School of Management

Course Guide Part B Course Detail BUSM 1227 International Business

SIM Semester 1 2012

Part B: Course Detail Teaching Period RMIT Course Code RMIT Course Id RMIT Course Title School Career Campus Learning Mode

Offshore 1 2012 BUSM1227 001415 International Business 630H Management Undergraduate Singapore Institute of Management Face-to-Face

Primary Learning Mode: Primarily you will be learning face to face with an on-line course site used to disseminate materials, to provide you access to all the important information about the course (such as resources, assessment etc) and for you to participate in on-line discussion forums. Credit Points Teacher Guided Hours Learner Directed Hours Course Coordinator Course Coordinator Phone Course Coordinator Email Course Coordinator Location Course Coordinator Availability Offering Coordinator Offering Coordinator Phone Offering Coordinator Email Offering Coordinator Location Offering Coordinator Availability 12 36 per semester 72 per semester Dr Natt Pimpa +61 3 99251531 nattavud.pimpa@rmit.edu.au 108.16.80 By Appointment Dr. Jiaying Zhang +61 3 99251649 jiaying.zhang@rmit.edu.au 108.16.52 enquiries by E-mail

Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities None

Course Description This course provides students with a fundamental understanding of international aspects of business and management. It addresses the theory and changing patterns of international business and the macro and micro challenges in international business. It provides a broad view of the factors underlying international competitive dynamics and performance. The
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course aims to prepare students for the challenges of international business context, actors in international business and their actions, and critical perspectives of international business. The course also provides Work Integrated Learning (WIL) opportunities that help link formal Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development. Capabilities On completion of this course students will have developed the following capabilities:

Ability to demonstrate a high level of understanding of the implications of changing global influences in business and economic life, and the ability to bring a global orientation to business practices.

Ability to understand different viewpoints, negotiate and manage conflict in the crosscultural context.

Ability to understand context, actors, actions and critical perspectives of international business.

Learning outcomes At the conclusions of this course, students will:

understand key academic theories in international business; comprehend roles and actions of actors in international business in various international contexts;

be able to analyse different situations in the international business environment; and be able to provide critical perspectives of international business and society.

Overview of Learning Activities Learning in this course may involve discussion of case studies, readings, questions and exercises from the lectures/workshops, weekly readings, journal articles, electronic learning hub, and student experiences and responses (class discussion and participation). The key learning approaches used in this course include:

Lecture and readings: Exploration of international management practice and challenges such as cross cultural management, managing expatriate assignments, marketing strategically to address diversified consumers, gaining a full understanding of international management, and organising for global operations.

On-line activities: In each topic of study, the students may be required to incorporate online learning material with their classroom discussion and group activities.

Discussion: The context, actors, behaviours and critics of International business and its trends in global economies and likely future implications of current changes from demographic, economic, technological, sociological and environmental perspectives.

Case study: In this course, you will have opportunities to critically examine the major international business actors and their behaviour in the contemporary context.

Liaison with industry: You are encouraged to liaise with industry people for the feedback of your assignment.

Teaching Schedule An overview and introduction of this course will be given in Week 1. From Week 2 and onward, the lectures will focus on and address international business issues around the following four major topic areas: 1. The International Business Context (Week 2 and 3) 2. Actors in the IB context (Week 4, 5 and 6) 3. Acting in the IB context (Week 7, 8 and 9) 4. Critical perspectives on International Business (week 10, 11 and 12) Note: The duration of each topic area and the offering week are provided as a guideline. There might be slight changes subject to the actual course delivery needs. A more detailed structure of the course content is given below, with the key breakdown topics/questions of each area.

The International Business Context

Is international business new?

Has globalisation changed international business? How? Who are the winners and losers?

Actors in the IB context

Who are the actors? (MNCs, WTO, ILO, IMF, international NGOs, governments) What is the mission of these respective actors? How do the actors relate to each other? (What is the relationship among these actors?) How do they resolve conflicts?

Acting in the context

How do organisations internationalise? (e.g. the stage-based approach; Born globals) How does international business manage its internal operations? How does international business manage its external operations (e.g. relationship with the host country/communities)?

Critical perspectives on International Business

To what extent are international businesses committed to sustainable development? Committed to sustainable social human development? Committed to sustainable environmental development?

Overview of Learning Resources Students will have access to online course materials in the Learning Hub, additional information and a range of textbooks, e-books, journal articles, reports etc from the RMIT Library.

Prescribed Texts There is no prescribed textbook for this course. Instead, a range of learning resources (such as lecture notes, the recommended readings and a list of academic journals) is specifically designed and provided to enhance your learning experience. You are required and greatly encouraged to make use of these resources for your learning.

Recommended Materials Cairns, G. and Sliwa, M. (2008), A Very Short, Fairly Interesting and Reasonably Cheap Book about International Business, London: Sage Publication (ISSN: 978-1-4129-4763-3) Friedman, T. (2006), The World is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, California: Farrat, Straus, and Giroux. Porter, M. (1998) "The Competitive Advantage of Nations", New York: Free Press.

Other Resources The following academic journals publish papers in the field of international business. You are greatly encouraged to make use of these journals in your learning process and in doing your assignment. Competitiveness Review: an international business journal Critical Perspectives on International Business Cross-Cultural Management: An International Journal Harvard Business Review Journal of Asia-Pacific Business Journal of International Business Studies Journal of International Business and Economy Journal of International Business Strategy International Business Review International Business Economics Research Journal

Overview of Assessment Your ability to understand key academic theories and challenges in international business will be assessed by varied formats. Feedback will be provided to students at the end of each learning task.

Assessment Tasks This course comprises two pieces of assessment tasks - an essay (50%) and an end-ofsemester examination (50%). Both assessments are individual.

Assessment 1 Essay Type: Individual Format: Essay (You are encouraged to use headings and/or sub-headings to separate the sections/cases of your essay.) Value: 50% Word limit: 2500 words (variation within 10% more or less is allowed) Due: Week 8

This activity is a platform to sharpen and demonstrate your knowledge and analytical skills in international business. It is designed to help you achieve the learning outcomes 1, 2 & 3. The assignment focuses on the actors of international business and their actions in the contemporary international business context. It also provides you with opportunities to link the international business theories with the practice by analysing real-world examples from the academic point of view.

Question: How does international business achieve its internationalisation objectives in the contemporary context?

Process: 1. Select one of the following international organisations

a multinational corporation

2. Write a brief overview of the organisation and its mission/objectives related to international business (maximum 500 words for this section).

3. Select and then analyse the internationalisation process of the organisation and its impacts on the international context.

What did the organisation do to internationalise itself? What was the impact of these actions on the organisation? What was the impact of these actions on the broader community?

4. Experience/lessons Learned

What experience and/or lessons should the organisation have learnt from the analysis? Why do you think they are important for their future acting?

What insights did you gain about international business in the contemporary context?

Presentation A high standard of presentation is always expected. Your assignment is to be processed using Microsoft Word, with 1 line-spacing, 2cm wide margins and page number. A word count must appear at the end of your assignment before references. Always keep a copy of any work you submit.

Submission of Assessment 1 This assignment needs to be submitted in both hard copy and soft (electronic) copy. The hard copy should be submitted to SIM by 5:00PM on the due date. The soft copy needs to be submitted on-line to the Gradebook located within the Blackboard of this course. The soft copy is due by 5:00 PM on the due date. For both copies, a signed Assignment Cover Sheet and a Turnitin report (only the first two pages of the report - see Turnitin section below for more details) must be submitted at the very beginning of your assignment.

Important Information about electronic submission of the soft copy 1) The soft copy should be same as the hard copy. 2) Only one soft copy can be submitted. Make sure the Assignment Cover sheet and the Turnitin report are integrated with your essay into one file. 3) When submitting the soft copy to the Gradebook, you must name your file according to the following format: the course code your student Number - your full name full time/part time. For example: David Citizen is a full time student (S1234567), then he should name his soft copy submission as BUSM1227 S1234567 David Citizen Fulltime. 4) You need to note that the Gradebook system might not be able to process your submission in the case of large volume of submissions at the same time (for example: if a large number of people submit their assignments just before the due time). Therefore, you need to allow yourself sufficient time to submit the soft copy.

Turnitin Software It is suggested that you use Turnitin software to check that your work meets RMITs standards of academic integrity. Turnitin instructions are available at

http://mams.rmit.edu.au/zdrig5rjsxnqz.pdf. Each course has a specific code which you must use to log in to Turnitin. Your lecturer will provide this code in the Blackboard of this course and/or in class. Turnitin will check your assignment for originality and will generate a report indicating areas in which the content overlaps with other academic papers and student assignments. Do not include the cover sheet and reference list when you submit the

assignment to Turnitin as they will distort the report. By inspecting the report you should be able to determine whether your essay would be acceptable as predominantly your own work. Please take care to allow time to submit your assignment to Turnitin so that you have time to review the report before submitting the assignment by the due date prescribed.

Assessment Criteria Level of mastery of the subject matters Quality of analysis and argument Academic writing clarity, logic and skills Quality, relevance and sufficiency of references Format Presentation

Assessment 2 - Final examination The final examination is designed to help you achieve learning outcomes 1 and 4. Type: Individual Format: Exam (further information about the exam will be provided during the semester) Value: 50% Date: To be determined (students need to confirm the exact exam date with Singapore Institute of Management Duration: 2 hours

Submission of Assignments RMIT is moving to electronic submission of all assignments. In the current transition stage you are asked to submit your assignment in both hard and soft copy. Instructions for submission are detailed below.

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Hard copy submission Details on the date and time assignments are to be submitted is provided in the course information in myRMIT. A signed assignment cover sheet must be attached to each assignment. Any late assignment, unless granted an extension by the course coordinator (see below regarding extensions), will be penalised at 10% of the assessment weighting for each day after the due date. No assignment will be accepted more than seven calendar days late without Special Consideration (see below).

Soft copy submission You must also submit a soft copy of your assignment through the assignment link in myRMIT. The same deadline applies for the soft copy as for the hard copy.

Extension of time for assignment submission Extension of up to seven calendar days beyond the due date may be approved by the Course Coordinator in certain circumstances. To apply for an extension of time you must complete the Application for Extension of Time form (available at:

http://mams.rmit.edu.au/seca86tti4g4z.pdf).

Special Consideration Extension of time beyond seven calendar days after the original submission due date is available only by prior approval from the Special Consideration Unit. Further details can be found at: http://www.rmit.edu.au/students/specialconsideration/online .

Plagiarism Students are reminded that cheating, whether by fabrication, falsification of data, or plagiarism, is an offence subject to University disciplinary procedures. Plagiarism in oral, written or visual presentations is the presentation of the work, idea or creation of another person, without appropriate referencing, as though it is ones own. Plagiarism is not acceptable. The use of another persons work or ideas must be acknowledged (Information

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about

citing

references

is

available

in

the

Learning

Lab

at

https://www.dlsweb.rmit.edu.au/lsu/). Failure to do so may result in charges of academic misconduct, which carry a range of penalties including cancellation of results and exclusion from your course.

Students are responsible for ensuring that their work is kept in a secure place. It is also a disciplinary offence for students to allow their work to be plagiarised by another student. Students should be aware of their rights and responsibilities regarding the use of copyright material.

Students are reminded that the Turnitin program is used in this course to check the submitted assessment for plagiarism.

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GRADING GUIDELINES

High Distinction (HD) 80 100% Exceptionally clear understanding of subject matter and appreciation of issues; well organised, formulated and sustained arguments; well thought out and structured diagrams; relevant literature referenced. Evidence of creative insight and originality in terms of comprehension, application and analysis with at least some synthesis and evaluation.

Distinction (DI) 70 79% Strong grasp of subject matter and appreciation of key issues, perhaps lacking a little on the finer points; clearly developed arguments; relevant and well structured diagrams; appreciation of relevant literature. Evidence of creative and solid work in terms of comprehension, application, analysis and perhaps some synthesis.

Credit (CR) 60 69% Competent understanding of subject matter and appreciation of some of the main issues though possibly with some gaps; clearly developed arguments; relevant diagrams and literature use, perhaps with some gaps; well prepared and presented. Solid evidence of comprehension and application with perhaps some analysis.

Pass (PA) 50 59% Some appreciation of subject matter and issues; work generally lacking in depth and breadth and with gaps. Often work of this grade comprises a simple factual description (i.e. basic comprehension) but little application or analysis. Work of this grade may be poorly prepared and presented. Investment of greater care and thought in organising and structuring work would be required to improve.

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