MBAD632-19M1 (C) MBA One 2019

Strategy and International Business

10 points

Details:
Start Date: Monday, 11 February 2019
End Date: Sunday, 7 April 2019
Withdrawal Dates
Last Day to withdraw from this course:
  • Without financial penalty (full fee refund): Friday, 22 February 2019
  • Without academic penalty (including no fee refund): Friday, 22 March 2019

Description

This course introduces you to major contemporary issues and debates concerning developing and implementing strategy in an increasingly global environment. The Strategy & IB course is important to everyone with a sense of adventure and curiosity about the wider business world: not only those aiming to work overseas in large corporates, but also those in smaller and domestic organisations – since all economies and businesses are globally interconnected.

This course introduces you to major contemporary issues and debates concerning developing and implementing strategy in an increasingly global environment. The Strategy & IB course is important to everyone with a sense of adventure and curiosity about the wider business world: not only those aiming to work overseas in large corporates, but also those in smaller and domestic organisations – since all economies and businesses are globally interconnected. The format will be as interactive and applied as possible with formal lecture input, videos, cases, and informal discussion all important elements. Presentations will enhance transferable skills needed in business and the Original Case Study will enable you to link course themes and issues to the practitioner world.

Learning Outcomes

  • MBA Graduate Profile goals are as below, with relevant Learning Outcomes for MBAD632 bulleted and italicised under each goal. The letters refer to different categories of Learning Outcomes/Transferable Skills covered by each item and are explained in the Legend. Graduates of the MBA programme are:

    1.  Responsible leaders who can consider a range of ethical, legal and strategic issues in business and organisational contexts. They can work effectively with others in teams and have clear professional and personal development goals:

  •  Apply transferable relationship, communication and presentation skills including team working, group leadership, structuring presentations, providing supporting material, managing the presentation process and demonstrating creativity via in-class presentations. These will be evaluated through timely formal written qualitative and quantitative feedback on presentations from the lecturer and peer-assessment processes (D).

    2.  Decision makers who can apply a comprehensive understanding of business disciplines to business and organisational problems in order to produce sound solutions:

  •  Recognise and appraise contemporary international, supra-national and global economic, political and socio-cultural impacts upon organizations of various sizes and types. You will be assessed on your cognitive and discursive abilities to describe, interpret and evaluate these during group presentations and weekly quizzes (A, C).

    3.  Observant thinkers who recognise opportunities and problems and develop creative responses to those using a range of analytical skills:

  •  Diagnose spatial strategic situations, evaluate strategic choices and develop and screen viable strategic options to anticipate and respond to spatial impacts. Achievement of these skills will be demonstrated and verified during the Original Case Study, where you will be expected to outline a major International Strategy issue, create strategy solutions and defend your arguments in a narrative form. (A, B, C, D).

  •  Synthesise, judge and critique conventional approaches to International Business. This is enhanced through a special study category: Additional Reading consists of texts and Internet sites through which you can explore organisational strategy-making beyond the basic level and integrate research skills by uncovering written and electronic sources of secondary strategy data. Classroom discussion will be oriented towards critical consideration of the textbook and other material. Evidence of engagement in this study category will be assessed during the presentations and Original Case Study. (B).

    4.  Innovative in their ideas, solutions and plans and can communicate these appropriately to different audiences.

  •  Develop and communicate critical and innovative strategic thinking skills. This will occur through your preparation and delivery of the Group Presentation exercise and Original Case study. (A, B, C, D).


    Legend
    A  Knowledge and Understanding
    B Intellectual Skills: Analysis/Synthesis/Evaluation
    C Discipline Specific Skills: Application of Knowledge; Application of Theories/Models; Problem solving
    D Transferable Skills: Application of numbers; Information handling; personal development; Teamworking; Reasoning; Decision-making

Prerequisites

Subject to approval of the MBA Director

Timetable Note

Please note: Actual lecture times are from 5:00 to 8:15 pm.

Course Coordinator

David Stiles

Assoc. Prof. David Stiles (Course Coordinator)
Email:  david.stiles@canterbury.ac.nz
Room:  L222, Business & Law Building
Office hours:  Tuesday 4:00 - 5:00 pm.

Prof. Charles Snow
Email: charles.snow@canterbury.ac.nz

Assessment

Group Presentation  --  Due dates: From Week 3  --  30%

Weekly Quizzes  --  Due dates: From Week 3  --  20%

Innovative International Strategy Project  --  Due 5:00 pm Tuesday 27th March 2018  --  50%
(of which 30% is for a group-based Report; 20% for a final group-based presentation during a special session on this date).

Note that special considerations are not available for any item of assessment in this course without the prior approval of the Course Coordinator in consultation with the MBA Director. Wherever possible and with the Coordinator’s agreement, a replacement assessment will be sought in each case where a student has not been (with valid reason) able to submit or has been disadvantaged in some way.


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NOTE: UC General Course and Examination Regulations

Appeals and Grievances

Special Consideration

Special Consideration Application

Textbooks / Resources

Peng, Mike. Global Strategy. 4th Edition. South-western Cengage Learning, 2017.

Although not a substitute for the lectures, which include much new material and discursive learning not available elsewhere, this best-selling, easy to read textbook is favoured by past MBA classes for its direct, applied emphasis. This latest edition is only available via a dedicated website and there is no print edition or eBook. Countering this are the positives of cost (it’s half the price of the old printed version – and I’ve negotiated you a further 15% discount), availability (no waiting for bookshop back orders), and functionality (bundled with the book is a suite of useful online learning tools to supplement what I put on Learn). You will have 6 months access to the book and all its tools, including flashcards, RSS feeds, glossary, and much more. These are supplied by the publisher and not me; so always defer to the course Learn website for official material, including handouts, assignments, additional reading and online quizzes. The move to an online textbook model is a good example of how global strategic change is remodelling entire industries: in this case, publishing & higher education. Access the MindTap website at the following Student Registration URL:

https://login.cengagebrain.com/course/MTPNHCSP8J22

This will take you straight into the special Cengage (Cengage Brain) site where you should first set up your own account (under ‘New Students’). Once you’ve done this you will need to enter a separate discount code (NZ15OFF) to access the Peng text cheaply. Don’t pay full price on the main Pearson website. See the end of this outline for complete instructions on accessing the text.

There is also an app (AppStore and Google play), which you can access to give you mobile access to the Peng text, whether you are online or offline using the Cengage Brain account details you’ve just registered. The link is:

http://www.cengage.com/mindtap/mobileapp

The Peng book is in most weeks the minimum required Essential Reading. Please read the text indicated in the relevant chapter weeks on the syllabus below, including the cases, in advance of the following week’s session. This is so that you are able to engage fully in classroom discussion. Reading and understanding the textbook readings is also important in allowing you to attempt the accompanying multiple choice questions on the Learn course website before the next session. I appreciate this may be difficult to do for many people for week 1 of the course, when you’re just finding your feet; which is why we have repeated Essential Reading for weeks 1 & 2. This also allows for students starting the course late. However, to ensure full engagement, by week 2 everybody is expected to be in advance reading mode.  As well as the minimum textbook reading, contemporary academic journal articles, websites, etc. appear as Additional Readings on the course Learn website. Although you are not expected to look at all these, you’re now a Master’s/Diploma student aiming for critical thinking rather than minimising reading; so understanding some at least is important. You will engage far more – and receive higher marks – by consulting Additional Readings, especially in your Group Presentation and Innovative International Strategy assignment. If you were a Certificate student, you may find this a step up in our expectations of you. Theory is essential to comprehending the massive changes going on around us internationally – and case studies will give you practical insights into globalisation and how companies actively try to manage this.

Course links

Learn

Indicative Fees

Domestic fee $1,567.00

* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.

For further information see Master of Business Administration Programme .

All MBAD632 Occurrences

  • MBAD632-19M1 (C) MBA One 2019