International Business (MSc and Postgraduate Diploma)

This course gives a fundamental understanding of accounting and finance techniques and practices. It will also provide an awareness of the impact of contexts – different countries, industries, markets, and regulatory regimes - on the accounting and finance. It will enable students to focus on the analytical usefulness of accounting and finance data, but in a manner which emphasises the importance of a wider business understanding for such analysis and the limitations as well as the strengths of the data.

The subject matter of the two modules in International human resource management and Leadership and organisations are combined in order to create an integrated module. We have brought these two subjects together in order to give an account of the nature of work within the modern corporation. In these modules we have chosen what we see as the key dimensions of managing people at work, namely: selecting and recruiting staff from external and internal labour markets, rewarding and motivating them, fitting them into an organisational structure and culture, and seeing how they cope with organisational change, much of it driven by the internationalisation of business in the modern world. Overall, we have utilised what could be called a macro, sociological or organisational approach to the subject of people at work.

This course combines the key principles and analytical frameworks from the two separate courses: International Operations management and Information systems (see above). They are taught as an integrated course for the MSc in International Management. This course will introduce students to some of the main topics in the important field of operations management – the activities which produce the goods and/or deliver the services required by customers. In today’s globalised economy, more and more organisations operate internationally, increasing the complexity and importance of operations management decision making. The course will also focus on the key information systems (IS) issues faced by organisations in today’s global business environment and will address the important organisational and managerial concerns in the development, implementation and effective management of information systems.

This course provides the student with an understanding of how Corporate and Business Strategy fits into the organisation and running of a company or multi-company corporation. It will introduce students to the way in which a firm can achieve sustainable competitive advantage and develop the corporation internationally. It will enable students to evaluate the factors that need to be considered in analysing a firm’s external environment as well as the internal core competences of a firm. Students will learn how to formulate strategy for a firm and will understand the nature of corporate and international strategy.

This course aims to develop an advanced understanding of the managerial marketing vocabulary of concepts, maxims and normative models within an international context drawing on issues in differing domains of practice including the public sector. The baseline for the module is the influential US normative tradition of applied marketing principles. Alongside this, the course encourages a critical engagement from students supported by reference to traditions of marketing scholarship which seek not to advance organisational effectiveness but to study the evolution, production and communication of marketing thought itself. Students successfully completing this module will understand something of managerial marketing thought’s historical development from its roots in classical economics in the USA to the normative tradition promoted by academic consultants such as Drucker, Levitt and Kotler. Students would furthermore demonstrate an understanding of popular normative marketing concepts such as the Mix and STP through application in practical case scenarios, learn to appreciate the scope of marketing activity in diverse sectors including non-profit and develop an awareness of some of the work that critiques the practical and theoretical assumptions of the managerial marketing tradition and which explores the idea of marketing as an intellectual domain.

This course introduces students to the economics of business enterprise through a strategic framework that incorporates both traditional and modern approaches to the firm. Combining real-world examples with economic methodology, it will explore decision-making within a competitive context and will enable students to demonstrate an understanding of economic analysis and reasoning relevant within a business context. Using the theory of the firm, the course will display an appreciation of the economic underpinnings of business strategy. It will also evaluate how various models of competitive analysis can be used to assess strategic behaviour. Students will learn how to formulate and respond to different competitive scenarios at the firm level and apply presentation and analytical skills to develop argument and evidence to support evaluation.

This course will provide students with the intellectual and practical background to equip would-be entrepreneurs with the skills and knowledge to set up their own international companies successfully. Students will gain an understanding of the key differences between large companies and SMEs and learn to appreciate the role of start-up and entrepreneurial activity in the hi-tech and Bio-pharma sectors. It will also provide students with an understanding of the financing options available to start-up and developing companies.

This course will provide students with an advanced strategic perspective on contemporary marketing communication management within an international context. It will develop an integrated approach within a strategic and international marketing communication perspective, and offer a theoretically and practically robust basis for further postgraduate study/research and/or careers in marketing and advertising. The course will draw on the research-based expertise in the marketing group in advertising and promotional communication within the School of Management.

Many companies today engage in co-operative strategies. A cooperative strategy is an attempt by a firm to realize its objectives through cooperation with other firms, in alliances, rather than competition with them. This course focuses on the benefits that can be gained through cooperation and how to manage the cooperation so as to realize them. It will examine how a cooperative strategy can offer significant advantages for companies that are lacking particular competencies or resources to secure these through links to others possessing complementary skills or assets; this course will also examine how cooperative strategy may also offer easier access to new markets, and opportunities for mutual synergy and learning.

This course analyses corporate management by examining two interconnected themes: (a) literature and debates, and (b) the macro and meso background. The first theme presents a form of business analysis that draws on three sources. First, it outlines relevant management/strategy literatures. Second, it introduces political economy debates, which help us to understand the changing structural context around firms and industry. Third, it demonstrates how market, financial and productive analysis can be used to develop empirically based stories about strategies and their outcomes. The second theme contains two features: first, economic/product market context; second, use of business analysis methods to allow case study work.

This course provides the student with an understanding of how Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) fits into a programme of Sustainable Development for an organisation. The aim is to introduce the student to the tensions and trade-offs involved in the adoption of CSR by a firm in a competitive economy. The students will also learn to understand the role of central, regional and local government in providing a facilitating framework for CSR and encouraging its adoption.

The students will also learn to understand the problems involved in implementing a CSR programme and the culture change necessary to achieve a successful CSR firm strategy for companies previously concerned only with shareholder value. It will enable students to evaluate the factors that need to be considered by politicians in encouraging the adoption of CSR, the factors that need to be considered by corporate strategists in developing a business and corporate strategy including CSR and to evaluate the economic and cultural factors involved in the adoption of CSR by firms. It identifies the implications for a firm in terms of risk and competitiveness of the adoption of a CSR agenda when other firms in its markets may not have done so and enables student to understand the implications of CSR for capital markets as well as the implications of implementing and embedding CSR in a corporation.

This course will provide students with more in-depth knowledge of CSR issues in the business world. The aim is to introduce the student to the tensions and trade-offs involved in the adoption of CSR by a firm in a competitive economy. Students will also learn to understand the role of central, regional and local government in providing a facilitating framework for CSR and encouraging its adoption. It will provide students with an understanding of the problems involved in implementing a CSR programme and the culture change necessary to achieve a successful CSR firm strategy for companies previously concerned only with shareholder value.

This course analyses the business strategies, organization and operations of leading Japanese multinational companies, by reviewing and comparing case-studies. The course will develop insight into the approaches and methods of leading Japanese executives, and the practical realities of multinational management. It will consider the influence of national and organizational cultures on the operations of multinationals, and analyze the organizational capabilities of Japanese multinationals in relation to their competitors. Student will be able to evaluate relevant literature and theory on the multinational enterprise and Japanese business with contemporary practice, and to utilize research skills in the investigation of individual Japanese multinationals. A key feature of this course is the opportunity to confer with leading business executives and officials, and extend the personal skills and experiences of students.

This course will provide an overview of the development and current position and role of Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) as key agents on the international economic stage. Attention is placed on the growth and development of MNEs, the emergence of a ‘global’ economy, trends in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and more strategic issues such as the foreign market entry decision, co-operative structures and strategies and ethical concerns. Therefore, the course attempts to interrogate the importance of MNEs as key agents of integration across the international economy. The course also addresses the implications of ‘globalisation’ for the organization and operation of multinational firms.

The course will provide students with a comprehensive overview of portfolio management in theory and practice. It will develop an understanding of the pricing of bonds, equities and derivatives and their risk/return characteristics and evaluate the relative merits of active and passive management from both a domestic and international perspective. Recent changes in international fund management and their implications will also be examined. The main valuation models for bonds and equities will be critically analysed, and the problems of international investment strategy and the relative merits of different approaches will be examined in detail. The current state of financial markets will be analysed with a view to devising a relevant portfolio strategy.

This course will provide an overview of corporate finance in both a domestic and an international setting. It will explain the valuation of real investments and their financing as well as the dividend decision. By developing an understanding of international capital markets, the course will identify the main trends in mergers and acquisition activity. Students will be able to apply the main principles of financial theory to contemporary commercial problems and understand the problems of investment appraisal and the relative merits of different approaches. This will enable them also to evaluate the consequences of a proposed takeover or merger, and to analyse the current state of financial markets.

This course will develop students’ knowledge and understanding of contemporary theories and practices of knowledge management (KM) by examining the theoretical understanding of knowledge management to real life situations and by integrating different dimensions of knowledge management arising from human resource management, information systems and strategic management. The course will explain the concept of `intellectual capital’ and how it is managed and exploited in organisations. The course will demonstrate a critical understanding of knowledge management policies and strategies in organisations that enhance effectiveness. Students will be able to apply a range of transferable skills including literature search, analytical skills, application of theory to real life situations, teamwork, motivation and interpersonal skills.

This course provides an understanding of the essential elements of international business law. It will focus on the main issues relating to Contract Law, Commercial Law, Business Regulation, Employment Law, Company Law, Commercial Arbitration Law (theory and practice) and Business Ethics (theory and practice). It is intended to give students a comprehensive and coherent appreciation of the main legal aspects of the subject as well as exploring ethical issues within the international business context. The course will give a grounding in the legal issues of international business, and provide an understanding of the national and international legal practice relating to international business law.

Global financial markets is concerned with the nature of the capital securities which are traded on the international money and capital markets and with the operation of those markets themselves.

Over the last 20 years, there has been an explosion in the variety of securities and tradable assets, fuelled by deregulation and paralleled by an equally explosive growth in the technical and academic development of the discipline of finance. This development came about because of a number of important theoretical advances: the development of the theory of risk, the formal development of the concept of arbitrage and, of equal importance, the development of sophisticated information processing systems.

How to write your dissertation

This is an innovative course designed as a step-by-step guide on how to write your dissertation. It is based on many years of experience of helping students to successfully complete a research project. Unlike all other courses in the MSc, there is no examination, but the course is assessed through the submission of a 12,000 word dissertation.

Course outline

Starting your dissertation: developing and choosing a research topic; routes to pursue a research issue; how soon should I write?; designing your research project – research purpose, research strategy; unit of analysis; time dimension; study setting. Progress of your report: typical route; road blocks to making progress on your project; when to stop writing; the 65 per cent rule; limits and objectives of the literature review; structuring your literature review; falsification theory and the structure of a literature review.

Theory building

How do we think?; scientific understanding and method; deduction and induction; lateral thinking; fuzzy thinking; theory building; variables; hypotheses; what are theories for?; do theories have to make sense?; simplification; structure of a theory chapter.

Methodology

Components and structure of a methodology chapter; methodology diary; common methodological problems; qualitative versus quantitative research; qualitative data collection; six characteristics of qualitative data collection; methods for collecting qualitative data; methods for collecting quantitative data; complementarity of qualitative and quantitative research; sampling and survey design; advantages of sampling; representativeness and randomness; reliability and validity; populations and sampling frames; sampling designs.

Coping with data

Statistics are beautiful; the power of statistics; six common statistical fallacies; when is data information?; introduction to statistical techniques; data analysis; decision framework for data analysis; statistical tools for data analysis; use of SPSS.

Concluding chapters

Bringing data back to theory; how not to write a conclusion; common problems of style; basic rules of writing; the expectations of examiners.

The dissertation is an excellent opportunity to analyse a business or management issue in depth as an independent research project. The dissertation could be carried out in conjunction with a ‘blue chip’ business or you could use your experience and knowledge to study a topic of relevance to your own professional or national background. You will be assigned a supervisor who will be able to offer advice and suggestions about your chosen field of inquiry, your methods and analysis. The supervisor will also provide support and encouragement to assist you in completing this challenging and final component of the MSc course.

Plenary 1 (Introduction) comprises an intensive week long programme of formal lecture and workshop-style sessions, informal networking and guest speaker presentations. The master class introductory sessions led by Royal Holloway staff are designed to give new students an introduction to the compulsory modules that are taken by students of the International Business and International Management programmes. Those attending are encouraged to do so early in their studies.