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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2013/2014
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Postgraduate Course: International Business (BUST11222)

Course Outline
SchoolBusiness School CollegeCollege of Humanities and Social Science
Course typeStandard AvailabilityNot available to visiting students
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) Credits10
Home subject areaBusiness Studies Other subject areaNone
Course website None Taught in Gaelic?No
Course descriptionGlobalization has profoundly transformed the market environment of companies and the corporate structures. This condensed course provides understanding and skills in essential international business concepts, methodologies and frameworks. We take a top management perspective on international business and deal with four crucial issues in 2 weekends:
(1) What are the key opportunities and pitfalls of doing business internationally?
(2) How do top managers align global strategy with their organizational design?
(3) How do leading MNCs manage portfolio's or external partners?
(4) How do MNCs foster corporate entrepreneurship across border?
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements For Business School PG students only, or by special permission of the School. Please contact the course secretary.
Additional Costs Text books
Course Delivery Information
Delivery period: 2013/14 Semester 2, Not available to visiting students (SS1) Learn enabled:  Yes Quota:  None
Web Timetable Web Timetable
Course Start Date 13/01/2014
Breakdown of Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 100 ( Lecture Hours 32, Formative Assessment Hours 34, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 32 )
Additional Notes
Breakdown of Assessment Methods (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
No Exam Information
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
Successful completion of this course enables students to master and deploy concepts and methodologies that allow international managers to seize opportunities and avoid pitfalls of doing international business. Specifically:

o Understand, measure, and utilize international differences and similarities through local adaptation, global aggregation and interregional arbitrage.

o Align organizational design through designing organizational structure and processes that span across national and MNC boundaries.

o Understand conditions and methods that allow to combine global mindset and entrepreneurial drive in the MNC

o Overall students acquire in the context of successful international business insights and skills including:

o The ability to apply models, measures, and methods to challenging and complex circumstances through case analyses.

o The ability to evaluate strategies and management of international businesses against management models and frameworks.

o Leadership skills to present powerful and persuasive arguments, as well as to work in international groups.
Assessment Information
The assessment follows learning goals, specifically:

team briefing worth 30% of final grade.

team case assignment worth 40% of final grade.

essay worth 30% of final grade.


Special Arrangements
None
Additional Information
Academic description Not entered
Syllabus WEEKEND ONE:

Day 1: What are the key opportunities and pitfalls of doing business internationally?

Briefing: Key Concepts of International Business. Case Discussion 1: Adobe --- How to win a global standard war
Plenary Discussion: Adobe: What does it take to succeed in global open innovation environments?
Case Discussion 2: The birth of the Indian Software Industry Plenary Discussion: The regional dimension of international business
Lecture: Cultural influences in the strategic management process
Study group work out: Lessons learned?


Day 2: How do top managers align global strategy with their organizational design?

Warming up: Frameworks and tools for international organizations
Briefing: Linking global strategy with organizational design
Case Preparation 1: The internationalization of E-BAY
Plenary Discussion
Case Preparation 2: Google vs. Baidu in China
Lecture: The tool box of international business consultants
Study group work out: Lessons learned?


WEEKEND TWO

Day 3: How do leading MNCs manage portfolio's or external partners?

Welcome and Introduction
Lecture: How to benefit from international presence?
Case Preparation: Nissan/Renault: Cooperating to win in global markets
Plenary Discussion: Nissan/Renault: What does relational success mean in global competition?
Group exercise: Literature briefing international leadership
Exercise: Cognitive, emotional, and social competence in MNC leadership
Interactive lecture: Seven steps in crafting your international partnering strategy


Day 4: How do MNCs foster corporate entrepreneurship across border?

Lecture: Designing international organizations
Interactive exercise: Knowledge sharing in the MNC
Case Preparation 1: Knowledge sharing at Heidelberg Cement
Group presentations: Heidelberg Cement - Dealing with barriers to international knowledge flows
Case Preparation 2: McKinsey: Managing knowledge and learning
Plenary Discussion: McKinsey --- Winning in the knowledge-economy
Individual reflection: Designing organizational structures across border
Transferable skills Not entered
Reading list Indicative Readings + Cases from European Case Clearing House:

Ghemawat, P. (2007) "Managing Differences: The Central Challenge of Global Strategy." Harvard Business Review 85, no. 3.

Ghemawat, P. and F. Ghadar. "Global Integration # Global Concentration."

Industrial and Corporate Change 15 (August 2006): 595-623.

Gupta, A. and V. Govindarajan (2001) "Converting global presence into global competitive advantages," Academy of Management Executive, Vol. 15 (2), pp. 45-58.

Mahnke, V., M. Venzin and S. Zahra (2007) Subsidiary entrepreneurship in the MNC: An agency perspective. Journal of Management Studies, 1277-1296.

Mahnke, V. (2007) The use of communication metaphors in offshore outsourcing. IEEE Professional Communication (with J. Wareham, N.B. Andersen, S. Peters).

Ghemawat, P. and F. Ghadar, "Dubious Logic of Global Megamergers," Harvard Business Review July-August 2000, pp. 65-72.

Mahnke, V. (2005) The impact of knowledge management on MNC subsidiary performance - the role of absorptive capacity. Management International Review: 101-119. (with T. Pedersen and M. Venzin)

Mahnke, V. (2003): Governing knowledge teams in the MNC. Management International Review: 47-69. (with M. Venzin)

Ambos, B. and Mahnke, V. (2010) MNC Headquarter value added: What do we know and need to know?. Management International Review: 89-103.

Gupta, A. and V. Govindarajan (2001) "Converting global presence into global competitive advantages," Academy of Management Executive, Vol. 15 (2), pp. 45-58.

Ghemawat, P. (2007) "Managing Differences: The Central Challenge of Global Strategy." Harvard Business Review: 73-89.

Prashantham, S. and Birkinshaw, J. (2008) "Dancing with Gorillas: How small companies can partner effectively with MNCs. California Management" Review, 51, 1: 6-23.

Ghemawat, P. and F. Ghadar, "Dubious Logic of Global Megamergers," Harvard Business Review, July-August 2000: 65-72.

Doz, Y. and M. Kosonen (2008) "The dynamics of strategic agility. Nokia's roller coaster experience" California Management Review, 50, 3: 95-112.

Study Abroad Not entered
Study Pattern Not entered
KeywordsMBA Int Business
Contacts
Course organiserProf Volker Mahnke
Tel: (0131 6)51 5315
Email: Volker.Mahnke@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMiss Kate Ainsworth
Tel: (0131 6)51 3854
Email: Kate.Ainsworth@ed.ac.uk
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