Welcome to International Business: Concepts, Approaches, and Challenges

Welcome to International Business. This module critically examines the major issues and challenges faced by companies engaged in international business. The module aims to develop solid foundation in a vast interdisciplinary field of international business, covering conceptually important topics and furthering analytical skills to analyse and understand complex nature of businesses operating internationally. It then focuses on some of the approaches being used by multinational enterprises both to establish and maintain their competitive advantage. Most importantly, this module seeks to show how the international economic and political environment acts as a very powerful influence over companies’ policies.

This module is delivered by a combination of lectures, case studies, tutorials, exercises and other student-centred learning activities as appropriate. Online students will have access to a range of materials and online tools to facilitate their learning, including topic guides, online chats, exercises, group-work areas and discussion fora. 

 This guide contains important information about the module. It contains information about what you are expected to achieve and what you can expect from your tutors. However you are reminded that the final responsibility for what you achieve is yours. Please make sure you read this guide and keep it in a safe place. You are strongly advised to bring it to all teaching sessions.Throughout there is the opportunity through formative assignments to get feedback which will help you with the formal assessments. Please note that this module will also support the other modules you do during the semester and the module tutors may assess contributions to group work for the other modules. Teaching will be timetabled to support assessments with other modules you are undertaking.

As with any other module on a degree programme, the amount of benefit that you will gain from the module is related to the amount of effort that you put in.  This includes regular participation and contact with your peers, contact sessions, active participation in class discussions, and regular visits to the Blackboard and ULearn for this module. We hope you find this module thoroughly enjoyable, challenging and above all an education that supports your continuous personal and professional development.

 

Welcome to the module. ‘Introduction to Business’. The weekly subjects can be found on the Ulearn and Blackboard VLE. The module aims to provide students with a conceptual understanding of business organisations in relation to their structure, operation, management and environment. 

This module critically examines the major issues and challenges faced by companies engaged in international business. The module aims to develop solid foundation in a vast interdisciplinary field of international business, covering conceptually important topics and furthering analytical skills to analyse and understand complex nature of businesses operating internationally. It then focuses on some of the approaches being used by multinational enterprises both to establish and maintain their competitive advantage. Most importantly, this module seeks to show how the international economic and political environment acts as a very powerful influence over companies’ policies.

 

Specific expectations students can have of tutors:

•    Constructive formative feedback on one assignment draft per assessment
•    Lecture slides made available on blackboard prior to lecture
•    Assessment marks and summative feedback given within fifteen working days from the assessment submission deadline

Specific expectations tutors will have of students:
•    Attend all teaching and activity sessions 
•    Behave professionally in classes and avoid disruption to class and other students
•    Inform tutor via email beforehand when not able to attend any classes
•    Participate and communicate professionally in class and with tutors
•    Attempt all assessments by submission deadline and communicate with the tutor if there are any extenuating circumstances to explore extensions requests and/or mitigation claims

 

On the completion of the module, you will be able to: 
LO1 Debate key contemporary issues relating to organisations involved in international business.
LO2 Identify and evaluate the global context within which international business must function in the twenty- first century.
LO3 Appraise alternative methods of entry into foreign markets.
LO4 Explain why companies may decide to internationalise and alternative theories of Internationalisation.
LO5 Discuss the impact of multinationals on both the home and host nations.
LO6 Select analyse and evaluate data on country markets.