Global Business and Sustainability

Aims
Provide an appreciation of key factors on which international business decisions are based, with a particular focus on ethical and sustainability factors.

Develop an understanding and appreciation of similarities and differences in local and international business environments.

Distinguish the imperatives underpinning international trade and foreign direct investment.

Provide an understanding of the principles of the internationalisation process and draw implications for business management, including ethical business management.

Learning Outcome 1: Distinguish between different political, social and economic systems and make accurate predictions of the nature of political and economic risk involved in business organisations operating within different nations, including anticipation of regulatory and ethical risk.

Learning Outcome 2: Analyse the process of globalisation in terms of its scope, form and geographical range, drawing out the implications for business organisations, including sustainability challenges.

Learning Outcome 3: Critically evaluate the alternative theories of international trade and trace their implications for government trade policy, including sustainability policies.

Learning Outcome 4: Critically evaluate the roles of the Governments, IMF, the World Bank, and WTO in the process of internationalisation and sustainable development.

Learning Outcome 5: Identify sustainability issues arising in business activity.

Job market skills
Corporate governance skills
Global Governance: identify international institutions governing global markets
Regulation: understand local government regulations affecting businesses
Foresight: anticipate regulatory trends by understanding ethical risks
Business management skills
Rationality: practice ethical and strategic reasoning
Responsibility: learn the ethical dimension of business beyond regulation
Equity, diversity, inclusion: understand the role of business in achieving EDI
Marketing: respond to clients' demand for corporate social responsibility
Public image: navigate ethical challenges and reputational risks
Technology: taking advantage of AI opportunities in a responsible way
People management skills
Listening: learn how to listen and understand others' values and motivations
Conflict resolution: resolve value disagreements by finding compromises
Talent retention: create a creative and inclusive environment to retain talents
Personal development
Structured thinking: structure your thoughts in a rational and rigorous way
Strong judgments: develop more confident and coherent value judgments
Global citizen: investigate your own views about corporate citizenship

Choose ONE of the following five topics from below. After choosing ONE topic, students must write an individual essay using lectures and reading materials on this topic.

Length: 3,000 words (including references) worth 50% of the overall mark

In your essay, you must use direct quotations from mandatory and some suggested readings. You should also reference arguments and discussions we had together in seminars.

Week 1: Analyse in detail Matt Zwolinski's argument in favour of sweatshop labour. Then, explain whether you agree with him or not, and why?

Week 2: Imagine that you are a strategy consultant hired by a large oil company to guide safety standards on oil rigs. Analyse in detail Milton Friedman's Shareholder theory and explain relevant dif ferences with Edward Freeman's stakeholder theory. Then, explain which theory you would advise the oil company to follow, and why?

Week 3: Joseph Heath discusses two Canadian beer companies and argues that they should scale back their advertising expenditures "until they are eliminated completely." (2014, p.12-13) Analyse his Market Failures Approach and explain why he believes they should eliminate advertising expenditure. Do you agree with him or not, and why?

Week 5: Today, top executives in S&P500 companies earn on average 300 times the salary of the average worker. Analyse John Rawls' theory and explain how he would evaluate these inequalities. Then, explain whether you agree with him or not, and why?

Week 6: Imagine that you work at Amazon as Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion manager. Explain three dif ferent kinds of discrimination that your employees can face. Then, explain why and how you would prevent wrongful discrimination in the workplace?

The Essay needs to contain the four following elements:

Introduction
The introduction should remain short but must contain the following elements clearly written:
Give some general background on the topic of the essay.
Announce your answer to the specific question asked (the answer you will argue for in the essay). For instance, you can say: "In this essay, I will agree/disagree with....".
Include a clear outline of the essay. For instance, you can say: "In section 2, I will explain.... Then, in Section 3, I will argue that....".
Theoretical background
You must analyse and explain the main theory and concepts necessary to understand the topic. For instance, if you choose Week 1, you must explain the argument of Matt Zwolinski, and if you choose Week 2 you must analyse the main similarities and differences between the arguments of Friedman and Freeman (this part depends on the question you chose).
Explain the main premisses and logic of the argument using the analysis done during the lectures and seminars, as well as mandatory and further readings.
Use an example discussed in your seminar activities to illustrate how your argument applies in real business decisions.
Your own perspective
You must take a side and explain your perspective on the debate at stake on your topic. Do you agree or disagree with the position of the authors you mentioned above?
Explain your own perspective on the issue, which side you are on, and why?
If you agree with the main author, you must explain at least one or two objections to their argument and how you respond/reject these objections.
If you disagree with the main author, you must explain at least one or two objections to their argument and why you believe that these objections are convincing.
Use mandatory readings and suggested readings to support your opinion.

You must use direct quotations from mandatory and some suggested readings. You should also reference arguments and discussions we had together in seminars.
References (not included in the wordcount):

Use the Harvard Referencing Style consistently in all your references.

In this simulation, each group of students (5 students per group) manage their own globally operating Smart Phone company. In a highly competitive setting, actually playing against the other student teams within this module, the companies have to determine their international strategic business plan and conducting internal and external analysis (such as the overseas markets, trends, news items, financials, stock & demand, HRM performances, etc.). Based on this strategic plan and analysis, each team must take operational decisions on country and global level such as: (online) global marketing, local country marketing, HRM investments and projects, R&D investments, warehouse contracts, loans, logistic service provider analysis, etc.
In a business simulation, theoretical models are put into practice. They provide participants with a unique experience in which team-working, analytical thinking and insight, and decision-making skills are trained and tested throughout each round, enabling student-led and experiential learning.
Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) are strongly embedded within the simulation. The students must think about how to reduce their carbon footprint, contribute to the Paris agreement, support local initiatives, fair practices, and financial fair play. They also implement National Equality Standards to encourage diversity within their companies.

Group Presentation (15 minutes)
The Presentation will have four critical parts:
Strategic plan
Present a detailed strategic plan including your competitive strategy.
Explain relations between your strategic choices and your global market analysis.
Explain relations between your strategic choices and ethical or sustainability
challenges discussed in this Module (in lectures or seminars).
Operational decisions
Present which operational decisions you've taken each round, in line with your strategic plan.
Explain why you have chosen to enter certain countries (based on which analysis' conclusions?) and why you haven't entered others.
Explain how you managed your local inventory levels and what influence this has at your costs, customer service and Logistic Service Provider decision.
Explain how the strategy behind the chosen organization structure, hired management team and HR decisions.
Results
Finance: Present a brief overview of your company's financial position. Are you making profits? Did you owner's capital grow? What's the company's current cash position? What would be the total value of your company at the moment?
HRM: Present Staff numbers over the years, include Motivation and Education levels.

Conclusion: This section should discuss the lessons that your team has learnt from the simulation and what (hypothetically) would be the subsequent strategy/plan for the remaining periods in the simulation.

Individual Report
You need to individually write an academic reflection report about your experience participating in the simulation game. The Report needs to contain the four following elements:
Strategic plan (500 words)
Present a detailed strategic plan including your competitive strategy, as in your presentation.
Explain relations between your strategic choices, your global market analysis, and
ethical or sustainability challenges discussed in this Module (in lectures or seminars).
Simulation Game Play (500 words)
Explain one of the Key Performance Indicators your team selected. How the KPI was managed, decisions made, outcomes of those decisions, and why.
Provide a detained narrative of your personal experience in your role while playing the game. Focus should be on areas that you would have made a different choice, and why you believe the altered choice would have been more successful.
Teamwork/Group Dynamics (500 words)
Provide an example of the functioning of the group, the teamwork experienced.
Provide an action plan of required skills you need to learn for your future which came up during this Game and during the Module. What steps do you need to take, and where would you be able to gain them? Be specific, how will you achieve these skills?

References: Use academic sources to tie into your experiences and examples.