BMGT20050 International Management

Academic Year 2020/2021

International Management is a second level (year 2) introductory module on international management and culture. Discussion and explanation are the key learning skills. The focus is on integrating and applying the basic elements of culture and international strategic management and specialized contextualised strategies required for emerging economies and for international new ventures, including modes of entry and methods used to analyse and assess culture and political risk in developed and developing countries.
This introductory module focuses on the challenges and opportunities associated with organizational management and business strategy in the global environment. Students will gain a general overview of the process and effect of internationalization in contemporary business, along with an introduction to theories, concepts and skills relevant to managing effectively in today’s global environment.
Discussion and explanation are the key learning skills. Students will be challenged to integrate knowledge they have gained from other business core courses and apply their accumulated knowledge to business case studies.
Students will engage in active research and analytical problem solving related to managing in the international environment and will frequently be called upon to brief their findings to the class.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of this module, students should be able to:
1. Understand and assess the drivers and consequences of globalization; compare and contrast different political, legal, and economic systems and technological forces; understand and appreciate the need for ethics and social responsibility in international management.
2. Describe and apply the concept of “national culture” and “organizational culture” and understand the relationship between them. Integrate those concepts within the context of cross cultural management, decision-making, negotiation, communication, motivation and leadership, and appreciate the challenges of diversity in the modern work environment.
3. Integrate and apply the basic elements of international strategic management and the specialized strategies required for emerging economies and for international new ventures, including the modes of entry and methods used to analyze and assess political risk in developed and developing countries.

Indicative Module Content:

1. Understand and assess the drivers and consequences of globalization, its impact on specific regions, and the emerging concerns about its influences on countries around the world

2. Compare and contrast different political, legal, and economic systems and technological forces and their impact on international management

3. Understand and appreciate the need for ethics and social responsibility in international management, and the growing pressures on firms to act in an ethically and socially responsible manner in their global business operations

4. Describe and apply the concept of “national culture” and, using the typologies of Hofstede, Trompenaars, and the GLOBE Project, explain how the culture of one group of people can be distinguished from that of another, and the implications of these differences for international management

5. Explain and understand the challenges of managing across cultures

6. Understand the relationship between national culture and organizational culture, integrate those concepts within the context of international management decision-making, and appreciate the challenges of diversity in the modern work environment

7. Describe the challenges to and apply the most important elements of effective cross-cultural negotiation and communication

8. Integrate and apply the basic elements of international strategic management, including the pressures and cost/benefits of strategies that emphasize global integration versus local adaptation; describe the specialized strategies required for emerging economies and for international new ventures

9. Compare and contrast the modes of entry and the basic choices for organizing firms involved in international business and describe the conditions under which specific entry modes and organizational structure are most effective

10. Describe methods used to analyze and assess political risk and how MNCs apply those methods as they attempt to manage the level of political risk in developed and developing countries, appreciate the broader efforts firms make to manage their relations with host governments, and discuss the various options for managing alliances and joint ventures, especially those in which host governments are involved

11. Explain and apply the mechanisms for ensuring effective control and decision-making in international organizations
12. Understand the tools and techniques used to provide motivation and incentives for employees across cultures, including compensation, benefits, work teams, and other approaches

13. Understand the importance of leadership to international management, including the role of different leadership types and practices and the importance of entrepreneurial and ethical and socially responsible leadership

14. Understand and describe the practices for recruiting, selecting, training and deploying employees internationally, including the challenges of expatriate placement and repatriation

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

24
Practical

24
Autonomous Student Learning

70
Total

118
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
Class participation

Class participation is an essential component of the design of this course. All students will be expected to engage in class discussion and debate in order to facilitate the formation of their critical judgments. All students will be expected to read recommended case studies and chapters from the textbook prior to the commencement of class. All students will be expected to work in groups on different group assignments during the semester.
There are no marks given for attendance, but attendance will be documented. Students are expected to have their name cards in the class. The assignment is based on 10% of the total course marks.

Major Group Project Specification

Your group will prepare a report, including recommendations, for an actual company’s overall entry strategy into a foreign market. Your strategy should include attention to the social, political, and economic factors within the cultural context of the country you propose entering, the entry and organizational strategies the company should advance, including potential alliances with local firms, and a discussion of the ethical, negotiation, leadership, and management challenges associated with your recommendation, all of which should be analysed and evaluated through the local cultural prism. This analysis should integrate the readings and cases for the module in the context of the actions of a specific chosen firm. This analysis will be approximately 20-25 double-spaced pages (with complete references). You will summarize your findings in a short 20-25 minute presentation during the final weeks of class.
Projects will be presented and submitted in Weeks 10, 11 & 12 on a “first come first served” basis. Project leaders, please e-mail your preference as soon as possible. The assignment is based on 40% of the total course marks.

Group Case Study Presentation

Case Studies from the textbook will be presented and analyzed by groups in the class. In groups, you will present the main findings of one of the cases in the textbook, as assigned. Answer the questions at the end of the case study. Presentations should be 10 minutes maximum. The assignment is based on 10% of the total course marks.

Individual Final Exam-Essay

Purpose: The evaluation will assess your knowledge of the course content. The questions will focus on the concept and tools discussed in the class and covered in the associated texts. You will be expected to support your answers with examples. This is a 3000-word essay.
Process: Individual Exam-Essay will be done individually and submitted by week 12. The exam-essay is based on 40% of the total course marks.

 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations
Learning Requirements:

Course on Foundations of Management

Learning Recommendations:

Basics of Management.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade
Group Project: Group project and project presentation Coursework (End of Trimester) n/a Graded Yes

40
Continuous Assessment: Individual Participation Throughout the Trimester n/a Graded No

10
Presentation: Group Case Study Presentation Throughout the Trimester n/a Graded No

10
Essay: Final Exam-Essay Week 12 n/a Graded Yes

40

Carry forward of passed components
Yes
 
Remediation Type Remediation Timing
In-Module Resit Prior to relevant Programme Exam Board
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Group/class feedback, post-assessment
• Peer review activities

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Group/class feedback will be provided by the end of the semester.

The essential textbook for this module is:

1. F. Luthans, and J.P. Doh. International Management: Culture, Strategy, and Behavior, 10th Ed., McGraw-Hill Irwin, 2015.

2. Lothar Katz. Negotiating International Business: The Negotiator's Reference Guide to 50 Countries Around the World. Book Surge Publishing, ISBN 1-4196-3190X, 2017 edition.