BUS313 Strategic Performance Management

The course will give you a deeper knowledge of strategic performance management and what it takes to make the management efficient and add value while at the same time being forward-looking and adapted to a changing world.

In this course you will learn about the importance of strategic performance management in a more change-prone and complex reality and how the role of the function has become more strategic and today must extend far beyond purely routine or statutory tasks. Strategic performance management has evolved into one of the most important instruments to ensure that the company's goals and strategies are implemented. This is through, among other things, understanding of the current situation with support from insight-based analyses, reporting and follow-up, as well as what may or is about to happen in the future with an emphasis on forward-looking planning, management and follow-up.

At the same time, a significantly changed geopolitical situation with new drivers of change, the need to integrate sustainability into strategy and follow-up, as well as digitalisation, AI and new technology characterise us in an increasing number of ways. This has an increasingly important impact on how we can and should solve our tasks and challenges. It is in this context - the consequences of a changed reality - that the company's planning, management and follow-up must be aligned.

Specific topics that will be addressed:

Strategic performance management - comprehensive framework for planning, implementation, management and follow-up of the company's objectives and strategies. The relationship between strategic finance management, corporate governance and strategy. The need, role and value of strategic performance management has for a business and as means of implementing goals and strategies. The situation description: What changes is the business subject to? What are the main challenges and what affects our ability to implement strategies?

Various corporate governance philosophies, models and frameworks (including balanced scorecard, beyond budgeting, OKR, MRS). What conditions play into the choice of governance models? Relationships between corporate governance and the company's improvement work and use of quality models, tools and techniques such as ABC, TQM, lean, scenario planning etc.

The corporate governance process, with emphasis on the steps in the balanced scorecard model: (1) Verify/clarify the company's goals and strategies, organisational and business model; (2) Operationalize or "translate" the strategy through sub-objectives, key performance indicators (KPIs) and strategic initiatives/actions; (3) Management and follow-up, the management process.

The future of strategic performance management and requirements for the function: the effect of digitalization and other changes on the business and for the management processes. What kind of expertise, skills and mindset must the function have to be relevant today and to address and contribute to the resolution of the business's challenges going forward? Insight-based management and reporting: How does digitization, AI and automation change strategic thinking and our ability to make decisions? How to secure fact-based and insight-based and relevant information? The possibilities of the application of analytics, big data, business intelligence, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning.

Governance in the state and public sectors: Management-by-objectives-and-results as the principle of steering in the public sector. Increased management of user and social effects and the use of effect-/result chains. Methods, guidelines and initiatives from DFØ (The Norwegian Agency for Public and Financial Management) to help ensure sound financial management in Norway’s government institutions and that the government reaches its goals through good governance, organisation, management and decision-making support.

Strategy implementation: Strategy implementation must be put in context. What are the barriers? What approach strategies can we apply and what are the success criterias? Strategic performance management in practice: Many current and real examples be given. Furthermore, what challenges organisations experience in their work, how corporate governance must be adapted to the distinctive nature of the company, and what value corporate governance adds to the company.

How should planning and control be done in an efficient and comprehensive way? How should our management model and system look like, right down to the practical management report. What factors play into the choice of management model? What does it require from the governance processes, and how does this "play" in relation to organization, culture and leadership? And how can business performance management be raised to become an indispensable tool for the company's strategy implementation?

Knowledge that students will have after completing the course

• Have an increased understanding of what affects companies today, and how this must be taken into account in how we plan, manage and control business.
• Good understanding of the most important elements of governance, management, control, different views on this and how these are interrelated
• Have a thorough understanding of theories and methods related to assessment and choice of management concepts and systems, and main challenges regarding implementation of the strategy

Skills the student will have after completing the course

• Evaluate which management concepts and systems are best suited to different companies and with regards to the context herby change drivers
• Be able to concrete and operationalize the company's goals and strategies and propose relevant KPIs and action-oriented initiatives for reaching the company's goals.
• Ability to analyse, assemble and present fact-based and actionable management information based on insights to make better decisions on an ongoing basis.
• Be able to put strategy implementation into context, and suggest approach strategies that can be applied to succeed.

General competence that the student will have after completing the course

• Be able to ask critical questions and contribute constructively in relation to strategy implementation, and business performance management.
• Be able to contribute constructively in all parts of the organization.
• Be able to communicate with specialists and non-specialists on key topics in the subject