Course description
MSc
The course is aimed at applicants who come from, or aspire to work in multilateral international organisations such as the UN, EC, or NGOs. They therefore need a management qualification that gives them the hard and soft skills to manage with corporate social responsibility in a global economic and political environment.
It is likely to appeal to students who have a broad interest in international affairs and whose future work is likely to be set in a global context.
Course content
All students are registered for the award of MSc in International Management and International Relations and the award of Postgraduate Certificate (60 M level credits) or Postgraduate Diploma (120 M Level credits) is awarded to students who do not achieve 180 M level credits.
Semester 1
International Management Competencies provides opportunities for developing your cognitive, affective, behavioural and technical management skills, with a view to enhancing their effectiveness when operating with an international organisation. The module is centrally concerned with issues of international management process and therefore takes as its focus cross cultural interpersonal dynamics, team working , organisational and management development and decision-making.
Global Political Economy examines the emerging global political economy through the vantage point of competing theoretical perspectives and the evolution of these perspectives, resulting from theoretical debates and the progressive encounter with empirical developments. Different theories reveal different aspects and dimensions of the global political economy and they will thus be used to present key historical developments and contemporary issues of the global political economic order.
Environment of the International Manager focuses on the issues concerning management of the external environment of organisations, as viewed from an international perspective. It will introduce the major trends and debates affecting international business and act as a link for the study of the ecological and ethical environment in the corporate social responsibility module.
Semester 2
Corporate Social Responsibility seeks to build on the base established by Environment of the International Manager. It provides you with the opportunity to extend your learning into a specific aspect of international management. The area of environmental sustainability and ethics is used as it is an increasingly important area, especially for large multinational organisations. Secondly, it allows consideration of a wide range of management decisions. Lastly it invites you to consider your assumptions about the role of managers and organisations in a complex, dynamic and challenging context.
Production, Finance and Global Governance aims, firstly, to immerse you in state-of-the-art political economy research into the generative mechanisms of the contemporary world economy. From such a perspective, the world economy is understood as co-constituted by production and power broadly conceived in the interrelated spheres of product markets, labour markets, financial markets and attendant organisations of governance. Secondly, the module considers the implications of the constitution of the world economy for socio-economic life in advanced capitalism, as well as in developing societies and the attendant implications for conflict and co-operation in key issue areas.
Electives (all worth 20 credits)
Choice of one from:
International Security in the Global Era examines contemporary security issues through a critical investigation of news media coverage of the ‘international security environment’ and through various academic texts that are engaged in exploring changes in the nature of war, military culture, and security itself as a practice and academic discipline. The aim of this module is to provide students of different academic backgrounds with a rich introduction to some of the major debates in the field and the ability to apply key concepts and academic forms of analyses to critically engage with and evaluate current events.
Global Governance, Civil Society and Social Movements investigates the institutions of global governance and the dynamics of civil society, understood as the space for interaction between institutions and non-state actors. It looks at the existing architecture of global governance and the competing theories and approaches to analysing these phenomena. It also asks questions about the accountability and legitimacy of the institutions and processes of global governance and evaluates the potential for improving global governance. Linked to this, the module will critically evaluate the role of civil society as a democratising force in global governance.
International Relations of Asia introduces and analyses key aspects of the international relations of the East Asia region, such as war and conflict, economic co-operation and competition, and patterns of intra-regional interaction. As most IR theories are exclusively built upon Western diplomatic history, the module will critically apply some major IR theories to the experience of East Asia, by addressing the validity of existing theories for the analysis of East Asian international relations.
International Development - since the end of the Cold War one of the key dynamics in world politics, namely the gap between rich and poor, has come into sharper focus. This module examines both the theory and practice of the international politics of development. The first half of the module looks at key theoretical debates and how these have related to practice. Various contemporary issues in development are then explored to illustrate the theoretical debates. These will include the third world debt crisis, fair trade, development assistance, sustainable development and the resource curse thesis.
Global Theory from Kant to Negri examines the conceptions of the world, its history and relations that inform the theories of Kant, Hegel and Marx and relates these global theories to contemporary notions of globalisation maintained by contemporary theorists such as Held and Hardt and Negri. The past is brought to bear upon the present to appraise the distinctness of contemporary theory and relevance of the past to the present.
Semester 2 and Summer
Research Methods and Dissertation - the organisational world which you will enter on completion of the MSc is becoming more global and knowledge intensive. This creates a need for managers with an international focus who are able to research areas of organisational activity in depth, and are able to structure, collect, analyse and interpret appropriate data and communicate their findings clearly. The dissertation provides you with a vehicle to develop and demonstrate your skills and abilities in these areas.
Teaching, learning and assessment
Lectures, interactive workshops, discussions, role-play exercises and seminars are linked with selected case studies and assessments to strengthen your practical analysis and decision-making skills. You will have the opportunity to develop your skills in team working through structured syndicate work and group assignments. Assessment will be conducted through a variety of assignments linked to the programme;’ learning outcomes. There are also lectures from visiting speakers.
Quality
The reputation of the Business School is underpinned through membership of and programme accreditations received from the Association of MBAs; professional associations such as the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and the European Foundation for Management Development.
In 2005, Business and Management achieved ‘broad confidence’ in the discipline audit trail as part of the institutional audit.
The Business School's courses benefit from rigorous quality assurance procedures and regularly receive excellent feedback from external examiners, employers, students and professional bodies.
The course is a joint venture between the Business School and the School of Social Sciences and Law, with half of the teaching provided by the Department of International Relations, Politics and Sociology.
