International Management and International Relations - 2012 entry

Course content

All students are registered for the award of MSc in International Management and International Relations. Students who do not achieve 180 level 7 credits may be eligible for the awards of Postgraduate Certificate (60 level 7 credits) or Postgraduate Diploma (120 Level 7 credits). You can view the course structure here.

Semester 1

Global Political Economy examines the emerging GPE from the vantage point of competing theoretical perspectives and the evolution of these perspectives, resulting from theoretical debates and the progressive encounter with empirical developments. Different theories reveal different aspects and dimensions of the GPE and will be used to present key historical developments and contemporary issues in the global political economic order.

Leading and Managing Across Cultures provides opportunities for developing students' cognitive, affective, behavioural and technical management skills, with a view to enhancing their effectiveness when operating with an international organization. The module is centrally concerned with issues of international management process and therefore takes as its focus cross-cultural interpersonal dynamics, team working, organisational and management development and decision-making.

Global Environmental Analysis will focus on examining the issues concerning the management of the external environment of organisations, as viewed from an international perspective. This module will introduce the major trends and debates affecting international business and act as a link for the study of the ecological and ethical environment in the corporate social responsibility module.

Semester 2

Corporate Social Responsibility seeks to build on the base established by Environment of the International Manager. It provides the student with the opportunity to extend their learning into a specific aspect of international management. The area of environmental sustainability and ethics is used as it is an increasingly important area, especially for large multinational organisations. Secondly, it allows consideration of a wide range of management decisions. Lastly it invites students to consider their assumptions about the role of managers and organisations in a complex, dynamic and challenging context.

Production, Finance and Global Governance aims, firstly, to immerse students in state-of-the-art political economy research into the generative mechanisms of the contemporary world economy. From such a perspective, the world economy is understood as co-constituted by production and power in the interrelated spheres of product markets, labour markets, financial markets and attendant organisations of governance. Secondly, the module considers the implications of the constitution of the world economy for socio-economic life in advanced capitalism, as well as in developing societies and the attendant implications for conflict and cooperation in key issue areas.

Electives – choice of one from:

International Security in the Global Era examines contemporary security issues through a critical investigation of news media coverage of the ‘international security environment’ and through various academic texts which explore changes in the nature of war, military culture and security itself as a practice and academic discipline. The aim of this course is to provide students of different academic backgrounds with a rich introduction to some of the major debates in the field and the ability to critically engage with and evaluate current events

Global Governance, Civil Society and Social Movements investigates the institutions of global governance and the dynamics of civil society, understood as the space for interaction between institutions and non-state actors. It looks at the existing architecture of global governance and the competing theories and approaches to analysing these phenomena. It also asks questions about the accountability and legitimacy of the institutions and processes of global governance and evaluates the potential for improving global governance. Linked to this, the module will critically evaluate the role of civil society as a democratising force in global governance.

International Relations of East Asia introduces and analyses key aspects of the international relations of the East Asia region, such as war and conflict, economic co-operation and competition, and patterns of intra-regional interaction. As most IR theories are exclusively built upon Western diplomatic history, the module will critically apply some major IR theories to the experience of East Asia, by addressing the validity of existing theories for the analysis of East Asian international relations.

International Development: since the end of the Cold War one of the key dynamics in world politics, namely the gap between rich and poor, has come into sharper focus. This module examines both the theory and practice of the international politics of development. The first half of the module looks at key theoretical debates and how these have related to practice. Various contemporary issues in development are then explored to illustrate the theoretical debates. These will include the Third World debt crisis, fair trade, development assistance, sustainable development and the resource curse thesis.      

Global Theory from Kant to Negri examines the conceptions of the world, its history and relations that inform the theories of Kant, Hegel and Marx and relates these global theories to contemporary notions of globalisation maintained by contemporary theorists such as Held, and Hardt and Negri. The past is brought to bear upon the present to appraise the distinctness of contemporary theory and relevance of the past to the present.

Semester 2 plus Summer

Research Methods and Dissertation: the organisational world which students will enter on completion of the MSc is becoming more global and knowledge intensive. This creates a need for managers with an international focus who are able to research areas of organisational activity in depth, and are able to structure, collect, analyse and interpret appropriate data and communicate their findings clearly. The dissertation provides students with a vehicle to develop and demonstrate their skills and abilities in these areas.

NB As courses are reviewed regularly, the module list you choose from may vary from that shown here.

Faculty

Faculty of Business / Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Department

Business School / Department of Social Sciences

Course length

Full-time: 12 months
Part-time: 24 months

Teaching location

Headington Campus, Gipsy Lane / Wheatley Campus

Start date

September 2012

UKPASS code

P038152

Entry requirements

A minimum of a second-class UK honours degree or equivalent overseas degree from a recognised institution or equivalent professional or other qualification. Applicants with five years' relevant vocational experience will be considered on a case by case basis.

Scholarships and funding

The department is pleased to offer scholarships in all disciplines for students wishing to undertake full-time taught postgraduate MSc courses. Some part-time courses may be eligible for scholarships for UK and EU applicants.

Scholarships will be awarded for academic excellence and each award will be paid towards the tuition fee for a taught master's degree. These scholarships do not include a maintenance grant.

For further information, visit: http://business.brookes.ac.uk/postgraduate/scholarships

For general sources of financial support, see:

• funding for students from the UK and EU
• funding for students from outside the EU

Why Oxford is a great place to study International Management and International Relations

As a student in Oxford you'll be at the heart of the UK's most successful economic region and in a centre for leading industries which provides you with a host of learning opportunities. As a business student you'll have easy access to London and the 'M4 Corridor' - a hub for technology and financial services - as well as the numerous businesses and hi-tech firms located in the Oxford area.

Because Oxford is one of the world's great academic cities, it is a key centre of debate, with conferences, seminars and forums taking place across education, science, the arts and many other subjects.

In addition to our own excellent libraries and resource centres, our postgraduate students have access to the world-renowned Bodleian Library, the Bodleian Law Library and the Radcliffe Science Library.
 

How Brookes supports postgraduate students

Supporting your learning

From academic advisers and support co-ordinators to specialist subject librarians and other learning support staff, we want to ensure that you get the best out of your studies.

Personal support services

We want your time at Brookes to be as enjoyable and successful as possible. That's why we provide all the facilities you need to be relaxed, happy and healthy throughout your studies.

Research areas and clusters

The Business School has an active programme of research based around six key research areas:

• accounting, governance and information management
• economics and strategy
• hospitality, leisure and tourism management
• human resource management and organisational behaviour
• marketing and operations management
• pedagogy.

The school maintains a rigorous and dynamic doctoral programme leading to the higher degrees of MPhil and PhD. Postgraduate students join a supportive, friendly and multicultural research environment.