BST 2412 International Business
BST 2412 International Business
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 | Management of diversity and inclusion
- 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
The course consists of 78 teaching hours. The learning process emphasize a mix of lectures, interactions and group activities, weekly assignments, student presentations, Kahoots, analysis of cases of business decisions and management challenges, as individual/group tutoring. Active participation and involvement in class is expected. Information regarding student evaluation will be provided in class. This information may be relevant to requirements for term papers or other hand-ins, and/or where class participation can be one of several elements of the overall evaluation.
A re-sit is held at the next scheduled exam in the course. Students who are taking new exam must take the course all over including all the activities on which the continuous assessment is based.
Two years of college education in economics and business administration, marketing or equivalent is required for taking the course.
Covid-19
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there may be deviations in teaching and learning activities as well as exams, compared with what is described in this course description.
Teaching
Information about what is taught on campus and other digital forms will be presented with the lecture plan before the start of the course each semester.
As a minimum the basic course in statistics MET 3431 Statistics or MET 2920 Statistics.
| Assessments |
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Exam category: Submission Form of assessment: Written submission Weight: 40 Grouping: Group/Individual (1 - 3) Duration: 1 Semester(s) Comment: . Exam code: BST24126 Grading scale: Point scale leading to ECTS letter grade Resit: All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course |
Exam category: Activity Form of assessment: Presentation Weight: 20 Grouping: Group/Individual (1 - 3) Duration: 20 Minute(s) Exam code: BST24126 Grading scale: Point scale leading to ECTS letter grade Resit: All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course |
Exam category: Submission Form of assessment: Written submission Invigilation Weight: 40 Grouping: Individual Support materials:
Duration: 5 Hour(s) Exam code: BST24126 Grading scale: Point scale leading to ECTS letter grade Resit: All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course |
| Activity | Duration | Comment |
|---|---|---|
Teaching | 78 Hour(s) | |
Prepare for teaching | 156 Hour(s) | |
Seminar groups | 25 Hour(s) | |
Group work / Assignments | 116 Hour(s) | |
Examination | 25 Hour(s) |
A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 15 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of at least 400 hours.