The major objective of the module is to provide students with the knowledge and skills to enable them to analyse the challenges and opportunities that arise for organisations from the internationalisation process and to be able to assess how to manage international business activities effectively.

In particular, the module focuses on the following aims:

To provide students with a solid foundation for analysing the major characteristics and challenges of the international business environment and to understand the major implications of these characteristics for organisations involved in international business activities;

To give students a sophisticated conceptual understanding of the dynamic nature of the international business environment and to understand the major implications of developments in this environment for organisations involved in international business activities;

To provide students with knowledge and analytical capabilities to understand the strategic implications for organisations arising from internationalisation and to assess how to manage international business activities effectively, including aspects of corporate social responsibility and implications for personal career planning;

To apply the theoretical knowledge gained from the investigation and analysis of the international business environment and from understanding of the theories and evidence on how organisations can manage international business activities to practical management issues.

(LO1) Students will be able to critically evaluate and synthesise the key characteristics of the international business environment, assessing their evolution, underlying drivers, and implications for global business strategy and decision-making.

(LO2) Students will be able to critically apply theories and evidence on the characteristics of foreign locations for practical issues in the management of international strategies and operations of organisations.

(LO3) Students will be able to analyse how the evolution of the international business environment is likely to affect practical issues in the management of international strategies and operations of organisations.

(LO4) Students will be able to analyse how diversity in foreign locations impacts on operational aspects such as HRM systems, marketing processes and knowledge acquisition and learning processes.

(LO5) Students will be able to evaluate how diversity of moral and ethical norms in foreign locations affects key issues in corporate governance and corporate social responsibility.

(S1) People Focused
Students will work with multiple stakeholders within the MBA programme and externally. This will be done through challenges posed in the curriculum and outside the curriculum, working and networking with businesses locally and internationally. In doing so students will demonstrate people-focused leadership by prioritising human agency and well-being in a dynamic, disruptive world. Develop inclusivity, transparency, and reflection through teamwork and decision-making exercises, while leveraging innovation to drive personal, organisational, and societal advancement in the digital age.

(S2) Authenticity
Students will develop emotional intelligence through coaching to enhance self-awareness and awareness of others in achieving long-term, purposeful goals. This will permeate with all modules, cultivating accountability by mastering time, resources, and relationships to problem-solve and take actions. In doing so students will act with integrity, foster trust, and engage in respectful challenge and debate.

(S3) Agility
Students will have opportunities to thrive in turbulence and uncertainty. Actively build personal and organisational resilience to embrace disruption, find solutions and keep learning in dynamic environments. Informed, relevant, forward-focused mindsets stemming from constant challenges inside and outside the classroom. Provide clear direction for people and organisations to navigate effectively through simulated and real work problem solving.

(S4) Digital
Students will use a number of digital tools and develop a mindset to confidently embrace new knowledge and technologies, leverage its future potential to inspire, to enhance connectivity, decision making and learning. To bring wisdom in leadership to navigate the new digital revolution and make positive impact. Innovate. Engage in respectful debate.

(S5) Global Perspective
All modules will indulge and challenges students to think globally and consider how they drive the wider global ethical, sustainable and environmental agenda, taking a purposeful approach to aligning people, planet and profit. Experience and appreciate how building partnerships to deliver innovate solutions to economic, environmental and societal challenges are needed to solve wicked problems, improve co-operation globally and be an agent of change.

Lectures (12.5 hours)
Lectures will introduce, explore, and critically assess key concepts, ideas, and practices relevant to the subject. A variety of resources, including journals, textbooks, online videos, media articles, and opinion pieces, will be provided in advance for further reading and application across different contexts. The lecture will also outline expectations for the seminar by providing necessary guidance.

Seminars (17.5 hours)
Seminars will create an interactive environment where participants engage individually or in groups in activities such as case studies and scenario analysis. These sessions will encourage the practical application of concepts introduced in the lectures.

Peer-to-Peer Learning (3 hours)
Peer-to-peer learning fosters a collaborative approach where participants learn from and teach each other through active discussions, idea exchange, and feedback. This method enhances critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills while building a sense of community and mutual support among learners.

Self-Directed Learning (67 hours)
Participants will be expected to review a range of materials, including core and recommended readings, reports, and articles available through libraries and open-access sources. Additionally, they will conduct independent research using both academic and non-academic sources to support their learning and assessment. Lecture notes will provide guidance, and suggested answers or solutions will be available for seminar activities. Participants should complete seminar tasks as instructed before progressing to the next topic.

2.5 hour lecture x 5
3.5 hour seminar x 5
36 mins asynchronous or peer to peer directed learning x 5
67 hours self-directed learning

Introduction to international business management in the context of globalisation – investigation and analysis of the various views on the globalisation process and a critique of the concept of the ‘flat world’ view of globalisation; critical assessment of the significance of the emerging economies for the likely direction of internationalisation processes and the role of Corporate Social Responsibility for organisations as global actors;

International trade and FDI – investigation and analysis of theories and evidence on international trade and FDI and how these activities impact organisations – exporting, importing, off-shoring and sub-contracting – regional trade blocs - drivers of inward and outward FDI including the increasing importance of emerging economies for the direction and character of trade and FDI;

Market entry modes - investigation and analysis of the pros and cons of various entry modes - including exporting, fra nchising/licensing, FDI – joint ventures and wholly owned subsidiaries;

Differences in national institutional and cultural factors – investigation and analysis of the importance of institutional and cultural distance and liability of foreignness for strategy and operations - the increasing importance of the emerging economies for institutional and cultural distance;

Internationalisation Strategies - investigation and analysis of the major internationalisation strategies of MNCs and SMEs - the strategies of MNCs from emerging economies;

Managing international business activities - investigation and analysis of systems and approaches to operational management of organisations in different national locations including issues of HQ/subsidiary relationships – problems facing SMEs of managing international business operations;

The content for this module is available via a multitude of sources including, books, journal articles, reports, videos and podcasts (available via the web) and case studies. Guidance on reading on topics in the module will be given via Vital and in the lectures. Students will conduct literature searches to find relevant sources using the library systems and online search systems such as Google Scholar. Guidance on how to conduct literature searches and how to analyse literature will be provided from material on the web.