COURSE INFORMATION Course Title: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

Code	Course Type	Regular Semester	Theory	Practice	Lab	Credits	ECTS
BUS 451	C	1	3	0	0	3	7.5

Academic staff member responsible for the design of the course syllabus (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature)	NA
Main Course Lecturer (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours:	Assoc.Prof.Dr. David J. Felsen dfelsen@epoka.edu.al , Fridays, 2-4 pm
Second Course Lecturer(s) (name, surname, academic title/scientific degree, email address and signature) and Office Hours:	NA
Teaching Assistant(s) and Office Hours:	NA
Language:	English
Compulsory/Elective:	Elective
Study program: (the study for which this course is offered)	Master of Science in Economics
Classroom and Meeting Time:	E312 on Tuesdays, 6 pm - 8:45 pm
Code of Ethics:	Code of Ethics of EPOKA University Regulation of EPOKA University "On Student Discipline"
Attendance Requirement:
Course Description:	This course tries to enhance students' knowledge in international business affairs and in formulating strategies for international business operations of a firm. The first part of the course is about the conceptual developments in international marketing, globalization attempts, and the importance of marketing research for international marketing. The second part concentrates on the developments in the world economy, politics and culture; emphasizing the marketing implications of these international environmental developments for the Albanian firms. The third part deals with the formulation of the marketing programs with respect to the marketing mix elements within the international context. The last part of the course covers the export procedures, mechanics, and export promotion measures in Albania, as well as the future developments in international marketing.
Course Objectives:	With this course, it is aimed that students understand concepts peculiar to doing business in international environments and contemplate on these concepts by devising a business plan for a franchise operation in Albania in small study groups.

BASIC CONCEPTS OF THE COURSE

1	International business concepts
2	Political economy
3	Economic development
4	Globalization
5	Culture and ethics in international business
6	international trade and investment
7	Foreign exchange and global capital markets
8	economic integration
9	International strategy and organization
10	Entry modes to foreign markets

COURSE OUTLINE

Week	Topics
1	Introduction and Globalization (chapter 1). The lecture introduces students to international business. The lecture looks at the globalization of markets and globalization of production. It looks at the key drivers of globalization. It looks at the changing demographics, world output, and foreign direct investment. It also discusses managing in the global marketplace.
2	National Differences in Country Political Economy (chapter 2). The lecture looks at differences in political systems, economic systems, and legal systems. It looks at concepts such as collectivism vs. individualism, democracy vs. totalitarianism, market vs. command economies, and variances in legal systems.
3	Economic Development and Political Economy (chapter 3). The lecture looks at innovation and entrepreneurship as growth engines, the role of the market economy and property rights, transition economies, the spread of democracy, the spread of market-based systems, and the nature of economic transformation, deregulation, privatization and liberalization.
4	Differences in Culture and Ethics in International Business (chapters 4 and 5). The lecture looks at values, norms, the determinants of culture, and social structure. It also looks at religious and ethical systems. It then turns to ethical issues in international business, ethical dilemmas, the roots of unethical behavior, and philosophical approaches to ethics.
5	International Trade Theory (chapter 6). The lecture examines major theories of international trade. This includes looking at historical theories such as mercantilism, absolute advantage, and comparative advantage. It turns to 20th century theories such as Heckscher-Olin Theory, the Product Life-Cycle Theory, New Trade Theory and Porter's Diamond and National Competitive Advantage.
6	International Trade and International Investment (chapters 7 and 8). The lecture examines tariffs as instruments of trade policy. It looks at reasons for government intervention in trade. It examines the development of the world trade system. It then turns to foreign direct investment in the world economy. It looks at theories of FDI. It also turns to political ideology and FDI, weighing also the benefits and costs of FDI. It finally looks at government policy instruments related to FDI.
7	Regional Economic Integration (chapter 9). The lecture looks at levels of economic integration and the case for regional integration. It looks also at the case against regional integration. It then looks at the case of regional integration in Europe, the evolution of the European Union and the political structures of the European Union. It turns to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)/USMCA, regional integration in South America (MERCOSUR), regional economic integration in Asia (ASEAN and APEC), and regional integration in Africa.
8	The Foreign Exchange Market and International Monetary System (chapters 10 and 11). The lecture looks at the functions of the foreign exchange market. It looks at the economic theories of foreign exchange markets and exchange rate forecasting. Next, the lecture turns to the history of the international monetary system. It examines the Gold Standard of the 19th century, the post-1945 Bretton Woods System and its institutions, the collapse of Bretton Woods, and the current system of floating exchange rates. Finally, it looks at the role of the IMF and World Bank in a post-Bretton Woods Era.
9	The Global Capital Market (chapter 12). The lecture looks at the functions of a global capital market. It looks at the Eurocurrency Market. It then turns to the Global Bond Market and Global Equity Market. It looks at Foreign Exchange Risk and its relation to the cost of capital.
10	The Strategy and Organization of International Business (chapters 13 and 14). The lecture looks at the role of firm strategy, global expansion and profitability. It turns to cost pressures and local responsiveness. It compares global standardization strategy, localization strategy, transnational strategy and international strategy. The lecture then turns to organizing international business. We address vertical differentiation, horizontal differentiation, control systems, processes, and organizational culture. It then relates the 4 international strategies or organizational architecture. It concludes by examining organizational change.
11	Entry Strategies: Strategic Alliances, Exporting, Importing, and Countertrade (chapters 15 and 16). The lecture looks at entry decisions, entry modes such as exporting, licensing, franchising, joint ventures, and wholly owned subsidiaries. It discusses how to select an appropriate entry mode and creating strategic alliances. The lecture then turns to a focus on particulars of exporting, importing and countertrade.
12	Global Production, Outsourcing, Logistics, Marketing, and R&D (chapters 17 and 18). The lecture looks at different functions of the global firm. This includes questions surrounding production, where to produce, choosing foreign production sites, outsourcing, make-or-buy decisions, and managing a global supply chain. It then turns to global marketing and branding, market segmentation, distribution strategy, communication strategy, pricing strategy, configuring the marketing mix, and questions surrounding R&D and new-product development.
13	Global HRM, Accounting and Finance (chapters 19 and 20). The lecture looks at the strategic role of International HRM, global staffing policy, training, management development, performance appraisal and compensation. It also looks at international labor relations. The lecture turns to international accounting standards, accounting and control systems, financial management and deciding to invest or to finance, and global money management.
14	Final Projects. The students will produce reports and give presentations related to their chosen country and to the key issues and topics presented in this course.

Prerequisite(s):	BUS 103 Introduction to Business
Textbook(s):	Charles Hill, International Business. Competing in the Global Marketplace. 10th edition. (McGraw Hill, 2015)
Additional Literature:
Laboratory Work:	None
Computer Usage:	MS Office
Others:	No

COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES

1	Define international business theories and evaluate the implementation of these theories in global business environments.
2	Evaluate challenges of international businesses domestically, regionally and globally.
3	Describe different entry modes to enter new markets to conduct business
4	Understand international strategies of firms
5	Understand relationship between international strategy and international organization of firms

COURSE CONTRIBUTION TO... PROGRAM COMPETENCIES (Blank : no contribution, 1: least contribution ... 5: highest contribution)

No	Program Competencies	Cont.
Master of Science in Economics Program
1	Students apply advanced knowledge in economics
2	Students explain the interaction between related disciplines and economics
3	Students apply scientific methods to address economic problems
4	Students define existing theory in a specialized branch of economics
5	Students critically evaluate knowledge in economics and carry out advanced research independently
6	Students develop economic models and formulate policy options
7	Students make an original contribution to the discipline
8	Students effectively communicate in a variety of professional and academic contexts
9	Students will develop new strategic approaches for unexpected, complicated situations in economics and take responsibility in solving them
10	Students uphold and defend ethical values data collection, interpretation and dissemination

COURSE EVALUATION METHOD

Method	Quantity	Percentage
Midterm Exam(s)	0	0
Presentation	1	10
Project	1	25
Case Study	1	20
Term Paper	0
Final Exam	1	35
Attendance		10
	Total Percent:	100%

ECTS (ALLOCATED BASED ON STUDENT WORKLOAD)

Activities	Quantity	Duration(Hours)	Total Workload(Hours)
Course Duration (Including the exam week: 16x Total course hours)	15	2	30
Hours for off-the-classroom study (Pre-study, practice)	15	1	15
Mid-terms	1	16	16
Assignments	1	70	70
Final examination	1	19	19
Other			0
Total Work Load:			150
Total Work Load/25(h):			6
ECTS Credit of the Course:			7.5

CONCLUDING REMARKS BY THE COURSE LECTURER

The course will offer students the opportunity to become conversant on multiple themes in the realm of international business.