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Postgraduate Programs in International Management

Find postgrad programs in INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT

International Management

International management may be considered synonymous with international business, which is the subject of a separate article on this site, and one that discusses the types of masters degree programs available in the various business fields, ranging from international finance to international marketing. In day-to-day usage, however, the term international management is likely to refer to the management of people, ie, the personal and cultural aspects of international business.

In the past, relatively few jobs were particularly international, and very few careers were truly international. However, that has all changed as the globalisation of business has continued. This means that the issues presented by the international dimension of management, such as the difficulty of getting good performance from geographically dispersed virtual teams, are now worth substantial attention.
 
Read our student case study from Poey Lee who is studying an MSc in International Management at Royal Holloway University of London.
 

MBA in International Management

An MBA in International Management has many similarities to an MBA in International Business but does come from more of a Management angle. These MBA programs will generally consist of a selection of core modules that can be found in most MBA programs – such as Economics, Business, Management, and IT, although they will be looked at from a more international perspective then in some MBA specialisms. There will also be some optional modules to choose from, including International Human Resources; Global Networking; Global Financial Markets; and International Business Management.

The University of London offers an MBA in International Management via distance learning which is an ideal option for those wishing to learn the intricacies of International Management whilst keeping up with their current careers and without the need for relocation. The MBA in International Management has been developed within the School of Management at Royal Holloway, University of London, and is specifically designed to expand the students’ global network as well as increase earning power. This MBA course is accredited by AMBA and consists of nine core modules and a choice. The core modules include:  International Operations Management; International Accounting and Finance; International Business Economics; International Human Resource Management; Leadership and Organisations; and International Marketing. Whilst the four elective modules can be chosen from a wide selection including: International Sustainability Management; Advertising and Promotional Communication; Co-operative Strategy; International Business Analysis; International Business Law; Global Financial Markets; and International Entrepreneurship.

International Management and Business

PhD in International Management

Studying a PhD in International Management will enable you to become an outstanding research and contributor in this field which is of growing importance in today’s increasingly global economy.

Emylon Business School in France offers an internationally-focussed PhD in Management taught in English. This is a four year full-time program with most of the teaching taking place in the first two years – leaving the latter part of the course free for the dissertation. The third years also features a three-day seminar in the French Alps for students to present their research and hear from other lecturers and students! Areas of study at the Emylon PhD in Management include: Advanced Topics in Strategy; Entrepreneurs and Democracy; Sociomateriality and Organisations; and International Business.

The University of Edinburgh offers a PhD in Strategy and International Business which provides a great combination of research in the world on international management and business whilst considering the importance of strategy. Research in this PhD includes examining how international managers form strategies and improve organisational performance by implementing strategies and changing their organisations.

International Management: recommended reading - the classics

Cultures and Organizations: Software for the Mind by Geert Hofstede, Gert Jan Hofstede and Michael Minkov

Anthropologist Geert Hofstede more or less invented the field of business culture studies, performing large surveys of IBM’s employees in six dozen countries some forty years ago. This book is an easy-to-read summary of his influential ideas (based on the original studies and ongoing research). In it he focuses on the usually unconscious, unexamined ideas that underlie the emotions, beliefs, and thoughts of people of various cultures, thereby providing a means to compare a nation’s culture to an organisation’s culture, and showing how the latter can be managed to best effect given the extent to which it does or does not fit in a given nation’s culture.

Managing Across Borders by Christopher Bartlett and Sumantra Ghoshal

The first edition of Managing Across Borders, published in 1989, shifted the focus of would-be international firms from divisional to global organisation. It emphasised the need to innovate as well as to transfer information and knowledge across a global organisation, which results in integration becoming the key driver of a global organisation’s structure.  The second edition usefully includes an “application handbook” to help operating managers put their ideas into practice.

International Management: recommended reading - the textbooks

International Management by Richard Mead

This is a well-written book which discusses and explains how culture affects performance at all levels in organisations, with Asia, Europe, and the United States as well as other global regions, all given substantial treatment. In International Management, the impact of culture is evaluated from four perspectives: personnel, organisational, strategic, and national. The requisite skills for successful international management are analysed, and the means to implement them are  described and discussed.

International Dimensions of Organizational Behavior by Nancy J Adler and Allison Gundersen

This is a straightforward, pragmatic, and easy-to-read treatment of cultural issues meant for an operating manager rather than other researchers. It covers many aspects concerning international business today, including how cultural differences affect organisations; communication across cultures; ways of creating cultural synergy; how to manage multicultural teams; motivating people from around the world; negotiating globally; and living outside one’s own culture.

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