Competitive Strategy

Neil Kay

This elective is about strategic choices. It looks at alternative directions (e.g. vertical moves, new markets and technologies, international expansion) and alternative means for pursuing these directions (e.g. internal expansion, acquisition, alliance). Competitive strategy develops a set of analytical approaches and tools to help formulate and evaluate these strategies topic by topic. It aims to provide a unified and integrated framework to assist strategy formulation.

Topics covered

Analysis of the environment.
Strategies for competitive advantage.
The evolution of competitive advantage.
Vertical links and moves.
Horizontal links and moves.
International strategy.
Making the moves.

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Safwat Kabany
Syria

For Safwat Kabany, from Syria, doing his MBA with Edinburgh Business School was the most logical choice. "I'm in the petrochemical industry and Heriot-Watt University is one of the world-leading academic institutions in this field of industry. I therefore knew a lot about the high standards at Heriot-Watt and these are certainly evident in EBS's MBA programme."

Safwat decided to do the programme as a full-time on-campus student, which was not without its challenges, particularly for a foreign student. "I had to cope with both language and cultural differences, which at first were quite daunting. EBS, however, is very skilled at dealing with people from different backgrounds and cultures and it wasn't long before I felt very comfortable in this environment. The faculty are extremely helpful and take a keen interest in every individual. The facilities at Heriot-Watt for resident on-campus students are excellent and not having to worry about where I would live or how I would feed myself ensured that I could devote all my attention to my studies."...more