International Business Management MSc

Open to applicants with a degree in any discipline, this programme will equip you with the skills and management knowledge required of today's managers.

The course builds on the theory and practical application of key business functions to help you develop a sound understanding of the field of global business. It addresses strategic and operational perspectives, with an emphasis on the practical skills essential for the modern international business manager.

What will you study?

After an induction programme introducing you to the Business School and the expectations and ethos of the course, you go on to study the underpinning elements of business management from a national and international context. The business-related areas comprise information management, operations management, marketing, financial resources management, and the management of people and organisations. These areas will be covered in depth to include areas of consultancy, analysis and research skills.

The second stage of the course includes core work on strategy and research, together with a wide range of options covering international business areas and a practical consultancy project. This gives you the opportunity to work for an external client organisation for five to six weeks, putting your business knowledge and skills into practice with a real company. In addition, your dissertation enables you to research a specific area of interest in depth.

Pathways

The programme allows for combination with one of the below minor fields. These minor fields are only available on the September start date.

• with Entrepreneurship – this pathway will teach you a wide range of skills including developing new products and ideas, business processes to start a new venture and evaluating a new business.
• with Finance – this pathway takes the student from first principles of finance and financial management to more complex finance theories and applications. Students will appraise individual projects and will evaluate the strategic financial direction and control of the organisation as a whole. The financial aspects of individual projects includes basic techniques for decision making, planning and monitoring performance of individual projects. Valuation of assets, liabilities, equity and other securities both individually and collectively are covered. The measurement and management of risk is incorporated.
• with Marketing – this pathway will teach you how marketing management can be structured/modified to develop business beyond historic country and other operating boundaries. It will look at buyer behaviour and examine the latest in marketing theory and practise.
• with Project Management – this pathway will teach you key skills including project planning and monitoring, strategic management, agreeing and setting realistic targets plus the ability to self-analyse performance and progress and respond to feedback.

Please note that this is an indicative list of modules and is not intended as a definitive list.

Core modules (for all pathways)

• Financial Resource Management

• Financial Resource Management

  This module will develop your ability to analyse and interpret financial data. It covers:

  • how to prepare appropriate financial statements and accounting information; and
  • techniques for evaluating financial risk and decision-making.
  
   
• Information Management

• Information Management

  This module will enable you to critically evaluate the IS, IT and information management technology tools and techniques available for business improvement. You will:

  • identify appropriate techniques for data analysis, presentation and modelling;
  • evaluate tools for knowledge management; and
  • assess the likely impact of emerging technologies. 
  
   
• International Business Strategy

• International Business Strategy

  This module will develop your strategic thinking ability in relation to the issues surrounding managing international business. It will enable you to understand the underlying forces of globalisation and interpret the effects of these forces. You will:

  • look at how you can contribute effectively to areas such as competitiveness, growth and sustainability across different economies;
  • evaluate business strategy risks in a global context; and
  • explore working effectively in multi-cultural groups, and balancing intuitive and creative faculties with analytic skills.
  
   
• Managing People and Organisations

• Managing People and Organisations

  This module provides you with a framework which will enable you to critically reflect upon your performance and plan your professional development.

  It provides an understanding of human behaviour within organisations and looks at how management performance can be enhanced through effective human resource management.You will:

  • demonstrate your ability to integrate international aspects of managing people and organisations; and
  • develop an understanding of human resource practices and procedures.
  
   
• Marketing

• Marketing

  This module will develop your understanding of key marketing concepts. It looks at:

  • how effective marketing can be used to enhance organisational performance;
  • the role of analysis, planning, implementation and control in the marketing process;
  • how to  develop positioning strategies, prepare plans using the appropriate marketing mix and assess their financial implications and risk; and
  • key generic marketing strategies and relationship marketing.
  
   
• Operations Management

• Operations Management

  This module evaluates key operational processes in both the service and manufacturing sectors. You will:

  • propose and substantiate operational improvements within a given context;
  • explain influences on the achievement of best practice; and
  • assess the role that operations activity plays within the broader organisational landscape.
  
   
• Dissertation

International Business Management MSc (Choose two of the following electives)

• Cross-Cultural Management Communication

• Cross-Cultural Management Communication

  This module will enable you to draw on theoretical frameworks and cross-cultural research to devise and implement strategies to manage more effectively within multinational organisations.

  It will develop your insight into social behaviour, attitudes towards morality, self-perception and hierarchy. You will be able to draw on a range of methods and tools for managing cultural diversity and develop strategies to predict and handle situations that occur in a cross-cultural context.

  
   
• Entrepreneurship in an International Context

• Entrepreneurship in an International Context

  This module will develop your entrepreneurial management skills. It looks at:

  • small enterprise creation and the importance of aspects of government policy;
  • the critical differences between entrepreneurial and administrative management styles;
  • the process of creating a strategy for an independent new venture and the challenges faced; and
  • how to cope with uncertainty, risk and complexity.
  
   
• International Marketing

• International Marketing

  This module examines the marketing skills needed to exploit business opportunities beyond existing country and operating boundaries. You will:

  • understand the rationale for, and drivers of, the internationalisation or globalisation of business;
  • apply relevant models and methodologies to enable the task of foreign market opportunity selection and risk analysis;
  • critically evaluate the appropriateness of different market entry options for specific market conditions;
  • recognise the influence of cultural differences on marketing communications and issues of standardisation versus adaptation of products and services across international markets; and
  • appreciate the fundamental differences in approach and the competences required of marketing management across the evolution of foreign trading.
  
   
• Strategic Project Management

• Strategic Project Management

  This module introduces students to project management and the role of project managers in an organisational environment. This encompasses a number of strategic issues such as time planning, cost and quality planning when resources have to be shared amongst a number of demanding projects. Risk management is an element of this approach. The teaching approach includes case study and examples of project management, successful and unsuccessful, which have been documented in the past. Group discussion will allow the students to appreciate the subjectiveness of project management in contrast to the scientific approach of project planning.

  
   
• Managing Corporate Social Responsibility

• Managing Corporate Social Responsibility

  This module will acquaint you with the main concepts, issues and practices of corporate social responsibility.

  It will look at areas such as employee relations, corporate operations in conflict zones and community investment. You will also study the purposes and practices of social reporting and accounting.

  
   
• Consultancy Practice

• Consultancy Practice

  The aim of this module is to provide an understanding of management consultancy from the perspective of both the client and the consultant.

  You will work with an external organisation and, through a real project, develop the personal, planning and problem-solving skills needed to perform the consultancy task. Using key consultancy tools and techniques you will look at how to plan, monitor and manage projects, evaluate briefs and assess consultancy proposals.

  
   

International Business Management with Entrepreneurship MSc (additional modules)

• Entrepreneurship in Context

• Entrepreneurship in Context

  This module considers the main processes and theories of entrepreneurship, and the contextual nature of entrepreneurship. You will develop a carefully considered approach to an enterprise idea.

  
   
• Enterprise Start-Up

• Enterprise Start-Up

  This module will help you to understand what running your own business is like, and to gain the knowledge and skills you need to do so. You will work in teams to:

  • identify an enterprise idea;
  • develop a means of delivering it; and
  • launch and run the enterprise.

  At the end of the study period, you will close down the business, liquidate the assets and prepare the accounts.

  
   

International Business Management with Finance MSc (additional modules)

• Social and Environmental Issues in Accounting and Finance

• Social and Environmental Issues in Accounting and Finance

  This module will help you develop and enhance your critical understanding of a range of topical issues associated with accounting for environmental impacts and sustainability. You will do this by exploring recent theoretical frameworks and empirical evidence to be found in the academic literature and then working to make sense of these in a practical context. You will engage with a broad range of issues, from financial reporting, through accounting for management decision making, to corporate social responsibility, and environmental economics. Building on the experiences of you and your fellow students, the focus of this module will be on how organisations can account for their environmental impacts and report upon the sustainability of their activities.

  
   
• Finance for Non Specialists

• Finance for Non Specialists

  This module seeks to develop an understanding of how firms design their capital structure; value their assets, liabilities, equities and other securities; and make strategic financial decisions.  Corporate governance and the agency relationship are considered and discussed. The module also covers contemporary theoretical and empirical developments in the fields of finance and investment.  

  
   

International Business Management with Marketing MSc (additional modules)

• Buyer Behaviour

• Buyer Behaviour

  This module provides a critical understanding of research into buyer behaviour and looks at how it relates to problems in marketing and consumer regulation.

  It will also enable you to conduct your own research, identifying an area where further investigation may be needed and selecting the most appropriate method of investigation and analysis.

  
   
• International Marketing

• International Marketing

  This module examines the marketing skills needed to exploit business opportunities beyond existing country and operating boundaries. You will:

  • understand the rationale for, and drivers of, the internationalisation or globalisation of business;
  • apply relevant models and methodologies to enable the task of foreign market opportunity selection and risk analysis;
  • critically evaluate the appropriateness of different market entry options for specific market conditions;
  • recognise the influence of cultural differences on marketing communications and issues of standardisation versus adaptation of products and services across international markets; and
  • appreciate the fundamental differences in approach and the competences required of marketing management across the evolution of foreign trading.
  
   

International Business Management with Project Management MSc (additional modules)

• Project Management

• Project Management

  This module introduces the basic concepts of project management with the emphasis on business related tasks. The students are not expected to have any prior project management experience. The main focus is on planning, monitoring and control of project resources, using standard and popular project management techniques.

  
   
• Strategic Project Management

• Strategic Project Management

  This module introduces students to project management and the role of project managers in an organisational environment. This encompasses a number of strategic issues such as time planning, cost and quality planning when resources have to be shared amongst a number of demanding projects. Risk management is an element of this approach. The teaching approach includes case study and examples of project management, successful and unsuccessful, which have been documented in the past. Group discussion will allow the students to appreciate the subjectiveness of project management in contrast to the scientific approach of project planning.

  
   

The Faculty of Business and Law runs a number of postgraduate and post-experience open days. Visit us to find out how we can help you achieve your career ambitions.

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Kingston Business School is the first business school internationally to receive triple AMBA (Association of MBAs) accreditation across its portfolio of general management masters and doctoral courses.

This course is also accredited by the European Foundation for Management Development.

"I have found the course to be very enjoyable and would highly recommend it to anyone thinking about a career in management."

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