Strategic Management in Tourism Companies

BRIEF COURSE DESCRIPTION
To manage a company effectively, it is essential to know the external and internal factors that can affect the choice of the overall corporate strategy and the organizational structure of the company. Such decision must take into consideration the current processes of globalization, technological changes and macroeconomic and political conditions. This subject enables reflection on the contents learned in other subjects to be used to define, design and implement strategies to address the real problems of the tourism sector. It is a practical subject, based on case analysis so that students can analyze the highest number of situations and the different strategies to deal with them.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
1. Know the processes of planning and organizing events and major events such as fairs and conferences.
2. To know instruments and mechanisms for obtaining financial resources.
3. Prepare reports assessing the trend of the results obtained and the evolution and expectations of service prices, according to internal economic information and market needs.
4. Develop skills related to innovation and creativity for the creation of tourism products and services.
5. Manage the phases of the opening of tourist establishments (obligations of the property and obligations of the manager).

ACADEMIC CONTENTS
1. Introduction to the strategy concept and strategy management
1.1 Vision, mission and company values
1.2 Strategy
1.3 Strategy management and strategic process
1.4 Business models
1.5 Business Case 1
2. Analysis of the external environment
2.1 The Environment within the strategic position
2.2 The macro environment
2.3 Industry analysis. The 5 forces
2.4 Analysis of competitors ]
2.5 Business Case 2 (part 1)
]3. Analysis of the internal resources
3.1 Own capabilities within the strategic position
3.2 Competitive advantage
3.3 Sustainable competitive advantage. Dynamic capabilities
3.4 Diagnosing strategic capability
3.5 Tools to diagnose internal and strategic capabilities
3.6 Managing strategic capability
3.7 Business Case 2 (part 2)
4. Development of management strategies
4.1 Development of strategies and strategic choice
4.2 Business-level strategy. Competitive moves
4.3 Corporate-level and international strategies
4.4Strategies to grow / to change (portfolio planning, Ansoff matrix, blue ocean)
4.5 Business Case 3 (part 1)
5. Implementation of strategies
5.1 Planning, Implementation and Control 
5.2 Structures, Processes and Relationship
5.3 Assessing organizational performance: Balanced Scorecard
5.4 Managing Strategic Change
5.5 Business Case 3 (part 2)

LEARNING METHODOLOGY
The learning methodologies planned for the subject combine a number of processes being the most remarkable the cognitive methods related to the comprehension of the principles of tourism and the global tourism system as well as the inclusion of a set of skills, mainly technical.
The activities and methodologies -both group and individual- designed for this subject are the following:
• Lectures
• Case studies
• Guided discussions
• Practical exercises
• Problem-based learning

ASSESSMENT SYSTEM
The assessment system measures the student’s achievement of learning outcomes regarding the subject’s competences and contents. Students may choose continuous assessment or single assessment:
Continuous Assessment: the teaching-learning process is assessed by a continuous monitoring of the work done by the students throughout the course and a final individual examination. Students must attend classes in order to be assessed by continuous assessment. Single Assessment: for those students who cannot come to class regularly, they can choose to be assessed by single assessment. The teaching-learning process is assessed by means of the assessment of all activities and in-person individual examination at the end of the course.
To qualify for this form of assessment, students must apply within the first 15 days of the start of the course through the assessment section of Virtual Campus.

The assessment activities planning will be public for the students from the start.