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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Foundations of Strategy by IE Business School

4.7
stars
82 ratings

About the Course

Strategy is a complex field and intrinsically related to economics. In this first week of this course you will learn the basic logic of how firms and markets function by using economic logic from a distinctly strategic perspective. The economic logics discussed in the first week have shaped the field of strategic analysis from very early on. Porter’s Five Forces – probably the most well-known strategic analysis tool – directly builds on the notion of market structures and helps us to get a deeper understand of how the competitive environment affects the ability of firms to generate true economic profits. In this week, we´ll look at how Porter's Five Forces are related to market structures, economies of scale, and begin to touch on how firms leverage these to create competitive advantage. Week three, we will move away from exclusively considering the external structure of an industry as the source of competitive advantage and instead focus our view on the internal resources and capabilities within firms – and the associated “resource based view” to look at how internal resources and capabilities play out in competitive situations. Looking through the lens of the five forces at the industry, or through that of the resource-based view at firm internal resources and capabilities, feels a bit like swings of a pendulum – and, indeed, strategic theory and practice over the last decades has veered from a near-exclusive focus on the environment to being entranced by firms’ core capabilities. However, to get the full picture of where your firm stands (and where it and its industry may move) requires us to consider both of these perspectives! In this final week we will work on this crucial integration by building our understanding of what a competitive advantage truly is – and what distinct forms it can take. This Course is primarily aimed at Coursera learners interested in exploring an IE Masters program and at professionals interested in building their business skills....

Top reviews

TD

Dec 17, 2023

Great Course with a really good Instructor. I was able to understand and follow the concepts well and I enjoyed the exercises.

AF

Jul 27, 2023

Great information easy to apply in real life. Good video content, good teacher, great platform and links.

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1 - 25 of 26 Reviews for Foundations of Strategy

By Adnan S

Feb 11, 2023

Dr. Carls German English took some effort and a few rewinds to understand :D Naturally some transcription was wrong as a result. Clarity could be better if less exclamations & comments were used in-between concepts & sentences.

Most readings took longer time than specified, though I enjoyed diving deep with understanding.

External exercises had some misplaced or missing text, slightly superfluous English (ie...not concise), thus difficult to understand from first read. Took more time than allocated. Overall course took more time than shown in study plan.

Also some typos in quizzes. Ex. On one quiz, the question asked to select the "false statement from below", while the correct answer was about selecting the "true statement" instead.

Content introduced useful concepts, I could not find a course that provided similar content. Much gratitude and Thanks to Dr. Carl and all who contributed to educating us from the convenience of our busy lives. Thank you.

By Sarah N

Oct 6, 2022

transcripts were not always correct. I also was not able to access one assignment that was in week 3.

By Yuvatej A

Apr 21, 2023

Few mistakes with the answers in the quiz

By Jaana M

Nov 12, 2023

Having studied economics years ago, this course helped to refresh my memory about the concepts and provided spot-on readings about the more recent events. The instructor speaks with a really easy accent, making listening to videos a breeze. It is important for a student with another language as the mother tongue. The course has probably been published or updated in 2022, as some readings were from that year.

By Ronaldo D F

Aug 17, 2023

Excelente curso sobre estrategia. Te permite ver como generar valor en las empresas y a desarrollar una visión estratégica del negocio para anticiparte a los cambios.

By Thamar D

Dec 18, 2023

Great Course with a really good Instructor. I was able to understand and follow the concepts well and I enjoyed the exercises.

By Antonio F

Jul 28, 2023

Great information easy to apply in real life. Good video content, good teacher, great platform and links.

By Pradip M

Dec 30, 2023

Very forthrightly presented. Congratulations on keeping it easily understood and readily accessible.

By Eddie B

Jan 26, 2024

Great content and examples given to make it easy to understand and align to your own business.

By Irina A

Jul 26, 2023

Very nice course! Practical exercises, clear explanations, rather dynamic. Fully recommend!

By Sophia V

Mar 13, 2024

Extremely useful and so helpful in refreshing knowledge about basic business theories.

By Yudhi R

Feb 3, 2024

Sangat menarik, pembelajarannya disampaikan dari basis, membuat saya jadi lebih paham

By Azmi M

Aug 28, 2023

Amazingly well-put course, the instructor is an excellent teacher and communicator.

By Larissa H

Jan 1, 2024

Really well presented information from engaging instructor

By Chepe K

Dec 29, 2023

Very helpful introduction into strategy.

By Arinze E

Sep 16, 2023

Brilliant course on Strategy. Thank You

By Victor A M C

Jan 20, 2023

Great introduction to strategy!

By André G d A

Aug 29, 2023

Very good course I recommend

By Kristina L

Aug 28, 2022

it was a great course!

By Omodiaogbe S

Aug 25, 2022

Excellent course.

By shorouqkaldaham

Oct 24, 2023

very good

By DADAS O

Oct 31, 2022

SUPER

By MADAN H M A S

Mar 2, 2023

جيد

By KHALIL Y

Oct 31, 2022

O

By Koray G

Dec 23, 2023

Hepsi dinlenebiliyor olsa daha iyi olurdu o yüzden 4 yıldız veriyorum.