MSc International Management Timetables and Modules

Note: Modules offered each academic year are subject to change. Listed below are the modules and timetable for 2023/24.

Michaelmas Term

Hilary Term

Trinity Term 

  • Cross Cultural Management
  • Experiences in International Management
  • International HRM
  • International Entrepreneurship
  • International Digital Marketing
  • Project Management 
  • Global Social Entrepreneurship
  • International Marketing
  • Global Brand Management
  • Experiences in International Management
  • International Business Strategy - Theory
  • Ethical Business
  • Global Supply Chain Management
  • Applied International Strategy
  • International Sales
  • International Trade and Business
  • International Consultancy Project  -  this project allows students to showcase the knowledge they have gained and enhance their career potential by specialising in a particular area.

Michaelmas Term (September to December)

Hilary Term (January to April)

Trinity Term (May to August)

Electives (choose four in total over two terms)

Module Descriptions

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International Business Strategy - Theory (5 ECTS)

This module focuses on the nature of contemporary international business strategy and growth from international operation. This module aims to guide the student in understanding the motives for firm internationalisation; the advantages of market augmentation, factor arbitrage or innovation agglomeration; the arenas in which international business strategy is conducted; and how strategies for international development and success are crafted.

Having successfully completed this module, the student should be able to:

  • Diagnose analyse an international business’s strategic activities from the manager's perspective in the context of an ever-changing international/global operating environment
  • Identify and understand the sociocultural, economic and political factors of globalization that impact upon international/global business strategy and global value chains (GVCs)
  • Identify emerging trends in the global business environment and in particular appreciate the special strategic and relational considerations when conducting business in Asia describe and explain the motives for firms to internationalise, the advantages that may accrue from internationalisation and overseas operations and the market entry options and location decisions and attractiveness appreciate the operations and strategies of multinational enterprises and their subsidiaries and SMEs, international new ventures and born globals.

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Global Brand Management (5 ECTS)

Brands permeate modern economies and are complex and exciting entities in contemporary management. The module takes an inter-disciplinary approach to global brand management, using theories from marketing, management, sociology, psychology, and cultural studies.

Having successfully completed this module, the student should be able to: 

  • Understand and articulate the role of brand in contemporary organizations, business systems and societies
  • Demonstrate a systematic understanding of the principles of strategic brand management including implementation strategies
  • Critically appraise the issues in managing a portfolio of brands 
  • Understand the characteristics and management of brand equity and brand value. 
  • Creatively extrapolate theoretical and strategic issues in branding to the real world of individual brands through the submission of a brand portfolio.

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International Entrepreneurship (5 ECTS)

With a focus on the genesis, growth and internationalization of small, young firms, international entrepreneurship is a relevant and current topic for international management. The aim of this course is to provide students with knowledge of the processes of internationalisation of SMEs and international entrepreneurship from both practical and theoretical standpoints.

Having successfully completed this module, the student will be able to: 

  • Understand the fundamental concepts, theories and practices in the field of international entrepreneurship
  • Assess opportunities and challenges for entrepreneurs seeking to engage in international markets and when internationalising their business 
  • Develop a critical understanding of the internationalisation process of an entrepreneurial firm 
  • Build problem solving, theory based approaches to internationalisation planning and implementation 
  • Advance independent and collaborative skills in cross-cultural teams to design and deliver strategic recommendations for international entrepreneurial firms

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Cross Cultural Management (5 ECTS)

This course examines how cross-cultural issues impact international management in a comparative global context. The module aims to develop the awareness, skills and knowledge required by managers seeking to work across national borders and interested in becoming a global leader in a multi-cultural context.

On successful completion of this course, students will be able to: 

  • Analyse and critique theory and research on national cultures, and to convert theory and research into practice.
  • Critically appreciate cross-cultural awareness and cross-cultural management. 
  • Apply an understanding of cultural and institutional differences to evaluate the challenges and opportunities of doing business in different countries.
  • Explicate the implications of cultural similarities and difference for managerial behaviour such as managing and leading within and across cultural divides.
  • Develop cross-cultural awareness/ competence to work effectively in a different cultural setting  and/or manage and collaborate in cross-cultural teams
  • Discuss a range of international management practices and how culture impacts upon them. For example: motivation, cross-cultural communication and decision-making, negotiation and trust.

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International HRM (5 ECTS)

This module explores 1) how the strategic management of people is essential to the survival and growth of organisations, and 2) its related issues and challenges in the international context. The module explores the multiple theoretical underpinnings of human resource management (HRM) and evaluates the role of HR professionals and line managers, as these groups are central to the way in which HRM policies and practices are developed and enacted in the workplace.

Having successfully completed this module, students will be able to:

  • Understand the core elements of high-performance work systems (HPWS) and the mechanism through which they are associated with employee attitudes and behaviour and in aggregate organizational performance. 
  • Understand how HRM strategies are shaped by and developed in response to internal and external environmental factors.
  • Critically evaluate the aims and objectives of the HRM function in organisations and how these are met in practice.
  • Promote professionalism and an ethical approach to HRM practices in organisations.
  • Discuss the market and competitive environments of organisations and how organisational leaders and the HR function respond to them.
  • Discuss globalisation and international forces and how they shape and impact on HR strategies and HR practices.
  • Critically evaluate main challenges in International HRM.

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Experiences in International Management (10 ECTS)

This module aims to develop in students a critical awareness of the issues and challenges associated with international business assignments and managerial careers in both local MNEs and activities in overseas environments. You will develop your capacity, via experiential and reflective learning, to investigate and diagnose ‘live’ international business management and strategic issues.  The module serves as a quasi-experiential immersive exposure to managing and operating in a culturally diverse environment.

Having completed this module, the student should be able to:

  • Demonstrate an appreciation of the key challenges that arise for international managers in local host and foreign contexts
  • Exhibit awareness of the principles and theories of cross-cultural sensitivity and empathy that underpin successful international management
  • Appreciate critical international assignment issues in a foreign environment and acknowledge the requirement for appropriate preparation
  • Provide insights into particular characteristics of an economy, market, supply chains and production systems
  • Understand how theoretical models learned in the classroom are applied in real world settings.

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Project Management (5 ECTS)

This course explores the role of project management in improving organisational performance and exposes participants to the methods of planning and implementing projects. Th will enable students to develop a practical knowledge of project management as well as the tools and techniques commonly used in the discipline.

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

  • Articulate the role of project management in the modern organisation;
  • Understand the project management process and project life-cycle;
  • Utilise the major methods and approaches to project management, and the specific techniques required to successfully deliver a project;
  • Appreciate the unique nature of international projects;
  • Make accurate use of the frameworks and models covered in the course, applying them to a wide range of situations;
  • Incorporate learning from other subject areas into the project management framework;
  • Demonstrate how project requirements vary across contexts and the implications for the project manager.

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Global Supply Chain Management (5 ECTS)

Global Supply Chain Management (SCM) focuses on effective planning and management of integrated materials, information and financial flows between the supplier's suppliers and the customer's customers. In this module, the focus is on the particular challenges posed by being positioned in an international supply chain, linking the module to other international management challenges.

Having successfully completed this module, the student should be able to: 

  • Demonstrate an awareness of the key processes in a supply chain and how these are linked together by product, financial and information flows;
  • Understand and apply a range of models concerning these flows to specific business cases;
  • Demonstrate an awareness of the impact of supply chain activity beyond profit to the wider economy and society; 
  • Analyse the operational risk profile of different supply chain configurations;
  • Propose an international sourcing and inventory management approach to achieve a given strategic objective.

Satisfactory completion of this module will contribute to the development of the following key skills:

  • Ability to analyse global supply chain designs and discriminate between effective and ineffective designs;
  • Familiarity with optimisation techniques to improve supply chain designs.

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Ethical Business (5 ECTS)

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to core theoretical concepts of ethical business as well as of corporate sustainability and responsibility (CSR). Since ethical business ultimately aims at influencing business practice, the course focuses on the practical implementation of ethical business in multinational corporations.

Having successfully participated in this module, students will:

  • Understand the critical role and fundamental concepts of management (i.e., ethical business, corporate sustainability and responsibility, stakeholder management, multi-stakeholder governance, stakeholder value creation)
  • Develop innovative approaches to new and existing business problems (i.e., solving ethical challenges through stakeholder-oriented, responsible management practices)
  • Integrate functional areas of management when analyzing business problems (i.e., the interrelations between sourcing, accounting and CSR)
  • Identify relevant business problems and opportunities (i.e., ethical, economic, social, environmental and political aspects of global business)
  • Employ appropriate methodologies to solve decision problems (i.e., tools and frameworks for ethical decision-making and problem-solving)
  • Demonstrate effective fundamental professional oral communications skills (i.e., group presentations and discussions in class)
  • Demonstrate effective fundamental professional written communications skills (through several written short essays on selected topics)
  • Take initiative to substantially contribute to the team effort (through group presentations on selected topics and class discussions)
  • Work effectively in a diverse team environment to generate an appropriate solution for a real-world business problem (through group presentations as well as case studies in class)

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International Digital Marketing (5 ECTS)

This module is focused on developing students' knowledge of the ever-changing world of digital marketing. The module aims to teach students how to research, analyse and implement international digital marketing programmes.

Having successfully completed tis module, the students will be able to:

  • Understand the impact and influence that digital marketing channels have on consumer behaviour and experience in an omnichannel world.
  • Understand key digital marketing concepts and apply these in the development of a digital marketing strategy.
  • Critically examine international digital marketing strategies.
  • Devise and develop digital marketing strategies for international markets (For B2B and B2C products).
  • Appraise digital marketing strategies and their impact on business goals. 

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International Marketing (5 ECTS)

Global markets have become increasingly competitive due to company specific factors, public policy decisions, and global competition. The central focus of this course is firmly on the strategic issues of international marketing confronting firms in the global markets.

Having successfully completed this module, students should be able to:

  • Identify and critically assess the nature and scope of International Marketing in Global Markets and the impact of socio-cultural and political issues on international marketing strategy
  • To examine the forces of globalisation and the underlying philosophy of globalism
  • To identify the different problems faced in selecting international markets and investigate the most appropriate and effective entry strategies for the different modes of entry into global markets
  • To evaluate and design a customer-driven International Marketing Strategy based in sustainable marketing concepts to solve specific product/service, promotion, pricing and distribution problems and to develop the appropriate response strategies to gain maximum competitive advantage
  • To apply international marketing concepts using company case scenarios to develop participants’ conceptual and analytical skills to enhance their strategic thinking by developing an appropriate response to a number of critical issues relating to a real market situation

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Applied International Strategy (5 ECTS)

This is a highly interactive module where students take on the role of senior executives running a global organisation. This team-based module will give you a great sense of the ‘live’ challenges you will face as a manager and in doing so will provide an opportunity to stand out from the crowd in the jobs market.

Having successfully completed this module, the student should be able to:

  • Describe the strategy/marketing planning process;
  • Develop a team plan of action;
  • Conduct a strategic analysis of product and market data;
  • Interpret market/product analysis and propose actions;
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of team activities and recommend adjustments;
  • Construct a strategic marketing plan across multiple cycles;
  • Recognise time, resource, and knowledge constraints that affect strategic planning;
  • Assess the impact of team dynamics on performance.

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International Trade and Business (5 ECTS)

The purpose of the module is to delineate economic thinking from its restrictive traditional understanding. Through analysing the anthropological and social origins of certain economic phenomenon, this course will show how the economics driving trade, in all its forms, need not be obfuscated using complex and rigid economic modelling, but rather can be understood of by simply looking at one another, our interactions, our history and our collective existence.

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Global Social Entrepreneurship (5 ECTS)

Global Social Entrepreneurship explores international responses to the world’s increasingly complex, wicked problems and the growing range of models created to serve those in society typically excluded from public sector services and private sector attention.  Through readings, case studies, and human-centered design practices, students will thoroughly understand the forms of social entrepreneurship, the international ecosystem fostering scalable social impact responses, and their potential to act as social entrepreneurs outside of the classroom.

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International Sales (5 ECTS)

Selling is key to the success of every organisation.  Without generating customers great ideas fail, companies fail and shareholders lose value. This module will examine sales and sales management and the use of tools and application of these tools in an international context.

Having successfully completed this module, the student should be able to:

  • Understanding of the Core Elements of the Sales Function and the constituent models of engagement, e.g. inside sales, outbound marketing, account management, enterprise sales.
  • Identify how to apply the differing management models of Sales Groups: Inside Sales, Outbound Marketing, Sales Support, Enterprise Sales, and use of tools such as CRM and Social Selling and methodologies such as Miller Heiman, SPIN Selling and Challenger Sales.
  • Recognising team and individual skills and behaviours required in a sales environment. This will also include reflecting on Motivation and Reward of staff.
  • Examine and apply the factors of international management to market development, building appropriate sales organisations, cultural appreciation and practical examples
  • Understand how to position an appropriate sales mix within the strategic context of the firm

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International Consultancy Project (30 ECTS)

For the International Consultancy Project students work in teams to apply the techniques and knowledge acquired from the taught modules to a managerial problem of real-world social, strategic or economic concern. Student teams conduct an in-depth exploration of a challenging problem or opportunity in international business management, including the generation of feasible solutions in real companies.

Having successfully completed this module, the student should be able to:

  • Contribute to resolving a significant issue for the host company by analysing the business environment, the organization’s strategy, capabilities, values and culture.
  • Apply appropriate tools and frameworks in diagnosing and exploring these issues.
  • Demonstrate their capability to be effective management practitioners, with a good understanding of the practical aspects of work life, including presentation and communication skills.
  • Demonstrate a clear ability to be an effective member of a high-performance team and exercise sound judgment when confronted with significant constraints (e.g. time deficits, information deficits).
  • Evaluate their own capabilities as an international practitioner and build related leadership and management skills.

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