This module aims to:

Develop students’ ability to critically select and apply management theories and practices relating to international business and the global macro-economic environment to contemporary organisations in order to develop strategic recommendations;

Provide students with the ability to evaluate the ways in which sustainability and ethics are addressed by organisations in their global business practices;

Encourage students to delineate the important economic considerations relevant to international businesses from a global perspective and appraise the impact of international, regional, and individual country institutions and political environments on global business strategy and decision-making.

(LO1) Students will be able to delineate the important economic considerations relevant to international businesses from a global perspective.

(LO2) Students will be able to evaluate the ways in which sustainability and ethics are addressed by organisations in their global business practices and the impacts of these practices on local and global communities.

(LO3) Students will be able to critically select and apply management theories and practices relating to international business and the global macro-economic environment to contemporary organisations in order to develop strategic recommendations.

(LO4) Students will be able to appraise the impact of international, regional, and individual country institutions and political environments on global business strategy and decision making.

(LRE1) A problem solver.
Students will be encouraged to think critically about theory and their own practice and to challenge assumptions about management theory and about organisational issues and dilemmas. They will do this by gathering and synthesising information, analysing alternative perspectives and options and presenting a considered opinion or course of action.

(LRE2) Ethically aware.
The teaching, learning, and assessment strategy in this module ensures that students are exposed to ideas of sustainable business practice and ethical awareness from an organisational and global perspective.

(LRE3) Internationally aware.
The module content as well as independent reading and inquiry will address international issues such as global macro-environmental factors impacting on organisations.

(LRE4) IT literate.
Students will have opportunities to demonstrate skills in the use of software applications including visual presentations and using the internet for information searches in the course of researching and presenting coursework.

(LRE5) Organised and able to work under pressure.
This will be evident in the students’ independent management of their assignments and ability to meet deadlines.

The module will primarily be delivered through a series of e-lectures, delivered through a variety of methods, covering key topics, theories and case examples. These will be supported by individual online task such as, case studies, blogs, collaborative tasks and discussion boards, which will be used to develop and apply learning. These activities will be moderated by the module instructor. Students will also be directed to key academic and practitioner readings to further develop their learning.

Unscheduled Directed Student Hours: 30 hours
Description: The asynchronous e-lecture and interactive class activity will equate to 5 hours per week over 6 weeks.
Attendance Recorded: Yes – tracked via the learning platform.

One scheduled synchronous seminar of one hour will be delivered in week 1, with the remaining two synchronous seminar hours scheduled during weeks 2 to 6. The dates and times of the seminars will be confirmed at the start of the module (if th ere are issues with time zones another session will be provided). Peer discussion and questions will be encouraged. These sessions will be recorded and moderated by the module instructor.

Scheduled Directed student hours: 3 hours
Description: The synchronous seminars will equate to 3 hours in total over 6 weeks.
Attendance Recorded: Yes – tracked via the learning platform.

Self-directed learning hours: 67 hours
Description: This will involve directed and independent reading, and independent research into management theories and practices relating to international business and the global macro-economic environment and relevant to the module syllabus, aims and learning outcomes.

Introduction to globalisation - the globalisation debate.

Global Challenges and collaborative action - UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Globalisation and ethical issues e.g. modern slavery

Corporate social responsibility e.g. shareholder vs stakeholder perspective, triple bottom line, ESG (environmental, social, and governance) ratings

Global macro-economic environment analysis, value creation and strategy.

International business market entry modes e.g. pros and cons of various entry modes including exporting, franchising/licensing, joint ventures, wholly owned subsidiaries, foreign direct investment (FDI).

International business location considerations e.g. differences in national institutional and cultural factors, differences in developed and emerging markets, city contexts including Liverpool, national competitive advantage and clusters.

International business risk management e.g. political, economic and exchange rate risk.