Strategies of Multinational Corporations 2104-M-D3STRP-MPH

This course offers a comprehensive examination of key issues in international management and the strategic operations of multinational corporations (MNCs). It is designed to equip students with both conceptual frameworks and practical competencies necessary for effective performance in a global business environment.
Course Objectives: Students will acquire analytical tools and a skill set tailored to navigating the complexities of international business. Emphasis is placed on understanding strategic management practices and the dynamics of business internationalization.
Course Overview:
• Introduction to International Business and Globalization
Foundational concepts, terminologies, and data are presented, alongside analytical tools for evaluating internal and external business environments of MNCs
• Strategic Management Frameworks
Students will engage with theoretical models and practical applications of strategic management, including strategy formulation, implementation, and performance evaluation.
• Polish Context of International Business
The course also highlights the role of Poland in global economy by examining the activities of MNCs operating within Poland and Polish enterprises expanding abroad.

Term 2024Z:

The overall aim of the course is to provide students with a conceptual, theoretical knowledge of strategic management concepts and multinational corporations (MNCs) activities in the global environment. The main focus of the course is strategic management and internationalization of multinational corporations.
The course concentrates first on international business and globalization, then introduces the general concept of strategy and explains why companies need to apply it. In a third part the implementation of strategy and its tools will be discussed. The course will also present business and corporate strategies as case studies. The other field of interest will be Polish context of MNCs’ activities (operations of foreign MNCs in Poland and Polish companies acting abroad).

Term 2025Z:

Type of course

obligatory courses

Mode

Classroom

Course coordinators

Aleksandra Jarczewska

Learning outcomes

After finishing this course students should:
- be familiar with existing literature in the field of strategic management and international management
- understand the theoretical foundations of strategic management, tools and implementation of strategies within corporations
- recognize and analyze strategic processes in corporations and know how to develop strategic solutions on the business unit level, corporate level, and global level
- be able to understand, analyze and make appropriate strategic choices in structured case study situations (and work on the group project)
- increase the opportunities for future careers

S3_W01, S3_W03, S3_W06, S3_W07, S3_U02, S3_U04, S3_U05, S3_U06, S3_K01, S3_K02, S3_K03, S3_K04

Assessment criteria

CLASS PASSING REQUIREMENTS:

- attendance and active participation
- case study/report (individual or in pairs)
- group project (group work)
- various forms of student involvement in online classes

EVALUATION CRITERIA:

1. presence (two absences allowed during the semester)
2. in-class activities based on the literature review (possible short tests based on the readings)
3. case study - an examination of a company operating in a global context (optional).
4. group project
5. midterm test

AI usage:
AI is used to complete certain elements of the task, with students providing discussion or commentary on the AI-generated content. This level requires critical engagement with Al generated content and evaluating its output.
You will use Al to complete specified tasks in your assessment. Any Al created content must be cited.

Practical placement

none

Bibliography

Basic readings:

• Griffin R., Management, Houghton Mifflin Company (available online).
• Stonehouse G., D. Campbell, J. Hamill, T. Purdie, Global and Transnational Business, John Wiley and Sons Ltd.
• UNCTAD, World Investments Reports.
• UN, World Economic Situation and Prospects United Nations.
• WEF, The Future of Growth Report, World Economic Forum.
• Polish Investment and Trade Agency.
• FDI in Poland, KPMG, 2024

Supplementary/additional reading material will be provided throughout the course.

Term 2024Z:

Literatura podstawowa:

• Griffin R., Podstawy zarządzania organizacjami, PWN, 2017 (Griffin… podręcznik dostępny bibliotece Wydziału i BUW) (strony należy dopasować do tematów). http://han.buw.uw.edu.pl/han/libra/https/libra.ibuk.pl/book/184844 (BUW online)
• Malara Z., Przedsiębiorstwo w gospodarce globalnej, PWE, 2012. (BUW online)
• Pierścionek Z., Zarządzanie strategiczne w przedsiębiorstwie, PWE, 2011. (BUW online)
• Stonehouse G., D. Campbell, J. Hamill, T. Purdie, Global and Transnational Business, John Wiley and Sons Ltd., 2005 (Stonehouse… podręcznik dostępny bibliotece Wydziału).
• UNCTAD, World Investments Reports 2018 – Investments and New Industrial Policies, http://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/wir2018_en.pdf
• UNCTAD, World Investment Prospects Survey 2014-2016, http://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/webdiaeia2015d4_en.pdf
• UN, World Economic Situation and Prospects 2018, United Nations, 2018, https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/wp-content/uploads/sites/45/publication/WESP2018_Full_Web-1.pdf
• WEF, The Global Competitiveness Report, World Economic Forum, 2017-18, http://www3.weforum.org/docs/GCR2017-2018/05FullReport/TheGlobalCompetitivenessReport2017%E2%80%932018.pdf
• Polska Agencja Inwestycji i Handlu - https://www.paih.gov.pl/pl

Lektury uzupełniające:

• Gilpin R., Global Political Economy: Understanding the International Economic Order, Princeton University Press, 2001.
• Graham E., Fighting the Wrong Enemy: Antiglobal Activists and Multinational Enterprises, Institute for International Economics, 2000.
• Grazia Ietto-Gillies, Transnational Corporations and International Production: Concepts, Theories and Effects, Second Edition Second, revised edition Edition, Edward Elgar Pub; Second, revised edition edition 2012.
• Griffin R., Pustay M., International Business: A Managerial Perspective, Prentice Hall; 6 edition edition 2009.
• Johnson G., Whittington R., Exploring Strategy: Text and Cases, 2017.
• Kaczmarek B., Glinkowska B., Zarządzanie Międzynarodowe i Internacjonalizacja Przedsiębiorstw. Teoria I Praktyka, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego, 2016.
• Klein N., No Logo: No Space, No Choice, No Jobs, Pikador, 2002.
• Lowe P., Transnational Corporations in the Global Economy: The Growth & Impacts of TNCs in the 21st Century, 2 edition 2015.
• Obłój K., Praktyka strategii firmy. Jak zarządzać przeszłością, radzić sobie z teraźniejszością i tworzyć przyszłość, Poltext, 2017.
• Puranam P., Vanneste B., Corporate Strategy: Tools for Analysis and Decision-Making, 2016.
• Vernon R., In the Hurricane's Eye: The Troubled Prospects of Multinational Enterprises, Harvard University Press, 2001.
• Wąsowska A., Ciszewska-Mlinaric M., Obłój K., Strategia korporacji, Wolters Kluwer, 2015.

Additional articles from will be sent by e-mail on a regular basis.

Materials from the Internet concerning the activity of selected enterprises.

Term 2025Z:

Literatura podstawowa:

Lektury uzupełniające:

Additional articles from will be sent by e-mail on a regular basis.

Materials from the Internet concerning the activity of selected enterprises.

Additional information

Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system:

Description of 2104-M-D3STRP-MPH in USOSweb