5136 - INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS STRATEGY

The aim of the module is to explain the role of the multinational firm in world business and to examine the theories of internationalization. Alternative strategies of market servicing - exporting, licensing, off-shore production, sourcing policies and industrial co-operation will be studied in detail. This course is built around four core areas of international management. The first module introduces the field of international management, defines the multinational corporation (MNC) and discusses the role of the international business environment. The second module focuses on methods of foreign market servicing. The third module  deals with the organisation of the MNC, by addressing the role of head offices, and by introducing different and innovative approaches in organising MNCs and their subsidiaries abroad. The fourth module is about the impact of culture on internationalization. This course helps students to develop an understanding of the key aspects of International Management and provides an overview of the management of human resources in the international business context.

• Module 1: Introduction to International Management
• Module 2: Methods of Foreign Market Servicing
• Module 3: Organizing the Multinational Company
• Module 4: Cultural Aspects of Internationalization

• S. SEGAL-HORN, D. FAULKNER, The Dynamics of International Strategy, London, Thomson Learning, 1999.      
• Selected cases.

The exam of the course on International Business Strategy consists of a written part, which is compulsory, and an oral part that is not compulsory. Students with grades from written exams of min. 16 points may sustain an oral exam which may change their original grade within a range of -2 up to +2. The oral exam has to be sustained in the same period in which the written exam was taken and cannot be repeated.