APPLIES TO ACADEMIC YEAR 2014/2015

BST 2411 International Business - RE-SIT EXAMINATION

Responsible for the course
Eli Moen

Department
Department of Communication and Culture

Term
According to study plan

ECTS Credits
15

Language of instruction
English

Introduction
This course together with BTH 2412 Bachelor thesis - International Business - constitutes the specialization in International Business, which will be stated on BI's Diploma.

This specialization prepares students for working in an international business environment. The course addresses critical macro level factors in the environment and meso level factors in the organization that are fundamental for a manager to be competent in international business. This course will give students knowledge of the institutional, organizational and interpersonal factors and challenges that are critical to successful international business.
International Business is about firms engaging in cross-border economic activities or doing business abroad. International Business is an integrative perspective that draws on several functional areas of management including Strategy, marketing, Leadership and Human Resource Management.

The course begins with an overview of the global business environment and introduces the international organization and key decisions managers have to face when going international. Strategy and structure of the international business organization will be examined. The international trade and investment environment for these organizations is explored and the global monetary system introduced.

The environmental and organizational context will provide the backdrop for an in-depth analysis of culture and management. Special focus will be placed on the concepts of global leadership and international human resource management. In the final section of the course, students will have the opportunity to develop their skills sets based on their knowledge of culture and management to be effective negotiators. The course is built on a research-based foundation, and uses practical cases where either a marketing or an economic perspective can be used to solve the cases (drawing on the students' different backgrounds).

Learning outcome
The overall objective of this specialization is to provide students with knowledge of the international business environment and how to manage international and global companies, and culturally diverse employees.

Acquired knowledge
After having completed the course, students should have acquired knowledge of central factors in international business - both on the macro-, meso-, and micro level. In particular they should have knowledge of the national differences in the international business environment, firms’ strategies for serving foreign markets and engaging in global competition, as well as culture's consequences for leadership, HRM and negotiations.

Acquired skills
The students will be able to apply core models and concepts to practical situations. They should develop skills in managing a diverse workforce as well as negotiating across cultures.

Reflection
The students should be able to reflect on the meaning of culture and culture's impact on people's expectations and perceptions of management. They should be able to reflect on the effects of globalization (negative as well as positive) and to see how a changing world impacts business both at the macro and the micro levels.

Prerequisites
Students need to have completed the first 2 years of a Bachelor program including Statistics MET 3431 or MET 2920.

Compulsory reading
Books:
French, Ray. 2010. Cross-cultural management in work organisations. 2nd ed. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. chap 2,3,4,6,7,9,10
Peng, Mike W. and Klaus E. Meyer. 2011. International business. Cengage Learning. Chapters 1-6, 8-16

Recommended reading
Books:
Dicken, Peter. 2011. Global shift : mapping the changing contours of the world economy. 6th ed. Sage
Schramm-Nielsen, Jette, Peter Lawrence, Karl-Henrik Sivesind. 2004. Management in Scandinavia : culture, context and change. Edward Elgar

Course outline
The course consists of seven modules. The first day of each module is on international business from an economics & strategy perspective, and the second day addresses leadership and cross-cultural management.

• Module 1) National differences in institutions | National differences in culture
• Module 2) Firm competitiveness and international expansion | Conceptualizing and understanding culture
• Module 3) International trade and Foreign direct investment | Culture and management
• Module 4) Globalization and regional integration | Scandinavian management
• Module 5) Global competition | Values and work-life
• Module 6) Strategy and organization of global firms | Global Human Resource Management
• Module 7) Summary and integration