MN5425: MASTERCLASSES IN INTERNATIONAL
BUSINESS
MODULE TYPE/SEMESTER: Core (20 credits), Semester 2
MODULE LEADER:
Dr Ross Brown
CONTACT DETAILS:
Ross.Brown@st-andrews.ac.uk
01334 462202
AIM: This module aims to build on students’ prior knowledge of International Business
concepts during Semester 1 by introducing them to contemporary dialogue and debates in
International Business. The core or overarching theme of the Masterclass series is the
changing complexities of the international business environment. The module will explore
specific questions within one or more broad topics such as: globalization and globalization
protests; neo-liberalism and free trade; the global dimension of the financial crisis; and the
complex array of ethical issues confronting international businesses. The intention is to
approach each topic from a range of perspectives, including mainstream and critical
understandings. Students will be encouraged to engage with the challenges presented by
these issues by means of a range of approaches, including standard lectures, tutorials, and
debates.
METHOD OF TEACHING & LEARNING: The module will comprise five core masterclasses
which will take place every other week and feature a number of academic and practitioner
contributions.
The masterclasses will be delivered by experts in their field. Each
masterclass will involve an in-depth exploration of a critical issue facing international
business and the changing environment in which they operate. Bespoke reading lists will be
produced for each of the masterclasses. During the intervening weeks students will get the
opportunity to debate, discuss and further explore the previous week’s topic as well as to
look ahead and prepare for the following week’s masterclass. Group presentations will be a
core aspect of the module.
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
By the end of the module, students should be able to:
 critically evaluate a range of contemporary issues in international business;
 assess the competing values and perspectives that differing stakeholders bring to
issues covered in the curriculum;
 compare, contrast and evaluate differing theoretical, practical and ethical positions
in relation to issues covered in the curriculum;
 critically evaluate their own position with respect to the issues covered in the
curriculum;
 be better able to interpret and to understand how the contemporary global
economy shapes the nature of international businesses.
UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS
School of Management
INDICATIVE TOPIC OUTLINE:
Current proposed topics include:
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Globalization and Globalization Protests
Neo-liberalism and free trade
International Terrorism and Global Business
The Global dimension of the financial crisis
The Strategic Challenges Facing Born Global Enterprises
Managing across cultures
ASSESSMENT: Coursework 50%, Examination 50%
READING LIST:
There is no set text for the module but a list of indicative reading is included below:
Akerlof, G.A. and Robert J. Shiller. 2009. Animal Spirits: How Human Psychology Drives the
Economy, and Why It Matters for Global Capitalism. Princeton: Princeton University
Press
Bhagwati, J N. 2007. In Defense of Globalization: With a New Afterword. Oxford University
Press (Paperback)
Bogle, J C. 2005. The Battle for the Soul of Capitalism. Yale University Press
Blyth, M. 2013. Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea, Oxford University Press, New
York.
Cable, V. 2009. The Storm: The World Economic Crisis and What it Means [Hardcover]
Atlantic Books; First Editon
Chang, Ha-Joon. 2011 (new ed.) 23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism. Penguin
Collier, P. (2007) The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be
Done About It, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Elliott, L. & D.Atkinson. 2009. The Gods that failed: How the Financial Elite Have Gambled
away our Futures. London: Vintage Books
Ferguson, N. 2008. The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World. Penguin Press
Florida, R. Flight of the Creative Class: The New Global Competition for Talent. Harper
Collins: 2005
Frieden, J.A. 2007. Global Capitalism: Its Fall and Rise in the Twentieth Century (Paperback)
W. W. Norton & Co.; New edition
Friedman, Th. 2000. The Lexus and the Olive Tree HarperCollins Publishers Ltd; New edition
Friedman, Th. 2007. The World is Flat: The Globalized World in the Twenty-first Century
(Paperback) Penguin; 2nd Revised Ed edition
Gamble, A. 2009. The Spectre at the Feast: Capitalist Crisis and the Politics of Recession.
Palgrave Macmillan
Gilpin, R. (2000) The Challenge of Global Capitalism: The World Economy in the 21st Century,
Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Greenwald, B C N and J. Kahn. 2008. Globalization: the irrational fear that someone in China
will take your job. Wiley
UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS
School of Management
Gupta, A.K. & H.Wang. 2009. Getting China and India Right: Strategies for Leveraging the
World’s Fastest Growing Economies for Global Advantage. Wiley
Harvey, D. 2010. The Enigma of Capital and the Crises of Capitalism. London: Profile Books
Harvey, D. 2006. Spaces of Global Capitalism: Towards a Theory of Uneven Geographical
Development. Verso Books
Klein, N. 2008. The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism. Penguin
Krugman, P. 2008 (new edition) The Return of Depression Economics. Allen Lane
Levinson, M. (2006) The Box: How the Shipping Container Made the World Smaller and the
World Economy Bigger, Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Ohmae, K. The Next Global Stage: The Challenges and Opportunities in Our Borderless
World. Wharton School Press: 2005
Peng, M. 2009. Global Business (updated 1st edition), International Edition. South Western
Cengage Learning
Peng, M. & Meyer, K. 2011. International Business (1st edition). South Western Cengage
Learning
Peston, R. 2008. Who Runs Britain?: and Who's to Blame for the Economic Mess We're in
Hodder First Paperback Edition
Prahalad, C.K. 2004. The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through
Profits (Hardcover). Wharton School Publishing
Prins, N. 2004. Other People’s Money: The Corporate Mugging of America. New York: The
New Press
Rivoli, P. 2006. The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy: An Economist Examines the
Markets, Power, and Politics of World Trade. John Wiley & Sons
Shaxson, N. 2011. Treasure Islands: Tax Havens and the Men who Stole the World
[Paperback] Bodley Head
Stiglitz, J. 2003. Globalization and Its Discontents. Penguin (Paperback)
Stiglitz, J. 2007. Making Globalization Work: The Next Steps to Global Justice. Penguin
(Paperback)
Stiglitz, J. 2010. Freefall: America, Free Markets, and the Sinking of the World Economy.
London: Allen Lane
Tett, G. 2009. Fool’s Gold: How unrestrained greed corrupted a dream, shattered global
markets and unleashed a catastrophe. London: Little, Brown
Troy, G. 2009. The Reagan Revolution: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press,
2009
Woodman, C. 2011. Unfair Trade: How Big Business Exploits the World's Poor – and Why it
Doesn’t Have to. Random House Business
Woods, Th E. 2009. Meltdown: A Free-Market Look at Why the Stock Market Collapsed, the
Economy Tanked, and the Government Bailout Will Make Things Worse. Regnery
Publishing (Hardcover)
UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS
School of Management