Accessibility statement

Strategy, Management & Society - MAN00024I

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  • Department: The York Management School
  • Credit value: 20 credits
  • Credit level: I
  • Academic year of delivery: 2022-23

Module will run

Occurrence Teaching period
A Spring Term 2022-23

Module aims

This module will introduce students to the theory and practice of strategic management in a wider organisational and social context. The module will critically engage with strategy content, theory, and process. It will draw on historical, theoretical, applied and critical approaches to strategy, and will include consideration of organisational, ethical, and economic factors in the strategy process.

The module will contribute towards the development of critically aware graduates who are able to discuss and critique the social implications of strategic management ideas, their development, and how they are used and misused in real-world organisational settings.

Module learning outcomes

  • Develop an understanding of the development of strategic management as an organisational practice, academic discipline, and body of organisational theory.
  • Undertake theoretically informed strategic analyses of organisations in different sectors of the economy.
  • Develop critical perspectives on strategy formulation, decision-making, implementation and outcomes.
  • Develop a critical understanding of the interplay and integration between strategic management and other organisational activities, such as marketing, HRM, operations, and finance, as well as with Corporate Social Responsibility, corporate governance, government policy, and regulation.

Academic/Graduate Skills

Academic – The module will encourage students to develop their independent study skills and their scholarly ability by introducing them to a range of theoretical perspectives which they will be encouraged to compare, contrast and critique. It will also build skills of argumentation and synthesis, as well as application through the use of real-world scenarios.

Graduate - The module will develop strategic and critical thinking skills in students, improving problem solving skills and giving students the ability to analyze and evaluate complex problems from a range of viewpoints. It will also aim to encourage them to become intellectually aware, rounded practitioners with an awareness of the interplay between strategy formulation and other management disciplines as well as between strategy and society.

Module content

Topics covered may include:

  • The development of the different schools of strategic thought
  • Ethics and strategy
  • Corporate governance and strategy
  • Innovation and strategic entrepreneurship
  • Financialization
  • Structure and strategic management; variations in corporate form and function
  • CSR and strategy
  • Business models and strategy
  • Strategic management and its relationship to other organizational activities

Indicative assessment

Task % of module mark
Essay/coursework 80
Essay/coursework 20

Special assessment rules

None

Indicative reassessment

Task % of module mark
Essay/coursework 80
Essay/coursework 20

Module feedback

Module assessment reports to students are written by the module leader for all assessments (open and closed) and placed on the VLE after the Board of Examiners has received the module marks.

The timescale for the return of feedback will accord with TYMS policy

Indicative reading

Ansoff, I. (1991). A critique of Henry Mintzberg's 'the design school: Reconsidering the basic premises of strategic management'. Strategic Management Journal, 12 (6), 171-195.

Banerjee, S. B. (2008). Corporate social responsibility: The good, the bad and the ugly. Critical Sociology, 34 (Jan.), 51-79.

Barney, J. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 17 (1), 99-120.

Davis, G. F., and Kim, S. (2015). Financialization of the economy. Annual Review of Sociology, 41 (1), 203-221.

Freedman, L. (2013). Strategy: A history. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Freeman, R. E., and Evan, W. M. (1990). Corporate governance: A stakeholder interpretation. Journal of Behavioral Economics, 19 (4), 337-359.

Giraudeau, M. (2008). The drafts of strategy: Opening up plans and their uses. Long Range Planning, 41 (3), 291-308.

McWilliams, A., and Siegel, D. S. (2011). Creating and capturing value: Strategic corporate social responsibility, resource-based theory, and sustainable competitive advantage. Journal of Management, 37 (5), 1480-1495.

Mintzberg, H. (1990). The design school: Reconsidering the basic premises of strategy formation. Strategic Management Journal, 11 (3), 171-196.

Porter, M. (1979). How competitive forces shape strategy. Harvard Business Review, (Mar.), 21-38.

Rouleau, L., and Balogun, J. (2011). Middle managers, strategic sensemaking, and discursive competence. Journal of Management Studies, 48 (5), 953-983.

Schumpeter, J. (1947). The creative response in economic history. Journal of Economic History, 7 (2), 149-159.



The information on this page is indicative of the module that is currently on offer. The University constantly explores ways to enhance and improve its degree programmes and therefore reserves the right to make variations to the content and method of delivery of modules, and to discontinue modules, if such action is reasonably considered to be necessary. In some instances it may be appropriate for the University to notify and consult with affected students about module changes in accordance with the University's policy on the Approval of Modifications to Existing Taught Programmes of Study.