International Financial Management and Multinational Corporations

Investigating a Multinational Corporation

• apply and critically evaluate the relevant theoretical framework and models of international financial management;
• evaluate, apply and critically discuss various methods and techniques relating to the financing of an international business;
• apply and critically appraise various theoretical models of corporate value, international cost of capital, and financial structure.

Investigate a multinational corporation of your choice. Critically analyse and evaluate the importance of international financial management (IFM) to the corporation. You must discuss the challenges which the corporation may be experiencing in different international financial markets. Your discussion must be supported with relevant international finance management theories that you have learned in this module. You must also give empirical evidence based on your choice of MNC to support your claims.

• Critically analyse and evaluate your chosen multinational corporation’s dividend distribution policy;
• Critically analyse the efficient market hypothesis theory in the context of your chosen multinational corporation’s operations;
• Critically analyse and evaluate your chosen multinational corporation’s methods of appraising projects.

In submitting this coursework, you are affirming that any and all sentences, graphs, charts, tables etc., not specifically attributed to another source are your own creation. It is essential that you provide complete citations for all statements or analyses presented in your literature review that are derived wholly or in part from the works of others. To do otherwise is to present, as your own, the ideas, empirical evidence or analysis actually produced by someone else.

This includes any materials you find published in source consulted by you, including any and all materials published (posted) on the internet. This specifically includes working papers posted on author(s)’ websites, departmental websites, special interest group websites and so forth.

NOTE: The guidance offered below is linked to the five generic assessment criteria overleaf.

Your work must be informed and supported by scholarly material that is relevant to and focused on the task(s) set; you should make use of scholarly reviews and primary sources, where appropriate (for example, refereed research articles and/or original materials appropriate to the discipline). You should provide evidence that you have accessed a wide range of sources, which may be academic, governmental and industrial; these sources may include academic journal articles, textbooks, current news articles, organisational documents, and websites. You should consider the credibility of your sources; academic journals are normally highly credible sources while websites require careful consideration/selection and should be used sparingly. Any  sources you use should be current and up-to-date, mostly published within the last five years or so, though seminal/important works in the field may be older. You must provide evidence of your research/own reading throughout your work, using a suitable referencing system, including in-text citations in the main body of your work and a reference list at the end of your work.

At level 6, you should be able to demonstrate coherent and detailed knowledge and a systematic understanding of the subject area, at least some of which is informed by the latest research and/or advanced scholarship within the discipline. You should be aware of the uncertainty, ambiguity and limits of knowledge. Your work must demonstrate the growing extent of your knowledge and systematic understanding of concepts and underlying principles associated with the subject area. Knowledge relates to the facts, information and skills you have acquired through your learning. You demonstrate your understanding by interpreting the meaning of the facts and information (knowledge). This means that you need to select and include in your work the concepts, techniques, models, theories, etc. appropriate to the task(s) set. You should be able to explain the theories, concepts, etc. meaningfully to show your understanding. Your mark/grade will also depend upon the extent to which you demonstrate your knowledge and understanding; ideally each shouldbe complete and detailed, with comprehensive coverage.

Importance of International Financial Management to MNCs

You should be able to: critically evaluate evidence, arguments, assumptions, abstract concepts and data some of which are at the forefront of a discipline (and that may be incomplete) to devise and sustain arguments, to make judgements and/or solve problems; describe and comment upon particular aspects of current research, or equivalent advanced scholarship, in the discipline Your work must contain evidence of logical, analytical thinking, evaluation and synthesis. For example, to examine and break information down into parts, make inferences, compile, compare and contrast information. This means not just describing what! But also justifying: Why? How? When? Who? Where? At what cost? At all times, you must provide justification for your arguments and judgements. Evidence that you have reflected upon the ideas of others within the subject area is crucial to you providing a reasoned and informed debate within your work. Furthermore, you should provide evidence that you are able to make sound judgements and convincing arguments using data and concepts. Sound, valid conclusions are necessary and must be derived from the content of your work. Where relevant, alternative solutions and recommendations may be proposed.

At level 6, you should be able to apply the methods and techniques that you have learned to review,consolidate, extend and apply your knowledge and understanding, and to initiate and carry out projects. You will deploy accurately established techniques of analysis and enquiry relevant to the discipline, and apply them in complex and unpredictable contexts, to devise and sustain arguments and/or to solve problems. You should be able to frame appropriate questions to achieve a solution - or identify a range of solutions. Youshould be able to demonstrate how the subject-related concepts and ideas relate to real world situations and/or a particular context. How do they work in practice? You will deploy models, methods, techniques, and/or theories, in that context or circumstances, to assess current situations, perhaps to formulate plans or solutions to solve problems, or to create artefacts, some of which may be innovative and creative. This is likely to involve, for instance, the use of real world artefacts, examples and cases, the application of a model within an organisation and/or benchmarking one theory or organisation against others based on stated criteria. You should show awareness of the limitations of concepts and theories when applied in particular contexts.

Your work must provide evidence of the qualities and transferable skills necessary for graduate-level employment requiring the exercise of initiative and personal responsibility and decision-making in complex and unpredictable circumstances. This includes demonstrating: the learning ability for professional development to advance existing skills and acquire new competences of a professional nature that will enable you to assume significant responsibility within organisations; that you can initiate and complete tasks and procedures, whether individually and/or collaboratively; that you can use appropriate media to effectively communicate information, arguments and analysis in a variety of forms to specialist and non-specialist audiences; fluency of expression; clarity and effectiveness in presentation and organisation. Work should be coherent and well-structured in presentation and organisation.