THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2024/2025

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : Business School : Business Studies

Undergraduate Course: International Business and the Multinational Enterprise 2B (BUST08009)

Course Outline
SchoolBusiness School CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 8 (Year 2 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThe course will examine the role of the multinational enterprise and the process of foreign direct investment; issues relating to culture, technology, intellectual property rights and finance are discussed; the international regime and the interaction between governments and investors will also be reviewed. This course is designed to be complementary to International Business 2A.
Course description This course takes as its theme the strategies and operational activities of the multinational enterprise doing business in the global economy. This includes an assessment of the relationship between MNEs and the host governments of the nations states in which the MNE locates its operations.

Student Learning Experience
The lecture programme provides an overview of international business concepts and practices, and is supported by suggested readings from the course text.

The compulsory weekly tutorials comprise a mix of conventional Teaching Assistant-supported group exercises and audio-visual exercises. The tutorials are used to support and develop concepts and theories taught in the lectures. The audio-visual sections allow students to observe the practices of companies in the international business area.

The course assignment requires students to write a report relating a company's experience in an international business environment and to analyse their activities.


International Business: Globalisation and Trade 2A (BUST08008) is recommended.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Students MUST have passed: Global Challenges for Business (BUST08035) AND The Business of Edinburgh (BUST08036)
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesVisiting students must have at least 1 introductory level Business Studies course at grade B or above for entry to this course. We will only consider University/College level courses.
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2024/25, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  None
Course Start Semester 2
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 200 ( Lecture Hours 20, Seminar/Tutorial Hours 9, Summative Assessment Hours 2, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 165 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 65 %, Coursework 35 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) 35% coursework (group): Report incl. 20% peer assessment - assesses learning outcomes 1, 3, and 5.
65% exam (individual) - assesses all learning outcomes
Feedback Feedback will be provided on the assessment within agreed deadlines.
Exam Information
Exam Diet Paper Name Hours & Minutes
Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May)2:00
Resit Exam Diet (August)2:00
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Understand and discuss why enterprises choose to expand their operations across national borders, and the alternative strategies enterprises may adopt to exploit overseas markets.
  2. Understand and discuss the organisational implications of international operations including the implications for individual managers.
  3. Understand and discuss operational aspects of multinational enterprise including: sourcing and logistics, technology management, protection of intellectual property rights and financial management.
  4. Understand and discuss the interactive relationships between MNEs and host governments and the arguments for and against promoting (or constraining) inward foreign investment by host governments.
  5. Understand and discuss the challenge of international marketing and exporting in a world of fluctuating exchange rates and non-tariff barriers.
Reading List
Strongly recommended for purchase
International Business and the Multinational Enterprise Volume 2 - Custom, 1st edition, Alan Brown

Optional purchase
Hill C. (2006), International Business (Competing in the Global Marketplace), 6th edition, McGraw-Hill/Irwin.
.Czinkota, M.R. & Kotabe, M. (1998), Trends in International Business: Critical Perspectives, Blackwell.
.Dicken, P. (2007), Global Shift: Mapping the contours of the world economy, 5th edition, Sage.
.Kotler, P. (2000), Marketing Management, Prentice Hall.
Vernon-Wortzel, H. & Wortzel, L.H. (1995/1997), Global Strategic Management: The Essentials, 2nd or 3rd edition, Wiley.
.Bartlett, C.A. & Ghoshol, S. (1999), Transnational Management: Text, Cases and Reading in Cross-Border Management, 2nd edition, Irwin.
.Dunning, J.H. (1988), Explaining International Production, Unwin Hyman.

Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Knowledge and Understanding
After completing this course, students should be able to:
- Demonstrate a thorough knowledge and understanding of contemporary organisational disciplines; comprehend the role of business within the contemporary world; and critically evaluate and synthesise primary and secondary research and sources of evidence in order to make, and present, well informed and transparent organisation-related decisions, which have a positive global impact.
Additional Class Delivery Information 2 Lectures plus tutorials (one hour per week for 9 weeks)
KeywordsFDI Theory Market Entry MNE Innovation
Contacts
Course organiserDr Ferran Vendrell-Herrero
Tel:
Email: Ferran.Vendrell-Herrero@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMiss Emma Allison
Tel:
Email: ealliso2@ed.ac.uk
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