Unit Outline Semester 2 2014

Faculty of Business Government & Law

Unit Title

International Business G

Unit Number

6241

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This Unit Outline must be read in conjunction with:

a) UC Student Guide to Policies, which sets out University-wide policies and procedures, including
information on matters such as plagiarism, grade descriptors, moderation, feedback and deferred
exams, and is available at (scroll to bottom of page)
http://www.canberra.edu.au/student-services
b) UC Guide to Student Services, and is available at (scroll to bottom of page)
http://www.canberra.edu.au/student-services
c) Any additional information specified in section 6h.

1:

General Information

1a

Unit title

International Business G

1b

Unit number

6241/SEM-2/STD-F2-FO

1c

Teaching Period and year offered

1d

Credit point value

1e

Unit level

1f

Name of Unit Convener and contact details (including telephone and email)

Semester 2 2014 Standard

Dr Michael Corliss
Room: 6D14
Tel: 02 6206 8918
Email: Michael.corliss@canberra.edu.au
1g

Administrative contact details (including name, location, telephone and email)

Tel: (02) 6206 8810

Fax (02) 6201 5764
Room: 11B27
Email: BGLAdminEnquiries@canberra.edu.au
Web: http://www.canberra.edu.au/faculties/busgovlaw

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2:

Academic Content

2a

Unit description and learning outcomes

This unit provides an overview of the international trade and financial environment within which
business must function. Some broad topics covered are: changes and trends in the global economy;
production in the international firm; comparative advantage and the basis for international trade. This
unit provides an overview of the international trade and financial environment within which business
must function.
International business is any business that involves a cross-border commercial transaction, and may
include the movement of raw materials, finished goods, service or money. While it has some
similarities with domestic business, there are many important differences. At the international level a
manager must cope with a highly complex environment. Key variables in this environment include
different currencies whose values change, different government policies concerning tax, anti-trust
rules and financial controls, as well as variables which exist in any domestic context, such as
competition, cost and customer characteristics. In addition, different cultures exist in different
countries; and cultures within individual countries also may have important differences.
Consequently this subject addresses important challenges and issues that face organizations which do
business outside their home countries. In what ways can you deal with other organizations and
governments in diverse legal environments? How do you cope with cultural differences? How do you
manage business in different currencies? What strategies will enable you to compete successfully with
rivals from other countries? Answers to such questions are often not immediately obvious but, in this
subject, we shall examine logical approaches to dealing with them.
At the completion of the unit students will be able to:
1. Demonstrate an understanding of international trade theory, counter trade and international
financial markets
2. Explain the diversity and complexity of the international business environment.
3. Observe current trends in the global markets
4. Identify major areas of growth and stagnation
5. Explain the arguments for and against foreign direct investment from the viewpoints of firms,
nation-states, and other interest groups
6. Demonstrate an understanding of economic and trade developments of a specific country
7. Explain the various modes of entering the international market pursued by international
business
8. Discuss the economics and politics of international trade and investment and evaluate their
potential impact on the international context
9. Demonstrate an understanding of the international business relations of a specific corporation
10. Analyse the strategies and structures used by international businesses
2b

Generic skills

1. Communication
The ability to present knowledge, ideas and opinions effectively and communicate within and across
professional and cultural boundaries
2. Analysis and inquiry
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The ability to gather information, and to analyse and evaluate information and situations in a
systematic, creative and insightful way (through the assignments)
3. Problem solving
The ability to apply problem-solving processes in novel situations; to identify and analyse problems
then formulate and implement solutions
4. Working independently and with others
The ability to plan their own work, be self-directed, and use interpersonal skills and attitudes to work
collaboratively (through weekly tutorial exercises and assignments)
5. Professionalism and social responsibility
The capacity and intention to use professional knowledge and skills ethically and responsibly, for the
benefit of others and the environment
2c

Prerequisites and/or co-requisites

None

3:

Delivery of Unit and Timetable

3a

Delivery mode
Blended Delivery Requiring On-Campus Attendance on Evenings (EVENING)

3b

Timetable of activities, such as lectures/ tutorials/ practicals/ field classes, showing key
dates and topics (Information might be provided in the form of a table )

Tuesday 2B11 18:30-2130

Date

Topic

Hill

Week 1
12th Aug
Week 2
19th Aug

Globalisation

Ch. 1

National Differences in the Political Economy

& Political Economy and Economic
Development
International Trade Theory

Ch. 2, 3

The Political Economy of International Trade

Ch. 7

The Global Monetary System

Ch. 10, 11, 12

Foreign Direct Investment &

Regional Economic Integration

Ch. 8, 9

Week 7
23rd Sep

Differences in Culture

Ch. 4

Week 8
30th Sep
Week 9
7th Oct

Class Free Period

Week 3
26th Aug
Week 4
2nd Sep
Week 5
9th Sep
Week 6
16th Sep

The Strategy of International Business

Assessment
Schedule

Ch. 6

Project Plan due

Tuesday 16th
September

Break
Ch. 13

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Week 10
14th Oct
Week 11
21st Oct
Week 12
28th Oct

Entry Strategy and Strategic Alliance &

Exporting, Importing and Counter Trade
Global Production, Outsourcing and Logistics

Week 13
4th Nov

Global Marketing and R&D

Ch. 15, 16
Ch. 17

Project Report Research Week

Ch. 18

No Class
Draft your Project
Report
Assignment 2 due
Tuesday 4th
November

There will be no final examination in this unit.

4:

Unit Resources

4a

Lists of required texts/readings

You must have ready access to the prescribed textbook listed below, which is available from the
bookshop on the University campus.
Hill, C. (2014) International Business: Competing in a Global Marketplace 10th edition, McGraw Hill
Education, USA.

Other readings
There are numerous introductory texts in the fields of, international business, international
management and international marketing that may be useful.

Cavusgil, S. T., Knight, G., Riesenberger, J. R., Rammal, H. G., and Freeman, S. 2012
International Business: The New Realties. Australasian Edition. Pearson.
Hill, C.W.L., Cronk, T., Wickramasekera, R. 2010, Global Business Today: Asia- Pacific Edition, 2nd
Edition McGraw Hill/Irwin, Australia
Cavusgil, S. T., Knight, G. and Riesenberger, J. R. 2008 International Business: Strategy,Management
and New Realties. Pearson.
Peng, M. 2009, Global Business, Cengage Learning, Mason, Ohio.
Griffin, R.W. and Pustay, M.W. 2010 International Business, 6th Edition Pearson Publishing.
Czinkota, M.R., Ronkainen, I.A. and Moffett, M.H, 2005, International Business, (7th ed), South
Western/Thomson. Mason, Ohio, USA
P. Ramburuth, and Welch, C. 2005, Casebook in International Business: Australian and Asia Pacific
Perspectives, Person Education Australia.
Wild,J.J., Wild, K.L. and Han, J.C.Y. 2006 International Business: The Challenges of Globalization,
(3rd ed.) Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, Pearson/Prentice Hall, USA.
Journals
Apart from books, you will find it valuable to get into the practice of reading relevant articles from
journals. These are the primary resources you should use in preparing your assignments.
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Many of them are available electronically through the University of Canberra library.
http://www.canberra.edu.au/library/
or directly http://zh9bf5sp6t.search.serialssolutions.com/?L=ZH9BF5SP6T&tab=JOURNALS
Others are available in hard copy at the National Library of Australia.
Journal of International Business Studies
Journal of World Business
International Business Review
Management International Review
Cross Cultural Management: An International Review
International Management
Journal of International Management
Asia Pacific Journal of Management
Journal of Business Research
Academy of Management Journal
Academy of Management Review
You must read this style of quality journal and avoid material found randomly on the internet.
4b

Materials and equipment

Not Applicable

4c

Unit website

To find your unit site online, login to LearnOnline(Moodle) using your student ID.
Note that your unit site has a profiles page that displays your name and email address for the benefit of
other students. If you prefer to hide your email address, click here for instructions.

5:

Assessment

5a

Assessment overview

Assessment has three components: a Assignment 1, A project Plan; Participation in Class Discussion;
and a Project Report. (There is no final examination in this unit).

Overall
In order to pass this unit you must complete and submit each item of assessment, achieve at least 40%
(i.e. 24/60) in the Assignment 2: Project Report and record an overall mark of at least 50 per cent of
the total available marks in the unit
Assessment item
(including exams
held in the exam
period)
Assignment 1:
Project Plan (10
pages)
Participation in class
and responses to
questions.
Assignment 2:
Project Report (30
pages)

Due date of
assignments

Weighting
(total to equal
100%)

Addresses learning
outcome(s)

Related
generic
skill(s)

Tuesday 16th of
September 2014

30%

1,2,3,9,10,11

1,2,3,4,5

Throughout the
semester

10%

1-11

1,2,3

Tuesday 4th
November 2014

60%

1,2,3,9,10,11

1,2,3,4,5

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UC Generic Skills
1 - Communication
2 - Analysis and Inquiry
3 - Problem Solving
4 - Working independently and with others
5 - Professionalism and Social Responsibility
5b

Details of each assessment item

Participation in Class Discussion throughout the semester 10%

This item of assessment requires regular attendance and engagement in the class. Grades are awarded
for regular participation in class and responses to discussion questions as well as other topical
material.
The written assessments in this unit involve the development of a Project Report. The project will be
submitted and assessed in two stages so that students will have the opportunity to use feedback from
the first stage in order to develop their work before final submission of the second (i.e. Final report)
stage.
Assignment 1: Report Plan Stage One 30%
Due Date:

Tuesday 16th September

Length:

Maximum 10 pages (1.5 line spacing with 12 point Times Roman font)
including all diagrams, tables and references.

Value:

30%

Topic/s:

Report Planning: A major international business enterprise. This stage of the

project requires you to select a major international business enterprise and
examine its experience in the light of the concepts and theories introduced in
the unit so far. These chapters cover foundation concepts and selected aspects
of the environment of international business studies.

Details:

The task is to create a Report Plan as a way of building your research skills by
adopting a systematic approach to the task. This involves library and electronic
database searching, description and evaluation of a range of sources, brief
summaries of material, analysis of the significance of data sources and steps
that will help you clarify and define the main issues relevant to the company
that you select.
This exercise will allow you to use your research sources to develop a viable
plan for research for the Project Report. (The skills learnt here should be
transferable to all other units you study).
You MUST NOT write an essay for this stage of the assignment; brief notes
are appropriate. You need to develop your research skills so that you can
construct a research plan and creates notes that explain how the material in the
listed chapters can be used to understand the experience of and challenges
facing your selected company.
Following these steps should help you complete Assignment One. Listed here
as A-F for your convenience.
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A. Identify a major international business enterprise

Use the library data bases to be sure that you will be able to access and
understand the materials you require for the project. You will need to consider
several companies before making a final choice. A crucial consideration in your
choice will be the extent to which the company chosen allows you to explore its
experience using the concepts of this unit.

Explain why you have chosen this company? Some factors that might
influence your choice are:
A firms role in the global pattern of trade
Comparative and competitive advantage as they apply to the firm
Does its activity represent some aspect of New Trade Theory? If so
examine the implications of such theory for its pattern of international
businesses.
Theories of Foreign Direct Investment and the Eclectic Paradigm
Does the firm represent an example of the Stages Models of
Internationalisation?
Its organisational form
Effects of and implications of culture, legal and economic systems in
the countries in which the firm operates.
And other concepts or ideas from the relevant chapters of the Hill text.

Once you have settled on a company you should list the main issues that are
pertinent to this company and offer examples to illustrate. The emphasis that
you give to international business concepts will be depend upon the relevance
of each to the company that you have chosen. You need use your judgement
here and that judgement needs to be informed by careful reading of the text and
selected journal articles.
B. Search Library Catalogues
Consult a range of catalogues including University of Canberra and the
National Library of Australia (NLA). Data bases such as those for journals and
companies (e.g. Global Mint). These will contain books and articles relevant to
your chosen company and the generic international business issues that
confront that company.
C. Use quality items published on the internet:
Find some sources that meet these criteria
It is authoritative
The site is clear about its own sources and reliability
It is up to date or provide material that most likely not been published
in other formats (e.g. refereed journals)
D. Statistics and secondary data used to illustrate your argument.
Look for suitable statistics and data to include in your report. Show the reader a
few examples of the types of evidence you will use in your Report. Cite the
sources and availability of the data, and show how you might compile and
display it. A summary table you have constructed or a diagram that richly
illustrates main points in your research would be ideal.
E. Progress so far time to pause and reflect.
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Reflect and carefully evaluate your progress. Form a thesis or main line of
argument for your Project Report. Check that you have used the theory of the
early part of the unit to examine key issues confronting your company.
F. Plan for the Project Report
Now as the final step for the this Assignment One construct a plan with section
headings, sub-headings, bullet points or phrases and short paragraphs that
reflect your development of the report and your line of argument up to this
point. It needs to be more than a list of points; the reader should be able to
discern clearly your line of argument from your plan.
An assessment evaluation sheet will be provided on the Moodle site. Read it for
guidance on the presentation of your work. Check you have covered all the
points in this sheet before you hand in the assignment.
Take care to use correct citation methods: use Harvard Author/Date (Check the
UC library site for full information on these methods).

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The second assignment builds on this first one and you should use feedback to improve the
presentation on your material.
Assignment 2: The Project Report 60%
Due Date:

Tuesday 4th November

Length:

Maximum of 30 pages (1.5 line spacing with 12 point Times Roman font)
including all diagrams, tables and references.

Value:

60%

Topic/s:

Write the Project Report on your chosen Multinational Enterprise.

Details:

Provide the full Project Report on your chosen Multinational Enterprise

making use of the material from the whole unit that is most relevant to your
chosen case. The emphasis needs to be on the analysis of issues confronting the
firm and you need to use the theories and approaches of this unit to address
these issues.
The later chapters of the text complete the coverage of the business
environment and cover topics more focused on the behaviour, operations and
management on the international firm. You need to use the topics in these
chapters to assess the relevance of these concepts to your chosen case.
We will highlight many of the potential issues facing MNEs in class and the
Moodle site may be used to offer supplementary guidance if required.
Week 12 there is no formal class in this unit so that you will have time to work
on the draft of your Project Report.
An assessment evaluation and cover sheet will be provided on the Moodle site.
Read it for guidance on the presentation of your work. Check you have covered
all the points in this sheet before you hand in the assignment.
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Take care to use correct citation methods: use Harvard Author/Date (Check the
UC library site for full information on these methods).

Purpose:

The purpose of this set of assignments is to:

1. Develop your skills in business analysis using the theory developed in the
unit.
2. Develop literature search skills.
3. Develop skills in critical analysis.
4. Develop skills in writing project reports to and level including research and
referencing skills.

There will not be a final examination in this unit.

5c

Submission of assessment items

All assessment items will be submitted online via the unit Moodle site. The first page of each
assessment submission should include the following information:
Student Name:
Student ID:
Assessment Name:
Word Count (if applicable):

5d

Special assessment requirements

n/a

5e

Supplementary assessment
Refer to the UC Supplementary Assessment Policy

5f

Academic Integrity
Students have a responsibility to uphold University standards on ethical scholarship. Good
scholarship involves building on the work of others and use of others work must be
acknowledged with proper attribution made. Cheating, plagiarism, and falsification of data are
dishonest practices that contravene academic values. Please see UC's Academic Integrity
Policy.
To enhance understanding of academic integrity, it is expected that all students will complete
the LearnOnline Academic Integrity Module (AIM) at least once during their course of
study. The module is automatically available as a listed site when students log into
LearnOnline.

5g

Use of text-matching software

The University of Canberra has available, through LearnOnline (Moodle), text-matching
software that helps students and staff reduce plagiarism and improve understandings of
academic integrity. Known as URKUND, the software matches submitted text in student
assignments against material from various sources: the internet, published books and journals,
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and previously submitted student texts. Click here for further information on the URKUND
text-matching software.

6:

Student Responsibility

6a

Workload
The amount of time you will need to spend on study in this unit will depend on a number of
factors including your prior knowledge, learning skill level and learning style. Nevertheless, in
planning your time commitments you should note that for a 3cp unit the total notional
workload over the semester or term is assumed to be 150 hours. These hours include time
spent in classes. The total workload for units of different credit point value should vary
proportionally. For example, for a 6cp unit the total notional workload over a semester or term
is assumed to be 300 hours.

6b

Inclusion and Welfare

Students who need assistance in undertaking the unit because of disability or other
circumstances should inform their Unit Convener or Inclusion and Welfare as soon as possible
so the necessary arrangements can be made.

6c

Participation requirements
You are advised to attend all the seminars on the days as outlined above

6d

Withdrawal
If you are planning to withdraw please discuss with your unit convener. Please see Withdrawal
of Units for further information on deadlines.

6e

Required IT skills
Basic Word Processing, Spreadsheet and internet search skills

6f

In-Unit Costs
(Note: To calculate your unit fees see: How do I calculate my fees?.
The online UC Co-op Textbook Search is available for purchasing text books.)

6g

Work placements, internships or practicums

NA

6h

Additional information
See the Teaching and Learning Guide for the Unit for full detail of the questions for in class
discussion.

7:

Student Feedback
All students enrolled in this unit will have an opportunity to provide anonymous feedback on
the unit at the end of the Semester via the Unit Satisfaction Survey (USS) which you can
access by logging into MyUC via the UC homepage: http://www.canberra.edu.au/home/. Your
lecturer or tutor may also invite you to provide more detailed feedback on their teaching
through an anonymous questionnaire.

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8:

Authority of this Unit Outline

Any change to the information contained in Section 2 (Academic content), and Section 5
(Assessment) of this document, will only be made by the Unit Convener if the written
agreement of Head of Discipline and a majority of students has been obtained; and if written
advice of the change is then provided on the unit site in the learning management system. If
this is not possible, written advice of the change must be then forwarded to each student
enrolled in the unit at their registered term address. Any individual student who believes
he/her to be disadvantaged by a change is encouraged to discuss the matter with the Unit
Convener.

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