TEACHING PLAN FOR
INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT
1. Basic Description
Name of the course:International Management
Academic year:2018–2019
Term:1st
Degree / Course:International Business Programme (IBP)
Code:80124
Number of ECTS credits:6
Total number of hours committed : 150
Teaching language:English
Lecturers:
Sergio Costa Sant’Anna
European Commission Expert
MBA, IESE Business School (Spain)
MBA, Thunderbird School of Global Management (USA)
Dr. Tomislav Rimac
PhD, IESE Business School (Spain)
MBA, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto (Canada)
BASc, Electrical and Computing Engineering, University of Zagreb (Croatia)
e-mails: s
Timetable:
Tuesday 3.30–5.45 pm
Thursday 3.30–5.45 pm
Office hours:
Thursday 8.15 –9.15 p.m. or by appointment (Sergio Costa Sant’Anna)
Tuesday 12.00 - 1.00 p.m. or by appointment (Tomislav Rimac)
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Page
,2. Course Overview
The International Management course focuses on the opportunities and challenges created
by globalisation. It examines a series of cross-cultural and management issues related to
management in an international marketplace. The aim of this course is to enable students to
analyse and understand the opportunities and challenges that companies face when
expanding their activities internationally and when dealing with international competitors in
their home markets. Special attention is placed upon the different tools and analytic
competences available to the different specialised managerial roles when competing
internationally.
The course comprises three segments. The first builds a better understanding of the
challenges in the international environment. It focuses on the analysis of country differences
in political economy and political risks as well as cultural and social heterogeneities. In this
segment, the course covers the major facets of the international management environment
(legal, political, economic and cultural). The central debates surrounding the cultural
construct, formal and informal institutions, economic development and regional integrations
are presented in class, along with the major frameworks that have been used to describe
these phenomena.
Students are exposed to a range of ideas about cultural values in different nations and learn
how those values influence management and organisational practices.
The readings build upon students’ existing knowledge of the functioning of American,
Western European and Asian business organisations, and help them develop an
understanding of how organisations function in a wide variety of cultures.
The second segment of the course builds on the first section and analyses global
organisational forms and international strategies. It focuses on the strategic challenges
confronting firms that compete in the global economy. It aims to develop understanding of
how to gain a competitive advantage and compete successfully in the international
marketplace. In other words, it explores the most fundamental question in international
strategic management: What determines whether companies succeed or fail internationally?
Finally, the third segment deals with international management operations and covers an
array of organisational issues such as human resource staffing and motivating a
multicultural workforce, global marketing, design of global products and services, global
R&D and financing and accountability.
This is a core course in the ESCI-UPF International Business Programme, which is designed
primarily for applicants who have a major or a minor in business.
Generally, students pursuing any degree in Business Administration or Economics should not
need any prerequisite. Applicants pursuing degrees in other areas should make sure they
have taken Business Organisation or an equivalent course.
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Page
,3. Competences to Be Worked on in the Course
Own competences of the subject:
a. An awareness of and an interest in how formal and informal institutions impact business
decisions.
b. An in-depth knowledge of analytical frameworks used in the screening of national
markets (defining the key factors in a firm’s internationalisation process by evaluating the
international business environment, stressing particularly the economic and cultural
dimensions).
c. An enhanced understanding of what determines the success and failure of companies
around the globe.
d. An ability to invoke different management theories (e.g. resource-based view,
stakeholder theory and institutional theory) to understand what lies behind different firm
performances around the world.
e. An understanding of the “other side” of international business, namely, local firms that
often compete and/or collaborate with foreign entrants, especially in emerging economies.
f. An ability to recognise the tensions in adopting global standardised actions as opposed to
locally responsive actions in international management and relate these to the companies’
overall corporate strategy.
g. A disposition to consider ethical and social responsibility issues in the development and
implementation of an international management strategy.
3|
Page
, General competences Specific competences
Instrumental competences Disciplinary competences
G.I.2. Ability to relate concepts and E.D.8. Analyse the organisation of
knowledge from different areas. businesses based on economic principles
G.I.3. Ability to organise and plan. that make it possible to identify the most
G.I.5. Ability to take decisions in complex determining factors in results.
and changing situations.
G.I.8. Oral and written competence in Professional competences
communicating in English.
E.P.2. Ability to analyse economic and
General personal competences market indicators when taking decisions
within the organisation.
G.P.1. Ability to adapt and work in and lead E.P.5. Ability to take strategic business
international, multicultural, decisions that take into account economic,
interdisciplinary, competitive, changing and cultural, social and political determinants
complex groups. specific to each area.
E.P.7. Illustrate the reality of business by
Generic systemic competences using activities such as assignments and
G.S.4. Entrepreneurial ability. lectures or by preparing case studies.
G.S.7. Promotion of and respect for E.P.8. Be able to take functional decisions
multicultural values: respect, equality, within an organisation with international
solidarity, commitment. activity.
G.S.8. Promotion and respect for gender, E.P.17. Be able to express oneself and
environmental and safety at work issues. understand spoken and written
communication in English at an advanced
Competences for applicability level to apply it to the international
business area.
G.A.4. Ability to understand and apply the
network concept.
4. Contents
I. INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT CHALLENGES
➢ Globalisation
➢ International Business Environment
i. The Global Trade
ii. Foreign Direct Investment
iii. Developed Countries Investing in Emerging Markets
iv. National & International Markets
v. Internationalisation Theories
vi. Regional Economic Integrations and International Multilateral Institutions
vii. Global Growth Generators. Emerging Economies: The Case of Brazil, Russia,
India and China (BRICs)
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INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT
1. Basic Description
Name of the course:International Management
Academic year:2018–2019
Term:1st
Degree / Course:International Business Programme (IBP)
Code:80124
Number of ECTS credits:6
Total number of hours committed : 150
Teaching language:English
Lecturers:
Sergio Costa Sant’Anna
European Commission Expert
MBA, IESE Business School (Spain)
MBA, Thunderbird School of Global Management (USA)
Dr. Tomislav Rimac
PhD, IESE Business School (Spain)
MBA, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto (Canada)
BASc, Electrical and Computing Engineering, University of Zagreb (Croatia)
e-mails: s
Timetable:
Tuesday 3.30–5.45 pm
Thursday 3.30–5.45 pm
Office hours:
Thursday 8.15 –9.15 p.m. or by appointment (Sergio Costa Sant’Anna)
Tuesday 12.00 - 1.00 p.m. or by appointment (Tomislav Rimac)
1|
Page
,2. Course Overview
The International Management course focuses on the opportunities and challenges created
by globalisation. It examines a series of cross-cultural and management issues related to
management in an international marketplace. The aim of this course is to enable students to
analyse and understand the opportunities and challenges that companies face when
expanding their activities internationally and when dealing with international competitors in
their home markets. Special attention is placed upon the different tools and analytic
competences available to the different specialised managerial roles when competing
internationally.
The course comprises three segments. The first builds a better understanding of the
challenges in the international environment. It focuses on the analysis of country differences
in political economy and political risks as well as cultural and social heterogeneities. In this
segment, the course covers the major facets of the international management environment
(legal, political, economic and cultural). The central debates surrounding the cultural
construct, formal and informal institutions, economic development and regional integrations
are presented in class, along with the major frameworks that have been used to describe
these phenomena.
Students are exposed to a range of ideas about cultural values in different nations and learn
how those values influence management and organisational practices.
The readings build upon students’ existing knowledge of the functioning of American,
Western European and Asian business organisations, and help them develop an
understanding of how organisations function in a wide variety of cultures.
The second segment of the course builds on the first section and analyses global
organisational forms and international strategies. It focuses on the strategic challenges
confronting firms that compete in the global economy. It aims to develop understanding of
how to gain a competitive advantage and compete successfully in the international
marketplace. In other words, it explores the most fundamental question in international
strategic management: What determines whether companies succeed or fail internationally?
Finally, the third segment deals with international management operations and covers an
array of organisational issues such as human resource staffing and motivating a
multicultural workforce, global marketing, design of global products and services, global
R&D and financing and accountability.
This is a core course in the ESCI-UPF International Business Programme, which is designed
primarily for applicants who have a major or a minor in business.
Generally, students pursuing any degree in Business Administration or Economics should not
need any prerequisite. Applicants pursuing degrees in other areas should make sure they
have taken Business Organisation or an equivalent course.
2|
Page
,3. Competences to Be Worked on in the Course
Own competences of the subject:
a. An awareness of and an interest in how formal and informal institutions impact business
decisions.
b. An in-depth knowledge of analytical frameworks used in the screening of national
markets (defining the key factors in a firm’s internationalisation process by evaluating the
international business environment, stressing particularly the economic and cultural
dimensions).
c. An enhanced understanding of what determines the success and failure of companies
around the globe.
d. An ability to invoke different management theories (e.g. resource-based view,
stakeholder theory and institutional theory) to understand what lies behind different firm
performances around the world.
e. An understanding of the “other side” of international business, namely, local firms that
often compete and/or collaborate with foreign entrants, especially in emerging economies.
f. An ability to recognise the tensions in adopting global standardised actions as opposed to
locally responsive actions in international management and relate these to the companies’
overall corporate strategy.
g. A disposition to consider ethical and social responsibility issues in the development and
implementation of an international management strategy.
3|
Page
, General competences Specific competences
Instrumental competences Disciplinary competences
G.I.2. Ability to relate concepts and E.D.8. Analyse the organisation of
knowledge from different areas. businesses based on economic principles
G.I.3. Ability to organise and plan. that make it possible to identify the most
G.I.5. Ability to take decisions in complex determining factors in results.
and changing situations.
G.I.8. Oral and written competence in Professional competences
communicating in English.
E.P.2. Ability to analyse economic and
General personal competences market indicators when taking decisions
within the organisation.
G.P.1. Ability to adapt and work in and lead E.P.5. Ability to take strategic business
international, multicultural, decisions that take into account economic,
interdisciplinary, competitive, changing and cultural, social and political determinants
complex groups. specific to each area.
E.P.7. Illustrate the reality of business by
Generic systemic competences using activities such as assignments and
G.S.4. Entrepreneurial ability. lectures or by preparing case studies.
G.S.7. Promotion of and respect for E.P.8. Be able to take functional decisions
multicultural values: respect, equality, within an organisation with international
solidarity, commitment. activity.
G.S.8. Promotion and respect for gender, E.P.17. Be able to express oneself and
environmental and safety at work issues. understand spoken and written
communication in English at an advanced
Competences for applicability level to apply it to the international
business area.
G.A.4. Ability to understand and apply the
network concept.
4. Contents
I. INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT CHALLENGES
➢ Globalisation
➢ International Business Environment
i. The Global Trade
ii. Foreign Direct Investment
iii. Developed Countries Investing in Emerging Markets
iv. National & International Markets
v. Internationalisation Theories
vi. Regional Economic Integrations and International Multilateral Institutions
vii. Global Growth Generators. Emerging Economies: The Case of Brazil, Russia,
India and China (BRICs)
4|
Page
