Strategy area’s academic focus is around the issues of corporates’ Survival, Success and Sustainability (SSS) in the Indian context. The area examines strategic response of Indian industries and corporates to the contextual evolution and also studies the associated managerial and leadership challenges. Indian Business Groups (IBGs) with their unique attributes and pervasiveness draw the special research attention. Strategy area is aspirationally working towards setting up of industry sponsored centres in the areas of (i) Case research (C-CR) with an aim to specifically focus on Indian industry and corporates and secondly, (ii) Centre for Ethics, Sustainability and Governance (C-ESG), with an intent to improve the practices and help build a better business eco-system. The proposed centers shall descriptively study the challenges, develop and offer prescriptive insights. What distinguishes the offered solution set is the holistic nature and the richness of being drawn from the traditional Indian knowledge and wisdom that advocates “Lokahsamastaasukhinobhavantu”, the noble aspiration for universal abundance & well-being. Additionally, the Centre for Entrepreneurship& New Venture Support (C-ENVS) is being worked on to establish an ideation & incubation eco-system that shall facilitate creation of new ventures and help these sustain and scale up.
The area offers a number of core (compulsory)and elective (optional)courses. Each of these are a “full credit” courses. The core courses are -(i) Strategic Management (SM), (ii) Ethics, Sustainability and Governance (ESG), (iii) Entrepreneurial and New Venture Strategies (ENVS) for various programs. The elective courses offered by the group are – (i) Strategy, Value Creation and Management (SVCM), (ii) Strategic Management for Core-sector Companies (SMCC), and (iii) Strategy Evaluation and Organizational Management (SEOM). The area is planning theory embedded Seminar Courses in Strategic Management area for doctoral program students.
Pedagogies employed by the area members include – engaging lectures, deeper absorption of learnt concepts using corporate and industry case studies, assimilation aimed group activities, “single slide synopsis” presentations, library work including classics’exploration, simulation/scenario constructions, and short duration retreat sessions. Multi-modal engagement ensures getting multiple viewpoints from different Unit of Analysis (UoA), diverse dimensional sensitization, and also attempt transforming the paradigms for the open-minded.
Presently the strategy area offers both in-company and off-work place short duration Management Development Programs (MDPs) and Leadership Empowering Workshops (LEWs)around various management themes and topics. Strategy area synergistically works with rich faculty resources affiliated to different functional specializations at VPSM, and also works closely with corporates to co-create the value that is holistic and sustainable.