Theme 5 Master Thesis

DEGREE PROGRAMME IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT MASTER OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

90 cu

Theme 3 International

Business Environment

Theme 4 Strategy

and Performance

Theme 5 Master

Thesis Theme 1

Business in Context Dynamics and

Dimensions

Theme 2 Management

Resources of

Objective

The objective of the Master Programme is to provide a holistic curriculum of multidisciplinary subjects for talents who are aiming to enter into international business environments or who are already working in these environments. Talents are professionals with prospective potentials and can be considered as the most valuable assets of a firm.

A strong emphasis on multicultural practices is included to enhance competencies in the field of entrepreneurship, marketing, management and finance in international business.

Furthermore, the programme aims at designing and building concrete development plans for enterprises to support their internationalization processes. The social and solving-based approach requires close cooperation between talents, their coaches in business life and the educational environment. Enterprises are offered the opportunity to actively participate in the construction of the programme, contents, research and development plans. Joint courseware, virtual modules and projects will be carried out in close collaboration with international partner institutions.

Blended and participatory learning will add extra value to the programme as it provides strong opportunities to link theory with practice. These novel practices are combined with best practices from business life and education i.e. project- and team-work, coaching and learning portfolio, to underpin the future orientation of the programme and to strengthen the competencies of the talents.

Innovative entrepreneurship and management demands deepening and widening of knowledge, skills and cultural awareness of the talented to be able to understand the complexity of bringing

enterprises to international markets. All practical work i.e. theme assignments and the Master thesis, for domestic or foreign enterprises will be aligned with the above objective.

Profile of the Programme in International Business Management

The Degree Programme is designed to increase the competences of the talents and to respond to the needs of the business organizations.

The studies provide skills in acquiring, analyzing and applying international business management information, professional and academic, in the talent’s own work and its development. By nature and methods and as a learning process this Master programme is a special form of adult educational degree, where the core consists of the professional growth. Its foundation is on appreciation of multiculturalism, defining and solving of development ideas and problems together with the fellow students and the working life. For the companies the education can be seen as a positive tool to develop their talents.

The challenges of the life outside the programme will be taken into consideration. Each student compiles her/his personal study plan under supervision of the tutor.

The programme is divided into five themes or blocks. Four blocks consist of three 5 credit unit courses and a 3 cu project work. The aim of each project work is to develop skills of the talents in information retrieval, analysis and application, and in research methodology. The final thesis portfolio (30 cu) consists of the four theme projects (4 times 3 cu) and the final project work (18 cu).

The Master Programme focuses on subject specific competences and generic competences. These competences represent a dynamic combination of attributes (knowledge), abilities (skills) and attitudes.

Fostering these competences is the object of the programme.

Competences are obtained by the talents, they will be formed in various courses and assessed at different stages.

Professional profile:

Degree Programme in International Business

Management

Description of the competence, knowledge and skills

Generic

competences:

1. Self-Management The talent must be able to:

1. identify necessary new knowledge and skills to benefit the organization

2. acquire new knowledge and skills according to a self designed development plan.

3. identify and tolerate uncertainty and discontinuity.

4. update knowledge, skills and insights with peers, internal and external experts

2. Interpersonal The talent must be able to:

1. work in multicultural settings 2. interact orally and in writing cross-

functionally with experts 3. manage conflicts

4. develop and conduct regular appraisal and evaluation dialogue.

3. Leadership The talent must be able to:

1. manage knowledge and human capital 2. facilitate resource flows to meet

organizational objectives and targets 3. motivate members of the organization to

optimize their talents

4. establish an effective balance between individual and organizational goals.

4. Creativity and entrepreneurial spirit

The talent must be able to:

1. identify and generate new ideas for enhanced innovation strategies

2. describe efficient and effective strategies to protect innovative ideas

3. make decisions involving risks

4. display proactive behavior in exploring, seizing and exploiting business opportunities.

5. Project design and

management The talent must be able to:

1. design, implement, manage and monitor effective and efficient templates for international projects

2. identify and mobilize knowledge and skills resources appropriate for project teams

3. develop project methods to enable knowledge maintenance creation, transfer and exchange 4. be able to analyze the sources of problems

of the organization

5. propose and justify solutions for problems in an organization based on research

information.

6. Transfer knowledge

into action The talent must be able to

1. to build network of talents to identify new business developments and assess the impact on the stakeholder organization 2. design and operationalize solutions for

changing environments

3. turn theoretical concepts into practical

approaches to and strategies for present and future developments.

Subject specific competences

7. Research skills The talent must be able to:

1. learn from and evaluate recent researches 2. show understanding and usability of

methodological concepts.

3. identify research methods and explain their suitability for selected research purposes 4. interlink theory, research findings to theory

and their tenability in practice.

8. Information

Management The talent must:

1. be able to allocate appropriate sources of information

2. critically analyze the trustworthiness of the information sources

3. apply information for organizational purposes 4. be able to communicate information in own

chosen formats as to inseminate information in the organization

5. to develop policies enhancing the information retrieval capacity of the organization

9. Holistic business

understanding The talent must be able to:

1. identify the external factors indirectly influencing the operations of organizations 2. appreciate the role of stakeholders

(external/internal) directly influencing the operations of organizations

3. display abilities to rightly balance the interests of the company and those of stakeholders.

10. Intercultural competence

The talent must be able to:

1. demonstrate understanding and appreciation of challenges of multiculturalism.

2. be able to anticipate and analyze different features of multicultural encounters

3. show situational proficiency in oral and

written interactions in English in multicultural encounters

4. be ethically committed in personal,

organizational and multicultural situations.

11. Operate in an international context

The talent must be able to:

1. analyze the differences and similarities between domestic and foreign markets 2. design solutions for developing adaptive

capabilities

3. compare and contrast strategies for their suitability in different markets to meet the objectives of the organization.

Degree Programme in International Business Management

Code Course units cu

Self-Management Interpersonal Leadership Creativity Project design and management Knowledge into action Research skills Analysis, synthesis, critical thinking Holistic business understanding Intercultural competence Ability to operate in an int. context

Theme 1:

Business in

Context

Change Management 5 * * *

RS1:"Going Abroad, What about the Firm?" 3 * * *

Theme 2:

Management

of Resources

RS2: "Focusing the Resources of the Firm" 3 * * *

Theme 3:

International

Business

Environment

Theme 4:

Strategy:

Building the

Master Mind

Theme 5:

Master's

Thesis

Total 90

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

Theme 1

Research school 1: “Going abroad, what about the

firm?”

3 cu

Business in

Context Internationalization Economics for Change

of Companies Foreign Trade Management

5 cu 5 cu 5 cu

18 cu

Theme 2

Research school 2:

“Focusing the resources of the firm”

3 cu

Management Accounting and

of Resources Financial Resource Knowledge and Innovation Value Network

Management Management Management

18 cu 5 cu 5 cu 5 cu

Theme 3 Research school 3: “What about foreign markets?”

3 cu

International

Business International

Marketing Intercultural International Legal Business Environment Management Interaction Environments

18 cu 5 cu 5 cu 5 cu

Theme 4 Research school 4:

“Navigating for success”

Strategy: 3 cu

Building the Strategic

Master Mind Network Business Management

18 cu Management Intelligence Control Systems

5 cu 5 cu 5 cu

Theme 5

Master

Thesis

Final project work/

Dissertation 18 cu

18 cu

Theme 1: Business in Context 18 cu

Rationale:

To enable growth through internationalization, a firm starts with a thorough analysis of the current enterprise situation, the analysis including personal, firm and network level. When mapping the capabilities, this inventory is a core activity of the management before “going abroad”. The topics of this theme provide knowledge, skills and toolboxes to deliver grounded argumentation for management decision making

Subjects:

Internationalization of Companies 5 cu Economics for Foreign Trade 5 cu

Change Management. 5 cu

Research school, part 1: “Going Abroad, What about the Firm?” 3 cu The first assignment starts with an introduction to information management and use of e-learning tools. The assignment is based on case writing i.e. case analysis of the students’ firms to start a continuous consultation process with the stakeholder organizations.

Theme 2: Management of Resources 18 cu Rationale:

Organic growth can be realized by “going international”. Utilizing resources a firm already owns along with the capability to acquire additional resources available through networking offers opportunities to create competitive advantages over other firms.

To put these capabilities into action the theme will provide theoretical and practical knowledge and skills to open up roads towards strategic mapping.

Subjects:

Accounting and Financial Resource Management 5 cu Knowledge and Innovation Management 5 cu

Value Network Management 5 cu

Research school, part 2: Focusing the Resources of the Firm 3 cu.

The emphasis of the second assignment is on operationalising research methods used in business and management research.

The aim is to analyze the key challenges of resource management in the stakeholder organizations.

Theme 3: International Business Environment, 18 cu Rationale:

This theme provides the necessary knowledge, skills and practices to design and construct the strategies to conquer, establish and sustain a viable position in foreign markets. These strategies include the understanding, appreciation, and successful management of multiculturalism. The theme approaches strategies from macro and micro levels. It also includes the strategic formulation stage and allows for implementation of the decisions made.

Subjects:

International Marketing Management 5 cu Intercultural Interaction 5 cu International Legal Business Environments 5 cu

Research school, part 3: “What about Foreign Markets?” 3 cu

The aim of the third assignment is to analyze and assess new markets and the impact of multicultural and legal aspects on internationalization.

Theme 4: Strategy: Building the Master Mind, 18 cu Rationale:

To ensure that strategic objectives are met or even exceeded requires managerial participation and coaching. Availability of information is necessary but insufficient to maintain competitive advantage. Innovative approaches to accessing and interpreting information add value to decision making capabilities. This theme facilitates scenario development which can enhance the scale and scope of activities and eventually the performance.

Subjects:

Strategic Network Management 5 cu Business Intelligence 5 cu Management Control Systems 5 cu

Research school, part 3: “Navigating for Success” 3 cu

The aim of the fourth assignment is to undertake strategic planning, including foresighting, scenario development, design, implementation and performance evaluation plan for the internationalization process of the stakeholder companies.

Theme 5: Master’s Thesis 18 cu Rationale:

To apply the all-encompassinge knowledge and skills in international management to a specialized area of the talent’s choice in her/his stakeholder organization.