executive MBA subject 04

Global Management

Year 1, term A. 5.0 ECTS, about 125 hours, 6 parts. Part 1 is free.

task, condition, standard

What you will be able to do

Task, condition and standard

Task

Write a two-page brief on how a firm should organise and lead its operations in a new country.

Condition

Given public country data and a short description of a mid-sized firm.

Standard

The brief covers culture, rules, risk, structure and team leadership, and each recommendation is backed by evidence.

Who it is for: Managers whose firm sells, buys or employs people in more than one country.

how this subject works

Free entry, voice and your learning style

Part 1 is free to try. Read it, listen to it and answer it before you decide. Join the programme, or this subject on its own, to open the other parts.

Listen. Every part has a Listen button that reads it aloud.
Speak or type. Answer each part by talking (press Speak) or by typing. Your answers stay on this device only.
Learn your way. Every part has a See, Hear, Do and Read-and-write route. Not sure which suits you? Take the eight-question learning-style check.

6 parts

The parts, with worked examples

Part 1 Globalisation and the firm 21 hUnderstand: explain

Firms go abroad to find customers, cheaper inputs, skills or to follow clients. Each reason leads to a different way of operating.

Market seeking, cost seeking, skill seeking, client following
Trade flows of goods, money, data and people
Not every industry is equally global

Worked example: Worked-example figures, in your currency. A firm earns 30m at home and 20m abroad: foreign share = 20 / 50 = 40%. If foreign sales grow 25% and home stays flat, foreign becomes 25m of 55m, about 45%.

Activity: For a firm you know, name its main reason for going abroad and its foreign share of sales.

Standard: The reason matches the evidence and the share is calculated correctly.

Learn your way

See. Sketch "globalisation and the firm" as a picture: boxes, arrows and the key number.
Hear. Press Listen, or explain the worked example aloud to someone.
Do. Do the activity with your own work or a practice case.
Read and write. Write the idea in three lines in your own words below.

Your answer. For a firm you know, name its main reason for going abroad and its foreign share of sales.

Part 2 Culture and cross-border management 21 hAnalyse: compare

Culture shapes how people treat hierarchy, time, risk and directness. Managers who read these differences avoid needless conflict.

Hierarchy: who may speak up and how
Direct or indirect feedback
Time: fixed deadlines or flexible relationships

Worked example: Worked-example figures, in your currency. A manager from a direct culture gives blunt feedback to a team in an indirect culture; 4 of 10 staff ask to change team within a month. After switching to private, framed feedback, requests drop to 1.

Activity: Compare two countries on hierarchy, directness and time, and write one rule for leading in each.

Standard: Three dimensions compared with examples and one practical rule per country.

Learn your way

See. Sketch "culture and cross-border management" as a picture: boxes, arrows and the key number.
Hear. Press Listen, or explain the worked example aloud to someone.
Do. Do the activity with your own work or a practice case.
Read and write. Write the idea in three lines in your own words below.

Your answer. Compare two countries on hierarchy, directness and time, and write one rule for leading in each.

Part 3 Institutions and political risk 21 hAnalyse: score risk

Laws, courts, tax and politics decide how safe it is to invest. Weak institutions raise costs that do not appear on a price list.

Check contract enforcement, tax stability and permits
Score each risk by chance and impact
Plan how to reduce the largest risks

Worked example: Worked-example figures, in your currency. Tax change: 30% chance, impact 2m, so 0.6m. Permit delay: 50% chance, impact 1m, so 0.5m. Total expected cost 1.1m a year.

Activity: Score three institutional risks for one country.

Standard: Each risk has a chance, an impact and a correct expected cost.

Learn your way

See. Sketch "institutions and political risk" as a picture: boxes, arrows and the key number.
Hear. Press Listen, or explain the worked example aloud to someone.
Do. Do the activity with your own work or a practice case.
Read and write. Write the idea in three lines in your own words below.

Your answer. Score three institutional risks for one country.

Part 4 Global organisation design 21 hEvaluate: choose a structure

A firm can run abroad by country, by product, by function or as a mix. The right choice balances local response with global efficiency.

Country structure: strong local response, duplicated cost
Global product structure: efficient, less local
Matrix: both, but slower decisions

Worked example: Worked-example figures, in your currency. Five countries each run their own finance team of 4 people: 20 staff. A shared regional centre needs 12. Saving 8 staff at 30,000 each = 240,000 a year, against slower local answers.

Activity: Recommend a structure for a firm in five countries and give the main trade-off.

Standard: One structure chosen, one benefit and one cost quantified.

Learn your way

See. Sketch "global organisation design" as a picture: boxes, arrows and the key number.
Hear. Press Listen, or explain the worked example aloud to someone.
Do. Do the activity with your own work or a practice case.
Read and write. Write the idea in three lines in your own words below.

Your answer. Recommend a structure for a firm in five countries and give the main trade-off.

Part 5 Leading global teams 21 hApply: lead

Global teams need trust built on purpose, reliable updates and early wins, because people rarely meet.

Start with a face-to-face or video kick-off
Share one goal and visible progress
Rotate meeting times so the same people do not always stay late

Worked example: Worked-example figures, in your currency. A team across 3 time zones holds 12 meetings a quarter. Rotating times means each zone hosts 4 at an awkward hour instead of one zone taking all 12.

Activity: Plan a quarter of meetings for a three-zone team with fair rotation.

Standard: Twelve meetings planned, burden shared within one meeting between zones.

Learn your way

See. Sketch "leading global teams" as a picture: boxes, arrows and the key number.
Hear. Press Listen, or explain the worked example aloud to someone.
Do. Do the activity with your own work or a practice case.
Read and write. Write the idea in three lines in your own words below.

Your answer. Plan a quarter of meetings for a three-zone team with fair rotation.

Part 6 Global management integrative case 21 hCreate: recommend

The final chapter brings everything together: reason for going abroad, culture, risk, structure and leadership in one recommendation.

Answer first, then evidence
Use numbers from earlier chapters
Name what would change your mind

Worked example: Worked-example figures, in your currency. Brief opening: "Enter country B through a regional hub; expected risk cost 1.1m a year is covered by 3m profit." Each figure traces back to the earlier chapters.

Activity: Write the two-page brief for the case firm.

Standard: Two pages, answer first, at least four correct figures from earlier chapters.

Learn your way

See. Sketch "global management integrative case" as a picture: boxes, arrows and the key number.
Hear. Press Listen, or explain the worked example aloud to someone.
Do. Do the activity with your own work or a practice case.
Read and write. Write the idea in three lines in your own words below.

Your answer. Write the two-page brief for the case firm.

ten checks

Check yourself

Say or write your answer first, then read the model answer.

Q1. Name four reasons firms go abroad.
Model answer: Markets, lower cost, skills, following clients. (Covered in part 1: Globalisation and the firm.)
Q2. 20m of 50m sales are foreign. What share?
Model answer: 40%. (Covered in part 1: Globalisation and the firm.)
Q3. Name three cultural dimensions a manager should read.
Model answer: Hierarchy, directness, time. (Covered in part 2: Culture and cross-border management.)
Q4. Why give feedback privately in an indirect culture?
Model answer: Public criticism can cause loss of face and damage trust. (Covered in part 2: Culture and cross-border management.)
Q5. A 50% chance of a 1m delay: expected cost?
Model answer: 0.5m. (Covered in part 3: Institutions and political risk.)
Q6. Name one sign of weak institutions.
Model answer: Poor contract enforcement, unstable tax or slow permits. (Covered in part 3: Institutions and political risk.)
Q7. What is the main weakness of a matrix structure?
Model answer: Slower decisions. (Covered in part 4: Global organisation design.)
Q8. Saving 8 staff at 30,000 each saves how much a year?
Model answer: 240,000. (Covered in part 4: Global organisation design.)
Q9. Why rotate meeting times?
Model answer: So the same zone does not always carry the late hours. (Covered in part 5: Leading global teams.)
Q10. What should a brief start with?
Model answer: The answer or recommendation. (Covered in part 6: Global management integrative case.)

slides L1 to L7

The seven-level ladder, slide by slide

Slide 1: L1 Going global. Why firms cross borders. Speaker note: Say: put "going global" in one sentence and give one example from work. Check: ask one learner to say it back in their own words. Mistake: moving on before the numbers are clear.
Slide 2: L2 Foreign share. Measure how global the firm is. Speaker note: Say: put "foreign share" in one sentence and give one example from work. Check: ask one learner to say it back in their own words. Mistake: moving on before the numbers are clear.
Slide 3: L3 Culture. Read hierarchy, directness and time. Speaker note: Say: put "culture" in one sentence and give one example from work. Check: ask one learner to say it back in their own words. Mistake: moving on before the numbers are clear.
Slide 4: L4 Institutions and risk. Score risks by chance and impact. Speaker note: Say: put "institutions and risk" in one sentence and give one example from work. Check: ask one learner to say it back in their own words. Mistake: moving on before the numbers are clear.
Slide 5: L5 Structure. Choose country, product or matrix. Speaker note: Say: put "structure" in one sentence and give one example from work. Check: ask one learner to say it back in their own words. Mistake: moving on before the numbers are clear.
Slide 6: L6 Global teams. Trust, updates, fair meeting times. Speaker note: Say: put "global teams" in one sentence and give one example from work. Check: ask one learner to say it back in their own words. Mistake: moving on before the numbers are clear.
Slide 7: L7 Strategy brief. Integrate all into a board recommendation. Speaker note: Say: put "strategy brief" in one sentence and give one example from work. Check: ask one learner to say it back in their own words. Mistake: moving on before the numbers are clear.

how it is judged

Marking rubric

Marking rubric (Not yet, Meets, Exceeds)
Criterion	Not yet	Meets	Exceeds
Accuracy	Several figures or facts are wrong.	Main figures are correct and the working is shown.	Figures are correct and checked a second way.
Use of global management tools	Tools are named but not used.	The right tools are used for each step.	Tools are adapted to the case and their limits are stated.
Recommendation	No clear answer.	A clear answer backed by the analysis.	A clear answer that also says what would change it.
Communication	Hard to follow.	Answer first, clear and short.	Clear, short and persuasive under questions.

jobs this leads to

Where this takes you

International business manager. Runs operations in several countries.
Country manager. Leads a firm's business in one country.
Global strategy analyst. Studies markets and risks for expansion.

language

Choose your language

This subject is in English first. Choose any language and the page is translated for you by machine, with the English kept as the official text.

Keep going

All subjects Previous: Team Skills Next: International Accounting

Draft for review. Not live. Credit values are aligned with the European credit system for orientation only and are not an accreditation.