Introductory description

This module will provide students with the theoretical foundations, appropriately supported by real-life examples, to help understand how global business works today. Anyone who picks up a newspaper or watch the news on television or radio or social media will immediately understand the importance of global business and how it has become central to decisions made by governments and their regulators - the trade conflict between the US and China, all the problems for global businesses (as well as the people of the UK and Europe) arising out of Brexit and the potential disruption to global supply chains for companies as diverse as car manufacturers and financial services. Furthermore, environmental crises and disruptions come in various forms: economic recessions, disease outbreaks, as well as terrorist attacks – many of which cannot be easily predicted and impose numerous non-trivial costs on firms, particularly MNEs due to their multi-market exposures. At the same time, MNEs are accused of behaving irresponsibly in their quest for global market growth, which is likely to impose further costs on these firms. By the end of the module, you will be able to dig deep into these news headlines and gain real insight into the issues in order to discuss how MNEs can build sustainable business models in today’s global business environment.

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.

Indicative syllabus:
Foreign Direct Investment
International competitive advantage: Nations and firms
The role of formal and informal institutions in global business
Emerging market economies: Risk and strategies
Multinational enterprises strategies and structures
Mergers and acquisitions and International joint ventures
Corporate social responsibility and irresponsibility and firm outcomes
Global value chains: Sustainability during crises and disruptions
Climate change and its impact on global businesses.

Learning outcomes

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

• Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the problems of managing and understanding overseas operations.
• Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of the challenges posed by sustainability pressures on the business models of MNEs
• Critically analyse and interpret global business strategy issues including the costs versus benefits associated with global strategy
• Present ideas and support/ evidence them using empirical and/or theoretical work and relate different theories and their main contributions and weaknesses
• Define, frame and solve corporate problems.
• Deliver a clear proposed strategy linking theoretical ideas and concepts to practical solutions

Indicative reading list

Mellahi, K., Meyer, K., Narula, R., Surdu, I. & Verbeke, A. The Oxford Handbook of International Business Strategy. Oxford: Oxford University Press

Peng, M.W., and Meyer, K. 2019. International business. 3rd edition. Cengage Learning.

UNCTAD (2021) World Investment Report, United Nations Commission on Trade and Development, Geneva.

International

Students will be required to:
Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of, and be able to apply concepts and skills relevant to, the problems of managing and understanding overseas operations.
Identify and relate different theories and their main contributions and weaknesses
Demonstrate critical analytical skills with respect to interpreting global business strategy issues and the challenges to becoming more sustainable as an international organization

Subject specific skills

Identify and connect theoretical work with application to business problems and links to corporate competitive advantage, sustainable goals and performance
Evaluate business problems from the perspective of the parent and host management of a global company, alongside the perspective of other key stakeholders such as: home and host governments, lobbyists, partners, suppliers, distributors, customers, employees and so on
Assess the cognitive structures widely shared by people in a particular company and how they relate to the prevailing management structures
Provide and evaluate original solutions to how a global business should implement international, sustainable strategies in a given market

Transferable skills

Demonstrate ability to work with team members and delegate tasks successfully
Use written communication to put forward an analytical point of view
Demonstrate problem solving skills