Business Strategy and

Financial Performance

Online I N S E A D. E D U

Programmes
P O RT F O L I O 2 0 2 3–2 0 2 4

Access the Business School

for the World, Anywhere®
 In numbers...

50,000+
Online programme
participants
since 2014

>90%
Exceptionally high
completion rates

85%

E X E C U T I V E E D U C AT I O N – B U S I N E S S S T R AT E G Y A N D F I N A N C I A L P E R F O R M A N C E
agree that they have
gained new skills*

“As leaders look to reinvent themselves,

90%
of participants
their teams and their organisations, our
programmes give them the inspiration,
were satisfied* motivation, confidence and skills sets they
need. We give them the tools to see the

73%
Believe an INSEAD
world through multiple lenses and to
create solutions that are game-changing.”
Online Programme is more
impactful than other
online courses* Sameer Hasija
Dean of Executive Education

*Based on a survey conducted in June 2019 with a sample

from INSEAD Online programmes’ past participants

2 3
 Four Reasons to Choose an
INSEAD Online Programme

1 Learn 2 Interact 3 Apply 4 Certification

E X E C U T I V E E D U C AT I O N – B U S I N E S S S T R AT E G Y A N D F I N A N C I A L P E R F O R M A N C E
High-impact Multi-dimensional Interactions with Peers, Real-time Application Official recognition
Learning Experience Faculty & Learning Coaches for Immediate Impact from INSEAD
Through outstanding design and delivery, INSEAD’s The video lectures are complemented by a rich set of Action Learning Projects (ALP) are a core element of Upon successful completion of all programme
online programmes build upon our world-class faculty’s interactive elements, including short quizzes, simulated the online programmes, designed to increase business activities, combined with satisfactory grades on the
ability to convey very complex concepts in the simplest exercises, online discussions and personal reflections. impact. The guided ‘real-world assignments’ feature final assignment, participants are awarded an official
yet most comprehensible way. Through these interactions, we build a community of of the programmes encourages participants to take Certificate of Completion from INSEAD, which they can
faculty, learning coaches and diverse, high-quality newly acquired skills and apply them within the context also showcase on their LinkedIn profile.
•C
 ontent designed specifically for the online format,
global executives who learn together as a group - one of their actual job and organisation. The projects are
including short high-impact videos
of INSEAD’s strengths. closely aligned with the learning in the programme and
•P
 rofessional, high-quality video lectures
benefit from the learning community, with feedback
•U
 se of relevant and engaging examples and short
from the learning coach and from peer review.
case studies from a wide range of industries.

4 5
 BUSINESS STRATEGY
AND FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
Confronted with the threats of disruption and a shifting Key benefits Programme content Management Choices and Their Impacts on Financials
competitive landscape, companies are pushing for greater • Develop your ability to think strategically and see the big The programme content has been expertly designed • What is the difference between cash flow and earnings,
strategic agility by fostering business acumen throughout picture so that you can align an organisation’s internal to accelerate your strategic thinking, and to empower and can you use the statement of cash flows to understand
their organisation. Business acumen is no longer a skill resources and capabilities with its evolving external your decision-making as a key creator of value for your sources and uses of cash?
confined to senior leadership. Instead, it is crucial for environment organisation. Over your 7-week learning journey, you will • How does Return on Invested Capital (ROIC) tie to financial
professional success and advancement across a wide range explore: sustainability?
• Learn to take a value approach to navigating business
of roles and responsibilities. The greater their understanding
decisions and driving sustainable competitive advantage • What differentiates expensing and capitalising cash flows in
of business strategy and financial performance, the more The meaning of strategy
• Understand the impact of management choices on terms of ROIC and how do management choices influence
executives and managers can deliver faster and smarter
company financials to develop a strategy execution plan for • What is strategy and how does it fit with a dynamic external the numbers?
decision-making. They will also be better equipped to drive
superior financial performance and sustainability. environment?
the innovation and change that organisations need to
• What are the key trends in industry and what do Aligning Activities
succeed and maintain long-term sustainability in today’s
challenging markets. Participant profile performance differences look like across diverse sectors? • Crafting your value proposition to drive added value and
• How can strategy help you meet the challenges of market aligning your organisational activities with your value
Are you an executive – in any function, from operations, HR, •H  igh potentials looking to accelerate their development as propositio.
turbulence and disruption?
marketing, legal, IT, etc. – who is now being called upon to business leaders
• Evaluating opportunities to implement generic strategies,
take a strategic perspective on your organisation? Developing •E  xecutives in functions such as HR and IT looking to Following the value Blue Ocean Strategy or support function strategy.
your business acumen will allow you to better understand improve their ability to act as business partners within their
• How do you drive competitive advantage through added • How to differentiate between business strategy and
the drivers behind an organisation’s financial performance, organisations
value and what are the challenges involved? corporate strategy.
as well as how to leverage that knowledge in your areas of • Those responsible for B2B client relationships looking
responsibility. to deepen their customer understanding and to position • Can you balance willingness-to-pay and resource costs,
and what are the drivers you can leverage in B2B and B2C Agile Execution
themselves as strategic partners
Do you work in corporate sales or advisory and need to contexts? • Are you ready to align value, activities and resources to

E X E C U T I V E E D U C AT I O N – B U S I N E S S S T R AT E G Y A N D F I N A N C I A L P E R F O R M A N C E
understand your clients’ evolving business challenges? • How do you anticipate shifts in market size? drive strategy execution, and what will it take to rethink your
Business acumen will improve your ability to act strategy process for agility?
as a strategic partner for your clients, tailoring your Managing Your Value Network and Role of Financial • How can you balance strategic agility with the need for long-
recommendations and clearly communicating your Reporting term stability?
organisation’s distinctive value proposition. • Who captures value and how much? • What are the strategic partnerships that can fuel growth
• Can you use the industry value chain and Five Forces while mitigating risk?
Business Strategy and Financial Performance is designed
to give you the key tools and perspectives from strategy and framework to map shifting dynamics, and analyse the
impact of competition on value? Final Assignment and Peer Review
finance to achieve these objectives. The programme will help
• How to understand basic financial statements and the The programme concludes with a two-week assessment
you understand the evolving strategic agenda of a company
impact of company strategy on its financial. period during which you will synthesise your learning into an
and then leverage that understanding to identify concrete
Action Learning Plan Final Assignment. You will also have the
opportunities to elaborate the strategy, drive organisational
Measuring Investment and Strategic Performance opportunity to give and receive invaluable feedback from your
alignment, and ultimately enhance financial performance.
cohort of diverse peers.
• How to understand the Balance Sheet in the context of
strategic initiatives and investments.
• What is the optimal way to use your Income Statement to
measure performance?
Programme directors • Can revenues and expenses be used to determine value to
the customer?

Peter Zemsky Daniel A. Bens

Professor of Strategy
The Eli Lilly Chaired Professor of Strategy Professor of Accounting and Control
and Innovation

6 www.insead.edu/executive-education/open-online-programmes/business-strategy-financial-performance 7
 Action Learning
Project (ALP)

These guided ‘real-world assignments’ are a core There are three phases to the ALP process: First,
element of INSEAD’s Online programmes, designed to you will agree on the scope of your ALP with the
increase business impact, and to enable you to take learning coach, to make sure it aligns with the learning
newly acquired skills and apply them within the context objectives of the programme and culminates in a
of your actual job and organisation. concrete end goal.

Each online programme centres around a specific Second, in each of the content weeks, you will apply

E X E C U T I V E E D U C AT I O N – B U S I N E S S S T R AT E G Y A N D F I N A N C I A L P E R F O R M A N C E
Action Learning Project related to the learning the tools and concepts from that week to your ALP.
objectives of that programme, allowing you to test
ideas in a risk-free environment, then devise a realistic Third, at the end of the content weeks, you will
strategy plan that can immediately be executed synthesise elements from your weekly submissions to
once you return to work. Working with the learning propose concrete strategic recommendations for your
coach, you will design an ALP that is right for your organisation, and submit them for peer review. In the
organisation and your personal learning objectives. final week of the programme, the peer review will take
For those attending the programme with a group of place, where every participant will review 2 to 4 other
colleagues from the same company or organisation, submissions and provide peer feedback.
the learning coach can help you structure a more
ambitious team ALP to collaborate and work on
together.

Learning coaches, led by INSEAD alumni, are available throughout the programme to
help you achieve your learning objectives, as well as help move the discussion forward
and exchange ideas with you. Experienced and successful business professionals from
Learning diverse industries, our learning coaches guide you in your learning journey, especially
Coach your ALP, to bring the learning alive in your business context. They work closely with
you and help you design an ALP that focuses on your personal development goals,
provide feedback and keep you moving in the right direction.

8 9
 Programme Syllabus Dates and Fees
WEEK 1

What is strategy? • Strategy and performance • Industry value chain

• Industry drivers • Analysis of environment (PESTLE &
• Strategy as FIT - How organisations adapt interactions between trends)
over time to their changing environment • Examples: Vitality, hotel industry/AirBnB,
• Integrative strategy case analysis auto, pharma, online industry, ESG

WEEK 2

Follow the value • Your Value Compass • Drivers of Market Size

• Value Proposition Analysis (Value Creation • EVs and Value Proposition
& Value Capture) • Examples: green transition, Schneider,
• Willingness-to-Pay and Cost Analyses Nissan, Tesla, strategy consulting, hotel
industry, music industry

WEEK 3

Managing your value • Added value – cooperating and competing • How to deal with competition – Positive
network & role of for value feedback
financial reporting • Willingness-to-Supply • How strategy affects company financials
• Social value – value creation externalities • What are basic financial statements and
• Competitive pressures – threats to value who uses them
capture

E X E C U T I V E E D U C AT I O N – B U S I N E S S S T R AT E G Y A N D F I N A N C I A L P E R F O R M A N C E
WEEK 4

Measuring investment • Balance sheet: Strategic initiatives and • Putting it together: Return on invested
and strategic investments capital (ROIC) Dates Fees**
• Revenues: Value to the customer • Linkage of ROIC to financial sustainability
performance Begins 9 September 2024 - 7 weeks *
€2,470
• Expenses: What it takes to deliver value Individual application deadline: 26 August 2024 at 11am CET

WEEK 5
Group application deadline: 9 August 2024 Contact
Begins 3 February 2025 - 7 weeks *
Ram Subramanian
Management choices • The difference between cash flow and • Statement of cash flows Individual application deadline: 20 January 2025 at 11am CET Programme Advisor
and their impact on earnings • Challenges of reporting actions aimed at Group application deadline: 3 January 2025
• Expensing vs capitalising cash flows and environmental sustainability Tel: +65 6681 5494
financials their effect on ROIC Begins 28 April 2025 - 7 weeks* Email: bsfp_contact@insead.edu
• Management choices that influence the Individual application deadline: 14 April 2025 at 11am CET
numbers Group application deadline: 28 March 2025

WEEK 6

Aligning Activities • Company value chain • Blue ocean strategy

• Activity analysis • Support function strategy
• Generic strategies for competitive • From business to corporate strategy
advantage

WEEK 7

Agile Execution • Strategy process • Resources and diversification *The programme content is delivered over the specified consecutive weeks, followed by 2 weeks to finish project work and engage in peer review.
• From strategy formulation to strategy • Prioritising opportunities
execution **Fee subject to change. Local taxes shall apply at the prevailing rates. We offer a concession of 20% for groups of 5 participants or more.
• Examples: John Deere, Facebook, remote
• Strategic agility and resources work

10 11
 YOUR ONLINE LEARNING JOURNEY WHAT DOES A TYPICAL WEEK ON AN INSEAD
ONLINE PROGRAMME LOOK LIKE?
Each week of content follows a very clear path to facilitate learning for busy executives. The programme culminates with 2 extra Our online programmes combine a number of learning Participants earn points as they go, with a ‘leaderboard’
weeks to finish the project work and engage in peer review. elements to create a balanced blend of learning, interactions featuring the most engaged participants each week. Every
and application in the learning journey for participants. The week, questions are posted by participants for the INSEAD
platform allows participants to learn at their own pace during faculty, who then respond through just-in-time videos and live
each week, by viewing the content, completing assignments calls. On average, the programme takes 4-6 hours per week*.
and engaging in discussions.
LAUNCH
WEEK

Orientation & Connecting with your Learning Coach

Launch Week starts on the Monday prior to content Week 1. URS 1
H
You will get access to familiarise yourself with the platform, start networking O

OU
H
with peers, and for some programmes you may connect with your Learning Coach

R
Video lectures:

1-
to do some preparatory work.
course
fundamentals
Videos lectures: Quizzes
examples from
CONTENT CONTENT CONTENT CONTENT CONTENT CONTENT CONTENT various industries
WEEK 7 WEEK 6 WEEK 5 WEEK 4 WEEK 3 WEEK 2 WEEK 1
Cases & Exercises

E X E C U T I V E E D U C AT I O N – B U S I N E S S S T R AT E G Y A N D F I N A N C I A L P E R F O R M A N C E
Learn, Practise & Apply Concepts* ONE TYPICAL
On the Friday of each Content Week, the new content is released. WEEK ON AN
You will have two weeks to complete each content week. Discussion Forums
INSEAD ONLINE
PROGRAMME

POST Readings
WEEK 8 WEEK 9
PROGRAMME

Synthesise & Wrap-up Execute & Create Impact

Finish working on your Application and Impact assessment
Action Learning Project (ALP) in your organisational context.
& peer reviews. Action Learning Projects (ALP)
for individuals or teams

Throughout the programme, an INSEAD Learning Coach will be guiding you

and helping you maximise the impact of your learning journey. 2 - 3 H OU R S *

*Please note the programme may include a pause week(s). *This is the recommended number of hours per week however please note that working on the Action Learning Project (ALP)
may require up to two additional hours/week.

12 13
 FAQs

How do I apply and what is the selection What is the role of the Learning Coach? What are the learning requirements in order
process? At INSEAD, you never learn alone. To bring this notion alive to successfully complete the programme?
Similar to our face-to-face programmes, we have an in the online setting, we have built a learning community Our online programmes, like our face-to-face programmes,
application and admission process in place for our online comprising of the participants, the faculty and the learning follow a rigorous learning process. Participants are expected
programmes to ensure a diverse and motivated group of coach. The learning coach plays an integral part in stimulating to fulfil a certain minimum criteria to earn the certificate of
participants for a rich learning experience. The Admissions content discussions, encouraging collaboration between completion.
Committee reviews all applications to ensure that each participants as well as guiding the participants closely in the
participant fulfils the requirements and any pre-requisite design of their Action Learning Project. What do I receive upon completion
request for the programme. The Admissions Team will then of the programme?
confirm if you are accepted to the programme. Will I have an opportunity to interact
Upon successfully completing all the programme
with INSEAD Faculty? requirements in time, you will receive an official Certificate of
How much time should I expect to dedicate Yes, of course. We purposefully limit class sizes to ensure Completion from INSEAD, which you can also share with your
to the programme every week? ample faculty-to-participant time. At a minimum, participants network on LinkedIn.
The programme should take approximately 4-6 hours, and can expect at least one live call with the faculty to discuss
potentially may entail up to 2 additional hours/week to course content. In addition, the faculty would be reading your I work for a company or organisation
complete Action Learning Projects (ALPs). You can expect thoughts in the discussion forums in the platform from time
that would like to enrol multiple employees
to devote 1-2 hours per week watching video lectures on to time and answer your questions through periodic just-in-
time recorded videos. The Faculty would be further assisted in the same programme. Is this possible?
fundamental concepts, 1 hour per week on interacting
with fellow participants in discussions or reflecting on the in these interactions by the learning coach, acting as a bridge Absolutely, and we actually encourage participants to attend
concepts through quizzes and reflections, and 2-3 hours between the participants and the faculty. in teams in order to maximise the learning and impact. We
per week in applying the fundamental concepts in an ALP to also offer a special fee for groups of executives attending

E X E C U T I V E E D U C AT I O N – B U S I N E S S S T R AT E G Y A N D F I N A N C I A L P E R F O R M A N C E
understand their relevance to your everyday work. Will I be able to interact from the same organisation, so please feel free to contact us
with other participants? for more details.
What is the weekly learning rhythm during Yes, of course. The learning experience is designed to
the programme? Do I need to be online encourage interaction. Participants are able to interact
at specific times during the programme, with each other through discussion forums, interspersed
or can I learn ahead of the rest of the class? throughout the platform. In addition, participants would have
the option to work on the Action Learning Project in groups
The programme is designed in a manner to encourage the with fellow participants. They would also have the opportunity
whole class to learn together, moving at a certain pace from to interact with each other during the live call with faculty.
week to week, while providing enough flexibility within each
week for the participants to review the content at their own
convenience. While a week is open, you can login any time at
your convenience and review the weekly content at your own
pace, as the learning design is asynchronous.

For more details, and additional FAQs, please refer to our website:
www.insead.edu/executive-education/open-online-programmes/
business-strategy-financial-performance-faqs

14 15
 Practical Information
We are continuously adding new online programmes and sessions throughout the year.
Please make sure you refer to our website for the latest dates and information:
https://www.insead.edu/executive-education/open-online-programmes

Contact us
For more details about our programmes & offers, or to apply, please contact:

Anita Jiang
Programme Advisor
Tel: +65 6407 7202
Email: anitatt.jiang@insead.edu

Rong Cheng LEE

Programme Advisor
Tel: +65 6681 5492
Email: rongcheng.lee@insead.edu

E X E C U T I V E E D U C AT I O N – B U S I N E S S S T R AT E G Y A N D F I N A N C I A L P E R F O R M A N C E
Take a first step towards organisational
transformation today.
Contact our team to discuss your needs and challenges now.

Special Offer for Groups

Our open online programmes offer the possibility to cater to groups coming
in from the same organisation.
For a group of 5 participants or more who want to attend one of our open online
programmes, we offer a 20% concession.

Special Offer for Past Participants

Past participants of INSEAD Executive Education Open Programmes (On-campus,
Live Virtual and Blended) are eligible for a 20% concession on an INSEAD Open Online
Programme. To access the offer, please contact a programme advisor.

16 17
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