International Business

Introduction to International Business

Course responsible

Vasilisa Sayapina, Department of Strategy and Management.

Learning outcomes:

The purpose of this course is to give an overview of International Business and prepare students for building a career in an international environment.Students will learn to understand the complexity of the global business world. The course will provide insight into the connection between the process of globalization and organizational life. The course will shed light on challenges that Multinational Companies (MNC's)and individuals face in the global world.

The course is divided into 3 modules: 1) Macro level: General overview of International Business and the Global Economy,as well as the main actors on the global economic arena. 2) Organizational level: Multinational Companies (MNC's) and various types of firms in the global economy 3) Individual Level: Opportunities and issues encountered by managers while working and building their careers in an international context.

The course consists of lectures, in-class assignments, business case studies and guest lectures. Cases and up- to- date business life examples form the basis for class discussion.

Learning outcomes - the student will be expected to...

Develop a general understanding of International Business

Gain insight into the theoriesrelated to the process of internationalization

Become familiarized with the main historical stages of the MNCsdevelopment

Obtain knowledge about the processes that shape the organizational life of MNCs

Gain knowledge about the development of innovation

Learn to apply different theoretical models to solve real-life business cases

Learn to understand the limitations of existing theories and frameworks

Knowledge - the student is expected to...

Be familiarizedwith the theories of why MNCs emerge and develop

Be familiarized with the main trends of research work in International Business

Have knowledge of the history, trends and issues in International Business

Obtain broad knowledge of important topics, theories and issues within International Business

Skills - the student is able to...

Applyscientific frameworks, theories and relevant results of research to solve real-life business cases

Independently a business issue,define its scope, use relevant theoretical frameworks to analyze the issue and provide the solution

Communicate effectively the results of their analysis

Competence - the student is expected to...

Develop an understanding of the relationship between MNCs and society.

Develop an understanding of International Business with respect to ethical and moral dimensions.

Have insight into relevant academic and professional ethical issues.

Be able to plan and carry out various assignments and projects, both alone or as part of a group,throughout the duration of the course, in accordance with the ethical requirements and principles.

Be able to communicate important academic subject matters such as theories, problems and solutions in writing, orally, and through other relevant forms of communication.

Topics

The course will develop the students' understanding of the actors and processes that take place in International Business. Participants get an insight into the challenges that multinational companies face globally and challenges that individuals face while working in an international environment.

Globalization: historical, political, economic, socio-cultural aspects

International business history of development

Global institutions and their functions in International Business

Multinational corporations (MNCs)

Theoretical aspects of internationalization process

Ethical issues of internationalization

Technological change and Innovations

International Human resource management

Career management in international context

Literature

Book (preliminary) :Cavusgil S. Tamer., Gary Knight, John R. Riesenberger. 2012. International Business: the new realities. 2nd ed. Pearson

Cases:The set of cases will be available on its learning (or Studia)

Articles:Selected articles will be posted on its-learning

Teaching

The course will be taught through a combination of lectures, in-class assignments and students' presentations and discussions of businesscase studies. Students will form a term paper group. The purpose of the termpaper is to relate the theory from the course to the challenges of an MNC. Although the paper will be theory driven, part of the exercise is to provide solutions for the MNC. Students will receive individual feedbacks on Draft 1 and 2 of the course paper. At the end of the semester groups will present their term paper to the class (optional).Assigned textbook sections and reading material should be read prior to attending class each week.

Requirements for course approval

Participation in the first class

A minimum of 80 percent participation in the course sessions

Group case presentation

A passing grade in VOA046OPPG must be achieved before one can sit for the written examination.

Exam

The final grade comprises 7.5 ECTS which will be distributed as follows: Element 1: Term paper (in English) - 3.7 ECTS Element 2: Written examination (3 hours) (in English) - 3.8 ECTS

Gradingscale: A - F

Computer tools

The course homepage on Its-learning provides students updates on teaching materials and messages.