THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2024/2025

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : Business School : Business Studies

Undergraduate Course: Business and Society: The Impact of Globalisation (BUST10136)

Course Outline
SchoolBusiness School CollegeCollege of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits20 ECTS Credits10
SummaryThis course aims to provide an understanding of business-government relations in the industrialised and the industrialising world. Students will be acquiring knowledge as to the environment in which International Business functions and will be learning key concepts that are required for the courses that are a follow on to this option.
Course description The course begins with an assessment as to the impact of globalisation on the world economy and the driving forces / pull factors that have led to this advancement. An assessment of the role of the state and business and their degree of interaction / interdependence is undertaken. The different approaches and systems within countries will be examined and the development of competition and regulation to ensure the success of liberalisation/ privatisation programmes will be assessed. Lastly the course ends with an appraisal as to the policies required to attain and sustain competitiveness at a national level.

The objective of the course is to provide an understanding and appreciation of the following concepts:
- the impact of globalisation
- market state relations
- competition policy and regulation
- liberalisation and the role of FDI
- determinants of national competitiveness

Lecture outline
The course starts with a broad overview of how economies are managed, then it focuses on specific policies/ activities concluding with a review of the major economies and current discussion in this area.
1. National competitiveness
2. Market-state relations
3. Industrial policy
4. Liberalisation and privatisation: How to develop
5. Historical development of theories of international business and emerging markets
6. Competition and regulation
Case Studies on counterfeit goods
7. Institutional Determinism: Production and Trade Structures
8. The EU in the world economy
9. The Challenge to the West
10. Globalisation and Inequality: Current Debates

Learning Experience
The course will comprise ten sessions of two hours duration to be held each week in Semester 1. The course will combine lectures and discussion and will require class participation. In addition to the normal requirements of academic study, students will be expected to keep up to date with developments in the area through newspaper and journal reports.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Students MUST have passed: International Business: Globalisation and Trade 2A (BUST08008) OR International Business and the Multinational Enterprise 2B (BUST08009)
Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesVisiting students must have at least 4 Business courses at grade B or above. This MUST INCLUDE at least one International Business course at intermediate level. We will only consider University/College level courses.This course cannot be taken alongside BUST08008 International Business: Globalisation and Trade 2A or BUST08009 International Business and the Multinational Enterprise 2B. We will only consider University/College level courses.
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Not being delivered
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Understand and discuss crtitically the impact of globalisation and the consequences for market state relations.
  2. Understand and discuss critically competition and industrial policy in the global economy.
  3. Critically evaluate contrasting economic and business systems in the global economy.
  4. Understand and discuss critically the development of competition policy and its application at a European, American and international level.
  5. Critically appraise current policy in determining national competitiveness..
Reading List
Main course texts
Ravenhill, John Global Political Economy (4th Edition, 2014) Oxford University Press
Balaam, David N and Dillman, Bradford Introduction to International Political Economy (5th Edition, 2011) Pearson International Edition
Hall, P.A. and Soskice, D. (eds) (2001), Varieties of Capitalism, Oxford University Press.

Required Reading
There exists no set text for this course and the following texts will be used on the course:

1. Bartlett, C.A. & Ghoshal, S. (1997), The Individualised Corporation, Harper Business.
2. Tanzi, Vito (2012), Government versus Markets, Cambridge University Press
3. Campbell, John L (2004) Institutional Change and Globalization, Princeton University Press
4. Atkinson, Anthony B (2015) Inequality: What Can Be Done? Harvard College
5. Bourguignon, Francois (2015) The Globalization of Inequality, Princeton University Press
6. Micklethwait, John and Woolridge, Adrian (2014) The Fourth Revolution, Allen Lane
7. Chang, H.J. (1996), The Political Economy of Industrial Policy, MacMillan.
8. Dunning, John H. (1993), The Globalization of Business, Routledge.
9. Evans, P. (1995), Embedded Autonomy: States and Industrial Transformation, Princeton University Press.
10. Porter, M. (1990), The Competitive Advantage of Nations, MacMillan.
11. Strange, S. (1996), Retreat of the State, Cambridge University Press.
12. Wilson, G.K. (1990), Business and Politics: A Comparative Introduction, MacMillan.
13. Whitely, R. (2000), Divergent Capitalisms. The social structuring and change of business systems, Oxford University Press.
14. Bartlett, C.A. & Ghoshal, S. (eds.) (2000), Transnational Management. Text, Cases and Readings in Cross-Border Management, 3rd ed., McGraw Hill.
15. Landes, D.S. (1999), The Wealth and Poverty of Nations: Why Are Some So Rich and Others So Poor? New York: W.W. Norton.

In addition to the normal requirements of academic study, students will be expected to keep up to date with developments in the area through newspaper and journal reports.
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Communication, ICT, and Numeracy Skills

After completing this course, students should be able to:

Convey meaning and message through a wide range of communication tools, including digital technology and social media; to understand how to use these tools to communicate in ways that sustain positive and responsible relationships.
KeywordsMarket-State Relations,Institutional Theory
Contacts
Course organiserDr Ron Kerr
Tel: (0131 6)51 5582
Email: Ron.Kerr@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMiss Mary Anne Boeff
Tel: (0131 6)50 8072
Email: MaryAnne.Boeff@ed.ac.uk
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