Download management of international business (mib)

MANAGEMENT OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS (MIB)
Managing the Contemporary MNC: Structure, Control and Influence
Course Description, Schedule and Literature
Course Description
Managing the multinational corporation has come a long way from the neoclassical
hierarchical approaches and the rather rudimentary contingency view of the environment.
Important approaches to the management of the contemporary MNC put emphasis on such
concepts as ‘the network MNC’, ‘knowledge development and knowledge transfer’,
‘subsidiary evolution’ and recently the ‘role of headquarters in the modern MNC’ have
revived as an important research area. In this course we will read, discuss and work with the
different concepts and thereby make them familiar to the students for their future careers as
managers.
A central aspect in this course is to understand how differences in subsidiaries and
their local business environment put constraints to headquarters managerial control. Another
paramount feature of this course is subsidiary influence on strategic decisions in the MNC and
subsidiary autonomy.
The course starts by looking at the contemporary research approaches to the
management of MNCs, and especially we will look into the Nordic approach to international
business research. The course continues with a glance at some prominent theories on
controlling and managing foreign operations, e.g. Agency theory. At this time of the course
we are interested in how subsidiaries evolve and how they change during time. This will then
be directly related to the management of the HQ – subsidiary relationship in the modern
MNC. The course will end by taking a look at what is the headquarters role in the
contemporary MNC.
The course will contain lectures introducing the different sub-topics mentioned above
and seminars where the students will present and discuss research articles, and work with
assignments. The course will be examined by an individual essay type of thesis.
Learning Goals
The purpose of this course is to provide students with in-depth knowledge about the
complexity of various organizational structures and their function in MNCs. Focus will be to
develop an understanding of how different structures have evolved and how they are used to
pursue different strategies. A central aspect is to understand what different control
mechanisms that are used by MNCs and how they impact performance of the subsidiaries and
the MNC as a whole. A second aspect is subsidiary influence and autonomy, and how
headquarters can manage the contemporary MNC.
After participating in the course, students will be able to:
Describe and analyze the relationship between different organizational structures and their
pros and cons in different situations.
Explain subsidiary evolution and the management of the HQ – subsidiary relation.
Explain and analyze how different control mechanisms influence the development and the
performance of the MNC.
Describe and recognize how subsidiaries can influence decisions not only at the local level
(autonomy) but also in the MNC at large.
Analyze the positive and negative effects of different co-ordination mechanisms and know in
which situations and how to use them.
Faculty
Prof. Ulf Andersson (UA)
Prof. Mats Forsgren (MF)
Philip Kappen (PK)
Lectures
The course contains six lectures:
Lecture 1: Introduction
Lecture 2: Managing the MNC – a contemporary approach
Lecture 3: Agency theory
Lecture 4: Subsidiary Evolution
Lecture 5: HQ – Subsidiary relationships
Lecture 6: HQ Role in the Contemporary MNC
Seminars
The course contains five seminars. The students will be organized in five different groups of
approximately 4 persons. Each group will be responsible for presenting the literature at one
particular seminar. The seminar is organized in the following way; first the group presents a
20 – 25 minutes comment on the assigned literature which should contain a clear statement of
the research problem/s in the literature, the methodology and analysis/conclusion. When the
presentation concerns more than one source of literature comparing the different studies on
the above mentioned areas is natural. The seminar will also include a discussion where critical
issues of the literature are examined.
It is paramount for the learning outcome that the seminar participants are well
prepared by carefully reading the literature in advance and that the group presenting is well
organized.
Group exercise
During the course you will in groups study and analyze a live MNC of your choice regarding
its present structure and activities. You will study the MNC by digging up information
starting year 1985 and analyze what have happened in terms of its internationalization,
changes in structure, and present state (2005). The paper which should come out of this
exercise should deal with the headquarters – subsidiary relation in terms of HQ control and
subsidiary influence. It is by no means necessary to get information from every year since
1985 on all the chosen information, but rather to have a check point in the middle of the time
period, e.g. (1995). For interesting situations and/or important events you will naturally use
information from more years than the three mentioned above. The important thing is to look
for the change in structure, scope and activities and from this conclude on its impact on the
headquarters – subsidiary relation in terms of HQ control and subsidiary influence, if possible.
This means that you probably will have to use assumptions about important aspects which
you cannot find in the secondary sources of information.
Examination
Examination is based on the following:
1. Essay thesis (35%)
2. Seminars and presentations (50%)
3. Group exercise (15%)