International Business programme:
MSc and Postgraduate Diploma
Syllabus
Core courses
International accounting and finance
This course gives a fundamental understanding of accounting and
finance techniques and practices. It will also provide an awareness
of the impact of contexts – different countries, industries,
markets, and regulatory regimes – on accounting and finance.
It will enable students to focus on the analytical usefulness of
accounting and finance data, but in a manner which emphasises the
importance of a wider business understanding for such analysis and
the limitations as well as the strengths of the data.
International human resource management and organisational behaviour
The subject matter of the two modules in International human
resource management and Leadership and organisations are combined
in order to create an integrated module. These two subjects have
been brought together in order to give an account of the nature
of work within the modern corporation. In these modules the key
dimensions of managing people at work have been chosen, namely:
selecting and recruiting staff from external and internal labour
markets, rewarding and motivating them, fitting them into an organisational
structure and culture, and seeing how they cope with organisational
change, much of it driven by the internationalisation of business
in the modern world. Overall, what could be called a macro, sociological
or organisational approach to the subject of people at work is being
utilised.
Information
systems and operations management
The subject matter of the two modules in Operations management and
Information systems are combined in order to create an integrated
module. These modules will facilitate the study of topics in the
important field of operations management – the activities
which produce the goods and/or deliver the services required by
customers. In today's globalised economy, more and more organisations
operate internationally, increasing the complexity and importance
of operations management decision-making. The modules will also
cover the topical field of information systems and will address
the important organisational and managerial concerns in the development,
implementation and effective.
International
strategy
This course provides the student with an understandings of how Corporate
and Business Strategy fits into the organisation and running of
a company or multi-company corporation. It will introduce students
to the way in which a firm can achieve sustainable competitive advantage
and develop the corporation internationally. It will enable students
to evaluate the factors that need to be considered in analysing
a firm’s external environment as well as the internal core
competences of a firm, Students will learn how to formulate the
strategy for a firm and will understand the nature of corporate
and international strategy.
International
marketing
This course aims to develop an advanced understanding of the managerial
marketing vocabulary of concepts, maxims and normative models within
an international context drawing on issues in differing domains
of practice including the public sector. The baseline for the course
is the influential US normative tradition of applied marketing principles.
Alongside this, the course encourages a critical engagement from
students supported by reference to traditions of marketing scholarship
which seek not to advance organisational effectiveness but to study
the evolution, production and communication of marketing through
itself. Students successfully completing this course will understand
the historical development of marketing from its roots in classical
economics in the USA, to the normative tradition promoted by academic
consultants such as Drucker, Levitt and Kotler. Students would furthermore
demonstrate an understanding of popular normative marketing concepts
such as the Mix and STP through application in practical case scenarios,
learn to appreciate the scope of marketing activity in diverse sector
including the non-profit and develop an awareness of some of the
work that critiques the practical and theoretical assumptions of
the managerial marketing tradition and which explores the idea of
marketing as an intellectual domain.
International
business economics
The course will introduce students to the economics of business
enterprise through a strategic framework that incorporates both
traditional and modern approaches to the firm. Combining real-world
examples with economic methodology, it will explore decision-making
within a competitive context and demonstrate an understanding of
economic analysis and reasoning relevant within a business context.
Using the theory of the firm, the course will display an appreciation
of the economic underpinnings of business strategy. It will also
evaluate how various models of competitive analysis can be used
to assess strategic behaviour. Students will leant how to formulate
and respond to differing competitive scenarios at the firm level,
and apply presentation and analytical skills to develop argument
and evidence to support evaluation.
Electives
International entrepreneurship
This course will provide students with the intellectual and practical
background to equip would-be entrepreneurs with the skills and knowledge
to set up their own international companies successfully. Students
will gain an understanding of the key differences between large
companies and SMEs and learn to appreciate the role of start-up
and entrepreneurial activity in the hi-tech and Bio-pharma sectors.
It will also provide students with an understanding of the financing
options available to start-up and developing companies.
China
and the international economy
This course will explore China’s role in the integration of
the Asia Pacific region, and the nature of diplomatic and economic
relations. It will specifically analyse the role of FDI and overseas
and Asian MNEs in China, and assess the causes of economic growth
and reform in China, and the nature of business organisation and
management. The role of entrepreneurship and the growth of Chinese
corporations and their global strategies will be discussed. The
impact of the financial crisis of 1997 and the implications of China’s
accession to the World Trade Organization on Chinese business will
be explored. Attention will also be paid to the role of the state,
personal connections, and the Communist Party. Students will learn
about the practical realities of business and management in China,
and the relationship between indigenous practice and international
influences.
Advertising
and promotional communication
This course will provide students with an advanced strategic perspective
on contemporary marketing communication management within an international
context. It will develop an integrated approach within a strategic
and international marketing communication perspective, and offer
a theoretically and practically robust basis for further postgraduate
study/research and/or careers in marketing and advertising. The
course will draw on the research-based expertise in the marketing
group in advertising and promotional communication within the School
of Management
Cooperative
strategy
Many companies today engage in co-operative strategies. A cooperative
strategy is an attempt by a firm to realize its objectives through
cooperation with other firms, in alliances, rather than competition
with them. This course focuses on the benefits that can be gained
through cooperation and how to manage the cooperation so as to realize
them. It will examine how a cooperative strategy can offer significant
advantages for companies that are lacking particular competencies
or resources to secure these through links to others possessing
complementary skills or assets; this course will also examine how
cooperative strategy may also offer easier access to new markets,
and opportunities for mutual synergy and learning.
International
business analysis
This course analyses corporate management by examining two interconnected
themes: (a) literature and debates, and (b) the macro and meso background.
The first theme presents a form of business analysis that draws
on three sources. First, it outlines relevant management/strategy
literatures. Second, it introduces political economy debates, which
help us to understand the changing structural context around firms
and industry. Third, it demonstrates how market, financial and productive
analysis can be used to develop empirically based stories about
strategies and their outcomes. The second theme contains two features:
first, economic/product market context; second, use of business
analysis methods to allow case study work.
International
sustainability management
This course provides the student with an understanding of how Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR) fits into a programme of Sustainable
Development for an organisation. The aim is to introduce the student
to the tensions and trade-offs involved in the adoption of CSR by
a firm in a competitive economy. The students will also learn to
understand the role of central, regional and local government in
providing a facilitating framework for CSR and encouraging its adoption.
The students will also learn to understand the problems involved
in implementing a CSR programme and the culture change necessary
to achieve a successful CSR firm strategy for companies previously
concerned only with shareholder value. It will enable students to
evaluate the factors that need to be considered by politicians in
encouraging the adoption of CSR, the factors that need to be considered
by corporate strategists in developing a business and corporate
strategy including CSR and to evaluate the economic and cultural
factors involved in the adoption of CSR by firms. It identifies
the implications for a firm in terms of risk and competitiveness
of the adoption of a CSR agenda when other firms in its markets
may not have done so and enables students to understand the implications
of CSR for capital markets as well as the implications of implementing
and embedding CSR in a corporation.
Corporate
social responsibility
This course will provide students with more in-depth knowledge of
CSR issues in the business world. The aim is to introduce the student
to the tensions and trade-offs involved in the adoption of CSR by
a firm in a competitive economy. Students will also learn to understand
the role of central, regional and local government in providing
a facilitating framework for CSR and encouraging its adoption. It
will provide students with an understanding of the problems involved
in implementing a CSR programme and the culture change necessary
to achieve a successful CSR firm strategy for companies previously
concerned only with shareholder value.
Management
of Japanese multinationals
This course analyses the business strategies, organization and operations
of leading Japanese multinational companies, by reviewing and comparing
case-studies. The course will develop insight into the approaches
and methods of leading Japanese executives, and the practical realities
of multinational management. It will consider the influence of national
and organizational cultures on the operations of multinationals,
and analyze the organizational capabilities of Japanese multinationals
in relation to their competitors. Student will be able to evaluate
relevant literature and theory on the multinational enterprise and
Japanese business with contemporary practice, and to utilize research
skills in the investigation of individual Japanese multinationals.
A key feature of this course is the opportunity to confer with leading
business executives and officials, and extend the personal skills
and experiences of students.
Multinational
enterprise and the global economy
This course will provide an overview of the development and current
position and role of Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) as key agents
on the international economic stage. Attention is placed on the
growth and development of MNEs, the emergence of a ‘global’
economy, trends in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and more strategic
issues such as the foreign market entry decision, co-operative structures
and strategies and ethical concerns. Therefore, the course attempts
to interrogate the importance of MNEs as key agents of integration
across the international economy. The course also addresses the
implications of ‘globalisation’ for the organization
and operation of multinational firms.
Investment
management
The course will provide students with a comprehensive overview of
portfolio management in theory and practice. It will develop an
understanding of the pricing of bonds, equities and derivatives
and their risk/return characteristics and evaluate the relative
merits of active and passive management from both a domestic and
international perspective. Recent changes in international fund
management and their implications will also be examined. The main
valuation models for bonds and equities will be critically analysed,
and the problems of international investment strategy and the relative
merits of different approaches will be examined in detail. The current
state of financial markets will be analysed with a view to devising
a relevant portfolio strategy.
Corporate
finance
This course will provide an overview of corporate finance in both
a domestic and an international setting. It will explain the valuation
of real investments and their financing as well as the dividend
decision. By developing an understanding of international capital
markets, the course will identify the main trends in mergers and
acquisition activity. Students will be able to apply the main principles
of financial theory to contemporary commercial problems and understand
the problems of investment appraisal and the relative merits of
different approaches. This will enable them also to evaluate the
consequences of a proposed takeover or merger, and to analyse the
current state of financial markets.
Knowledge
management
This course will develop students’ knowledge and understanding
of contemporary theories and practices of knowledge management (KM)
by examining the theoretical understanding of knowledge management
to real life situations and by integrating different dimensions
of knowledge management arising from human resource management,
information systems and strategic management. The course will explain
the concept of `intellectual capital’ and how it is managed
and exploited in organisations. The course will demonstrate a critical
understanding of knowledge management policies and strategies in
organisations that enhance effectiveness. Students will be able
to apply a range of transferable skills including literature search,
analytical skills, application of theory to real life situations,
teamwork, motivation and interpersonal skills.
International
business law
This course provides an understanding of the essential elements
of international business law. It will focus on the main issues
relating to Contract Law, Commercial Law, Business Regulation, Employment
Law, Company Law, Commercial Arbitration Law (theory and practice)
and Business Ethics (theory and practice). It is intended to give
students a comprehensive and coherent appreciation of the main legal
aspects of the subject as well as exploring ethical issues within
the international business context. The course will give a grounding
in the legal issues of international business, and provide an understanding
of the national and international legal practice relating to international
business law.
Global
financial markets
Global financial markets is concerned with the nature of the capital
securities which are traded on the international money and capital
markets and with the operation of those markets themselves. Over
the last 20 years, there has been an explosion in the variety of
securities and tradable assets, fuelled by deregulation and paralleled
by an equally explosive growth in the technical and academic development
of the discipline of finance. This development came about because
of a number of important theoretical advances: the development of
the theory of risk, the formal development of the concept of arbitrage
and, of equal importance, the development of sophisticated information
processing systems.
Business
research methods – (how to
write your dissertation)
This is an innovative course designed as a step-by-step guide on
how to write your dissertation. It is based on many years of experience
of helping students to successfully complete a research project.
Unlike all other courses in the MSc, there is no examination, but
the course is assessed through the submission of a 12,000 word dissertation.
Course outline
Starting your dissertation: developing and choosing a research topic;
routes to pursue a research issue; how soon should I write?; designing
your research project – research purpose, research strategy;
unit of analysis; time dimension; study setting. Progress of your
report: typical route; road blocks to making progress on your project;
when to stop writing; the 65 per cent rule; limits and objectives
of the literature review; structuring your literature review; falsification
theory and the structure of a literature review.
Theory building: how do you think?; scientific understanding and
method; deduction and induction; lateral thinking; fuzzy thinking;
theory building; variables; hypotheses; what are theories for?;
do theories have to make sense?; simplification; structure of a
theory chapter.
Methodology: components and structure of a methodology chapter;
methodology diary; common methodological problems; qualitative versus
quantitative research; qualitative data collection; six characteristics
of qualitative data collection; methods for collecting qualitative
data; methods for collecting quantitative data; complementarity
of qualitative and quantitative research; sampling and survey design;
advantages of sampling; representativeness and randomness; reliability
and validity; populations and sampling frames; sampling designs.
Coping with data: statistics are beautiful; the power of statistics;
six common statistical fallacies; when is data information?; introduction
to statistical techniques; data analysis; decision framework for
data analysis; statistical tools for data analysis; use of SPSS.
Concluding chapters: bringing data back to theory; how not to write
a conclusion; common problems of style; basic rules of writing;
the expectations of examiners.
Dissertation
The dissertation is an excellent opportunity to analyse a business
or management issue in depth as an independent research project.
The dissertation could be carried out in conjunction with a ‘blue
chip’ business or you could use your experience and knowledge
to study a topic of relevance to your own professional or national
background. You will be assigned a supervisor who will be able to
offer advice and suggestions about your chosen field of inquiry,
your methods and analysis. The supervisor will also provide support
and encouragement to assist you in completing this challenging and
final component of the MSc course.
