GLOBAL TRADE AND INTERNATIONAL MARKETS - 2024/5

Module Overview

This module provides students with both a theoretical and practical understanding of global trade and international markets, considered from an international business, political economy (IPE) and management perspectives. This is done through the analysis and assessment of global trade and international markets from different angles, predominantly from the state¿s perspective, the international trade regime perspective (the GATT and WTO) as well as from the perspectives of regional cooperation and of business and industry.

Module provider

Surrey Business School

Module Leader

ALHASSAN Razak (SBS)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 6

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

Module Availability

Semester 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

N/A

Module content

Indicative Content Include:

• Global trade Theories and their Evolution


• Analysing Global Trade and International Markets


•  Trade Policies/Strategies for Development


•  Global Value Chains and Trade


•  States/Governments role and support in global trade, internationalisation, and international markets as well as tools at their disposal


•  Factors affecting national trade patterns


•  Global/International Trade Management (Export and Import Management)


•  Foreign Direct Investment and Global Trade


•  Transnational institutions and the multilateral System in Global Trade


•  Regional Economic Integration and Trading Blocs

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

N/A

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to encourage students to engage in the learning of all topics taught in the module, grasp the basic understanding of the key concepts and theories, and develop their ability to understand and analyze complex phenomena in global trade and international markets. The assessments offer a clear relationship between lectures, tutorials, subject resources, and what students are expected to demonstrate they know and can do. Hence, the expectations are unambiguous. They also embody the nature of knowledge and skills that students are expected to demonstrate. The nature or the oral presentation and written report mirror the skills needed in the workplace.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of: 

• Oral type Examination or presentation, 50%, which aims to assess students familiarity with knowledge and ability to analyse various aspects of global trade and international markets (addresses learning outcomes: 1, 2, 4)


•  Coursework, 50%, which aims to provide students with the opportunity to apply global trade and international market theories to a contemporary global problem at hand in (addresses learning outcomes: 1, 2, 3, 5)

Formative assessment Students would be given the opportunity of a mock presentation during the tutorial session just before their assessed presentation to provide them with formative feedback. Students will be provided detailed verbal feedback on each presentation to help improve students performance in their assessed presentation. The last tutorial session is dedicated to the feedback provision on the written assignment/coursework of the students. Students will also be encouraged to seek formative feedback from module tutors during the seminar sessions and office hours of tutors. Feedback Feedback will be provided in print within two weeks of submission of the assignment. It will be constructive, identifying areas for improvement i.e. ¿feedforward¿ to students. It will offer guidance on what students can do to improve in the future in the light of links to clear assessment criteria. The students will have the opportunity to discuss comments on assessments after they have received feedback.

Module aims

• Provide an understanding of the theoretical foundations of global trade and international markets.
• Provide a practical overview of the most important issues in global trade, partly through highlighting those in previous trading regimes but predominantly through featuring the current global trading regime.
• Enable students to identify the main actors in contemporary global trade issues and assess their interaction and the consequences of such interactions on international markets as well as the world economy.
• Feature the interests of and national dynamics involving politics and business in order to enable students to critically assess various aspects of global trade and international markets.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

The teaching and learning strategy is based on weekly lecture, seminar, guided and directed learning designed with the aim to provide students with the necessary tools to familiarise themselves with, as well as to understand and evaluate, the forces that play a role in global trade and the international markets. Rather than a predominantly theoretical economic approach, the strategy draws on a more practice-oriented IPE approach.

The teaching and learning methods to support the aforementioned strategy are woven into lectures. Depending on the size of the group, the lectures will take a more (small group) or less (larger cohort) seminarial character. Due to the fact that much of the content of this module includes actors whom the students have not come across during their previous modules, students are REQUIRED to engage with the captured content and guided learning (read the texts including chapters and/or articles) recommended for each individual lecture.

Furthermore, the lectures will be supported by seminar classes where attendance shall be monitored.

SurreyLearn will be used in support of the above.

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: MAN3220

Other information

The module embeds the five pillars of the SBS curriculum framework.

Global and cultural capabilities: Students are encouraged to work in a multicultural global working environment and teams that either draws on countries/industries/businesses outside their countries of origin or internationalisation of these businesses to other countries for their assessment. Furthermore, students and staff on this module come from diverse and culturally rich backgrounds. Most assessment elements, as well as the activities embedded in the delivery of the module, require students to work together, solve problems, and creatively tackle people management challenges. As such students broaden their own world view, perspectives, and interpretations by interacting in a culturally varied environment. Our student body, guest speakers, and members of staff are global and diverse, currently representing more than 30 nationalities, which provides students with an internationally excellent educational experience.

Digital capabilities: Fortunately, our students are the generation of information and communication technology enthusiasts. During the module, students acquire and develop a range of digital capabilities. For example, they are taken through the analysis of global trade and international markets using in the process various digital tools as well as country, industry, and firm level data in the process. The teaching and learning strategy is a hybrid between in-person and online teaching and learning activities. In addition to the person-computer interface embedded in the module, some assessment components require students to engage with several digital platforms, including Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Canvas. Students are also trained in operating research software packages such as excel etc. Employability: One of the main intentions of this module is preparing the students to be work-ready. The students learn all necessary concepts, decision-making steps, and techniques for assessing, planning and implementing required internationalisation strategies and actions in the context of international business.

Sustainability: One of the intentions of the module is to advance students understanding and awareness of aspects of sustainability and ethical people management. Sustainable and ethical people management principles inform this module. The module is informed by the three pillars of sustainability  economic, social, and environment as evident in the module content.

Resourcefulness and Resilience: The module exposes students to the competitiveness of global trade and international markets and encourages awareness of the resourcefulness and resilience of countries, business, and industry as they strive to achieve their objectives. The assessment strategy also supports students to rise to the challenge of delivering a presentation and drawing on a range of resources.

Programmes this module appears in

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 2024/5 academic year.