BUS 328:  INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

COURSE SYLLABUS:
For details about the course, please see our Course Syllabus

This course examines how firms operate across national borders, with a focus on how strategy, organization, and decision-making change across different European economic and regulatory contexts. Students study the core frameworks of international business, including market entry strategies, organizational adaptation, regulatory environments, and cross-border coordination, and apply them through direct observation during a multi-city academic program.

The course emphasizes comparative analysis. Students examine how companies of different sizes and sectors respond to variation in regulation, labor markets, institutional structures, and cultural norms across Europe. The European Union serves as a central reference point, allowing students to analyze how shared frameworks interact with national and regional differences.

Classroom instruction is integrated with professional and institutional visits across multiple cities. Site visits to companies, business organizations, and economic institutions provide real-world cases for examining how firms manage market entry, compliance, organizational structure, and cross-border operations. Faculty-led debrief sessions guide students in connecting these observations to international business theory and strategic frameworks.

Throughout the course, students are challenged to think comparatively. They assess how similar business activities are organized differently from one country to the next, why firms adapt strategies across markets, and how political, economic, and cultural environments shape international operations. Travel is treated as a structured academic tool, not a supplement.


By the end of the course, students will be able to:

• Explain and apply core international business concepts, including trade, foreign direct investment, and market entry strategies.
• Analyze how regulatory, institutional, and cultural environments influence firm behavior across European markets.
• Compare organizational and strategic responses to operating within and across EU member states.
• Apply international business frameworks to real cases observed during professional visits and academic travel.
• Develop a comparative analysis or market entry assessment grounded in European business contexts.

Summary:

• Credits: 3 U.S. semester credits
• Instructional Hours: 48
• Language of Instruction: English
• Prerequisites: None
  
• Open to all majors
• Host University (School of Record): University of New York in Prague

Course Structure and Academic Content:

Module 1: Foundations of International Business

• Theories of trade and investment
• Foreign direct investment and multinational enterprise models
• Global value chains and cross-border coordination
• Market entry modes: exporting, licensing, joint ventures, wholly owned subsidiaries

Module 2: European Business Environments

• Political and legal systems in Europe
  
• Economic structures, labor markets, and competitiveness
  
• The European Union as a regulatory and economic framework
  
• National variation within shared institutional structures
  

• Political and legal systems and their influence on business.
  
• Economic indicators, market potential, and competitive analysis.
  

Module 3: Strategy and Organization Across Borders

• Organizational design in international firms
  
• Headquarters-subsidiary relationships
  
• Coordination, control, and adaptation across markets
  
• Managing complexity in multi-country operations
  

Module 4: Regulation, Policy, and Compliance

• EU competition policy and regulatory frameworks
  
• Sector-specific regulation and compliance requirements
  
• Trade policy, standards, and market access
  
• Managing regulatory risk across jurisdictions
  
• Intellectual property protection in global markets.
  

Module 5: Global Operations and Supply Chains

• International sourcing and logistics
  
• Supply chain coordination and resilience
  
• Risk management and operational continuity
  
• Ethical and sustainable operations in international contexts
  

Module 6: Culture, Institutions, and Decision-Making

• Cultural frameworks and organizational behavior
  
• Institutions, norms, and informal constraints
  
• Leadership, communication, and negotiation across cultures
  
• Comparative analysis of decision-making environments
  
• Cultural dimensions and their impact on business strategy (Hofstede, Trompenaars, GLOBE).
  

Module 7: Applied Field Learning and Comparative Analysis

• Professional and institutional visits across multiple European cities
  
• Structured preparation and post-visit debrief sessions
  
• Comparative analysis linking field observations to course frameworks
  
• Integrative final assessment grounded in observed business contexts
  

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-->> Course Details: Course Syllabus

Note: course offerings are subject to change.