Skip to Main Content

MGMT 425 - Business Growth and Innovation Capstone: Readings

Resources recommended for MGMT 425

Week One

Required Reading and Activity:

Business Strategy: A Guide to Effective Decision-making by Kourdi, J.
Publication Date: 2015
Chapter 1 What is Business Strategy? and Chapter 2 What Strategic Thinking Can Achieve

Watch the WordPress Tutorial

Suggested Reading and Activity:

How successful organizations drive innovation by Ikeda, Kazuaki; Marshall, AnthonyAuthor Information
Strategy & Leadership; Vol. 44, Iss. 3, (2016): 9-19

Website

4 Essentials of the Growth-Oriented Business Plan
Discusses key components of the business plan for strategic growth.

Week Three

Required Reading and Activity:

Business Strategy: A Guide to Effective Decision-making by Kourdi, J.
Publication Date: 2015
Chapter 9 Developing a Business Strategy and Thinking Strategically and Chapter 10 Vision

Suggested Reading and Activity:

Strategic planning: Predicting or shaping the future? by Blatstein, Ira M.
Organization Development Journal; Vol. 30, Iss. 2, (Summer 2012): 31-38.

Website

Introduction to Value Creation in Business
Explanation of creating value in a small business from the Houston Chronicle website business pages.

Week Five

Required Reading and Activity:

Business Strategy: A Guide to Effective Decision-making by Kourdi, J.
Publication Date: 2015
Chapter 12 Implementing Business Strategy, Chapter 13 Strategic Innovation, and Chapter 18 Making Strategic Decisions

Suggested Reading and Activity:

Websites

What Is a Business Contingency Plan?
From the Houston Chronicle website business pages, discusses situations that can affect the well-being of a company and the importance of preparing for these unexpected events.
Why Value Creation is the Foundation of Business: How to define it, measure it, and manage it
Provides a definition of value creation, how to create value and measure it.

Week Two

Required Reading and Activity:

Business Strategy: A Guide to Effective Decision-making by Kourdi, J.
Publication Date: 2015
Chapter 5 Scenarios, Chapter 6 Involving and Engaging Stakeholders, and Chapter 7 Resources and Strategy

Suggested Reading and Activity:

The Role of vision in organizational readiness for change and growth by Haque, MD; TitiAmayah, Angela; Liu, Lu
Leadership & Organization Development Journal; Bradford Vol. 37, Iss. 7, (2016): 983-999.

Website

7 Key Steps to a Growth Strategy That Works Immediately
From Entrepreneur discusses the steps to follow when formulating a growth plan.,
Contingency Planning: Developing a Good 'Plan B'
From MIndTools website, this article discusses the need for contingency planning for risks that do not include major disasters.

Week Four

Required Reading and Activity:

Business Strategy: A Guide to Effective Decision-making by Kourdi, J.
Publication Date: 2015
Chapter 11 Leading People Through Change

Suggested Reading and Activity:

Six Strategic Business Objectives
From the business pages of the Houston Chronicle Online. Defines strategic business objectives and discusses six areas to focus strategic business goals.

Week Six

Required Reading and Activity:

No readings required