ACADEMIC COURSE 2014/2015. Bachelor degree International Business

1

ACADEMIC COURSE 2014/2015

Bachelor degree – International Business

Programme International Business

Professional field Economics Study period 4 years

Professional qualification Economist Form of education full-time

No Disciplines Credits Exam Cont. Total Extra Curricular assessment curricular 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Fundamental disciplines 1 Microeconomics 9 1 270 180 90 2 Mathematics 9 1 270 180 90 3 Informatics 9 1 270 180 90 4 Sports 60 0 60

5 Elective (Foreign language) (1) 3 1 90 60 30

English language German language French language Russian language 6 Macroeconomics 9 2 270 180 90 7 Principles of Law 7 2 210 135 75 8 Management Theory 8 2 240 165 75

9 Elective (Art and Humanity) (1) 6 2 180 120 60

Business Ethics

Bulgarian and Balkan Culture

Economy of Culture

10 Introduction to Finance 7 3 210 135 75

11 Accounting 8 3 240 165 75

12 Marketing 6 3 180 105 75

13 Principles of Statistics 5 3 150 75 75

14 Elective (Social Sciences) (1): 4 3 120 60 60

2

Introduction to Sociology

Organizational Behaviour

Student Success Strategies

Total Fundamental disciplines 90 11 2 2760 1740 1020

Specialised disciplines

15 International Economics 9 4 270 195 75

16 Introduction to International Business 9 4 270 195 75

17 International Trade Policy 7 4 210 135 75

18 Elective (Legal Sciences) (1): 5 4 150 90 60

Business Law

Law of the European Union

International Trade Law

Customs Procedures

19 International Management 9 5 270 195 75

20 International Political Economy 8 5 240 165 75

21 Human Resource Management 8 5 240 165 75

22 Elective (1): 5 5 150 90 60

Corporate Social Responsibility

Responsible Leadership

Business Communication

Intercultural Aspects of Business

23 International Logistics 6 6 180 120 60

24 International Marketing 8 6 240 165 75

25 International Tourism 6 6 180 120 60

26 Elective (Methodology and Methods) (1): 5 6 150 105 45

Business Process Modeling

Business Valuation

Optimal Management of Stochastic Process

in International Business

Business Intelligence

27 Corporate Finance 7 7 210 150 60

28 TNC and FDI 6 7 180 120 60

29 International Marketing Research 6 7 180 120 60

30 Project Management 6 7 180 120 60

31 Elective (1): 5 7 150 105 45

E-business

Comparative Economic Systems

Management of Innovations

Business Consulting

32 Corporate Governance 5 8 150 90 60

3

34 International Marketing Management 5 8 150 90 60

35 Diploma Seminar 5 8 150 105 45

Total Specialised disciplines 135 19 2 4050 2730 1320

5 6

10 8

Total 240 30 4 6810 4470 2340

Optional Disciplines

1 Bulgarian language 4,4,4,4 2,4,6,8 480 240 240

2 Foreign language - English 4,4,4 3,5,7 360 180 180

3 Foreign language - French 4,4,4 3,5,7 360 180 180

4 Foreign language - German 4,4,4 3,5,7 360 180 180

4

Courses Description

1.

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Econ. Science Ivona Yakimova; Prof. Dr. Zoya Mladenova.

Microeconomics is part of Economics and it belongs to the fundamental theoretical disciplines. Although there is a large number of authors and textbooks in Microeconomics, its contents is standard and followed by most of them. The aim of the lecturers is to use the top- ranking American textbooks and, in particular, the one, which is number one for the 2011 year - Michael Parkin's Microeconomics. Thus, the students will be provided with a clear, up-to-day, and interesting introduction to the principles of microeconomics, revealed by an author with a great experience and knowledge in his professional field.

2.

Lecturer- Assoc. Prof. PhD Rosen Nikolaev; Chief Assist. Prof. Radan Miryanov

The relations between Business Economics and Mathematical Science are various and practically countless. The aim of the First Course programme of Business Mathematics is to provide the students with thorough and complete education, focused on fundamental mathematical models, concerning some business problems and economical processes.

3.

Lecturer: Senior Lect. Silviya Chakova; Senior Lect. Velislav Tsekov

The discipline “Physical Education and Sport” has the task to strengthen the health of the students. The goal of the exercises is to form the following knowledge, understanding conditions and skills:

Knowledge and understanding :

 Forming the physical culture and sports technical skills

 Learning and improving of:  knowledge of rules;  technical training;  tactical training

5 Practicing of the knowledge and skills:

 Improving of the general physical condition;

 Mastering of a specific physical skills;

 Opposition of the growing trend of immobilization of people occupied with intellectual work;

 Fighting the tiredness and stress.

Ability to expand the knowledge and the formation of new skills:

 Improvement of the dynamics stereotypes through continuous exercises.

 Making this model an inseverable part of the life cycle.

Improving structural coordination and teamwork based on general sports interests.

4.

Lecturer: Senior lecturer S.Yohanova

This Business English module is designed to respond to the students’ needs to progress in their Business studies or related degree programs. The course objectives are to introduce students to the main areas of Business English and improve their overall linguistic fluency. During the course students build up confidence and develop their skills by a variety of practical tasks which include: reading and discussing authentic articles on a wide range of business topics; learning essential business vocabulary; listening to authentic interviews and lectures and developing note-taking skills; they take part in meetings, role-plays, prepare presentations, have the opportunity to understand how business works in different cultures, etc. By course completion students must be able to understand, summarize, interpret a variety of business data, and present it accordingly; express opinions on different business issues; write business letters; use English in different social situations such as telephoning, networking, negotiating, etc. Students master a whole repertoire of different skills which are necessary to participate in an increasingly international work environment.

5.

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. of econ. Science Ivona Yakimova; Chief assist. Prof. Dr. Kaloyan Kolev

This course is designed to introduce the students in the most important issues in macroeco- nomics. The course provides a broad overview of macroeconomic theory and policy. It examines both long-run and short-run macroeconomic issues. Topics include: economic growth, business cycles, unemployment, inflation, government debt and deficits. Basic models of macroeconomics are introduced to analyze economic fluctuation and stabilization policies. The fundamental pur-

6 pose of the course is to analyze how fiscal and monetary policies may be used to promote full employment, price stability, and economic growth

Objectives of the Course:

At the completion of this macroeconomic course, the student should be able to:

- Understand and describe the concepts and measurement of gross domestic product, unem- ployment, inflation and explain their dynamics;

- Distinguish between business cycles and economic growth and the factors that contribute to each;

- Identify causes and consequences of inflation and unemployment;

- Use the aggregate demand and aggregate supply model to explain the functioning of a macroeconomy;

- Understand the economic impacts of government budget surpluses and deficits and the public debt;

- Understand the arguments for discretion versus rules when it comes to formulating macro- economic policy and explain how fiscal and monetary policies might stabilize the econ- omy;

- Understand and describe the multiplier concept, how it is computed, and how it works; - Describe the essential differences that distinguish the Classical and Keynesian Theory in macroeconomics.

6.

Lecturer: Assoc. Professor Juliana Mateeva, PhD

The discipline has the aim to ensure student’s basic knowledge concerning the legal field. This aim has to be realized through fulfillment of the following tasks: familiarizing with the general theoretical legal notions, acquiring knowledge about the fundamental concepts of private law and research of the most important institutes of public law. As a result the discipline is meant to form skills for work with regulations necessary for the future professional profile of the students.

7.

Lecturer: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Desislava Serafimova; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Tzveta Zafirova

Management theory is a subject directed to the students from specialty International Business at the University of Economics in Varna. It is an introductory course of the theory and practice of management and included traditional contents of the Management Science which is studied at Bachelor degree.

7 The main purpose of the course is to present a complete pattern of the managerial work by covering functional, structural and behavioral aspects of its realization. In this way the subject contribute students to acquire knowledge of the essence and development of the Management, to understand the different theoretical models, concepts and views of organizations management.

The object of the course is to serve as the basis on which the students could develop the idea of a general model of organizations management. This basic knowledge will be enriching with specific learning from the particular subjects which students will be studying at the next courses of their studies.

8.

Lecturer: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Petya Dankova

The main reason why humanity has survived for so long is due to certain rules, values, mores and ethics, which all of us abide by. The same is the case in business. Organizations which follow certain business ethics have better chances of survival, compared to the ones whose only goal is to make profits, even if they have to compromise on a lot of things for that. Tomorrow’s business leaders will need to be nimble and able to incorporate all aspects of good decision making in an increasingly global and complex business environment. Ethical leadership is vital to the future of business.

The course on Business ethics is grounded in the leading thinking and practice about ethics and moral philosophy. Based on a belief that business ethics is inherently interdisciplinary, the course is deeply connected to other disciplines of business, including management, leadership, strategy, finance and organizational behavior. The course in aimed to enable students to develop the critical skills and analytical frameworks essential to identify, characterize, and resolve ethical problems likely to arise in their business careers. Through a variety of teaching tools and discussions on various practical cases, the course is designed to promote highly-engaged student participation.

9.

Lecturer: Assist. Prof. Atanas Atanasov

The discipline is aimed at providing a basic insight into history and development of material and spiritual culture of ethnic groups and civilizations on the Balkans and nowadays lands of Bulgaria. The material is represented chronologically with accent on the main concepts, trends and examples of artefacts, which reveal the variety and unity of Balkan civilization through the ages from the dawn of history to present days. Te thematic content is projected to attract the interest of foreign students to the historical achievements of Balkan population and to render an overall idea about the merits and problems of past and present societies in the region.

8

10.

Lecturer: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vesselina Dimitrova ; Chief Assist. Dr. Petyo Boshnakov

The global economy is changing very fast. In the same time the culture is playing an important role with not only artistic mobility and training, but also with social ideas and economical goals. The cultural context of economics is a system of thoughts for the increasing of employment (especially for the young people) and sustainable contribution to the European and worldwide GDP. These strategic guidelines of the economy of culture are called upon the engagement of the policy makers and the training of the cultural managers.

The present curricula lay emphasis upon the specific aspects of the economy of culture in EU-27: awareness of the business dimensions, innovative potential of the cultural and creative industries, enhancement of the social cohesion, financial attractiveness of territories etc.

11.

Lecturer: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jordan Jordanov

The aim of this course is to bring in the student to basic principles of finance. These principles are the vital knowledge for either a career in corporate finance or further education in the area of investments, banking, and insurance. It is also an excellent primer for non-finance majors wanting to familiarize with the world of finance.

The primary goal of this course is to impart the knowledge to allow you to intelligently solve practical business problems. To achieve this goal, it is crucial that you have a sound understanding of finance theory. As such, the course will be both theoretical and practical, often requiring rigorous quantitative analysis, aiming at:

1. Gaining a basic understanding of fundamental finance theories, e.g., time value of money. 2. Applying finance concepts to real finance problems.

3. Familiarizing with finance terminology.

Introduction to Finance will provide students the knowledge of major concepts and topics of finance. On successful completion of this course, students will be able to apply these concepts; and, most importantly, be able to think logically and systematically in financial terms. More specifically, student will:

1. Compute the future value, present value and the rate of return on an investment for projects that involve single or multiple cash flow(s).

9 major instruments on money and capital markets

3. Know the role, structure and rationale of the nonbank financial institutions, i.e. insurance companies, pension funds and investment funds.

4. Explain the goal of Financial management and the conflicts of interest between managers and owners.

5. Know the important types of stocks and bonds and understand the determinants of their valuation. Know the various ways in which capital can be raised

6. Be able to understand firms’ financial statements and perform firms’ financial analysis.

7. Be familiar with capital budgeting methods and make capital budgeting decisions selecting among investment projects.

8. Recognize how stock prices depend on future dividends and be able to compute stock prices using the dividend growth model.

9. Understand how financial markets work and know the historical rate of returns and risks on various types of investments.

10. Calculate expected value and standard deviation (risk) of investment returns and understand the risk-return tradeoff.

11. Evaluate the impact of diversification and have a basic understanding of the systematic risk principle.

12.Have a general understanding of the role and rationale of Public finance and taxation.

12.

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. F. Filipova; Ass. Prof. Dr. A. Atanassova

This is an introductory first step course in Accounting - in the sphere of Principles of Accounting and introductory Financial Accounting. It teaches the basic concept of double entry, T-accounts, accounting cycle, accounting principles, regulatory bodies, users of accounting information, financial reports, some major accounting objects approaches. It is planned to be a very broadly educational basic financial accounting knowledge course for students in any sphere of economic college education. It helps the economic awareness of any person active in business life.

13.

The course Marketing as part of students’ education in International business focuses on marketing theory, methodology, key marketing concepts, the role of marketing mix within companies and society. Specifically, the course goals are:

10

 To enhance students problem solving and decision making abilities by learning how to analyze the marketing environment and conduct marketing segmentation and positioning;

 To present the specific characteristics of the marketing mix with contemporary applied marketing view;

 To expand student knowledge of the specific marketing applications;

 To develop student knowledge in the marketing management process.

The course is developed in 11 topics and allows students to build fundamental marketing skills in correspondence with ethics, corporate social responsibility and law.

By course completion, students should:

1/ Understand the marketing theory, methodology and process; 2/ Master marketing mix development and strategies implementation;

3/ Learn marketing decision making on the basis of analyzing marketing environment; 4/ Provide specific marketing applications.

14.

Lecturer: Associate Prof. V. Hadzhiev; Chief assist. Prof. Sl. Zhelyazkova

The proposed discipline “Principles of statistics” aims to give the students an introduction to the field of statistics and its many applications. The classes’ focus is primarily on the fields of business administration and economics.

The course systematically and correctly builds up the basic ideas of business statistics. It is a combination of lectures and computer-based practice, firmly joining theory with practice. It introduces techniques for summarizing and presenting data, estimation, confidence intervals and hypothesis testing.

The presentation focuses mainly on key concepts understanding and statistical thinking, and less on formulas and calculations, which can now be done on personal computers using user-friendly software.

15.

11 Sociology gives to the students an understanding and knowledge about the nature and the sociological laws of the social environment in which the activity of the different individuals and organizations takes place. Sociology has a place among the fundamental sciences which analyze the social nature and sociocultural dependences of the entrepreneurial activity. As a result of the course in Sociology the students will get a deeper theoretical and applicable knowledge about the specificity of the social processes which form and develop the human resources.

The course includes the following thematic items: origin, stages and development of the sociological knowledge; sociological theories about the society and the interaction individual - society; sociological models of the individual and the human communities; social mechanisms of behavior and management of the human communities; nature and typological models of the social organizations ; essence and methods of the empirical sociological survey ( ESS ).

16.

Lecturer- Assoc. Prof. Dr. Petya Dankova

Organizations are collections of interacting and interrelated human and non-human resources working toward a common goal or set of goals within the framework of structured relationships. The unique mission of Organizational Behavior is to apply the concepts of behavioral sciences to the pressing problems of management. Organizational Behavior is an academic discipline devoted to understanding individual and group behavior, interpersonal processes, and organizational dynamics with the goal of improving the performance of organizations and the people in them.

The course on Organizational Behavior teaches students how to use organizational and psychological theories to improve managerial and employee effectiveness in the workplace. The coursework tends to touch on interdisciplinary topics as wide-ranging as sociology, economics, management, leadership and anthropology. The course is aimed to explain and discuss how emotions guide employee motivation, attitudes, and decisions; how self-concept influences employee motivation and behavior, team cohesion, and leadership; how social networks are gaining importance as a source of personal power and organizational effectiveness; and how appreciative inquiry has become an important strategy for changing organizations.

17.

12 The ''Student success strategies'' course is aimed at improving students' performance during their academic life.

In more specific the proposed course is designed assuming that the students with clear career goals are more motivated to study and are more persistent to succeed in their academic curriculum. Therefore improving students' career plan will help them to achieve greater awareness of their educational goals. Following the development of the educational goals the students will learn how to implement different learning strategies, how to manage their time more effectively, how to cooperate with others in order to achieve their goals, how to improve their reading, writing and presentation skills.

In accordance with the lecturer's experience in the field of career guiding the course will rely on a combination of group counseling, role games and case discussions to stimulate the active participation of the students enrolling in this course.

After completion of the subject the students should be able to:  Identify goals, values and expectations of the higher education:

- To understand the policies of their university;

- To read and understand the expectations for them in relation to their academic curriculum; - To understand what is the proper attitude during classes;

- To understand the ethics and responsibilities of academic life; - To understand the value of the education they are to acquire.  To develop academic skills for studying:

- To gain new skills for implementation of research, gathering of information and studying; - To be aware of and use the university resources (library);

- To evaluate the adequacy of their computer skills; - To learn how to implement "critical understanding"  To develop presentation skills:

- To develop a sense for proper presentation structures; - To gain skills to present properly their presentations; - To gain skills to create good presentations.

 To explore self-awareness and self-control: - To develop awareness for learning style;

- To develop awareness and tolerance for other learning styles; - To compare entrance and exit levels of awareness;

- To be able to accept responsibilities for studying;  To write a career/educational plan:

- To define career goals;

- To determine academic education and programs to enable their career goals.  To develop a sense of welfare through physical, social and emotional progress.  To be able to associate welfare with success.

13

18.

Lecturer: Chief Assist. Prof. Dr. Aleksandar Shviarov; Chief Assist. Prof. Atanas Atanasov

“International Economics” builds upon the acquired theoretical models and analytical skills from micro- and macroeconomics, as well as from the knowledge on international business environment. The course deepens the theoretical understanding of the contemporary issues in international trade and finance. It is structured around four major topics: international trade theory, international trade policy, exchange rates and open-economy macroeconomics and international macroeconomic policy. The course aims to develop the economic approach and way of thinking in the students of international business. It emphasises the role and place of small open economies in the globalising world.

19.

Lecturer: Chief Assist. Prof. Dr Aleksandar Shviarov

“Introduction to International Business” is conceived as the first course in international business. It aims to set up the outlines of the global economy in which we live and companies operate. The course is divided into four major parts. The first part gives an overview of the interdependent nature of modern world economy and the existing country differences in political economy and culture that give rise to a diverse and complex environment for international business. The second part treats the cross-border trade and investment environment and presents the main theoretical explanations for it. The third part describes the global monetary system laying out the monetary framework in which international business transactions are conducted. Special emphasis is put on the last fourth part, which deals with the strategy of international business, the available modes of entrance into foreign markets and the accompanying business operations.

20.

Lecturer: Assist. Prof. Atanas Atanasov

The subject presents all aspects of current trade policy issues, the regulation and the implementation of tariff and non-tariff measures. The introductory part deals with the persistent controversy between free trade and protectionism, a detailed review of applied protectionist measures is followed by the theory and practices of bilateral, regional and global trade agreements, and their implementation in the national legislature and practices. All trade related measures, covered by the negotiation rounds in WTO are presented in detail to provide deep insight into the interlink between

14 international and domestic policies. New developments as replacement of duties with behind-the-border measures in modern protectionist policies are discussed in detail. The purpose of the course is to supply students with the necessary insight into the practices, aimed at limitation of imports and export promotion and the legal basis of their application, which is crucial for the outcome of everyday international business deals.

21.

Lecturer: Assoc. Prof. Dr. S. Pashova

“Customs procedures” is an academic subject giving present day’s knowledge and understanding about the essence and the scope of the customs procedures in conformity with the Community Customs Legislation and of the Modernized Customs Code. In the curricula are presented the Customs Tariff of the European Community, the specificity of the customs procedures for goods brought onto and for those leaving the customs territory of the Community and put under customs procedures. The customs procedures applicable on the territory of the free zones and the free warehouses as well as those procedures for goods transported under the coverage of the International customs conventions will be discussed.

The seminars will focus on the topic-oriented study. The students will enlarge the obtained theoretical knowledge and develop practical abilities for solving concrete tasks connected with the application of the main stages of the procedure on: determining the origin of goods; tariff classification of goods; customs declaration of goods; preparation of documents accompanying goods transported under the coverage of the International customs conventions.

22.

Lecturer: Assist. Prof. Atanas Atanasov

The subject presents all aspects of current trade policy issues in the European Union, the regulation and the implementation of tariff and non-tariff measures. An overall review of all aspects of the activities of the custom authorities, their competencies and duties are presented. Students get acquainted with the rights and duties of salesmen in abiding by the requirements of the customs control and surveillance. All customs regimes and procedures are presented, together with the most important applicable documents. The application of such knowledge and skills will benefit all organizations which rely on profits earned from international trading activities or intend to get involved into such activities partners from the European Union.

15 Lectures - 45 hours; Seminars - 30 hours;

Lecturer: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Georgi Marinov

International political economy is an interdisciplinary field between political science, economics, sociology, history and culture. Main topics of interest are the linkages between international relations and political economy. Analyzed is mainly the way political forces shape global systems, with emphasis on recent developments and a focus on the interaction between politics, policies and markets on international (global) level.

24.

Lecturer: Chief ass. Maria Veleva; Chief ass. Dr. Todor Diankov

The purpose of Human Resource Management subject is to provide the groundwork for a study of HRM issues. The course is oriented to give both, theoretical and practical knowledge. The main body of the subject is divided in major topic areas like: the scope of HRM; the organizational context; the stages of HRM and their effect on achieving the company main goals.

The way a company is managing its human resources appears to be key-factor for developing and sustaining a successful business. This is the reason why some of the mostly spread problems in HRM will be outlined during the course, as well as they will be discussed and worked out through case studies during the seminars. At the end of the course students will develop practical skills to understand and solve managerial problems related to HRM.

25.

Lecturers: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Petya Dankova

The concept Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) regards the firm as a complex socio-economic system which concentrates the contributions of various stakeholders and provides synergy between them, thus achieving significant social and economic outcomes. Therefore, Stakeholder Management can be considered as the most appropriate practical tool for CSR. The stakeholder management perspective is essential because it requires business decision makers to (1) identify the various groups or individuals who have stakes in the firm or its actions, decisions, and practices, and (2) incorporate those stakeholders’ concerns into the firm’s strategic plans and daily operations. Stakeholder management is an approach that increases the likelihood that decision makers will integrate ethical wisdom with management wisdom in all that they do. The course is aimed to discuss and analyse the stakes and interests of the different corporate stakeholder groups. After having visited the course the students are able to understand the different aspects of CSR with the aim to make it practical in different strategic and operational environments.

16

26.

Lecturer: Senior Lecturer Boris Abrashev

The course focuses on three main areas of business communication – written and oral communication and practical skills for job interviewing. The chapters reinforce basic writing skills, then apply these skills to a variety of memos, letters, reports and resumes; feature increased coverage of contemporary business communication issues including oral communication, presentations, electronic forms of communication, cultural diversity and ethics.

Special workshop discussions focus on developing career skills that students need to succeed, such as using ethical tools, working collaboratively, observing business etiquette, resolving workplace conflict and conducting on-line job searches.

Input builds technology skills by including discussions and applications, involving e-mail, Web research, contemporary software, on-line employment, and electronic presentations. Oral communications provide in-depth coverage of key interpersonal skills so students are equipped with the soft skills employers want, including cultural differences and communicating cross-culturally.

27.

Lecturer: Diana Miteva; Kristana Ivanova

Intercultural Aspects of Business is an interactive, skills-based business communication course, developing intercultural communication competence with a special emphasis on negotiations, meetings management, presenting to a multicultural audience, and awareness of business practices in intercultural context. The module provides a general overview of cross-cultural differences in doing business, focusing on structured business communication situations. Within the course students will be aware that all aspects of business communications are culture-bound, e.g. team-building, questioning techniques, assigning tasks, negotiating, prioritizing, status ascription, problem-solving, and risk-taking. Thus variables of explicit or implicit modes of business communications, being largely dependent on the specific culture, will have different values attached to them.

Issues such as corporate social responsibility, green imperialism, job migration and other employment trends are discussed in a larger cultural framework. The course strikes the balance between theory and practice, making the most of students as a resource and further developing key competences such as cross-cultural awareness, the ability to work in multicultural teams and to interact effectively across business cultures.

On completing the course, students will have wider knowledge of cross cultural issues and their impact on doing business internationally. Being aware of different business practices and with an

17 open attitude towards cultural diversiy, they will be able to operate more effectively across cultures in business and in every day context.

28.

Lecturer: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Vesselina Dimitrova; Chief Assist. Atanas Atanasov

Students study two main modules in this course: current concepts in the theory of international logistics and applicability of regulations and international conventions on international transport of goods. During the course, students should understand the benefit of direct and reverse logistics, benchmarking and reengineering, outsourcing and more for small, medium and large companies worldwide. In addition, are studied the mechanisms utilized for shipping, transport and insurance companies in Bulgaria. The course expands students' knowledge in international business and prepares them for logistics managers.

29.

Lecturer: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bistra Vassileva; Dr. Vladimir Iliev

As global economic growth occurs, understanding marketing in all cultures is increasingly important. This course will help students to understand the foundations of international marketing and the challenges that an international marketer faces developing and targeting marketing strategies at foreign markets. The aim of the course is to enable students to understand the specifics of international marketing as well as the difference between globalisation of the market and the global marketing strategy. This course addresses global issues and describes concepts relevant to all international marketers, regardless of the extent of their international involvement. Emphasis is on the strategic implications of competition in the markets of different countries. The teaching approach focuses on identification and analysis of cultural and environmental uniqueness of any country or global region. Special attention is given to CEE markets, Black Sea Region and the Balkans.

Through the course duration, students are expected to: 1/ Develop understanding about what is involved in making international marketing decisions, including product, price, promotion, and place decisions to create a marketing mix; 2/ Acquire an overview on the contemporary issues in global marketing and the unique challenges faced by marketing managers in the dynamic global environment; 3/ Develop insights into how differences in global economic, cultural, social, political, and legal environments can affect marketing decisions; 4/ Develop strategic thinking in the context of complex problems and challenges faced by the contemporary global executives and managers; 5/ Develop leadership skills necessary to deal with the uncertainty and changes faced by today’s global marketers; 6/ Develop ability to integrate the important global societal dimensions of diversity, environmental concerns, ethics, and technological change into their thinking; 7/ Develop knowledge

18 and skills to analyse cross-cultural variables and their impact on international marketing; 8/ Discover sources of information for researching and evaluating international markets; 9/ Communicate effectively about marketing issues in group discussions, oral presentations and written reports; 10/ Work effectively as a team member in analysing marketing issues.

30.

Lecturer: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nadezhda Filipova; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Filcho Filipov

Business process modeling is an essential component of business process analysis and improvement efforts. It is also a key activity in information systems development, especially in modern e-business systems. In this context, the course is designed to provide the students with some of the fundamental concepts of business process modeling, such as the importance of modeling, the process of building models, the methods and techniques used in this process, etc. The essence of each topic is illustrated by carefully selected examples. The method of instruction is based on group discussions, visual presentations, group exercises in a computer laboratory and real-world case studies.

Expected results: understand benefits of business process modeling; identify basic components of business processes; formulate scenarios of business processes; understand the basic concepts of the business process modeling methods; obtain basic skills to model processes and information flows; acquaint with some best practices in this field.

31.

Lecturer: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dancho Petrov

The presented curricula of Corporate Finance course study contains the most significant themes and contemporary views on the subject. The main objectives of the lecture and seminar courses of Corporate Finance are obtaining theoretical knowledge and practical abilities of the following main topics:

 The Time Value of Money;

 The Pricing of Stocks and Bonds;

 Capital-Budgeting Decisions;

 Long Term Financing Decisions;

 Cost of Capital and Weighted Average Cost of Capital.

This material supplies the foundation that enables students to see financial problems from a different frame of reference. Topics covered include the basics of the estimation of cash flows, risk

19 analysis and corporate strategy. The emphasis is on how companies create value and how corporate finance can facilitate the process of value creation.

32.

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Zoya Mladenova; Chief Assist. prof. Dr. K. Kolev

The “Transnational Corporations and Foreign Direct Investment” (TNC and FDI) course deals with one of the most important aspects of contemporary economic development – the activity of TNCs. In the era of globalization they are one of the main agents of the world economy and the driving force of the process of globalization (UNCTAD). The discipline analysis the nature of FDI and TNCs, their causes and consequences. It includes three groups of problems. The first is the definitional one: defining the TNC, the relationship between FDI and TNC, classification of TNC, indicators, measuring the transnationalization of the economy. The second group of problems focuses on the economics of TNC and deals with the international production of TNC, TNC and international trade, international intra-firm trade and transfer pricing of TNC. Finally, the effects of FDI and forms of control over TNC activity are discussed. Special attention is paid to FDI and TNC in the Bulgarian economy. As a result of the course students will be able to understand the reasons for the rapid internationalization of business activities, its current scope, forms and peculiarities as well as its consequences for the world economy.

33.

Lecturer: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Evgeniуa Tonkova; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bistra Vassileva

This course is focused on how to conduct marketing research in an international context. It is business-based course, meaning that students will learn the process by working on a real-life project. The main topics include the following: 1/ Fundamental methodologies and concepts of marketing research in the international environment; 2/ Research approach and research design; 3/ Marketing research tools and instruments; 4/ Methods for data analysis. Special attention will be given to the application of research methods to real-life market knowledge challenges through a term project. This will help students to acquire analytical and interpretation skills needed for the quantitative and qualitative analysis of newly obtained information and the formulation as well as presentation of the respective findings. In addition, students will acquire the ability to apply various statistical methods using SPSS.

By course completion, students should: 1/ Understand the research process, and how to develop and implement new marketing research; 2/ Be able to complete three types of research: desk research, primary qualitative, and primary quantitative research; 3/ Make sound marketing decisions on the basis of collected and analysed data. From an international perspective students should be able to:

20 1/ Understand the challenges associated in conducting market research internationally; 2/ Develop their own sourcebook of marketing research references; 3/ Expand their knowledge of social, cultural and language issues pertaining to international research; 4/ Present their findings in both written and oral formats that can be prepared for international presentation.

34.

Lecturer: Assoc. Prof. Dr Maria R. Stanimirova; Chief Assist. Prof. Dr Petyo Boshnakov

The discipline aims to introduce the concept of project management, the stakeholders in the process and the organization of the work. It also intents to develop knowledge and skills for effective management of the informational, financial, human and time resources in the planning process. The course focuses on several key questions that project managers must answer in order to initiate and define a project. A critical part of initiating and defining a project is building the project team. The typical process used for assembling a project team is described.

The course provides extensive coverage of the process of project planning, which encompasses a five-step integrated planning model. The specific techniques of project planning are discussed too (charts, graphs, mathematical calculations and validation techniques).

The project management environment is dynamic and constantly in flux. The typical changes take place in project baseline schedules, resource allocations, and budgets.

The effective and successful management of change requires the efficient use of project control methods. The course describes a five-step model for controlling a project: updating the status, analyzing the impact, acting on variances, publishing the revisions and informing management. Determining the value of work completed on a project is a subject of the discipline too. The major component for measuring the completion of work: assessments of the state of the project based on milestone completions.

Finally, the course discusses ways to use software, training, and administrative support to increase the effectiveness of project management.

35.

Lecturer: Prof. dr. of econ. science Yakimova; ass. Prof. dr. Alexander Shivarov Ivona

The discipline belongs to the interdisciplinary courses, as the chosen approach is the socio-economic and political analysis of the various regional and national models of market development. Its contents includes two groups of problems - theoretical - here

21 problems like definition, structure and classification of the key concept market system are analyzed with the idea to define the possible criteria for its classification and to transfer the analysis from the economic system to the market model as a theoretical expression for different types of market differences. The lecturer adopts the "dichotomy" approach as the most appropriate means for classifying the economic systems, as this approach correlates to the dual structure of the economic system's elements Two fundamental market models are investigating - the Anglo-saxon (liberally oriented) and the regulated (coordinated), which have the same elements, but differ in the way these elements are linked together. The comparison of these two models is made on a basis of a system, that includes five economic and four non-economic factors (criteria), whose theoretical importance is discussed in details.

The practical analysis is based on revealing the main development tendencies for six developed economies - the USA, the Great Britain, which illustrate the main features of the Anglo-Saxon liberal market model, and France, Germany, Sweden (Scandinavian countries) and Japan - the classical examples of the regulated market development. The basic conclusion, made is that in three out of the five economic criteria - property rights and firm structures, coordination mechanisms, distribution and redistribution mechanisms, the economies show similarity and uniform behavior and this defines the fundamental (model forming) character of these criteria in international comparisons. Practical analysis confirms the leading role of the economic factors in explaining market differences in developed countries, while the non-economic ones can be seen as catalysts of these differences. The chosen system of criteria is applied on the assessment of the market changes in Bulgarian economy during the last twenty years, with the aim, first to determine towards which of the two models the market development in Bulgaria is gravitating, and second, to reveal the role of the two groups of criteria (economic and non-economic) for the success of the reforms in the transition economies.

36.

Lecturer: Chief Assist. Prof. Tanya Georgieva, PhD

This discipline aims to equip students with the knowledge to understand, and the skills to manage innovation at the operational and strategic levels.

The discipline focuses on the strategy of innovation. It deals with the content of innovation strategy as well as the process of developing a strategy. The goal of these topics is to provide insight into the dilemmas between the innovating firm and its environment and to translate these dilemmas into viable actions for management.

Growing specialisation, ongoing technological development, and the growing number of links between technologies have led to the growing importance of inter-organisational collaboration in

22 the creation and realisation of innovations. This discipline concentrates on deepening knowledge, insights and skills with regard to the design and governance of communities of users and companies and other types of (interorganizational) networks.

The discipline focuses on the organisation of the innovation process and new business development activities within the company. A central question is how this process has to be organised in order to be able to deliver high-quality products within short time-to-market in an efficient way. Contradicting orientations have to be managed, such as creativity and flexibility versus effective implementation. A key premise of this discipline is that the innovation process depends on the types of innovations created and on the phase in the life-cycle of the products or services. For firms operating in different markets, this means they must manage different forms of innovation at the same time.

37.

Lecturer: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Maria Stanimirova

In recent years the importance of consulting in the area of economic and business has been on the rise. At the same time, a considerable part of managers have not yet adopted the consulting service as a factor for gaining a competitive advantage and a prerequisite for the successful management of their organizations. To same extent the reason for that is the insufficient number of qualified specialists in the area of consulting and misunderstanding the specificity of the business consulting services.

The discipline aims to introduce the concept of business consulting as a major constituent part of management consulting. Business consulting deals mainly with issues, connected with a particular economic activity (e.g. financial, marketing, etc.) with the purpose of optimizing the respective indicators, determining the activity. In the process of education of students, business consulting is treated as a method for improving management and business practices first of all. It can be used by an independent private firm, an internal consulting (or similar unit) on private or public organization or an individual consultant. Even a manager can act as a consultant if he or she provides advice to peers or subordinate. At the same time, business consulting is revealed as a profession. During the education, the students are introduced with the professional standards in the quality of the advice provided, methods of intervention and ethical principles. At the end of the course, they will identify the experiences, skills, knowledge and attributes that can lead them to a successful consulting career.

The lection course describes the consulting approaches and methods applied to various types of management and business problems. There are discussed the peculiarities of the marketing of business consulting services and the principal factors affecting the consulting market. Attention is paid also to the main types of customer, using business consulting services, as well as to their positioning on the market. There are drawn the main methods of payment for consulting services.

23

38.

Lecturer: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Petya Dankova

“Corporate governance involves a set of relationships between a company’s management, its board, its shareholders and other stakeholders. Corporate governance also provides the structure through which the objectives of the company are set, and the means of attaining those objectives and monitoring performance are determined. (OECD)” The importance of corporate governance became dramatically clear in 2008 as a series of corporate meltdowns, frauds, and other catastrophes led to the destruction of billions of dollars of shareholder wealth, the loss of thousands of jobs, the criminal investigation of dozens of executives, and record-breaking bankruptcy filings.

Based on disciplines such as Financial management, International management, International business etc., the course on Corporate governance provides students with an overview of current thinking and developments in the field of corporate governance. The course is aimed to explain and discuss the specifics of the corporations and role within the society; the responsibilities of the board; the interrelationship between shareholders, management and board of directors; the different corporate governance models around the world. The course demonstrates whether and how good corporate governance ''pays off'. The students will gain a good working knowledge of the corporate responsibilities of those who control, manage and monitor the activities of a quoted company for the benefit of its shareholders and other stakeholders.

39.

Lecturer: assoc. Prof. Dr. Bistra Vassileva

During the past decade globalization and deregulation of markets has allowed for flexible production and has led to increased competition worldwide. Spurred on by logistical and IT developments, companies constantly seek configurations that best suit their production needs. This has lead to a fragmentation of once monolithic company structures. Branding has become separated from other company functions. These developments have put pressure on companies to rationalize their international brand portfolios, to harmonize their international brands, to co-brand or even merge with other global brands.

The course is designed for Bachelor students to develop an appreciation of the branding process as it relates to the company and its major stakeholders. Although the course allows the students the opportunity to gain insight into the total international branding process, the approach will be primarily from the perspective of brand management and brand strategy rather than solely the creative process.

24 The course will provide students with an understanding of: 1/ Basic concepts of and terminology in branding theory and practice; 2/ The branding process from a managerial perspective, including an ability to apply branding concepts to international markets; 3/ Global brand strategy and execution; 4/ International brand management. The course will enable students to: 1/ Become better able to analyze branding from a consumer perspective; 2/ Develop their written communication skills and ability to think critically and creatively; 3/ Develop their oral communication skills and ability to orally explain and defend their ideas; 4/ Learn to work effectively and efficiently in a team situation. Branding principles are applied in the development of an international branding project.

40.

Lecturer: Prof. Dr. Ec. Sc. Julia Ouzounova

This course will help students to understand the global marketing process and the challenges that an international marketer faces finding opportunities to grow outside the home country in the dynamic international trade environment of the 21st Century. The aim of the course is to enable students to identify global business opportunities and develop international marketing plans and strategies. During the course many aspects of marketing management such as international market opportunities, market entry strategies, and the development and implementation of marketing programs, some of which are international in nature will be discussed. The main focus of the course is placed on the enhanced difficulties involved with the marketing decision variables when operating in an overseas environment. That is why the students will be taught to observe and understand how cultures, history, political environments, the international legal environment, international economic arrangements, technical standards and currency movements interact with the marketing mix.

By course completion, students should be able to: 1/ Understand the current international economic and political environment; 2/ Understand the basic components of marketing strategy and tactics; 3/ Understand the integration between demand and supply management in an international context; 4/ Articulate the importance of cultural disparities when developing marketing strategies; 5/ Understand the importance of market research generally, but also how market research is modified to effectively understand customers across cultures; 6/ Understand how firms manage products, services, and brands in a international environment; 7/ Understand the importance of ethical marketing management across multiple cultures. The course ends with a completion of a real life research project (marketing plan).

41.

25 This module is a continuation of the Business English course, started in previous semesters. The course objectives are to build up students’ confidence in using English for business purposes and improve their overall linguistic fluency. During the course students develop their reading, writing, listening and speaking skills by a variety of practical tasks which include: reading and discussing authentic articles on a wide range of business topics; learning essential business vocabulary; listening to authentic interviews or lectures and developing note-taking skills; they take part in meetings, role-plays, prepare presentations, have the opportunity to understand how business works in different cultures, etc. By course completion students must be able to understand, summarize and interpret a variety of business data, and present it accordingly; express opinions on different business issues; write business letters; use English in social situations for telephoning, networking, negotiating, etc. Students master a whole repertoire of different skills which are necessary to participate in an increasingly international work environment.

42.

Lecturer: senior lecturer S.Yohanova

This module is a continuation of the Business English course, which was started in previous semesters. The course objectives are to build up students’ confidence in using English for business purposes and improve their overall linguistic fluency. During the course students develop their skills by a variety of practical tasks which include: reading and discussing authentic articles on a wide range of business topics; learning essential business vocabulary; listening to lectures and developing note-taking skills; they take part in meetings, role-plays, prepare presentations; have the opportunity to understand how business works in different cultures, etc. By course completion students must be able to understand and interpret a variety of business data, and present it accordingly; express opinions on different business issues; write business letters; use English in social situations for telephoning, networking, negotiating, etc. Students master a whole repertoire of different skills which are necessary to participate in an increasingly international work environment.

43.

Lecturer: senior lecturer S.Yohanova

The Business English course objectives are to build up students’ confidence in using English for business purposes and improve their overall linguistic fluency. During the course students develop their skills by a variety of academic and practical tasks which include: reading and discussing

26 authentic articles on a wide range of business topics; learning essential business vocabulary; listening to lectures and developing note-taking skills; they take part in meetings, role-plays, prepare presentations and have the opportunity to understand how business works in different cultures, etc. By course completion students must be able to understand, summarize, interpret a variety of business data, and present it accordingly; express opinions on different business issues; write business letters; use English in social situations for telephoning, networking, negotiating, etc. Students master a whole repertoire of different skills which are necessary to participate in an increasingly international work environment.

44.

Lecturer: Senior lecturer Svetlana Todorova

This Business French module is designed to respond to the students’ needs to progress in their Business studies or related degree programs. The course objectives are to introduce students to the main areas of Business French and improve their overall linguistic fluency. During the course students build up confidence and develop their skills by a variety of practical tasks which include: reading and discussing authentic articles on a wide range of business topics; learning essential business vocabulary; listening to authentic interviews and lectures and developing note-taking skills; they take part in meetings, role-plays, prepare presentations, have the opportunity to understand how business works in different cultures, etc. By course completion students must be able to understand, summarize, interpret a variety of business data, and present it accordingly; express opinions on different business issues; write business letters; use French in different social situations such as telephoning, networking, negotiating, etc. Students master a whole repertoire of different skills which are necessary to participate in an increasingly international work environment.

45.

Lecturer: Senior lecturer T.Dimitrova

This module is a continuation of the Business French course, started in previous semesters. The course objectives are to build up students’ confidence in using French for business purposes and improve their overall linguistic fluency. During the course students develop their reading, writing, listening and speaking skills by a variety of practical tasks which include: reading and discussing authentic articles on a wide range of business topics; learning essential business vocabulary; listening to authentic interviews or lectures and developing note-taking skills; they take part in meetings, role-plays, prepare presentations, have the opportunity to understand how business works in different cultures, etc. By course completion students must be able to understand, summarize and interpret a variety of business data, and present it accordingly; express opinions on different business issues;

27 write business letters; use French in social situations for telephoning, networking, negotiating, etc. Students master a whole repertoire of different skills which are necessary to participate in an increasingly international work environment.

46.

Lecturer: Senior lecturer T.Dimitrova

This module is a continuation of the Business French course, which was started in previous semesters. The course objectives are to build up students’ confidence in using French for business purposes and improve their overall linguistic fluency. During the course students develop their skills by a variety of practical tasks which include: reading and discussing authentic articles on a wide range of business topics; learning essential business vocabulary; listening to lectures and developing note-taking skills; they take part in meetings, role-plays, prepare presentations; have the opportunity to understand how business works in different cultures, etc. By course completion students must be able to understand and interpret a variety of business data, and present it accordingly; express opinions on different business issues; write business letters; use French in social situations for telephoning, networking, negotiating, etc. Students master a whole repertoire of different skills which are necessary to participate in an increasingly international work environment.

47.

Lecturer: Senior lecturer T.Dimitrova

The Business French course objectives are to build up students’ confidence in using French for business purposes and improve their overall linguistic fluency. During the course students develop their skills by a variety of academic and practical tasks which include: reading and discussing authentic articles on a wide range of business topics; learning essential business vocabulary; listening to lectures and developing note-taking skills; they take part in meetings, role-plays, prepare presentations and have the opportunity to understand how business works in different cultures, etc. By course completion students must be able to understand, summarize, interpret a variety of business data, and present it accordingly; express opinions on different business issues; write business letters; use French in social situations for telephoning, networking, negotiating, etc. Students master a whole repertoire of different skills which are necessary to participate in an increasingly international work environment.

48.