Multinational Corporations 2104-GPIR-D3MUCO
The course is designed to acquaint students with different aspects of international management issues and multinational corporations’ (MNCs’) activities.
The overall aim of the course is to provide students with a conceptual and practical knowledge and skill set that will allow them to successfully perform in international environment.
The main focus of the course is strategic management and internationalization of business. The course begins with an introduction to international business and globalization (basic definitions, data, and concepts; analysis of the external and internal environments). The general concept of strategic management is then introduced, and the course moves on to strategies (theoretical and practical aspects of strategies, formulation, implementation, and evaluation process). The other area of interest is the Polish context of business activities (MNC activities in Poland and Polish companies operating abroad).
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
After finishing this course students should:
- be familiar with the 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)
- develop the ability to think analytically and critically;
- develop the ability to formulate informed conclusions;
- develop the communication and presentation skills;
- develop the ability to work in a group (by preparing a group project);
- develop the ability to conduct analyses and prepare reports;
- increase opportunities for a future professional career.
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 consisting two main components:
a. written project (up to 10 pages + footnotes and bibliography)
b. project presentation (up to 15 min.) -
5. midterm test
Practical placement
none
Bibliography
Basic readings:
• Griffin R., Management, Houghton Mifflin Company; 2008 (Griffin… this addition is AVAILABLE IN THE FACULTY’s LIBRARY) or 12th edition 2016 (online).
• Stonehouse G., D. Campbell, J. Hamill, T. Purdie, Global and Transnational Business, John Wiley and Sons Ltd., (second edition) 2005 (Stonehouse… this addition is AVAILABLE IN THE FACULTY’s LIBRARY).
• UNCTAD, World Investments Report 2022 and other selected editions https://unctad.org/system/files/official-document/wir2022_overview_en.pdf
• UNCTAD, World Investment Prospects Survey 2014-2016, http://unctad.org/en/PublicationsLibrary/webdiaeia2015d4_en.pdf
• UN, World Economic Situation and Prospects 2022, United Nations, 2022, https://www.un.org/development/desa/dpad/publication/world-economic-situation-and-prospects-2022/
• WEF, The Global Competitiveness Report, World Economic Forum, 2022, https://www.weforum.org/reports/
• Polish Investment and Trade Agency - https://www.paih.gov.pl/en
• FDI in Polnad - https://www.ceicdata.com/en/indicator/poland/foreign-direct-investment
Supplementary/additional readings:
• Puranam P., Vanneste B., Corporate Strategy: Tools for Analysis and Decision-Making, 2016.
• Johnson G., Whittington R., Exploring Strategy: Text and Cases, 2017.
• J. S. Harrison, C. H. St. John, Foundation in Strategic Management, Thomson South-Western, 2008 or J. S. Harrison, C. H. St. John, Foundation in Strategic Management, South-Western College Pub; 6 edition 2013.
• 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.
• P. Lowe, Transnational Corporations in the Global Economy: The Growth & Impacts of TNCs in the 21st Century, 2 edition 2015.
• N. Klein, No Logo: No Space, No Choice, No Jobs, Pikador, 2002.
• R. Gilpin, Global Political Economy: Understanding the International Economic Order, Princeton University Press, 2001.
• E. Graham, Fighting the Wrong Enemy: Antiglobal Activists and Multinational Enterprises, Institute for International Economics, 2000.
• R. Griffin, M. Pustay, International Business: A Managerial Perspective, Prentice Hall; 6 edition edition 2009.
• R. Vernon, In the Hurricane's Eye: The Troubled Prospects of Multinational Enterprises, Harvard University Press, 2001.
Additional information
Additional information (registration calendar, class conductors, localization and schedules of classes), might be available in the USOSweb system: