GRA 6343 Managing the Multinational Corporation
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APPLIES TO ACADEMIC YEAR 2016/2017 |
GRA 6343 Managing the Multinational Corporation
Responsible for the course
Helene Loe Colman
Department
Department of Strategy
Term
According to study plan
ECTS Credits
6
Language of instruction
English
Introduction
The main objective of the course is to familiarize students with the research-based literature on managing the mulitnational firm. The aim is to provide an understanding of the challenges and complexities involved in coordination and control of activities and resources in multinational firms.
Learning outcome
The course aims to
(1) develop students’ understanding of the challenges involved in implementing international strategies and the complexities involved in managing, coordinating and controlling resources and activities across borders
(2) provide an overview of the research‐based literature on MNE strategy implementation and management.
Prerequisites
All courses in the Masters programme will assume that students have fulfilled the admission requirements for the programme. In addition, courses in second, third and/or fourth semester can have spesific prerequisites and will assume that students have followed normal study progression. For double degree and exchange students, please note that equivalent courses are accepted.
Compulsory reading
Books:
A. Verbeke. 2013. International Business Strategy. Cambridge University Press.
Collection of articles:
A collection of scientific articles from leading journals in the field, such as: Journal of International Business Studies, Strategic Management Journal, Journal of Management, Journal of Management Studies, Management International Review, Organization Science
Academy of Management Journal.
Other:
During the course there may be hand-outs and other material on additional topics relevant for the course and the examination
Recommended reading
Course outline
The course addresses the following themes:
International strategy implementation
Managing international alliances, joint ventures, and mergers and acquisitions
Headquarter-subsidiary roles and relationships
Staffing and managing MNEs
Learning and knowledge transfer in MNEs
Computer-based tools
Not applicable
Learning process and workload
A course of 6 ECTS credits corresponds to a workload of 160-180 hours.
Classes will be a mix of lectures, presentations and class discussions, where the students need to grasp theoretical articles, present these and apply their insight to real life cases.
The students need to be present in class, come prepared and be ready to discuss articles and cases when they come to class.
Each student is required to read assigned articles and come prepared for class. Students will also prepare article summaries and do presentations.
Please note that it is the student’s own responsibility to obtain any information provided in class that is not included on the course homepage/It's learning or text book.
Examination
| Form of assessment | Weight | Group size |
| Class participation | 25% | Individual |
| Term paper | 75% | Individual |
Specific information regarding student assessment 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 components of the overall assessment. This is a course with continuous assessment (several exam components) and one final exam code. Each exam component is graded using points on a scale from 0-100. The final grade for the course is based on the aggregated mark of the course components. Each component is weighted as detailed in the course description. Students who fail to participate in one/some/all exam components will get a lower grade or may fail the course. You will find detailed information about the points system and the mapping scale in the student portal @bi. Candidates may be called in for an oral hearing as a verification/control of written assignments.
Examination code(s)
GRA 63431 continuous assessment accounts for 100 % of the final grade in the course GRA 6343.
Examination support materials
Permitted examination support materials for written examinations are detailed under examination information in the student portal @bi. The section on support materials and the use of calculators and dictionaries should be paid special attention to.
Re-sit examination
It is only possible to retake an examination when the course is next taught. The assessment in some courses is based on more than one exam code. Where this is the case, you may retake only the assessed components of one of these exam codes. All retaken examinations will incur an additional fee. Please note that you need to retake the latest version of the course with updated course literature and assessment. Please make sure that you have familiarised yourself with the latest course description.
Additional information
Honour code. Academic honesty and trust are important to all of us as individuals, and are values that are integral to BI's honour code system. Students are responsible for familiarising themselves with the honour code system, to which the faculty is deeply committed. Any violation of the honour code will be dealt with in accordance with BI’s procedures for academic misconduct. Issues of academic integrity are taken seriously by everyone associated with the programmes at BI and are at the heart of the honour code. If you have any questions about your responsibilities under the honour code, please ask. The learning platform itslearning is used in the teaching of all courses at BI. All students are expected to make use of itslearning.