International Business

Module title	International Business
Module code	BEM2026
Academic year	2019/0
Credits	15
Module staff	Professor David Boughey (Convenor)

Duration: Term	1	2	3
Duration: Weeks		11

Number students taking module (anticipated)	150

Module description

This module focuses on the growth and management of global enterprises from the 1990s to the present. We take an interdisciplinary approach (drawing on economics, management, geography, and politics) to understand and assess the challenges associated with developing strategies and managing the operations of companies whose activities stretch across national boundaries. In addition we explore the interplay between the multinational corporation, the countries in which it does business, and the competitive environment in which it operates. The module places particular emphasis on investments made by firms overseas (foreign direct investment), and in the nature of national investment policy towards foreign firms.

Module aims - intentions of the module

This module aims to improve students’ understanding of the dimensions, the management and strategic challenges facing organisations operating on a global scale. We aim to ensure students gain an understanding of the temporal and spatial nature of international business, and enrich this understanding with an interdisciplinary social science approach, thereby ensuring our assessment of the global enterprise is framed in a wide political, social, historical and economic context. Overall we’re aiming to improve detailed knowledge of the modern multinational, and to foster systematic and informed analysis of how multinational enterprises operate, thrive, stagnate or fail in an integrated global economy.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)

ILO: Module-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

1. explain the scale and significance of multinational enterprises
2. apply MNE theory to explain trends and examples of foreign direct investment
3. evaluate the impact of foreign direct investment policy

ILO: Discipline-specific skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

4. assess the impact of policy and politics on corporate decision-making

ILO: Personal and key skills

On successfully completing the module you will be able to...

5. select and synthesize material from a range of sources (both academic and practitioner) to support key ideas and recommendations
6. analyse, communicate and present ideas, principles and evidence that support a reasoned and consistent argument

Syllabus plan

The core content of the module will include:

Globalisation Revisited
The Rise of the Global Enterprise
Measuring Global Corporations
Emerging Markets and BRICS
Foreign Direct Investment
Investment Liberalisation and Policy
Explaining FDI
Foreign Investment Decisions
Born Global Firms
Global Governance and Regulation
Corporate Collaboration

Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)

Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities	Guided independent study	Placement / study abroad
29	121	0

Details of learning activities and teaching methods

Category	Hours of study time	Description
Schedule learning and teaching	22	Lectures (11 x 2 hours)
Scheduled learning and teaching	5	Seminars (5 x 1 hour)
Scheduled learning and teaching activities	2	Revision Lecture (1 x 2 hours)
Guided Independent Study	32	Preparatory reading- Reading prior to taught sessions
Guided Independent Study	32	Reflection and further reading- Guided reading and completion of exercises
Guided Independent Study	65	Assignment preparation- Researching and writing an assignment

Formative assessment

Form of assessment	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Seminar Discussion	Hour-long seminars	1-6	Verbal from tutor

Summative assessment (% of credit)

Coursework	Written exams	Practical exams
30	70	0

Details of summative assessment

Form of assessment	% of credit	Size of the assessment (eg length / duration)	ILOs assessed	Feedback method
Essay	30	2,000	1-6	Written individual
Exam	70	2 hours	1-6	Generic feedback; students able to view scripts upon request

Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)

Original form of assessment	Form of re-assessment	ILOs re-assessed	Timescale for re-assessment
Essay	Essay 2,000 (30%)	1-6	August
Exam	Exam 2 hours (70%)	1-6	August

Re-assessment notes

If the student fails the module overall, only individual elements which have been failed/deferred will be assessed.

Indicative learning resources - Basic reading

Bartlett, C.A. & Ghoshal, S. (1998). Managing across borders: the transnational solution (2nd ed.). London: Random House Business.
Chandler, A.D. & Mazlish, B. (Eds.). (2005). Leviathans: Multinational corporations and the new global history, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Dicken, P. (2014). Global shift: Mapping the changing contours of the world economy (7th ed.). London: SAGE
Dunning, J. & Lundan, S.M. (2008). Multinational enterprises and the global economy (2nd ed.). Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Hill, C.W.L. & Hernandez-Requejo, W. (2011). Global business today (7th ed.). London: Irwin/McGraw-Hill.
Kumar, N & Steenkamp, J.E.M. (2013). Brand breakout; How emerging market brands will go global. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Luthans, F & Doh, J.P. (2012). International management: Culture, strategy and behaviour (8th ed.). Boston: McGraw Hill.
Marinov, M. & Marinova S. (Eds.).(2011). Internationalization of emerging economies and firms. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Peng, M. & Meyer, K.(2011). International business, London: Centage.
Rugman, A.M. (Ed.). (2010). The Oxford handbook of international business (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rugman, A.M. & Collison, S. (2012). International business (6th ed.). London: FT/Pearson
UNCTAD (2015). Word investment report 2015. New York and Geneva: UNCTAD.

Indicative learning resources - Web based and electronic resources

globalEDGE™ (http://globaledge.msu.edu) international business web-portal

UNCTAD (www.unctad.org) FDI data and analysis

Key words search

Multinationals, MNEs, International Business, Multinational Enterprise

Credit value	15
Module ECTS	7.5
Module pre-requisites	None
Module co-requisites	None
NQF level (module)	5
Available as distance learning?	No
Origin date	01/02/2016
Last revision date	01/02/2016