Corporate Strategy

Corporate Strategy refers to the overall strategy of a multi-business firm. It is different from business strategy. The individual businesses in the corporate “family” have the responsibility of determining how to achieve and sustain competitive advantage. Corporate Strategy refers to the task of the corporate “parent” and involves answering two distinct questions: 1) What businesses are we going to have in our portfolio? and 2) How is Corporate (i.e., the Corporate office) going to add value to the individual businesses? The first of these questions is normally straightforward and involves issues like scale and scope of the businesses we are in as well as the amount of diversification we wish to have. The second question is typically the more difficult. It involves not only capturing the synergies that exist among the businesses in the portfolio but also managing strategic risk. This course is designed to help managers understand strategy at the corporate level and equip them to formulate and execute Corporate Strategy.