Year
2024Credit points
10Campus offering
Prerequisites
Nil
Teaching organisation
150 hours over a twelve-week semester or equivalent study period
Unit rationale, description and aim
Graduates of an MBA are expected to demonstrate knowledge of a broad range of management disciplines in the context of the local and global economic and social environments. Adapting to different cultural work contexts and applying the skills learned in discipline-based units to real life business problems is an essential element of MBA learning. The rationale to include this unit in the course is to provide students with the opportunity to explore business in an international context from both a theoretical, practical and ethical perspectives.
Students will study key models of internationalisation and cross-cultural management. They will explore issues which arise from a regulatory and social perspective when working across different national and cultural context using dialogue and partnerships. A range of opportunities to demonstrate the application of business in international contexts will be offered such as engaging in an applied cross -cultural project either virtually or as part of a planned international study tour. The overarching aim of this unit is to provide students with the opportunity to develop and apply practical skills developed in the MBA program in an applied global context with ethical lenses.
Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
| Learning Outcome Number | Learning Outcome Description |
|---|---|
| LO1 | Critically compare and contrast key models of international business and cross-cultural management |
| LO2 | Evaluate issues which arise when working with organisations operating in multiple national environments from the human, cultural interactions, dialogue and ethical perspectives |
| LO3 | Apply discipline knowledge and technical skills such as financial analysis and global partnerships to solving a problem or contributing to the operations of a globally engaged organisation |
| LO4 | Appraise collectively the challenges and opportunities of managing people in an international context |
Content
Topics will include:
- Globalisation and the world economy
- Difference between countries – politics, culture and ethics
- Regional economic integration and global partnerships
- The strategy on international business
- Foreign market penetration
- Exporting, importing and countertrade
- International economics
- Cross-cultural emersion
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
This unit takes an active learning approach to guide students in the analysis, synthesis and application of knowledge associated with engaging in international business activities. Students are able to explore the knowledge base underpinning working in an international context through a series of on campus workshops. These workshops are designed to support students to actively participate in the construction and synthesis of this knowledge both individually and in groups. By participating in these workshops, students will systematically develop their understanding of the critical aspects of how organisations operate internationally. Once students have mastered the underpinning knowledge base of international engagement, they will participate in an international business project. This unit takes an experiential approach to support students in developing their capacity to work in complex cross cultural and international environments.
ACU Online
This unit uses an active learning approach to support students in the exploration of knowledge essential to the discipline. Students are provided with choice and variety in how they learn. Students are encouraged to contribute to asynchronous weekly discussions. Active learning opportunities provide students with opportunities to practice and apply their learning in situations similar to their future professions. Activities encourage students to bring their own examples to demonstrate understanding, application and engage constructively with their peers. Students receive regular and timely feedback on their learning, which includes information on their progress.
Assessment strategy and rationale
To pass this unit, students must demonstrate competence in all learning outcomes and achieve an aggregate mark of at least 50%. Marking will be in accordance with a rubric specifically developed to measure the level of achievement of the learning outcomes for each item of assessment. Students will be awarded a final grade which signifies their overall achievement in the Unit.
The assessment strategy for this Unit allows students to sequentially develop their knowledge and skills in international business to the point where they can effectively operate on a global level. In order to develop this level of capability, students will demonstrate their knowledge of international business in an essay, further develop their understanding of organisational change through an article critique and then apply their knowledge and understanding of international business in the final assessment task.
The assessment tasks for this unit are designed for students to demonstrate their achievement of each learning outcome as indicated in the following Assessment Table.
Overview of assessments
| Brief Description of Kind and Purpose of Assessment Tasks | Weighting | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
Assessment Task 1: Article Critique This assessment task consists of a 1000 word written critique report. This task requires students to undertake an analysis of an international business news article and how it contributes to establish a global partnership in a report. It requires students to engage with current affairs, business press, real word issues and improves their analytical and reflective skills. Submission Type: Individual Assessment Method: Article critique Artefact: Written article critique | 25% | LO1, LO3 |
Assessment Task 2: Critical Issues Analysis Report: This assessment task consists of a 1400 word written critical analysis. This task requires students to use their communication skills and dialogue principles to collectively analyse a contemporary issue influencing international business to demonstrate understanding of policy, cultural, and ethical issues which impact on effective international business engagement. Students are required to complete Peer Evaluation of other group members contribution to the group work worth 10% of this assessment. Submission Type: Individual/Group Assessment Method: Critical Analysis Report Artefact: Written critical analysis report | 35% | LO2, LO4 |
Assessment Task 3: Applied Business Project This assessment task consists of a 1600 word written business report. This task requires students collectively to utilise their effective communication skills when engaging with real life business issue(s) facing (an) organisation(s) operating in more than one country. This may be undertaken as part of a virtual team project, a global virtual classroom or via a study tour. Submission Type: Individual Assessment Method: Applied business project Artefact: Written business report | 40% | LO3, LO4 |
Representative texts and references
Browaeys, M & Price, R 2019, Understanding Cross Cultural Management, 4th edn, Prentice Hall, England.
Cavusgil ST, Knight G, Riesenberger JR, Rammal HG & Rose EL 2017, International business: the new realities, 4th edn, Pearson Australia, Melbourne.
Daniels, D, Radebaugh, L & Sullivan, D 2018, International Business: Environments and Operations, 16th edn, Prentice-Hall, Australia.
Hill, C, & Hult, GTM, 2018, Global Business Today 10th edn, Mc-Graw Hill Higher Education.
Griffin, R & Pustay, M 2019, International Business: a managerial perspective, global edition 9th edn, Prentice-Hall, Australia.
Journals
- Journal of International Business Studies
- Management International Review
- Journal of International Marketing
- Global Strategy Journal
JOURNAL ARTICLES
Andrews, Tim G et al., 2019. Corruption in Asia Pacific business organizations: insights on causes, conditions, consequences and treatment. Asia Pacific business review, 25(4), pp.459–469.
Antràs, Pol, de Gortari, Alonso & Itskhoki, Oleg, 2017. Globalization, inequality and welfare. Journal of international economics, 108, pp.387–412.
Berger, Ron et al., 2020. Doing business in India: The role of jaan-pehchaan. Industrial marketing management, 89, pp.326–339.
He, Canfei et al., 2019. Entrepreneurship in China. Small business economics, 52(3), pp.563–572.
Jackson, Terence. (2020). Cross cultural management scholarship and the coronavirus crisis. International Journal of Cross Cultural Management : CCM, 20(2), 119–124.
Levy, David L, 2021. COVID‐19 and Global Governance. Journal of management studies, 58(2), pp.562–566.
Orij, René P et al., 2021. Is CSR the new competitive environment for CEOs? The association between CEO turnover, corporate social responsibility and board gender diversity: Asian evidence. Corporate social-responsibility and environmental management, 28(2), pp.731–747.
Satow, Takao & Wang, Zhong-Ming, 1994. Cultural and Organizational Factors in Human Resource Management in China and Japan: A Cross-cultural Socio-economic Perspective. Journal of managerial psychology, 9(4), pp.3–11.
Szkudlarek, Betina et al., 2020. Communication and culture in international business – Moving the field forward. Journal of world business : JWB, 55(6), p.101126.
Wen, Wen, Ke, Yun & Liu, Xuejiao, 2021. Customer concentration and corporate social responsibility performance: Evidence from China. Emerging markets review, 46, p.100755.