Overview

An investigation of key drivers influencing multinational company decisions to enter new markets with particular focus on the decision-making process and regard to cultural differences. The Online International Learning project involves five activities/interactions on a mutual shared digital platform. Each activity aims to embark a fruitful, inspiring and value-adding performance for both the student profile and the partner universities. Students are asked to work and discuss case studies and share their contributions to learn from each others’ style of learning and to provide students a new perspective of student interaction, student experience and student learning in higher education.

Learning Outcomes

• Demonstrate awareness of the significance emerging economies have in a global environment
• Be able to appraise intercultural differences when considering new market entry in terms of implications, challenges and opportunities which may include factors that influence consumer choice, buying patterns, awareness of International Human Resource Management issues etc.
• Be able to critically analyse contemporary literature and case studies to understand impact of income inequality levels in developed and developing economies on market entry decisions

Interactive Activities

Task 1: Welcome Dialogue and Icebreaker Activity
Week 1

• Students from Mexico, Spain, South Korea, Germany, China, Qatar, Malaysia, Indonesia and Hong Kong were participants in this OIL Project
• Students are encouraged to engage in ice-breaker activities to get to know each other, understand each others’ perspectives, cultures, learning styles and consider their individual learning aims for this OIL Project
• Students should reflect on what they are expecting from the international collaboration and why, as well as reflect in the skills they wish to develop
• Students should consider how the intercultural experience might be useful to further studies and future employment
• Students are invited to upload a photo of themselves (if they wish) and share information to help build relations, communications and trust

Task 2: Group Formation and Case Study Analysis
Week 2

• Students will be organised in groups of 4 in each university
• Groups are required to read a case-study after which they will be required to critically respond to a number of questions through team work
• Output from group work will need to be submitted to Dropbox and dedicated Facebook page for formative feedback by tutors
• Group work from both universities will be shared on Dropbox and the dedicated Facebook page

Task 3: Research
Week 3

Groups research and present a company of their choice with the aim of analysing and highlighting the following:

• Please identify a company of your choice (any industry) that has struggled and encountered challenges when the firm decided to ‘go international’
• What was the rationale for the company to go international?
• Which country did the company enter?
• What were the challenges the company faced?
• How did the company engage and overcome the challenges if at all?
• What was the outcome of this critical situation?

Student groups must produce and submit a report (max 500 words) using Dropbox, Facebook or a short video and share on the dedicated Facebook page

Task 4: International Human Resource Management
Weeks 4 & 5

• Students read the article “International human resource management: diversity, issues and challenges” by Wesley A. Scroggins and Philip G. Benson made available on Facebook
• Students create a poster using any web applications available to you around the theme “International Human Resource Management”
• The article serves only as an introductory and it is entirely up to you how you want to design, structure and present your poster
• Each group must upload the poster to the Facebook group

Intercultural development

Task 5: Reflective Evaluation
Week 6

• All students engage in individual reflections to consider whether the project met their expectations identified in Task 1 and whether the cross-cultural learning added perceived value to the student experience and intercultural skills development
• Students create posters on International Human Resource Management to showcase their learning on the topic

Student Output

Facebook Page Video Presentation on Volvo

The OIL Team 2015-16

University of Burgos Coventry University

Sathees meets Elena Vicente Domingo Dean for Internationalisation at Universidad de Burgos

Sathees Kunjuthamby teaches at Universidad de Burgos for the OIL Project

Market Entry Complexities project receives publicity and praise in Spanish media

CU Context

Course: BA International Business
Module: Principles of Strategy (Level 3)
Participants: 10

Image by Jeremy Keith (CC BY 2.0)