International Business

Introduction

This course prepares students for working in an international business environment by addressing critical macro-level and meso-level factors that influence organizational performance and managerial effectiveness. Students will gain the ability to analyze institutional, organizational, and interpersonal factors and challenges that are central to successful international business operations.

The course begins with an overview of the global business environment and the international organization, highlighting key decisions managers face when entering foreign markets. This context provides the foundation for in-depth analysis of culture and management. Special focus is placed on cross-cultural management, global leadership, international human resource management, and managing technological change, as well as the strategy and structure of multinational organizations. Students will apply their knowledge to practical cases, developing competencies to act effectively as negotiators, team members, and leaders in technologically dynamic environments. The course is research-based and uses practical case studies to allow students to solve real-world problems from multiple perspectives. Students will also learn to apply the Toulmin method to construct evidence-based arguments and defend independent positions on current questions in the international business environment.

Course content

• Conceptualizing and understanding cultures
• Cross-cultural communication
• Leading across cultural boundaries
• Managing workforce diversity and expatriates
• Globalization challenges and opportunities
• Firm competitiveness and foreign market entry strategies
• Integration and coordination in multinational enterprises
• Global competition and collaboration
• Managing technological change in international business
• Organization, structure, and innovation in MNEs
• Applying the Toulmin method to analyze and argue current international business questions

Disclaimer

This is an excerpt from the complete course description for the course. If you are an active student at BI, you can find the complete course descriptions with information on eg. learning goals, learning process, curriculum and exam at portal.bi.no. We reserve the right to make changes to this description.