INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT - 2020/1

Module code: MANM009

Module Overview

The world-wide political and economic liberalization and continuous technology improvement in the last three decades have brought unprecedented flows of goods, services, labour and capital across national boundaries. International business today comprises a larger and ever growing portion of the world’s business and global events and competition affects almost all companies. A company operating internationally will engage in modes of business that are different from those it is accustomed to domestically. International business management is the process of applying management concepts, theories, and techniques in a multinational environment so that firms can become and remain international in scope. Moreover, a comparative view of management and organization in internationally operating firms is provided to understand these processes in details

Module provider

Surrey Business School

Module Leader

PIVAVARAVA Alena (SBS)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Overall student workload

Independent Learning Hours: 117

Lecture Hours: 22

Seminar Hours: 11

Module Availability

Semester 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None

Module content

The main module content includes


  1. drivers and implications of globalization; the theories of FDI;

  2. country market evaluation regarding the opportunities and risks brought to MNEs;

  3. institutional home and host country effects on international management;

  4. host country effects of FDI;

  5. managing human resources across national borders;

  6. managing production and technologies in a global context.


Assessment pattern

Assessment type Unit of assessment Weighting
Examination 2 HOUR CLOSED BOOK EXAMINATION 100

Alternative Assessment

None

Assessment Strategy

Describe the unit of assessment(s) from the strategic point of view to be coherent with the learning outcome of the module and to match the learning and teaching strategy. Please describe the constructive alignment.

A 2-hour close book examination will be the principle method of assessment. Exam questions are designed to assess students’ ability of understanding, applying, analyzing and evaluating key concepts and theories that are discussed in the module, and their ability in understanding and solving practical problems that relate to different stakeholders, such as multinational corporations, international institutions, and national government bodies, in the process of globalization.  An emphasize is given to evaluate students’ independent and critical thinking.

Formative assessment and feedback
•Students will receive individual feedback during the module from the tutor.

Module aims

  • The objective of this course is to provide a framework for understanding and managing key issues in international business. Specific learning targets include:
  • To identify and understand the drivers of globalization and its implications to different agents
  • To describe major theories of foreign direct investment and evaluate their theoretical weaknesses and strengths in relating to historical patterns of FDI
  • To develop the ability to evaluate the attractiveness of foreign markets and formulate effective entry strategies for multinational enterprises
  • To utilize theories and concepts to make recommendations in the areas of international strategy, international HR, and international production.
  • To develop a comparative perspective of international business and management by understanding the impact of different institutional settings

Learning outcomes

Attributes Developed
1 Understand globalization, drivers and implications K
2  Review theories of foreign direct investment (FDI) and critically evaluate weaknesses and strengths of different approaches K
3 Discern the major opportunity and risk variables of the destination of FDI to assist management decisions KT
4 Review and evaluate international aspects of corporate strategy and special features of strategic alliances K
5 Understand the role of organizational structures and management in multinational enterprises K
6 Understand the impact of diverse institutional environments on multinational enterprises K
7 Understand management of human resource in a global context K
8 Understand management of production and technologies in a global context KP
9 Discuss the impact of FDI and elaborate the different channels and mechanisms through which such impact takes place; Nurture a dynamic and multiple-perspective in understanding host country effects of FDI K
10  Learn by self-reflection and self-testing of theoretical knowledge and understanding against practical situations and empirical data. T
11 Communicate effectively T

Attributes Developed

C - Cognitive/analytical

K - Subject knowledge

T - Transferable skills

P - Professional/Practical skills

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

The teaching and learning strategy is designed to enable students to compare and discuss different concepts and theories and to discuss the issues which integrate different topics and to apply models and theories to case studies and scenarios

The teaching and learning methods include: 


  • Lectures

  • Groupwork

  • Seminars


Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: MANM009

Programmes this module appears in

Programme Semester Classification Qualifying conditions
International Marketing MSc 1 Compulsory A weighted aggregate mark of 50% is required to pass the module
International Financial Management MSc 1 Compulsory A weighted aggregate mark of 50% is required to pass the module
International Business Management MSc 1 Compulsory A weighted aggregate mark of 50% is required to pass the module

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2020/1 academic year.