Welcome
Welcome to International Business Environment!
This course is designed to provide you with a deep understanding of international business environment and the major issues that affect how businesses operate globally. These issues are related to knowledge at both the country and the company levels. At the country level, we will try to understand globalisation, participants of international business, cultural influences, international trade and investment theories, political environment, and the growth of emerging markets. At the company level, this course covers two topics. One is the global strategic structure of multinational company, and the other is company strategies for entering new foreign markets. In addition to these classic topics of international business, I’ll introduce the contemporary research of this discipline in the final teaching week.
To ensure efficient learning, the course has a two-hour lecture and a one-hour tutorial in every teaching week. In each lecture, fundamental knowledge of an important topic will be introduced. I will help you understand the knowledge with specific business cases, and give you the opportunity to do some analytic exercises in the class. Besides lectures, tutorials will also help you grasp the key knowledge of this course. In a tutorial, your tutor will facilitate your analysis on an authentic business case. When you discuss solutions to the business case with your peer students, you will obtain a number of interesting findings such as how an Indian small firm grew to be a global gigantic corporation and how a young company won online-purchasing business from eBay. Apart from physical classes on the campus, I will also make lecture recordings available online for students who wish to review what we learn in the class and to those who cannot come to the campus in person.
However, the course involves more than what I will do. It is crucial for you to engage with both lectures and tutorials, if you wish to guarantee outstanding academic performance, because your academic performance will be assessed by two items. One is a business case report, which is worth 40% of your final grade; and another is a final exam that counts 60%. The report will allow you to choose a foreign country for an Australian company to build its new branch. This task involves your tutor’s instructions and your peer students’ cooperation. Besides the assignment, the final exam covers all content delivered in lectures, and may include true-or-false questions, multiple choice questions, open-ended questions, and a small case analysis. All these questions will be practised in lectures and tutorials. Thus, there is a statistically significant and positive relationship between students’ engagement and their final performance.
Hope you enjoy this study period and find International Business Environment interesting and useful!
Ryan Tang, PhD, MBA, BEc
Lecturer in International Business
Course Coordinator of BUSS2067
School of Commerce | UniSA Business School
University of South Australia
GPO Box 2471, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia
Email: ryan.tang@unisa.edu.au
Course Teaching Staff
* Please refer to your Course homepage for the most up to date list of course teaching staff.
Contact Details
Course Overview
Prerequisite(s)
There are no prerequisite courses to be completed before this course can be undertaken.
Corequisite(s)
There are no corequisite courses to be completed in conjunction with this course.
Course Aim
Business operates in a global marketplace. As a result, business professionals need to understand the international business environment and its impact upon their organisation’s operations. The course examines the structure and features of the global marketplace, how organisations interact with that marketplace, and how they respond to its complexities.
Course Objectives
On completion of this course, students should be able to:
CO1. Identify and discuss the structure and features of the global marketplace and its global institutions
CO2. Explain how the global business environment affects the operations and strategies of international business
CO3. Apply international business resources, theories and principles to analyse various means of international engagement and decision making in international business
CO4. Evaluate the effectiveness of international business operations and strategies
CO5. Communicate an analysis and evaluation of the relationship between the global business environment and international business
Upon completion of this course, students will have achieved the following combination of Graduate Qualities and Course Objectives:
CO1 | • | | | | | | • |
CO2 | • | | | | | | • |
CO3 | | • | | | | | • |
CO4 | | | • | | | | • |
CO5 | | | | | | • | • |
Graduate Qualities
A graduate of UniSA:
GQ1. operates effectively with and upon a body of knowledge of sufficient depth to begin professional practice
GQ2. is prepared for life-long learning in pursuit of personal development and excellence in professional practice
GQ3. is an effective problem solver, capable of applying logical, critical, and creative thinking to a range of problems
GQ4. can work both autonomously and collaboratively as a professional
GQ5. is committed to ethical action and social responsibility as a professional and citizen
GQ6. communicates effectively in professional practice and as a member of the community
GQ7. demonstrates international perspectives as a professional and as a citizen
Course Content
Globalisation and international business environment
Political, economic, and technological features of international business
Multi-lateral institutions such as the IMF, World Bank and World Trade Organization
Foreign direct investment
Outsourcing and supply chain management
International business strategies including entry, development, and control systems
Teaching and Learning Arrangements
Lecture (Virtual) | 2 hours x 10 weeks |
Lecture | 2 hours x 10 weeks |
Tutorial | 1 hour x 10 weeks |
Unit Value
4.5 units
Additional assessment requirements
There are no additional assessment requirements identified for this course.
Learning Resources
Textbook(s)
You will need continual access to the following text(s) to complete this course. Where possible the Library will make the book available for student use. Please check the Library catalogue before purchasing the book(s). The Library will always seek to purchase resources that allow an unlimited number of concurrent users, however availability is dependent on license arrangements with book publishers and platforms. http://www.library.unisa.edu.au
Cavusgil, Knight, Reisenberger, Rammal and Rose (2015). International Business (2nd Edn). Pearson.
Reference(s)
Please refer to the International Business page (http://guides.library.unisa.edu.au/c.php?g=169967&p=1634758) for more readings and references related to this course.
Materials to be accessed online
learnonline course site
All other course related materials can be accessed through your learnonline course site which you will be able to access from the my Courses section in myUniSA.
myUniSA
All study related materials can be accessed through:
https://my.unisa.edu.au
Assessment
Assessment Details
Details of assessment submission and return are listed under each assessment task. Assessment tasks will be returned to you within two to three weeks of submission.
If the Course Coordinator allows submissions in hard copy format, you will be required to attach an Assignment Cover Sheet which is available on the
learnonline student help and in myUniSA.
Assessment Summary
1 | Case study | 2500 words | N/A | 40% | 1 May 2017, 12:00 AM | learnonline | CO1, CO2, CO3, CO4, CO5 |
2 | Examination | N/A | 3 hours | 60% | Other - TBA | In person | CO1, CO2, CO3, CO4, CO5 |
Feedback proformas
The feedback proforma is available on your course site.
Assessments
Case study
This assignment requires analytical thinking, academic research and must be presented in a report format. The specific requirements will be available from the course webpage.
Examination
This is a closed book examination covering all the material covered in the course. An examination overview will be provided in the final lecture of this course.
Exam arrangements
Students will receive advance notice of scheduled examination. All students are required to sit their examination at the scheduled date, time and location irrespective of any conflict with a planned holiday or special event.
Internal students are required to sit their examination on-campus or at the central exam venue.
More information about examination procedures and arrangements for students can be found by consulting the relevant policy
http://w3.unisa.edu.au/policies/manual/default.asp (Section 6)
Supplementary Assessment
Supplementary assessment or examination offers students an opportunity to gain a supplementary pass (SP) and is available to all students under the following conditions unless supplementary assessment or examination has not been approved for the course:
- if the student has achieved a final grade between 45-49 per cent (F1) in a course
- if a student who has successfully completed all of the courses within their program, with the exception of two courses in their final study period, a supplementary assessment or examination may be granted where the final grade in either or both of these courses, is less than 45 percent (F1 or F2)
More information about supplementary assessment is available in section 7.5 of the Assessment Policy and Procedures Manual.
http://w3.unisa.edu.au/policies/manual/default.asp
For this course and all courses undertaken within the School of Commerce, students who receive an F2 grade (below 40) will not be awarded a supplementary examination or assessment.
Note: special consideration cannot be granted for a supplementary assessment or examination (APPM 7.7.6).
Important information about all assessment
All students must adhere to the University of South Australia's policies about assessment:
http://w3.unisa.edu.au/policies/manual/default.asp.
Students with disabilities or medical conditions
Student with disabilities or medical conditions or students who are carers may be entitled to a variation or modification to standard assessment arrangements. See Section 7 of the Assessment Policy and Procedures Manual (APPM) at: http://w3.unisa.edu.au/policies/manual/default.asp
Students can register for an Access Plan with UniSA Disability Service. It is important to make contact early to ensure that appropriate support can be implemented or arranged in a timely manner. See the Disability Hub for more information:
http://www.unisa.edu.au/Disability/Current-students
Students are advised there is a deadline to finalise Access Plan arrangements for examinations. Further information is available at:
http://i.unisa.edu.au/campus-central/Exams_R/Before-the-Exam/Alternative-exam-arrangements/
Deferred Assessment or Examination
Deferred assessment or examination is available for the course.
Note: special consideration cannot be granted for a deferred assessment or examination (APPM 7.7.6).
Special Consideration
Special consideration is available.
Special Consideration Exams
The Assessment Policies and Procedures Manual (APPM 2017) defines 'Unexpected or exceptional circumstances are those which were outside the control of the student and/or for which there was no opportunity to prepare in advance.' Special consideration will only be granted where something unforeseen and unexpected happens either on the day of the exam or during the exam. For example, students who are ill for the first time before the exam begins and choose to sit the exam will not be granted special consideration as they have had the opportunity to apply for a deferred exam instead.
A special consideration application will be assessed if:
1. An Exam Incident Report is completed in conjunction with the exam invigilator; and
2. The student leaves the exam early; and
3. The student does not complete the exam or a significant proportion of it.
Variations to assessment tasks
Variation to assessment methods, tasks and timelines may be provided in:
Unexpected or exceptional circumstances, for example bereavement, unexpected illness (details of unexpected or exceptional circumstances for which variation may be considered are discussed in clauses 7.8 - 7.10 of the Assessment Policy and Procedures Manual). Variation to assessment in unexpected or exceptional circumstances should be discussed with your course coordinator as soon as possible.
Special circumstances, for example religious observance grounds, or community services (details of special circumstances for which variation can be considered are discussed in clause 7.11 of the Assessment Policy and Procedures Manual). Variations to assessment in expected circumstances must be requested within the first two weeks of the course (or equivalent for accelerated or intensive teaching).
Extra time in exams (ENTEXT) and the use of a dictionary may be available to some students (for example, Indigenous Australian students and those of non-English speaking background) as follows:
- extra time for reading or writing. This will be an extra ten minutes per hour for every hour of standard examination time, and
- the use of an English language or bilingual print dictionary (without annotations). (APPM 7.2.2)
More information about variation to assessment is available in section 7.2 of the Assessment Policy and Procedures Manual. http://w3.unisa.edu.au/policies/manual/default.asp (section 7)
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is the foundation of university life and is fundamental to the reputation of UniSA and its staff and students. Academic integrity means a commitment by all staff and students to act with honesty, trustworthiness, fairness, respect and responsibility in all academic work.
An important part of practising integrity in academic work is showing respect for other people's ideas, and being honest about how they have contributed to your work. This means taking care not to represent the work of others as your own. Using another person's work without proper acknowledgement is considered Academic Misconduct, and the University takes this very seriously.
The University of South Australia expects students to demonstrate the highest standards of academic integrity so that its degrees are earned honestly and are trusted and valued by its students and their employers. To ensure this happens, the University has policies and procedures in place to promote academic integrity and manage academic misconduct. For example, work submitted electronically by students for assessment will be examined for copied and un-referenced text using the text comparison software Turnitin
http://www.turnitin.com.
More information about academic integrity and what constitutes academic misconduct can be found in Section 9 of the Assessment Policies and Procedures Manual (APPM):
http://w3.unisa.edu.au/policies/manual/default.asp. The Academic Integrity Module explains in more detail how students can work with integrity at the University:
https://lo.unisa.edu.au/mod/book/view.php?id=252142
Submission and return of assessment tasks
See above under Assessment details.
Action from previous evaluations
Your views about the learning experiences you have while studying at this university are critical in helping us teach in ways that will help improve your learning. Students are encouraged to complete the myCourseExperience that will be available from the course home page. Your response in this questionnaire is anonymous.
Further Assessment Information
Penalties
In accordance with the Division of Business guidelines, assignments submitted late without permission from the course coordinator/s will attract a penalty of 10% of the total possible marks for the assignment per day for each day late, or part thereof, after the due date.
Program Learning Outcome Assessed (non–graded)
As part of the Business School’s Assurance of Learning process in Programs, the following Program Learning Outcome(s) (PLO) will be assessed in this course and the overall findings will inform continuous improvements within Programs. Performance on the PLOs will not form part of any course grade and no feedback on individual performance will be provided. Nonetheless, students are encouraged to consider the performance traits in their assessments.
BBus PLO6 – International Perspective: Demonstrate an understanding of the importance of cultural differences, diversity and inclusion in professional practice, and the environment and responsibilities of a globally responsible citizenry
- Recognition of cultural differences - The important and relevant differences are adequately identified for the purpose.
- Adaptation to cultural differences - Adaptation actions are adequate, while inappropriate occasionally.
- Consideration of influences from global environmental factors to make informed business decisions - Many important factors are considered and sufficiently defined to make informed business decisions.
- Understanding responsibilities of a globally responsible citizenry- Substantial analysis on impacts on the global environment, and consideration of responsibilities of a globally responsible citizenry.
Course Calendar
| 13 - 19 February | Pre-teaching | | |
| 20 - 26 February | Pre-teaching | | |
1 | 27 February - 5 March | Fundamentals of International Business (Ch.1) | | |
2 | 06 - 12 March | Globalisation and Internationalisation (Ch.2) | | |
3 | 13 - 19 March | Participants in International Business (Ch.3) | | Adelaide Cup Day 13/03/2017
|
4 | 20 - 26 March | Cultural Issues in International Business (Ch.4) | | |
5 | 27 March - 2 April | International Trade and Investment (Ch.6) | | |
6 | 03 - 9 April | Political Environment (Ch.7&9) | | |
| 10 - 16 April | Mid-break | | Good Friday 14/04/2017
|
| 17 - 23 April | Mid-break | | Easter Monday 17/04/2017
|
7 | 24 - 30 April | Emerging Markets (Ch.10) | | Anzac Day 25/04/2017
|
8 | 01 - 7 May | Global Strategic Structure (Ch.12&13) | Case study due 01 May 2017, 12:00 AM | |
9 | 08 - 14 May | International Entry Strategy (Ch.14-16) | | |
10 | 15 - 21 May | Contemporary Research in IB & Course Revision | | |
| 22 - 28 May | Exam week | | |