International Business Management

You will critically appraise the behaviours of customers and their interactions with marketing. Informed by behavioural science, you will analyse why customers behave as they do and how marketing activity influences their behaviours. This analysis informs your critical understanding and implementation of both strategic and responsible marketing practice. An innovative dimension of this course is the investigation of change agents that will significantly influence the behaviours of customers in the future, for example neuroscience, climate change and technology innovation. This is an analytical module that utilises research evidence to inform evaluation, behavioural and communications research.

You will learn how to examine data and use statistics to produce information to help businesses, to formulate strategies and make decisions. Statistics underlies business analytics and intelligence and becomes a powerful tool for decision-making. Essential concepts in business analytics and intelligence will be introduced, as well as statistical and econometrics concepts that underlie areas such as business analytics, data mining, data analytics, big data and artificial intelligence. Students are encouraged to work with diverse datasets, learn how to prepare these and test basic models of analytics.

In an increasingly globalised business environment, the ability of organisations to identify, and then to manage, supply networks and individual chains of supply has grown in its significance. 

In this module you will learn about the key elements and activities within procurement and supply chain management, how this function supports the wider organisation and its objectives, and how these activities can be managed to ensure the optimal outcome.

You will build your knowledge of upstream and downstream relationships with suppliers and customers are managed effectively to ensure value is added whilst controlling costs and ultimately satisfying the customer. 
 

You will study how businesses manage their finances within a company in line with their corporate strategy. This includes understanding the different methods used for valuing a business. 

You will also understand how key business decisions are made from a financial perspective, such as the investment in major projects, managing working capital and evaluating risk.
 

You’ll embrace the UN Sustainable Development Goals and their relevance for responsible marketing practitioners. You’ll learn how to select and apply a range of theories, concepts and approaches in order to inform the decision-making processes involved in developing sustainable global marketing strategy. You’ll also build your understanding and appreciate the importance of ethical, social, cultural and environmental issues in the global marketplace and the profound impact these areas have on sustainable global marketing practices.

Business Intelligence (BI) refers to technologies, applications, and practices for the collection, integration, analysis, and presentation of business information. The purpose of business intelligence is to support better business decision making. This course provides an overview of the technology of BI and the application of BI to an organisation’s strategies and goals. This module equips students to apply data extensively using theory and knowledge to perform statistical and quantitative analysis to drive business decisions and actions. Students will learn the business intelligence techniques and skills to understand, evaluate and interpret business and performance metrics and tools, in order to improve individual and organisational performance, and use this to inform and update organisational policies and procedures.

The purpose of this intensive experiential learning module is to enable students to gain project experience working in cross-cultural teams. Students have the opportunity to work on a real problem within a client organisation, integrated with the workshop series.  A series of workshops are held on consultancy and projects, building on previous learning within the studies.

Within the module students will apply their understanding of management in relation to specific organisational problems.  By participating in this module, students will develop their practical problem solving skills as well as communication and ability to work in cross-cultural teams.  

You will study how businesses interact in an external financial context by understanding how funds are provided through markets and institutions. This module looks at how financial markets operate, including stock markets, markets for fixed income assets and derivative markets and focuses on issues of asset pricing and market efficiency. With regard to institutions we examine the transformation of the financial sector as a result of globalisation, technical innovation and regulatory change.

This elective study trip will give you a hands-on, intensive experience with the ideas and practices of global business. You’ll meet with leaders of global firms, receive presentations from global academic experts, and tour company facilities. You’ll also have direct interaction with management executives and practices through site visits to major corporations and agencies. 

All costs associated with the trip will need to be funded by you. It is not linked to university assessments in any way. If you successfully complete this module you will have it recorded on your transcript. As the destination and therefore precise costs vary from year to year, the programme fee of the study trip will be communicated to students before the application deadline.
 

In this module you can explore how to develop impactful action for social change. Learn to develop and deliver innovative solutions to pressing social issues while mastering the skills needed to create and manage successful social enterprises. Meet social entrepreneurs from across Oxford and the wider world and become involved in delivering an academic conference to share your ideas and work.