Core Courses

Skills and Behaviour

OBJECTIVES

At the end of the course, students should be able to: to manage and develop themselves, to adapt at speed to changing circumstances, to work collaboratively in a multi cultural context, to exercise leadership, to manage their own scarce resources (time, energy, conflicting interests), to give and receive feedback in an open and frank manner and to be focussed on results, performance, quality and people issues.

CONTENT

Communication skills, working with others, inter-personal skills, cultural awareness, self auditing, profiling, living on the edge, dissonance, high and low context, managing scarce resources, leadership and creative team working.
International Economics

At the end of the course, students should be able to analyse the determinants and consequences of the international integration of markets and understanding the challenges and risks of international trade and investments. Our students will apply these analytical tools to a country/firm case study.

CONTENTS

• Introduction to the global environment: presentation of the basic stylized facts on the globalization process. Movement of goods, capitals and people. The drivers of globalization. Continuous economic growth as a recent phenomenon from an historical point of view.
• Causes and consequences of international trade: the determinants of international trade. Differences among countries: the principle of comparative advantage. Increasing returns to scale and product variety. The gains from trade.
• The fragmentation of the value chain: foreign direct investment, international outsourcing: the determinants of foreign direct investments (FDI). Horizontal and vertical FDI. The hold up problem. New forms of firm internationalization.
• The regulation of international trade: trade policy instruments, domestic government and the WTO and regional economic integration. Trade policy: tariffs and non-tarrifs barriers. The economic effects of a tariff (small and big country). The political economy of trade policy. International negotiations. The multilateral approach. The WTO and the Doha Round. The discriminatory approach. Preferential trade agreements.
The basic textbook is: Hill C.W.L., International Business. Competing in the global marketplace, 7th edition, 2009, McGraw-Hill.
International Human Resources Management

This course aims to transfer the main logics and methodologies of the principal HRM tools in an international context: planning, recruitment and selection, training, appraisal systems and compensation. The organisational development policies and practices are explained and discussed crosswise in relation to the development of each HRM tool. For all sessions, critical issues and problems related to the practical applications in the international context of the HR operational systems are identified and examined in order to enhance a pragmatic approach.
At the end of the course, with a strong emphasis on the international context, students should be able to:

• understand the common objectives and complementary functions between the use of HRM tools and the structural choices of organisations;
• comprehend the aim and the complexity of the HRM tools;
• properly use the main methodologies related to every HR operational systems.

CONTENT

• Introduction. The meaning of human resources management, the areas of action, the complexities of HRM, the role of the HR functions, the required competencies. The HR policies. The complexity coming from an international context.
• Planning the workforce between needs and constraints. The need of coherence with the planning of other resources. Internal and external factors. The direction of the process: top-down or bottom-up? The logic of the process: analytical or negotiable? The planning process: quantitative, rational or by objective? The evaluation of the planning process. Differences and similarities in an international context.
• Recruiting and selecting people. The objectives of recruitment and selection. The markets: internal, external and instantaneous. Job analysis and person specification. The phases of the recruiting process: the sources and the tools. Passive and active candidates. The phases of the selection process. Tools for selection. The evaluation of the recruiting and selection process. Main issues when selecting in an international arena.
• Training the workforce. Types of training: knowledge, practical and refreshing. Training and development. The phases of training. The techniques: moving from learning to doing. The evaluation of the training process. Training in an international context.
• Evaluating the workforce. The ‘3P’ model: position, performance and person. The use of performance appraisal. Measuring performance: what, who and how? Measurement tools. The importance of the object Vs the magnitude of the process. Evaluation and development. The use of the results. The errors of perception. The evaluation of the appraising performance process. Differences and constraints in assessing people in an international context.
• Compensating the workforce. The retribution structure. Job versus individual pay. The compensation tools. Type of pay-for-performance plans. The benefit package. Compensation and development. Elements of employee relations. Different models for managing HR.
Inter-Cultural Management

At the end of the course, students should be able to:

• Understand the complexity of management of cultural diversity within the national and global context.
• Understand differing managerial styles and approaches to management of cultural diversity.
• Understand the socio-cultural dimensions of cultural diversity.
• Understand cross-cultural management communications-related issues.
• Gain sound perspectives on competent practice in management of cultural diversity.

CONTENT

Inter-cultural management is a multidisciplinary approach to the communicating and understanding problems encountered in interactions between individuals and society/organizations as well as individuals / organizations interacting with global communities. The ability to understand and communicate appropriately is a crucial competence in all intercultural interactions.
In this course, an examination is made of theories and research advanced by behavioral sciences in relation to the understanding of cross-cultural communication. The main aim is to fully explore cultural factors and their impacts on global managerial practice.
Furthermore, this course aims to provide students with strategy, awareness and observation skills needed to succeed in any cross-cultural interaction and negotiation worldwide.
This course complements other management and marketing disciplines in developing cross-cultural management skills and knowledge essential for graduates entering managerial careers in increasingly globalised economies around the world.
International Marketing

At the end of the course, students should be able to:

• Analyse, anticipate and develop a response to the changing international business environment.
• Perceive the marketing significance of socio-cultural differences within and between countries.
• Acquire a strong grasp of the critical success factors in international marketing.
• Select the most appropriate marketing and entry strategies for particular overseas markets.
• Develop a sense of the ethical and social responsibilities of international marketers.
• Prepare an international marketing plan which demonstrates the ability to develop effective marketing strategies appropriate for another country’s environment.

CONTENT

• Introduction.
• The International Economic/Financial Environment.
• The Political/Legal Environment.
• The International Cultural Environment.
• International Marketing research.
• Market selection and entry strategies.
• International Products/Services & Branding.
• International Marketing Communication.
• International Logistics.
• Export and Import management.
• International Pricing.
Global Finance

At the end of the course, students should be able to:

• Be familiarised with characteristics and mechanisms of financial markets.
• Acquire fundamental knowledge of major financial instruments.
• Understand the basic principles of the valuation of major financial instruments.
• Be aware of the regulation of financial markets.

CONTENT

Introduction: financial institutions and their roles in financial markets; financial centres.
Financial markets: foreign exchange market; the international money market; the international capital market; securitisation.
Risks in regulation of international financial markets: interest rate risk; country risk; settlement risk; preventive versus protective regulation; capital adequacy and Basel.
International Business Strategy

At the end of the course, students should be able to:

• Show they know main strategy theories, and are able to apply them to organisations that operate in increasingly global markets.
• Show they know management processes in international business.
• Identify and discuss challenges and opportunities that globalisation of markets poses to companies, using case examples.
• Identify and discuss the relevance of corporate social responsibility for companies that operate in international markets, using case examples.

CONTENT

• Session 1: Course introduction and organisation. Review of main strategy contents.
• Session 2: Strategy and structure of international businesses.
• Session 3: Entry strategies and internationalisation modes.
• Session 4: Exporting, production and off shoring choices.
• Session 5: Transnational knowledge and R&D choices.
• Session 6: Thorough analysis of a business case in small groups.
• Session 7: Group presentations.
• Session 8: Transnational collaboration.
• Session 9: Strategies at the bottom of the pyramid and ethics.
• Session 10: Conclusions.

Contents are based on chapters 12,13,14,16 of Hill, International Strategy, 7e and on additional slides and readings distributed by the lecturer. Cases to be discussed will be highlighted during the first session.
Research Methods for Business

At the end of the course, students should be able to:

• Select, calculate and interpret the indicators that best summarise a cross-section of data.
• Select, construct and interpret the graphs that best represent a cross-section or a time-series of data.
• Understand the underlying intuition of hypothesis testing.
• Identify the appropriate hypothesis tests to carry out in different situations.
• Understand the results of statistical analyses carried out in academic papers.

CONTENT

1. Descriptive Statistics
a. Data types
b. Cross-sectional univariate data: Tables, Graphs, Parameters
c. Time-series data: Graphs, Parameters, Indices, Seasonality
d. Cross-sectional multivariate data: Tables, Graphs, Regressions
2. Inferential Statistics
a. Normal distribution
b. Other distributions
c. Hypothesis testing

Core Courses

M.I.B.

Focus