Hospitality
StrategyCornell

Certificate Program

Why are some companies successful, while so many other businesses fail? Some organizations may just be lucky, but success based solely on luck probably will not last. For an organization to have sustained success, it must stay competitive in the market; it simply cannot survive without effectively differentiating itself from its competitors. What sets your organization apart from your adversaries? A winning strategy will enable you to take on the market, maximize performance, and boost profitability.

In this course, you will work through key activities in the strategy formulation process. First, you will investigate what a good strategy is, how to think like a strategist, and how to identify the foundations of your firm's strategies. You will then analyze the broad and operating environments. A broad environmental analysis forms the context in which the firm and its operating environment exist, as stakeholders also have the potential to exert influence over strategy formulation. Crafting a successful strategy includes the consideration of your organization's internal environment to determine what resources, capabilities, and strengths can be leveraged or developed to form future strategies. Organizations work to create advantage through the development of resources and capabilities. Toward the end of your learning experience, you'll have an opportunity to identify patterns that exist between your internal and external factors, and you will devise possible strategies.

Formulating an effective strategy requires that an organization ask the right questions and then answer them thoughtfully and thoroughly. This course raises and helps you answer some of the most critical interrelated questions, such as: How does my company choose the right strategies to define where and how we will compete? What is my firm's vision and mission? How does my firm create value?

You will begin by exploring the importance of direction setting in the strategy formulation process. You will then examine general business-level strategies focused on creating value, such as cost advantage and differentiation, by answering how your firm competes at the level of the hotel or business unit. In addition, you will examine corporate strategies like diversification, concentration, and vertical integration, which help organizations answer the question of where to compete in related and unrelated industries.

Given that no two strategies are alike, you will classify both business and corporate strategies into common strategic characteristics to help you better identify your own organization's competitive positioning, as well as those of the competitors. What's more, you will explore the structure of an industry as the definition of industries and the competitive playing field continue to evolve and change.

You are required to have completed the following course or have equivalent experience before taking this course:

• Fundamentals of Hospitality Strategy

You've worked tirelessly to create an effective strategy that takes into account your organization's mission and vision and any related risk factors, as well as the competitive landscape in which you operate. Now what? Implementation is the crucial next step in this process, but there can be many pitfalls along the way.

This course will provide you with the tools to recognize why strategic implementation can fail; how you can create an organizational structure and culture that will support and fit with your overarching strategic goals; and how to establish systems, measures, and incentives to effectively implement your strategy.

You will complete this course with an action plan in hand that will enable you to confidently lead the implementation of your strategy in your organization.

You are required to have completed the following courses or have equivalent experience before taking this course:

• Fundamentals of Hospitality Strategy
• Formulating Hospitality Strategy

If you're in charge of developing and leading strategic organizational change, there are certain tools and concepts you must be familiar with. In this course, the emphasis is on cultivating your ability to assess the need for change. By determining why your organization or team needs change, you'll be able to better answer questions like: What should you change and how should the change be handled? You will explore the political and complex process of introducing change, which includes motivating others, dealing with resistance and the emotional elements of change, and finally, extending change over time and sustaining it. The course is designed to give you practice so you can initiate and carry out a change effort.

Advancing to a more senior leadership role requires a specific set of skills. Senior leaders must shift away from tactical oversight into a more strategic and visionary role. This transition does not occur naturally and is often not a part of standard professional training, development, or onboarding. The ability to adapt to this mindset is crucial and can lead to the success or failure of an individual and/or their team.

In this course, current and potential leaders will be guided through this transition by Kate Walsh, Professor and Dean of the School of Hotel Administration, as she shares her professional expertise and research. Learners will create a personal leadership strategy and build a professional network within their organization to prepare and further their roles in the organization.

Symposium sessions feature three days of live, highly interactive virtual Zoom sessions that will explore today’s most pressing topics. The Leadership Symposium offers you a unique opportunity to engage in real-time conversations with peers and experts from the Cornell community and beyond. Using the context of your own experiences, you will take part in reflections and small-group discussions to build on the skills and knowledge you have gained from your courses.

Join us for the next Symposium in which we’ll discuss the ways that leaders across industries have continued engaging their teams over the past two years while pivoting in strategic ways. You will support your coursework by applying your knowledge and experiences to relevant topics for leaders. Throughout this Symposium, you will examine different areas of leadership, including innovation, strategy, and engagement. By participating in relevant and engaging discussions, you will discover a variety of perspectives and build connections with your fellow participants from various industries.

All sessions are held on Zoom.

Future dates are subject to change. You may participate in as many sessions as you wish. Attending Symposium sessions is not required to successfully complete any certificate program. Once enrolled in your courses, you will receive information about upcoming events. Accessibility accommodations will be available upon request.

Symposium sessions feature two days of live, highly interactive virtual Zoom sessions that will explore today’s most pressing topics. The Hospitality Symposium offers you a unique opportunity to engage in real-time conversations with peers and experts from the Cornell community and beyond. Using the context of your own experiences, you will take part in reflections and small-group discussions to build on the skills and knowledge you have gained from your courses.

Join us for the next Symposium, in which we’ll discuss how both day-to-day operations and strategic goal setting in the hospitality sector have rapidly evolved over the past two years, opening up new space for real-time conversations about the future of the industry. You will support your coursework by applying your knowledge and experiences to various areas of the industry, examining the innovations and accommodations you have all had to make throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and strategizing on future directions. By participating in relevant and engaging discussions, you will discover a variety of perspectives and build connections with your fellow participants from across the industry.

All sessions are held on Zoom.

Future dates are subject to change. You may participate in as many sessions as you wish. Attending Symposium sessions is not required to successfully complete any certificate program. Once enrolled in your courses, you will receive information about upcoming events. Accessibility accommodations will be available upon request.