CUIC® Catalogue
Courses – Cohort
Strategic Management for Credit Union
Professionals Cohort
CUC-185-SMCUE01-CHR
Knowing your credit union’s products and services is key to building your understanding of the business and to providing
excellent service. Do both and you can consistently contribute to your credit union’s success. This 10-module course is a
practical overview of the products and services typically offered by credit unions as deposit-taking financial institutions as
well as our competitors. It also demystifies services with which you may not deal routinely—insurance, trust, and financial
planning services, for example.
Strategic Management for Credit Union Professionals provides a general overview of strategic management for credit
unions:

The process of choosing and defining purposes and objectives

Formulating and implementing viable strategies, and

Monitoring strategic performance
You learn about strategy by reading, thinking, analyzing previous decision and talking. To allow for all of these learning
dimensions, this CUIC course is delivered in as an e-class over approximately 15 weeks. In this format, participants can
consider the strategic management for their own credit union and have an opportunity to discuss “strategy” with their
classmates from across the country.
Specifically, the course covers:

The role of strategic management

The inter-play between the organization in its totality with the environment in which it operates, its strategy and its
internal activities

The kinds of problems and issues that affect the success of the entire organization

The general applicability of strategic management disciplines to all sizes and types of credit unions operating as a cooperative in a profit-oriented, competitive environment
1.
Strategic Management: Creating Competitive Advantages: An Overview
This module is an initial introduction to strategic management. At the heart of strategic management is the question:
“How and why do some firms outperform others?” The challenge to managers is to develop and implement strategies
that will provide competitive advantages that will be sustainable over time. (Chapter 1 of the text.)
2.
Analyzing the External Environment of the Firm
This module familiarizes students with techniques for evaluating a firm’s external environment. This chapter focuses
on the value managers add when they have a sense of events outside the company. By focusing on external events,
managers are able to stay a step ahead of competitors by accurately anticipating and promptly responding to actions
that can impact the organization. (Chapter 2 of the text.)
3.
Analyzing the Internal Environment of the Firm
In this module, students learn the importance of the internal environment of the firm. This module discusses the Value
Chain Analysis, provides a resource based view of the firm analysis, and discusses two approaches to evaluating a
firm’s performance. (Chapter 3 of the text.)
4.
Recognizing a Firm’s Intellectual Assets: Human Capital, Technology & Knowledge, Brands & Trademarks,
Relationships
One of the key trends today is the emergence of the importance of the knowledge worker in today’s economy. It is
critical for managers to not only recognize the importance of top talent but also the need to leverage human capital in
order to innovate and, in the end, to develop products and services that create value. (Chapter 4 of the text.)
5.
Business Level Strategy: Creating and Sustaining Competitive Advantages
This module emphasizes the formulation of strategies at the business level. Since the business level is where
competition takes place, a firm’s performance at this level is vital to its overall success. (Chapter 5 of the text.)
Strategic Management for Credit Union Professionals Cohort
November 2016
CUIC® Catalogue
6.
Courses – Cohort
Corporate Level Strategy: Creating Value through Diversification
Whereas business-level strategy deals with the question of how to compete in a given industry, corporate level
strategy addresses two related issues. These are:
(1) What businesses should we compete in, and
(2) How can these businesses be managed in a way to create “synergy”, that is, more value by
than if they were free-standing units.
working together
(Chapter 6 of the text.)
7.
Disruptive Environments & Digital Business Strategy
The Internet and digital technologies are major new forces in the economy. The Internet continues to create many
new opportunities and have a strong impact on how business is conducted. Digital technologies are a defining feature
of the new economy. As such, these new capabilities have enormous strategic implications many of which are
addressed in this module. (Chapter 8 of the text.)
8.
Strategic Control and Corporate Governance
The purpose of this chapter of the text is to demonstrate how strategic control systems may be used to effectively
implement strategies. It introduces issues surrounding implementation and leadership and includes both traditional
and contemporary approaches to control, and outlines informational (e.g., monitoring, performance milestones) as well
as behavioural (e.g., rewards, culture, boundaries) techniques for achieving control, as well as corporate governance.
(Chapter 10 of the text.)
9.
Creating Effective Organizational Designs
Organizational structures and integrating systems are necessary to manage the relationships between internal
processes and external parties such as suppliers, customers, and alliance partners. The challenge to managers is to
create systems that both maintain order and provide flexibility and permeability. The purpose of this chapter of the
text is to describe the different types of organizational structures and how they contribute to organizational
performance.
(Chapter 9 of the text.)
10. Strategic Leadership & Innovation and Growth
Strong and effective leadership is a key organizational success factor. Strategic leadership is needed to successfully
formulate and implement strategies. In today’s economy, leaders have two additional roles as well—to create learning
organizations and to create an ethical climate. (Chapters 11 and 12 of the text.)
Duration:
Approximately 15 weeks (i.e., the equivalent of one university semester). Your current
knowledge and experience in this topic will impact your learning time.
Edition:
1st Edition
Exam:
To earn credit for this course you must, at a minimum, answer weekly questions posted in the
forum (10% of final grade), one written assignment and participation in webinars (40% of final
grade) and write the exam (50% of final grade) in the sitting immediately following the cohort.
This cohort is offered in the fall and the session runs from October to March—students must write
the March exam.
The 2.5-hour exam consists of 30 multiple-choice questions and short essay questions. A
sample exam is available at: http://cuic.cce.dal.ca/SampleExamBuilder/index.php
The passing grade for this course is 60%. If you do not complete your course within the
completion period, your course registration will expire. To receive credit for the course at that
point, you will need to re-enroll and pay the full course tuition fee.
Learning Options:
Combines elements of CUIC cohorts with the addition of pre-scheduled webinars. Course fee
includes Study Guide and one exam sitting.
Strategic Management for Credit Union Professionals Cohort
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CUIC® Catalogue
Who Should
Participate:
Courses – Cohort
Current managers, those aspiring to management positions and those who want to
strengthen their capacity for strategic thinking. Participants are expected to develop and
demonstrate the following capabilities:

Size up, quickly and accurately, complex and unstructured situations by identifying the core
problems and issues

Analyze quantitative and descriptive data to identify strategies which are appropriate to
each situation, evaluate alternatives, and recommend specific courses of action for creative
solutions to problems/issues

Link theory and practice, and develop understanding of when and how to use what "tools"
in particular problem solving situations

Sharpen analytical skills acquired in functional areas
Course Credit:
This course is an elective in the Management Studies Program. Individuals who complete this
program are awarded the professional designation Associate of the Credit Union Institute of
Canada. The course is also recognized by both Athabasca University and Dalhousie University as
a 3-credit course in their respective under-graduate business degree programs.
Study Materials:
This course uses:

Canadian textbook, Strategic Management: Creating Competitive Advantages by Dess,
Lumpkin, & Peridis
(Please note the textbook must be purchased separately and is not included in the cost of
the course.)
More Information:

Web resources

Readings and webinars
For more information about the cohort option please join one of our free cohort information
webinars, visit our website, or contact Client Solutions at [email protected].
Strategic Management for Credit Union Professionals Cohort
November 2016
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