Core Courses

The programme consists of two integrative core courses: (1) global business, including leadership and firm strategies, and (2) stakeholder management, including corporate communication and corporate governance. the “wheel of gb&sm” reveals the most important knowledge areas of the courses. 

Leadership and SUSTAINABILITY Issues 

This core course identifies major trends in society, helping you to assess their relevance for firms that operate internationally. Global trends include: globalisation and regionalism, deregulation, the growing use of information technology, growing inequality and rising poverty (in some areas of the world), controversy over intellectual property rights protection, the rise of China and India as business models and global warming. In short, this course teaches you how to deal with uncertainty in the business environment. Also discussed are questions like: what is required to study and manage international issues and firms; what are your personal strengths and weaknesses; and what might you expect from leaders in the world? Is there a difference between leaders of corporations, civil society and states? 

International Firm Strategies 

The second core course focuses on the specific (often operational) challenges of multinational enterprises. How do, and how can, firms manage across borders? How can they handle the many issues that arise: from handling corrupt regimes and dealing with currency instability to developing solutions for major issues like poverty, global warming, HIV/AIDS or hunger? Learn how global corporations can create a sustainable corporate and competitive advantage. The course deals with challenges such as: deciding upon entry strategies, making appropriate country-risk analyses, engaging in lobbying relations with governments, implementing cross-cultural management systems, and striking partnerships with stakeholders. Concrete techniques and management tools are discussed and practiced: codes of conduct, reporting, trademarks, business community involvement programmes, stakeholder dialogues and the like. 

Corporate Communication 

Stakeholder Management deals with the question of how to manage the company’s relationship with external parties around the globe in the most effective manner. The third core course focuses on corporate communication and related perspectives such as reputation management and employee communication. 

The course examines the major topics in corporate communication and develops your practical skills for understanding and managing problems that have to be solved regarding reputation, identity and the orchestration of all forms of communications. This should lead to effective employee communication and alignment, but could also lead to, for instance, financial restatements. How to handle these issues effectively, without falling prey to crises? 

Corporate Governance AND Integrity 

Leading with integrity gives an in-depth treatment of the processes through which leadership of high integrity develops between leaders, individual followers, workgroups, and organizations as a whole. To build a clear understanding of what leading with integrity entails, this course builds on basic leadership and decision-making theories, such as theories on charismatic, transformational, and supportive leadership along with models that detail leader decision making. These models serve as a background to discuss import topics referring to leading with integrity such as ethical leadership, fairness of decision making, servant leadership, and leadership outcomes like compliance, legitimacy, and trust. The course addresses leadership efforts to maintain high integrity as well as efforts to repair situations that have been damaged due to actions of low integrity.