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Module Specifications.

Current Academic Year 2024 - 2025

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Date posted: September 2024

Module Title Business Unit Strategy & Planning
Module Code SB5005 (ITS) / MNA1130 (Banner)
Faculty DCU Business School School DCU Business School
Module Co-ordinatorJennifer Kennedy
Module TeachersMathieu Mercadier, Theodore Lynn
NFQ level 9 Credit Rating 10
Pre-requisite Not Available
Co-requisite Not Available
Compatibles Not Available
Incompatibles Not Available
Coursework Only
Description

This module is designed to provide the student with an understanding of the special problems involved in the strategic management at the business unit level. The main pedagogical objective is to help to develop in the student the capacity to think strategically and to better understand the ways in which a firm plans to achieve its objectives within a particular business. Particular emphasis will be placed on innovation and new venture planning. This module is delivered using a combination of workshop and mentor-based activities.

Learning Outcomes

1. Synthesise theory and practice to assess the efficacy of strategic models and frameworks.
2. Integrate specialist knowledge, theory and practice into a strategic and dynamic overview of a business unit in its environmental context.
3. Critically evaluate alternative strategies and apply the strategic process to a particular business unit in variety of contexts including new market entry, new venture creation, mergers and acquisitions.
4. Develop and defend coherent and persuasive arguments for the adoption of innovative strategies and investment in a project or business proposal.



Workload Full-time hours per semester
Type Hours Description
Workshop32Topic-based workshops
Assignment Completion136Business plan research and preparation
Assignment Completion20Pitch preparation and presentation
Assessment Feedback26Mentor meetings
Online activity36Preparation and participation in exercises, simulations and case discussions
Total Workload: 250

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Developing breakthrough products and services
Lead user method, user innovation communities, (re)combinatory innovation, ethnographic needs discovery, big data needs discovery, crowdsourcing, mass customisation

Defining the opportunity
Developing your value proposition, sizing the opportunity, designing your business model and strategy, organising to exploit, assessing feasibility

Customer Acquisition
Sales Strategy - B2C vs B2B, Pricing, Channel Strategy, Data-driven Marketing Strategy

Financing the opportunity
Financial modelling, startup vs growth financing, valuation, funding mechanisms, term sheet negotiation, exits

New Venture Analytics
Unit economics, Business model analytics - E-commerce, SAAS, Free, Media, UGC, Multi-sided marketplaces; Stage analytics - Empathy, Stickiness, Virality, Revenue, Scale

Pitching the plan
Business plan structure and preparation, designing the pitch deck, presenting

Scaling Up
Sustaining entrepreneurial growth, leadership for a growing business, developing and keeping an entrepreneurial spirit beyond start-up

Assessment Breakdown
Continuous Assessment100% Examination Weight0%
Course Work Breakdown
TypeDescription% of totalAssessment Date
Group presentationStudents will be allocated to a group and will present their proposal for entering a new market, an acquisition, new product or venture.25%n/a
Report(s)Students will be allocated to a group and will research and prepare a detailed plan for entering a new market, an acquisition, new product or venture.75%n/a
Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories:
Resit category 1: A resit is available for both* components of the module.
Resit category 2: No resit is available for a 100% continuous assessment module.
Resit category 3: No resit is available for the continuous assessment component where there is a continuous assessment and examination element.
* ‘Both’ is used in the context of the module having a Continuous Assessment/Examination split; where the module is 100% continuous assessment, there will also be a resit of the assessment
This module is category 1
Indicative Reading List

  • Harvard Business Review: 0, The Harvard Business Review Entrepreneur's Handbook, 9781633693708
  • W. Chan Kim,Renee Mauborgne: 2015, Blue Ocean Strategy, Expanded Edition, Harvard Business Review Press, 1625274491
  • Eric von Hippel: 2005, Democratizing Innovation, MIT Press, 9780262002745
  • Alexander Osterwalder,Yves Pigneur: 2010, Business Model Generation, John Wiley & Sons, 9780470876411
  • Alistair Croll,Benjamin Yoskovitz: 2013, Lean Analytics, "O'Reilly Media, Inc.", 1449335675
  • Eric Ries: 2011, The Lean Startup, Currency, 9780307887894
  • Geoffrey A. Moore: 2014, Crossing the Chasm, 3rd Edition, HarperBusiness, 0062292986
Other Resources

None

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