HBA
Travel with Canada’s top undergraduate business program
Ivey boasts various international opportunities in our HBA program including an International Exchange Program during the second term, Study Tours, and Service Learning in Africa. Relevant International Business courses within the HBA Program include:
Business, Government and Globalization
For students who want to develop a deeper understanding of how global factors such as international economic institutions, trade policies, and regulations affect firm profitability. It takes a single bottom-line perspective to understanding how the international policy environment affects firm profitability and how companies can alter their external environment to their advantage. The course develops a toolkit and uses it to examine nine broad themes of political risk. Students considering careers with a finance, economics or trade focus will benefit from this course.
Global Macroeconomics for Managers
This course enables students to understand the economic and political environments in which they will operate as managers. The course is concerned with issues in the external environment at the country and international levels.
Global Strategy
Those HBA students who aim to pursue a global business career and/or those who wish to incorporate a global dimension into their strategic thinking. The objective of this course is to analyze why firms expand globally and how global strategy differs from corporate strategy. It is based on a set of new models that are not covered in corporate strategy. Simply put, Global Strategy is NOT an extension of Corporate Strategy.
International Collaborative Agreements
International collaborations are partnerships between firms from different countries. These can take various forms, such as shared research partnerships, licensing arrangements, strategic alliances, and equity joint ventures. This course is for students who are interested in learning how collaboration enhances international competitiveness, or for those who are currently at Ivey on exchange.
Service Learning in Africa
This course is for students with an interest in developing a global mindset and an interest in making a strong social impact in a developing country. It will also be of interest to individuals who look forward to a global leadership role that would include doing business with African countries. This course trains future Canadian Business leaders about the business context of Africa while concurrently creating an international service learning experience with real learning value for Ivey HBA’s and participants in African countries.
Social Enterprise
This course explores the different mechanisms of value creation in organizations that combine doing good and doing well. It also engages the students in anticipating, evaluating and addressing the challenges of implementing such hybrid business models in different socio-economic, political and cultural contexts, ranging from affluence to extreme scarcity (rural villages in Africa or South America), and from stability to extreme volatility (urban slums, conflict zones).
MBA
Ivey’s MBA program prepares global leaders
Similar opportunities exist in the MBA program at Ivey. From Global Learning Opportunities through an International Study Trip, the China Teaching Project, or the LEADER Project to our Global Faculty, Ivey provides the optimum environment in which to learn about business in the world we live in and to experience it first hand. Relevant International Business courses within the MBA Program include:
Global Strategy
The objective of this course is to analyze why companies expand globally and how Global Strategy differs from Corporate Strategy. It is based on a set of frameworks that are not covered in Corporate Strategy. This course covers three types of global strategies:
• The first part examines a variety of entry strategies in the host country, from licensing, outsourcing, joint venture, to acquisition.
• The second part covers the fit between a firm’s strategy and the foreign environments in which it operates.
• The third part investigates a firm’s organization strategy that serves to strike the balance between global efficiency and local responsiveness.
The course provides students with the knowledge to run multinational enterprises. There are no prerequisites for this course, although a basic understanding of microeconomics theories (e.g., industrial organization) is necessary throughout the semester.
Global Supply Chain Management
There is a growing interest in the impact of supply chain management on organizational competitiveness. The purchase of goods and services by most organizations represents a significant level of spending. For example, in the North American manufacturing sector, outside sources can represent close to 60 to 80 percent of total costs. Even in nonprofit and service organizations, 20 to 50 percent of the total budget is often spent in this area. It is obvious that in every organization there should be serious concern over value received for these funds spent and how suppliers and supply management can contribute effectively to organizational goals and strategies.
MBA Study Trips:
China Study Trip
The overarching purpose of the China Study Trip (CST) is to enable students to learn, in a direct and immediate way, what China looks and feels like. The trip will complement the classroom activities of the Ivey MBA program with on-the-ground exposure to one of the world’s most dynamic and exciting economic regions. CST also provides a once in a lifetime opportunity for an enriching, enjoyable and fun experience outside of the traditional boundaries of MBA education.
South America Study Trip
The overarching purpose of the South America Study Trip (SAST) is to enable students to learn, in a direct and immediate way, what some parts of South America looks and feels like. The trip will complement the classroom activities of the Ivey MBA program with on-the-ground exposure to one of the world’s highest potential economic regions. SAST also provides an opportunity for an enriching, enjoyable and fun experience outside of the traditional boundaries of MBA education in a part of the world that many North Americans do not regularly visit.
EMBA
Work, Learn, Travel…
The Ivey EMBA program culminates with an International Field Study Trip. This trip presents a rare opportunity for you to experience the cultural, political and economic realities in one of two economic hot spots - China or Vietnam. International Business courses within the EMBA Program include:
Discovery Expedition Business
The Ivey Executive MBA Discovery Expedition is a unique learning experience combining project meetings, company visits, guest presentations and cultural experiences in one of three countries of your choice (China or Vietnam). The educational aims of the course are: 1) to develop a better appreciation about doing business in the country you selected, 2) to enhance your abilities in conducting business with managers from the country you selected, 3) to allow you to experience the culture of the country you selected.
Global Environment of Business
This course is focused primarily on what happens outside the boundaries of the firm – in the global environment of business. Although firms will be integral to our cases and discussions, in the Global Environment of Business (GEOB) course they play a role primarily as actors who must respond to the risks and opportunities presented by external forces such as the business cycle, exchange rates, government regulation and other forms of political intervention. In some of our cases firms also are shapers of these environments, for example through negotiations with government officials or by helping to craft the rules that govern international trade agreements. As such, GEOB is a “big picture” course, a context course – a course whose fundamental purpose is to help fulfill Ivey’s mission of graduating students with a global perspective.
Global Market Planning
We live in an interconnected, dynamic marketplace. Given this reality, we will look at how many firms and consumers behave, as well as the strategies marketers can use to navigate successfully in the global environment. You will familiarize yourself with the economic, cultural, legal and political forces within which firms operate. You will also develop your research and analytical skills to understand the challenges of international marketers. With the rising clout of emerging markets (EMs), we will pay special attention to developing nations (e.g., Brazil, Russia, India, China, etc.)
Global Strategy
Increasingly, today’s executives are leading organizations into the new and often uncharted frontiers of international markets. In International Business we focus on how firms become international and then exploit their international scope. We will study firms of all sizes, from many countries, as they come to grips with an increasingly competitive global environment. This course bridges both the internationalization process and management of multinational corporations.
International Strategic Financial Planning
It is important for managers to understand the additional issues (both opportunities and risks) and increase in complexity which arise for businesses either operating across borders and/or competing with firms who operate across borders. Recent events around the world have highlighted the importance of understanding the risks and benefits associated with financial and strategic decisions in both domestic as well as international markets. No firms are immune to what is happening elsewhere and firms need to recognize the associated risks and opportunities. In this course we start by recognizing that the primary goal of financial managers is to ensure i) that a firm has sufficient capital for its ongoing activities, ii) that these activities create value for its key stakeholders and iii) that the firm’s overall risk profile remains acceptable to its key stakeholders. This course will provide the tools and frameworks within which to accomplish these goals with a special emphasis on the role played by economic and financial risks and how they interact with a firm’s strategic vision and business model.
Sustainability
Focused at the intersection of business and society, this course examines how social, environmental and cultural factors are reshaping the competitive landscape of business, large and small, traditional and entrepreneurial. The course asks how sustainability considerations could or should factor into creating, capturing and distributing value. Specifically, we explore whether, when and why some organizations may need to rethink their strategies to attain and sustain a competitive advantage as investors, consumers, and regulators place ever more stringent demands on business.
MSc
Ivey’s International MSc program takes you around the world
The Ivey MSc in International Management program prepares you for an international business career where independent research skills and thought leadership are valued. Of particular note is the CEMS MIM Option, which is a prestigious business designation that is widely acknowledged as the best passport for an international career. As well, as an Ivey MSc student, you will participate in an International Internship where you apply your knowledge to a real-world project.
Relevant International Business courses within the MSc Program include:
Competing in and with China
This course will explore contemporary business experiences in China to prepare participates to engage with China as a host economy, and with Chinese partners or competitors outside of China. The overarching questions running through this course is: What distinctive features of China shape businesses yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Cross Cultural Management
Problems of human behavior in cross-cultural contexts are examined and solutions are sought. Managerial issues involving the interaction of two or more cultures in international business situations (as well as settings within Canada) are treated. In addition to normal classroom case discussions, field work and involvement exercises are used.
Business Communications
In this advanced course in communications, students are challenged to enhance their ability to communicate as an individual contributor and to do this in a global context and with diverse audiences.
Global Corporate Finance
The goal of this course is to analyze the main issues in the theory and practice of corporate finance with an emphasis on applications in an international context. This course places corporate financial decisions in a strategic context, emphasizing the relationship between capital structure and financial markets.
Global Financial Markets
The objective of this course is to provide a solid understanding of how global financial markets and products function, and how they influence strategies of market participants in such sectors as manufacturing, natural resources and energy, commercial and investment banking, and money management. This understanding is essential for executives of corporations that tap global markets, and of corporations that face significant financial or commodity risks and use global financial markets to manage these risks.
Global Management Practices
In this era of globalization, it is critical for business leaders to have an understanding of cultural differences and to be able to manage these cultural differences whether it be as individuals, teams, or organizations. This course will begin by exploring what culture is, and then each subsequent session will address a particular cross-cultural management challenge (e.g., adjusting to a new culture, managing culturally diverse teams, negotiating across cultures, etc.). Major evaluation components include class contribution, an individual paper analyzing one’s own cross-cultural negotiation behaviour, and a group project where students will analyze a practical cross-cultural problem
Global Market Planning
We live in an interconnected, dynamic marketplace. Given this reality, we will look at how many firms and consumers behave, as well as the strategies marketers can use to navigate successfully in the global environment. You will familiarize yourself with the economic, cultural, legal and political forces within which firms operate. You will also develop your research and analytical skills to understand the challenges of international marketers. With the rising clout of emerging markets (EMs), we will pay special attention to developing nations (e.g., Brazil, Russia, India, China, etc.)
Global Strategy
Firms competing internationally need to formulate and implement effective global strategy. This course covers this topic by studying three key areas: (1) understanding of the international environment and the developing of 'transnational' strategies, (2) addressing the organizational challenges of worldwide coordination and collaboration, and (3) managerial implications of implementing global strategy.
Global Supply Chain Management
There is a growing interest in the impact of supply chain management on organizational competitiveness. The purchase of goods and services by most organizations represents a significant level of spending. For example, in the North American manufacturing sector, outside sources can represent close to 60 to 80 percent of total costs. Even in nonprofit and service organizations, 20 to 50 percent of the total budget is often spent in this area. It is obvious that in every organization there should be serious concern over value received for these funds spent and how suppliers and supply management can contribute effectively to organizational goals and strategies.
Internationalization
The course covers the rise of the multinational enterprise (MNE) and the process of internationalization. Through journal articles and business cases, it is designed to familiarize students with theories of international business and their practical implications. The course starts with classical theories of international business dating back to the 1960s. It then moves to cover more recent literature on the institutional modes chosen by firms to expand into foreign markets.
International Joint Ventures and Alliances
Virtually every international organization utilizes joint ventures or alliances. A significant body of research exists which examines the key elements in the joint venturing process: testing the strategic logic, partnership and fit, shape and design, and operating the JV. This course reviews the theory and research which underpins best practice in international JVs and alliances.
PhD
A world of teaching and research excellence
Ivey’s PhD Program in Business Administration, Canada's longest established program, is an intensive research-based program designed to develop an individual's analytic, research and teaching ability and prepare PhD candidates for a career in university teaching and research. Of particular note, Professor Paul Beamish leads a course entitled “International Management Theory and Research” within the General Management discipline.
International Management Theory and Research
This course examines the theoretical evolution and scope of international management theory and research – both as a distinct field of inquiry and as an interdisciplinary resource. The course is organized into two, overlapping areas. The first part of the course explores the various underlying theories used to understand international business – including their assumptions and limitations. The second part examines some of the unique research methodology issues present in international studies.