International Business Management Msc module details
Block 1: International Business Strategy
This module explores two critical questions in management today: why and how do firms go international, and what determines the success and failure of firms in today’s international business environment. In part 1 of the module, drawing on leading international business perspectives, such as monopolistic advantage theory, internalization theory and OLI, students will explore why and how firms go international. We will investigate how firms choose where to go, the mode of their entry (e.g., greenfield, brownfield), and the type of activity or investment they make. In part 2 of the module, drawing on leading strategy perspectives, such as resource-based view and the industry-based view, students will seek to explore what determines the success and failure of firms. We will explore what strategy is, how firms design strategy, and how to implement it successfully. In part 3 of the module, we will seek to integrate the international business and strategy perspectives covered in part 1 and 2 to better understand what determines success and failure in international markets. Students will apply the international business and strategy theoretical perspectives to a range international business decisions and scenarios, such as joint ventures.
Block 2 – one of the below:
Innovation and Technology Management
Innovating and managing technology in an organization is a difficult process but one that is necessary for survival and prosperity. This is particularly the case today as the pace of innovation and technological change has increased dramatically. In the globalised world, organisations are needing to draw on resources that are spread across the environment, but to get access to them they must continually embrace technology and innovate. This module is designed to provide students with the robust understanding of the technology management and innovation process crucial to increasing their probability of successfully managing in the workplace.
Operations and Supply Chain Management
Operations and supply chain management is a vital field in today’s complex global economy and highly competitive business world. Therefore, 21st century students and future leaders need understanding of operations and supply chain management as indispensable elements of every business. This module will provide students with a comprehensive appreciation in making decisions about the operation and supply chain functions, develop students’ analytical skills and decision-making abilities related to issues in operations and supply chain, and furnish students with state-of-the- art case studies to reinforce students' understanding of basic principles and formulation skills.
Block 3: Critical Management and Organisation Studies
The module intends to bring students' attention to the historical roots of management and organizations studies. It will provide a portfolio of ideas that will allow students to gain a deep insight into the theoretical underpinnings and apply it to modern business practice. It will encourage students to think critically and independently about contemporary issues related to the management of organizations. Students will debate mainstream assumptions and develop their own understanding of what it normatively means to have a socio-environmental impact. Content in this module includes insight from analytical frameworks such as financialization, intersectionality and cultural economy.
Both critical management and organisation studies are expansive fields with academics publishing in prestigious journals such as Organization Studies, Journal of Management Studies, Organization Science and Human Relations. These theories have implication for business practice and deal with topical dilemmas.
Block 4: one of the below:
Leadership and Change Management
Leadership and change in an organization are difficult processes but that is necessary for survival and prosperity. This is particularly the case today as the pace of change has increased dramatically, and the process of change has become increasingly complex. In the globalised world, organisations are needing to draw on resources that are spread across the environment, but to get access to them they must continually change and innovate.
The first part of the module develops the vital people management skills and knowledge considered to be necessary for existing and aspiring leaders to work with the complexities presented in modern contexts and respond to these in a reflective, agile, creative, flexible and adaptable manner. The indicative content includes exploration of theories on what are the potential elements of effective leadership and the provision of insights and tools with which to understand and shape organizational culture and behaviour. This provides the foundations for understanding the second half of module, which draws on leading and managing change, specifically in relation to the institutional environment. Students will understand how to: diagnosis the need for change, implement change, overcome resistance to change and consolidate change.
Corporate Sustainability and Business Ethics
Blowfield and Murray (2011:12) describe Corporate Social Responsibility as an "umbrella term", covering the definition, management and acting upon of business' relationship to society. Many views of CSR also have either an explicit or implicit ethical dimension to them. Much current discussion of the relationship and role that business plays in society is characterized by expectations of how firms manage the responsibilities beyond the financial; that businesses must address their broader impact on the environment and society. There are several debates about what the scope of such responsibility should encompass, and a burgeoning academic literature that attempts to address such debates. This directs, in many ways, the applied or managerial responses to CSR issues. The module addresses both the academic literature on CSR and explores its application - a managerial impact - through case studies and contemporary examples of specific firms, industries or issues. This module will allow students to conceptualise and evaluate the relationship between CSR and corporate and managerial behaviour, evaluate possible actions of a corporation in response to environmental, social and economic impacts as well as apply critical and interpretative skills to an evaluation of corporate activity.
Block 5 and 6: One of the below:
Dissertation
This module is the bridge between a Postgraduate Diploma and an MSc. Therefore, the dissertation is a significant component of the MSc degree. It has two parts: understanding and investigating a topic, and producing a coherent piece of text that describes the results of the investigation.
The aims of the dissertation is to develop student’s ability to work independently on a task that requires a wide range of analytical and self-organising skills and give them the opportunity to deepen their knowledge of business within an international context, by investigating a topic in some depth. It will also enable students to utilise and integrate learning from their programme of study by applying aspects of it to a particular topic of investigation.
Consulting Project
This is a 60-credit final project module offers students the opportunity to critically apply knowledge gained throughout their study and has a real impact on a client organization.
Students can choose to work on a specific project which is showcased by an organization, a department within an existing organization, or a future organization (commercial, charity, governmental). The focus of the projects is related to innovation either by improving and/or changing existing processes, business and/or service models, structures, products, or services or developing new business and/or service models, products or services. Students may also self-sourced a project, subject to approval by the module team.
Throughout the project, students will be supervised by an academic. Assignments will be marked by the supervisor and a sample of the marking internally moderated. Additional academic guidelines will support the operationalisation of the module.
Business Project Simulator
Business Project Simulator presents students with a valuable opportunity to thoughtfully apply the knowledge they have acquired throughout their studies, along with their workplace skills and attributes, to a practical and dynamically simulated real-life case. This case is meticulously designed to align with the programme of study, ensuring its relevance and applicability.
By the project's conclusion, students are expected to have cultivated a profound understanding of how the theoretical knowledge acquired during their coursework can be effectively applied to inform real-world decision-making. They will have developed the ability to navigate uncertainty when making decisions and establish a solid foundation for their decision-making skills, underpinned by rigorous principles of academic research.