secure and sustain competitive advantage. The concepts of strategy and competitive advantage are at the very heart of business success. This has always been the case. The big challenge in the 21st century is that almost all businesses are becoming more complex, more competitive and more international.

This course focuses on these two central and vital concepts – strategy and competitive advantage. The course is relevant to managers in every part of the organisation because increasingly managers need to understand now their part of the business contributes to these two important issues – building a robust strategy and sustaining competitive advantage.

The principal highlights of the course are:

• Introduction to leading-edge thinking and best practice in strategy building
• Guidance in developing ourselves from operational to strategic managers
• DVD presentations by world-class scholars and practitioners
• Case studies for class work and discussion
• Case presentations based on the personal experience of the course leader 

The central objectives of this course are as follows:

• To ensure that participants understand the concepts of strategy and strategic management
• To understand the main frameworks within which robust strategies can be created
• To understand the linkage between strategy building and implementation
• To understand the meaning of the concept of competitive advantage
• To ensure that strategy is changed and developed to create a sustained level of high performance
• To enable participants to understand how their specialist parts of the organisation contribute to strategy building and achieving sustainable competitive advantage

The training process is based on a carefully planned mix of highly focused input from the course leader - with practical illustration of tools and concepts; group work on small-scale case studies; interaction and group discussion; and group work on a major case study. The course manual will serve as a toolkit for subsequent everyday use. There will also be presentations on DVD given by acknowledged world-leading authorities on the subject. The principles and approaches to strategy and strategic management will be illustrated by real-life cases in which the course leader has been personally involved.

• Much better decision-taking and time and resource allocation - leading to better organizational and individual performance
• Introduction of strategic thinking into new levels of the organization
• Top management having more confidence in the ability and judgement of its operating managers
• Operational managers will have a better appreciation of the need and content of organizational change
• Managers will understand how and why change is necessary to achieve sustainable competitive advantage
• Managers will implement strategic programmes and projects more effectively

Delegates will achieve the following by attending this course:

• Increasing career flexibility (vertically and horizontally)
• Accelerated thinking speed and problem resolution for all difficult dilemmas
• Improved understanding of the impact of operational specialization on corporate strategy
• Improved teamworking capabilities in analyzing and solving strategic problems
• Improved skills in ensuring most effective impact of individual specializations
• Greater motivation and proactivity

This seminar is designed for experienced professionals from any industry and any specialization who wish to learn how to take a ‘bigger picture’ view of business issues – as they relate to strategy and the strategic planning process. Typically you will have some experience of operational planning but present and future job challenges imply that you need to step up to a new level of competence in this area, or simply in strategic thinking generally.

The following are some examples of delegates who would benefit from attending this course:

• Experienced Operations Managers
• Financial Managers
• Human Resource Managers
• Public Sector Officials responsible for Industrial and Economic Development
• Experienced Bankers and Investment Analysts
• Business Planners