EXC 3630 Managing International Operations
EXC 3630 Managing International Operations
Multinational enterprises are key actors in international business, and this course will focus on strategy and management of multinational enterprises. This entails looking at how multinationals expand internationally, how they manage and coordinate activities across borders, and leadership and management challenges of complex, multinational organizations.
Students will be able to define and apply knowledge about:
- The specific challenges of managing multinational companies
- How to coordinate and integrate activities across countries
- How multinational companies respond to the challenges and opportunities of national differences across countries they operate in
- Ability to apply theory to analyse real-life cases of international operations
- Ability to evaluate multinational firms' strategies and management processes.
- Awareness of ethical dilemmas in managing international business activities
The course covers various aspects of strategy, management and operations of multinational enterprises. The sessions are based on on a combination of textbook chapters, journal articles, teaching cases and class discussion to analyse and understand multinational firms. Topics include:
- Introduction: the Multinational Company (MNC)
- Foreign operating modes
- Strategy and structure of MNCs
- Managing risk in international business
- Cultural and institutional differences
- International human resource management
- Employees and industrial relations
- Global production networks
- Knowledge sharing in MNCs
- Social and environmental responsibilities in MNCs
The course comprises 39 hours of classroom teaching. The course will be a combination of lectures, case analysis, class discussions and student presentations.
Participation in class in required. For several lectures we will use cases to apply theoretical perspectives in practice. Active student participation is generally expected. Student will also be asked to present and discuss given assignment questions on a current topic related to various lectures.
Students will submit two written assignments; an individual essay and a term paper written in groups of up to three students. The term paper will collect data and analyse a specific aspect of international operations of one multinational enterprise.
Specific information regarding student evaluation beyond the information given in the course description will be provided in class. This information may be relevant for requirements for term papers or other hand-ins, and/or where class participation can be one for several elements of the overall evaluation.
Computer-based tools: Word, Powerpoint, itslearning, internet.
This is a course with continuous assessment (several exam components) and one final exam code. Each exam component is graded by using points on a scale from 0-100. The components will be weighted together according to the information in the course description in order to calculate the final letter grade for the examination code (course). Students who fail to participate in one/some/all exam elements will get a lower grade or may fail the course. You will find detailed information about the point system and the cut off points with reference to the letter grades when the course start.
At re-sit all exam components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course.
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The specialisation requires two years of university education in Business Administration or equivalent.
General knowledge of business administration subjects.
| Assessments |
|---|
Exam category: Activity Form of assessment: Presentation and discussion Weight: 40 Grouping: Individual Comment: Student participation, including presentations and contribution to case discussions. Exam code: EXC36301 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 Weight: 20 Grouping: Individual Duration: 1 Month(s) Exam code: EXC36301 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 Weight: 40 Grouping: Group (1 - 3) Duration: 1 Semester(s) Exam code: EXC36301 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 | 39 Hour(s) | |
Student's own work with learning resources | 30 Hour(s) | Preparation for case discussion and student presentation. |
Prepare for teaching | 30 Hour(s) | |
Submission(s) | 30 Hour(s) | |
Group work / Assignments | 71 Hour(s) | Group term paper. |
A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 7,5 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of at least 200 hours.