INBUTRA – International Business and Trade

Module 1: Introduction to International Business

and Trade

Topic 1.1: Introduction to International Business

and Trade
International Business and Trade as a course
provides students with a balanced perspective on
business in a global
environment, exploring implications for multinational
companies in developed and emerging
markets.
It emphasizes strategic decision making as the
cornerstone of its approach while focusing on
emerging markets.
Topics like foreign exchange markets and global
competition are contrasted with emerging
operations, like Chinese market intervention and
Islamic finance, to provide students with an
understanding of successful business strategy.
This course aims for its students to develop and
implement these strategies across cultures, and
across economic, legal, and religious institutions in
order to cope with competitive players in the global
landscape. With in-depth analyses and Topic 1.2: Competing in the Global Marketplace
recommended strategies, this course equips
students of international business with the skills This second topic of Module 1 is entitled Competing
they need for success on the global stage. in the Global Marketplace where students should be
able to identify the key forces that drive
Hence, the first Module will discuss the foundation globalization and the current global economy. The
concepts by knowing what is International Business, discussion of the basic types of economies that
the different theories of international investment and make up the world’s competitive landscape will
trade. Further, the participants that make the follow. Further, the role that low-cost countries and
international business will clearly be presented. At rapidly emerging economies play in today’s world
the end of the module, a topic on culture and ethics will be discussed and last but not the least, the
in international business will be explored. importance of sustainability in the new global
environment shall be lengthily be looked into.
Topic 1.3: Strategy and the MNC
The third topic in module 1 is entitled Strategy and
the MNCs where understanding the benefits MNCs
can achieve using global integration or local
adaptation will be explored in the beginning. The
conflicting pressures of the global–local dilemma
faced by international managers in MNCs will be
discussed and the content of the basic multinational
strategies: transnational, international, multi
domestic, and regional will be clearly defined.
Further, a multinational strategy by using the
diagnostic questions that help MNCs to cope with
the global–local dilemma will be explored. It is
expected that at the end of the required reading,
students should be able to understand the unique
challenges faced by emerging market MNCs when
executing multinational strategies and the the
unique challenges faced by MNCs when executing
multinational strategies in emerging markets.
 Module 2 primarily covers four main topics namely:
Global and Regional Economic Integration, Global
Trade and Foreign Direct Investment, Foreign
Exchange Market, and Global Capital Market.

An overview of the existing mechanisms for global

and regional integration will be presented in this
section. These agreements are important for
international business people because they define
the context of international competition and the
extent of globalization. As barriers to trade drop,
MNCs are more likely to adopt transnational,
international, or regional multinational strategies
because crossing borders becomes easier.
Companies can source raw materials or sell
anywhere more advantageous when barriers to
trade fall.

The first Module of INBUTRA course is all about the

introduction to the study of International Business
and Trade. The first part is more on how a company
should prepare to compete in the global market
place while the second part is all about the different
strategies that a multinational company could make
use of when competing in the international market

*read chap2, page 69 of the ebook*

Module 2: The Global Context of Multinational

Competitive Strategy

Topic 2.1: Global and Regional Economic

Integration
Topic 2.2: Global Trade and Foreign Direct
Investments

Global Trade and Foreign Direct Investment will

discuss theories of trade to help explain the
importing and exporting of goods among nations.
The economic theories of trade generally tell us that
free trade between nations is, on average,
beneficial for all of the involved countries. However,
the gains from trade are not distributed equally in all
industries. Undoubtedly, some people and
industries suffer. Trade theories suggest that if you
are in an industry that is less efficient than that
same industry in another country, your company will
face stiff international competition. However, trade
does not occur in a vacuum and government
interventions are common. As such, an important
strategic concern for international managers is to
understand the impact of government policies
regarding trade on their industry’s position in the
world economy.
Topic 2.3: Foreign Exchange Markets/ Global
Capital Market

Foreign Exchange Market is all about buying,

selling, or investing across national borders, MNCs
must be able to exchange their home currencies for
the currencies of the nations in which they do
business. The foreign exchange market is where
these currency exchanges take place. The foreign
exchange market is the biggest in the world. The
dollar value of daily exchanges exceeds $5.3 trillion.
Thus, having a basic understanding of how
currency exchange works is an important step in
conducting international business.

And lastly, Global Capital Marker will provide the

reader with an overview of the existing mechanisms
for global and regional integration. These
agreements are important for international business
people because they define the context of
international competition and the extent of
globalization