Students are introduced to the basic concepts of international business and competition from a manager's perspective. Topics include country differences in political economy, the cultural environment, ethics in international business, international trade theories, the political economy of international trade, foreign direct investment, regional economic integration, the foreign exchange market, the global monetary system, global strategy, global marketing and research and development, and global human resource management.
Objective
After successfully completing the course, you will be able to:
Explain how political, economic, and legal systems collectively influence a country’s ability to achieve meaningful economic progress.
Discuss how culture is different because of differences in social structure, religion, language, education, economic philosophy, and political philosophy.
Describe the different approaches to business ethics that can be derived from moral philosophy, and show how these approaches can help managers to make international business decisions that do not violate ethical norms.
Explain the important implications that international trade theory holds for business practice.
Explain why some governments intervene in international trade to restrict imports and promote exports.
Assess the costs and benefits of foreign direct investment to receiving and source countries.
Describe the history, current scope, and future prospects of the world’s most important regional economic agreements, including the European Union, the North American Free Trade Agreement, MERCOSUR, and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation.
Demonstrate how currency exchange rates are determined.
Assess the role played by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank in the global monetary system.
Interpret the three basic decisions that a firm contemplating foreign expansion must make: which markets to enter, when to enter, and on what scale.
Appreciate why and how a firm’s distribution system might vary across countries.
Discuss the pros and cons of different approaches to staffing policy in international businesses.
Preparations
This course is suited to students who have taken at least one year of undergraduate business education. Some knowledge of economics is an asset but not required
Hill, C.W.L., Hult, G.T.M., & McKaig, T (2018) Global Business Today, Fifth Canadian Edition, McGraw-Hill.
Case studies will be ordered individually by each student from Ivey Publishing online.
International Business_Sunyoung Lee