University of London  -  EXTERNAL PROGRAMME

International Management (China) (MSc and Postgraduate Diploma)

Structure and Syllabus

MSc: 8 courses (5 compulsory courses plus three electives)

Postgraduate Diploma: 4 courses (3 compulsory plus one from a set list)

MSc

Five compulsory courses:

International management [C248]

Cross-cultural management [C247]

Management in China: domestic development [C249]

Management in China: international perspective [C250]

Topics in the Chinese economy [C251]

PLUS Three  elective courses chosen from the following

Corporate finance [C221]

Corporate governance [C244]

International Human Resource Management [C252]**

Risk management: principles and applications [C223]

Finance in the global market [C242]

Research methods [C253]

Dissertation* [C254]

Postgraduate Diploma

Three compulsory courses:

International management [C248]

Management in China: domestic development [C249]

Management in China: international perspective [C250]

PLUS one course from the following list:

Topics in the Chinese economy [C251]

Cross-cultural management [C247]

Corporate finance [C221]

Corporate governance [C244]

International Human Resource Management [C252]**

Risk management: principles and applications [C223]

Finance in the global market [C242]

* The topic for the dissertation must be approved by the Programme Director and is expected to relate to both theory and policy issues.

Syllabus

Cross-cultural management [C247]
Students will study the importance of culture in management and develop skills that will help them to analyse when national culture is, and is not, an influence on decision-making.

International management [C248]
This course concerns the relationship between globalising and local pressures. Students will look at how the strategic plans of multi-national companies are implemented in their foreign subsidiaries and in joint ventures.

International human resource management [C252]
Students will be introduced to the basic concepts of international human resource management and will survey the span of British and American human resource systems as well as consider how far British and American concepts of HR apply in a Chinese context.

Management in China: domestic development [C249]
This course describes and explains the evolution of Chinese managerial systems. Students will explore the interaction between long-term historical, geographical environments and the evolution of Chinese economic and management practices.

Management in China: international perspective [C250]
In this course students will study recent and contemporary developments in Chinese management practices. There will be a focus particularly on policies for trade, foreign investment and technology transfer, and on the relationship between the PRC, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

Topics in the Chinese economy [C251]
Students will study a selection of current issues that concern the business environment in China.

Corporate finance [C221]
This course enables students to relate principles and practice to the financing decisions of enterprises in modern economies. It analyses the decisions firms make about financing their investments in productive capital.  It aims to enable students to understand and analyse the theoretical principles relating to corporate finance, and the controversies and criticisms which surround these theoretical propositions. The course focuses on the relation between corporations’ decisions on investing in productive (physical) assets and issuing financial liabilities, and the markets in the financial liabilities (equities and debt) which they issue.
Unit 1   Perspectives on corporate finance
Unit 2   Net present value and capital budgeting decisions
Unit 3   Risk, capital market equilibrium and capital budgeting decisions
Unit 4   Efficiency of capital markets and implications for corporate financing decisions
Unit 5   Dividend policy
Unit 6   Capital structure I
Unit 7   Capital Structure II: information asymmetries and agency costs
Unit 8   Mergers

Corporate governance [C244]
This course analyses legal/political/economic features of major corporate governance systems, examining how corporate governance systems influence the performance of individual firms and the allocation of capital within a country. It investigates the evolution of diverse ownership and governance structures across different economies.
Unit 1   Definitions of corporations and corporate governance
Unit 2   Theory of the firm
Unit 3   Corporate governance and the role of law and the state
Unit 4   Corporate governance systems: equity-led, bank-led and family-led
Unit 5   Control and board composition
Unit 6   Control and CEO compensation
Unit 7   International corporate governance
Unit 8   Corporate governance guidelines and codes of best practice in developed, developing and transition economies

Risk management: principles and applications [C223]
Risk management: principles and applications examines the techniques and the foundation of risk management in corporations. It covers the use of derivatives, portfolio allocation, the value of risk, and the management of credit risk and operations risk. This course has four main aims: to illustrate the main types of risk; to present the most important ideas and methods used in the analysis of portfolios of financial securities, (including stocks and bonds); to explain how rational investors can use financial derivatives (mainly futures and options) in order to alter the risk of their investment position; and to illustrate some more specialised risk management techniques (such as Value at Risk and Credit Risk).
Unit 1 Introduction to risk management
Unit 2 Portfolio analysis
Unit 3 Management of bond portfolios
Unit 4 Futures markets
Unit 5 Options markets
Unit 6 Risk management with options
Unit 7 Value at risk
Unit 8 Credit risk

Finance in the global market [C242]
The main objective of this course is to study the economist's perspective on corporate finance in a global market, which is a practice-oriented perspective. The examination of the institutions and practices of corporate financing in the global market and the key strategy problems that have arisen in recent decades are the main concern of this course. In other words, it is the perspective that an economist would use when advising corporations on how to work within the modern international financial system and how to overcome its passive impact on business operation.
Unit 1   Evolution of international monetary system
Unit 2   The markets for foreign exchange
Unit 3   The determination of exchange rates
Unit 4   The fundamental international parity conditions
Unit 5   Managing foreign exchange exposure
Unit 6   Financing the firm globally
Unit 7   The decisions of foreign investment
Unit 8   Managing multinational operations

Research methods [C253]
The purpose of the course is to provide students with a thorough understanding of the theoretical concepts, methodological approaches and reporting issues that underpin good quality research projects. It is a prerequisite course for completing a dissertation. The course outlines the issues involved in planning, designing, executing and reporting research. In addition it provides students with the opportunity to develop quantitative and qualitative skills, depending on the dissertation topic and research interests.

Dissertation [C254]
This course is linked to a dissertation and teaches methods for setting up and carrying out research. It covers the methodological basis for the final dissertation. This course is available only if students have obtained permission. The topic for the dissertation to be submitted by MSc students must be approved by the Programme Director and is expected to relate to both theory and policy issues.