MODULE SPECIFICATION TEMPLATE
MODULE DETAILS
Module title
Module code
Level
Credit rating
Pre-requisites for
registration on this module
Developing International Strategic Capabilities PT
MNM98
Level 4
Level 5
Level 6
Level 7
40
100 credits on the MBA course, including management environment &
economics ; International strategy and marketing.
eventually it is anticipated that these
will be specified in terms of learning
outcomes; in the interim they should
be specified in terms of other
module codes, or equivalent
Type of module
Weekly Part Time
Period of time over which it is
delivered and mode of delivery
Brief description of
module content and/ or
aims
Overview (max 80 words)
This module is designed to prepare managers on exit from the MBA to
deal effectively with new and challenging situations at the strategic
level within organisations in an international context. It will allow them
to analyse and evaluate current practice in the light of academic
research. They will be well place to initiate and lead new
developments; improve current practice; and be capable of
comprehending and integrating issues which have cross-functional,
sectoral and international dimensions.
Joanna Johnson/Jim McLoughlin/Peter Bell/Catherine Matthews/ Mark
Hughes/Sian Eggert/ Graham Clifford
Various
Moulsecoomb
Module team/ author/
coordinator(s)
Semester 1 or 2
Site/ campus where
delivered
Field(s) for which module is appropriate and status in that field
Field
Status (mandatory/ compulsory/ optional)
Course(s) for which module is appropriate and status on that course
Course
Status (mandatory/ compulsory/ optional)
MBA full time
Mandatory
MBA part time
Mandatory
MODULE AIMS, ASSESSMENT AND SUPPORT
Aims
• To develop a systematic and holistic understanding of how corporations might use
corporate strategic, financial and management disciplines in an international
context to position themselves to greatest advantage.
• To develop students' ability to make informed recommendations regarding
international strategic development, including implications for financial strategies,
implementation and managing change between cultures.
To provide students with a critical understanding of different approaches to
understanding International corporate strategy and the relevant analytical models
and to enable students to apply theory appropriately and effectively to real
international business problems.
To provide students with an understanding of the driving issues facing strategic
leaders with particular reference to the issues of globalisation, ethics, governance
& sustainability.
• To develop the student's capability to appreciate the pro-active financial strategies
available to an organisation that could enhance its value and to develop
understanding of the nature of change and how the characteristics of organisations
facilitate or hinder change processes in an international context.
• To develop students' ability to evaluate and apply theories and models in order to
cope with or manage change effectively in international business.
•
Develop insight into how cultural issues influence international business practice
• Develop process skills and understanding of how relationships with stakeholders
can be most effectively managed by the organisational analyst or consultant
•
Learning
outcomes/
objectives
Content
By the end of this module participants should be able to demonstrate:
• Ability to critically evaluate current research and established theories within the
fields of corporate strategy, financial strategy and change management in an
international context and demonstrate an ability to apply these concepts in an
integrated and holistic manner.
• Understanding of global strategies and managing multinational corporations.
• Understanding of alliance, mergers and acquisitions in national & international
contexts.
• Critical understanding of ethical, governance and sustainability issues in
international strategic management and the implications for corporate social
responsibility and performance.
• Ability to apply appropriate models, concepts and procedures, in order to:
- analyse a firm's international strategic situation;
- evaluate the situation in a holistic (integrative) and creative manner;
- propose and evaluate some options for development and implementation.
• Critical understanding of corporate strategic implementation.
• Ability to discuss how the topics studied are capable of affecting the valuation of a
company.
• Ability to demonstrate how the organisation interacts and is affected by the
financial markets.
• Ability to apply the content of the module to the organisation selected for the
assessment, evaluate and criticise the organisation's chosen financial strategies
and its communication of those strategies to the external stakeholders of the
organisation.
• Understanding of the nature of change and how the characteristics of
organisations facilitate or hinder change processes in an international context
• Ability to evaluate and apply theories and models in order to cope with or manage
change in international business
• Ability to initiate, plan and carry out a substantial individual project, which should
show a balance between academic objectives and genuine engagement with live
problems.
• Critical understanding, based on research and current debates, of the pervasive
influence of culture on management and behaviour
• Ability to conduct an analysis of the business environment of a new cultural context
• Ability to undertake cultural analysis of negotiation behaviour
•
Demonstrate ability to observe and analyse cross-cultural behaviour
Developing international strategic capability module has three subject components:



Strategic management, ethics & sustainability
Financial strategy
Managing change between cultures
The links between subjects will be made on an ongoing basis as core elements of the
teaching and learning approach. The formative assessment mechanism will also be a
vehicle for integration of knowledge.
Strategic management, ethics & sustainability
Definition of corporate level strategy and its role in the development of an enterprise.
Analysis of the global business environment and implications for strategic
management
- dimensions & trends ( the rise of FDI and TNCs)
- globalisation debate & drivers
- developing international competitiveness (theories of internationalisation)
Diversification, organisational growth and developing new international strategic
directions
- vertical integration and the scope of the firm
- internal versus external strategic development options
- mergers and acquisitions. Integration of organisations nationally and
internationally
- international strategic alliances, networks, outsourcing and “virtual”
organisations
- divestment and restructuring.
- market entry strategies and international location of production
- global versus local strategic perspectives ( cultural dimensions in strategy)
Corporate parenting, portfolio analysis and understanding corporate level value
creation.
- The concept of synergy and its application to corporate strategy.
Implementing strategies and strategy development processes
- Strategic planning systems, processes & structures
- integrating corporate strategies with SBU & functional strategies (procurement,
marketing, operations, knowledge, structure, people & culture)
Ethics, sustainability & governance and strategic leadership
- Systemic issues, debates, theories and ethics/sustainability
- Linkages between mission, values and ethical/sustainability dimensions
including stakeholder perspectives
- Governance and ethics & sustainability – and risk analysis
- Corporate social responsibility in practice and performance measurement
triple and quadruple bottom lines)
International financial strategy
Further financial analysis and investment appraisal revisited
Techniques for failure prediction
The role of the finance function
Share prices and informational efficiency
Sources of finance
Derivatives
Cost of Capital and Capital Structure
Risk and diversification
Dividend policy
Foreign direct investment and foreign exchange
Mergers and acquisitions
Share and company valuation
Managing change between cultures
In this subject component strategic aspects of managing change are studied and
applied
generically and from an international cultural perspective.
Managing Change Conundrums and Classifications
- Change conundrums
- Change classifications
Leading Change - Theories, Models and Concepts
- Challenges of leading change
- Competing theories of leadership
Communicating Change – Theories, Models and Concepts
- Communication content
- Communication processes
- Communication barriers
Managing Cultural Change
- Understanding organisational cultures
- Challenges of cultural change
Understanding Resistance to Change
- Understanding why employees resist change
- Strategies for managing resistance
Organisational Learning and Change
- Organisational learning
- Learning organisations
Change Agents and Agency
- Change agency at different levels
- Making change happen
Evaluating the Outcomes of Change Initiatives
- Understanding change success and failure
- Models for evaluating change
Teaching
and
learning
strategy
Allocation of
study hours to
activities
(including premodule
activities,
contact time,
private study
time and
assessment)
Learning
support
Activity
Taught hours including
guided study, research, group
work, and reading
Self study & assessment
Total Hours
Hours
140
The theories,
models and
concepts of
each subject area will be introduced, and students will be required to apply these in
order to consolidate learning. They will be encouraged to make conceptual links
between subjects. Short lectures to introduce theories, followed by individual or small
group work and plenary discussions will typically be used. However sessions may
take a variety of forms including management simulations, case studies, videos,
debates etc. Students will undertake comparative analyses of different business units
in order to broaden perspectives. Students will also present their work in progress and
exchange constructive feedback.
Formative assessment to support the summative project
assessment:
1. Oral presentation on project
2. Draft report submitted for supervisory advice
Studies will supported by:
 The university “studentcentral “ intranet
260
400
Including
indicative
reading,
computer
packages, field
trips etc




Assignment guidance notes
Cases
Support from module tutors
Global Management Forum – guest speaker programme –providing a strategic
leadership perspective
Indicative reading list
(Please note that this is an indicative reading list, which is current at the time of
writing. Tutors cannot guarantee that books will remain in print over the year of the
course and they cannot anticipate when new editions will be published). Module
tutors will provide guidance on selected reading but in addition participants will be
encouraged to explore articles in scholarly journals they find relevant to the course
topics and issues.
Strategic management, ethics & sustainability
Selected chapters from the latest editions of:
Boatright, J. Ethics and the conduct of Business, Prentice Hall
De Wit, B. & Meyer. R.L., Strategy - Process, Content, Context, ITB
Dicken, P. Global Shift, Sage
Elkington ,J. The Chrysalis Economy: How Citizen CEOs and Corporations Can Fuse
Values and Value Creation , Capstone
Epstein, M., Making Sustainability Work: Best Practices in Managing and Measuring
Corporate Social, Environmental and Economic Impacts, Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Grant, R., Contemporary Strategic Analysis, Wiley
Hartman, L and DesJardins, J. Business Ethics: Decision-Making for Personal Integrity
& Social Responsibility, McGraw Hill.
Johnson, J. Whittington, R. & Scholes, K., Exploring Strategy, FT Prentice Hall
Lynch, R., Strategic Management, Ft Prentice Hall
Mintzberg, Ahlstrand and Lampel, Strategy Safari, FT Prentice Hall
Prahalad, C. The Fortune as the Bottom of the Pyramid, Wharton School Publishing
Porritt, J., Capitalism as if the World Matters , Earthscan Porter,M Competitive
Advantage of Nations, New York,Free Press.
Porter,M & Kramer, M. Creating Shared Value, HBR, 2011.
Roddick, A., Business as Unusual: My Entrepreneurial Journey, Profits and Principles,
Roddick Books
Savitz, A. The triple Bottom Line: How Today's Best-Run Companies Are Achieving
Economic, Social and Environmental Success -- and How You Can Too, Josey Bass
publishers
Stiglitz, J. , Globalization and its Discontents, W. W. Norton & Company
Thompson, J., Strategic Management, International Thompson Press
International financial strategy
Selected chapters form the latest editions of:
Arnold, G. Corporate Financial Management. Harlow: FT Prentice Hall
Pike, R. and Neale, B. Corporate Finance and Investment. Harlow: FT Prentice Hall
Watson, D. and Head, A. Corporate Finance. Harlow: FT Prentice Hall
Eiteman, D.K. , Stonehill, A.I. and Moffett, M.H Multinational Business Finance.
Pearson
Madura, J. International Financial Management. International Thomson Publishing
Eun, C.S. and Resnick, B.G. International Financial Management. McGraw Hill
Managing change between cultures
Selected chapters from the latest editions of:
Balogun, J. and Hope Hailey, V. Exploring Strategic Change. Harlow: FT Prentice Hall.
Burke, W.W. Organization Change: Theory and Practice. Thousand Oaks: Sage
Publications Ltd.
Burnes, B. Managing Change. Harlow: FT Prentice Hall.
Carnall, C. Managing Change in Organizations. Harlow, FT Prentice Hall.
Hayes, J. The Theory and Practice of Change Management. Houndmills: Palgrave
Macmillan.
Hughes, M. Managing Change: A Critical Perspective, Wimbledon, CIPD Publishing.
Senior, B. and Swailes, S. Organizational Change. Harlow: FT Prentice Hall.
Paton, R.A. and McCalman, J. Change Management: A Guide to Effective
Implementation. London: Sage Publications Ltd.
Selected articles from Journals such as
Academy of Management Journal
California Management Review
Harvard Business Review
Journal of Business Finance
Journal of Business Strategy
Journal of Change Management
Journal of Finance
Journal of General Management
Journal of International Business Studies
Journal of World Business
Journal of Managerial Psychology
European Business Review
European Journal of Innovation Management
Executive Development
Human Resource Management International Digest
International Journal of Career Management
Leadership and Organization Development Journal
Long Range Planning
Management Development Review
Personnel Review
The Learning Organization: An International Journal
Sloan Management Review
Strategic Management Review
Additional sources – Newspapers
Financial Times
Websites
http://intranet.bus.bton.ac.uk/
http://www.ihrim.org
http://www.hrba.org/
http://www.cipd.co.uk/
http://www.euromonitor.com
http://proquest.umi.com/
http://www.oecd.org/
http://earthone.com/international-list.html
http://www.offshorebaking.barclays.com/
http://www.sourceoecd.org/
http://italchambers.net/businessreports.html
http://www.state.gov/www/issues/economic/trade_reports/index.html
http://www.doingbusinessin.com/
http://www6,americanexpress.com/smallbusiness/segments/expand_intl.asp_nav+sbs_hp
_id3
http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/sc_mkti/ibin/compare.html
http://www.tradenz.govt.nz/intelligence/profiles/
Assessmen
t tasks
Integrated Management Project
Including
weighting of
individual tasks
Part 1. Summative assessment (weighting: 100% of the total mark)
This 40 credit point module will be assessed through a substantial integrated project
(normally 10,000- 15000 words) requiring advanced study and independent research
skills.
Students will be required to apply appropriate models, concepts and procedures to an
organisation (the student’s own, one with which they are familiar or an international
corporation) in order to analyse its strategic and financial situation plus indicators of
need and capability for change; evaluate the situation taking an holistic approach;
propose and evaluate some options for development and change, recommending one
or more for action. Recommendations should show understanding of change
management models and issues in an international context, taking an
ethical/sustainability approach.
Part 2. Reflective Statement (compulsory but not weighted)
Participants will write a reflection of their learning from the module and from doing the
module assignments. This will identify the significance of the module to the individual's
personal and professional development; its significance to their current and future
roles/careers and if appropriate, its significance to their application of the learning to
their organisation.
Reflection word length: 1,000 – 1,500 words
EXAMINATION INFORMATION
Area examination board
External examiners
Name
As approved by SCEEN
MBA PAB
Date appointed
QUALITY ASSURANCE
Date of first approval
2002
Only complete where this is not the
first version
Date of last revision
2007
Only complete where this is not the
first version
Date of approval for this
2012
version
Version number
Modules replaced
Specify codes of modules for which
this is a replacement
3
MNM42 & MNM35