Introductory description

This is an option module for students interested in business. It is a pre-requisite for the Term 2 options Management across Cultures and Marketing across Cultures.

Module web page

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

• Globalisation; and varieties of capitalism
• Foreign Direct Investment and international trade
• Emerging market economies: their macro environments
• International competitive advantage: Nations and firms
• The role of cultures in international business strategy
• Multinational / transnational enterprises' structures and cultures

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• The module aims at developing your capacity to critically evaluate ideas about the internationalisation processes of business, and an awareness of the intercultural challenges of implementing international business strategies. Intercultural skills relevant to managing these challenges will be introduced and applied to case studies.

Indicative reading list

Bartlett, C. A., Ghoshal, S. and Birkinshaw, J (eds.) (2008) Transnational Management: Text, Cases and Readings in Cross-Border Management (5th edn.) Irwin McGraw-Hill
Dicken. P. (2007) Global Shift: Reshaping the Global Economic Map in the 21st Century (5th Edition), Sage
Mead. R. and Andrews, T. G. (2009) International Management: Cultural and Beyond, John Wiley & Sons.
Rugman, A. M. and Brewer, T. L. (eds.) (2001) The Oxford Handbook of Internmonal Business. Oxford University Press
Rugman, A. M. and Collinson, S. (2009) International Business (5th edn.), Financial Times, Pearson Education, Prentice Hall, Harlow.
UNCTAD (2002) World Investment Report, United Nations Commission on Trade and Development, Geneva. www.unctad.orq Chapter V

International

This module requires students from diverse backgrounds to work together towards a common goal. By doing so they do not only draw on their knowledge obtained in the module, but also engage in intercultural communication. Developing solutions together for problems of international nature is a core theme of this module. The group project emulates a real-life scenario of working in an internationalising organisation and offering advice on how to enter foreign, culturally-different markets. Especially, students will learn to understand, analyse and interpret foreign markets from multiple angles, including a cultural, economic and legal perspective, using widely used frameworks to organise and systematise their analysis. Students learn to critically engage and articulate challenges faced in a VUCA world.

Subject specific skills

For example: laboratory skills; scientific support writing; research skills and methods.

Transferable skills

Key Skills:

Communication (written, verbal, graphical...)
Numeracy
Use of information technology (e.g. WP, www, databases, spreadsheets, specialist packages)
Ability to learn
Others (e.g. teamwork)

Cognitive Skills:

For example: ability in critical analysis; the ability to formulate and test concepts and hypotheses.