This program provides students with foundational knowledge and skills drawn from those disciplines which are essential in the management of a modern business – accounting, statistics and data management, business information systems and communications. It then focuses on the special challenges associated with conducting business across national borders, diverse and different cultures, different legal and regulatory environments, and different time zones, in the modern business environment.
A broad and coherent knowledge of the theories, concepts, and principles of a range of business-related fields and disciplines including leadership, economics, accounting, supply chain and logistics, trade agreements, human resources, management, and marketing. A deeper knowledge of the particular issues associated with conducting business across national borders, different cultures, different legal and regulatory environments, and different time zones in the modern business environment.
Cognitive and technical skills to facilitate problem solving and critical thinking in a business environment, and to present reasoned arguments and analysis of key business and technical data. Communication skills to facilitate working effectively with people and teams, especially those from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds, and to present clear and coherent information in recognised and expected business, professional, and academic formats.
With initiative and judgement in planning, problem solving and decision making in international business practice in diverse contexts. With responsibility and accountability for their own learning and professional practice and in collaboration with others within broad international parameters.
Graduates will be equipped to pursue careers in several disciplines within a wide range of multi-national companies, government agencies, Trade Commission, any organisation with global business connections, consulting firms, media companies, and NGOs.
AIBI Higher Education graduates will be equipped to pursue careers in a wide range of organisational functions such business development, international marketing and international human resources.
Material and Resource Requirements
Where use of a computer is required to participate to a unit, students are expected to bring a personally-owned device. The student’s device must satisfy the technological requirements as specified in the unit outline and/or program information. The Institute will only offer limited technical support to assist students connecting their device to the network and installing required software.
Case studies, participation, quizzes, research projects, presentations, reports, examinations. Further details are available by clicking ‘Program Units’ below.
This unit provides students with an introduction to business accounting, an essential component of every successful business. They consider the role of accounting within the global business context and develop an understanding of the key fundamental accounting frameworks used. Students are introduced to the accounting cycle and acquire key accounting skills and knowledge to enable them to examine the three-key financial and accounting statements for all businesses: the balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement. In addition, they are introduced to the principles of budgeting, to cost-volume-analysis, and the concepts and theories of capital investment. Furthermore, they will investigate the concept and role of ethical and corporate governance specifically in the area of financial business management. They will also be introduced to contemporary technological developments including distributed ledger systems such as Bitchain.
Workload
3 timetabled h/p/w; 9 personal study h/p/w; Total 12 h/p/w
Assessment
Tutorial Quizzes, Mid-trimester examination, Final examination.
The unit provides students with an introduction and broad overview of the application of information technology (IT) to the management of information in organisations, and the role of the IT professional in developing and implementing IT-based solutions to information problems across a range of areas related to general business activities and specific functions, such as supply chain management, e-commerce, customer relationship management and security. Consideration of the organisational framework for IT and IT professional practice will be set within the broader business context. The opportunities, problems and risks associated with IT will be examined, together with their implications for organisational strategy and operations.
Workload
3 timetabled h/p/w; 9 personal study h/p/w; Total 12 h/p/w
Assessment
Tutorial participation, Case studies, Quizzes, Examination
Communication within a business environment is an exciting and rapidly evolving area of study. The ability to use appropriate communication technologies, from language to screen, and from text to image in a business context is an essential skill for graduates entering the workforce. This unit provides students with an introduction to communications in a rapidly changing world and includes essential skills for a successful professional entering today’s competitive business environment. Throughout this unit, students develop their ability to identify, gather, and present information in a range of oral, written, and visual contexts, using digital and non-digital channels. There is a focus on mobile communication and its effect on contemporary business practices, with students exploring how globalisation and social media are changing business communication. The unit concludes with students examining some of the emerging technologies that have the potential to reshape business communication in the near future.
Workload
3 timetabled h/p/w; 9 personal study h/p/w; Total 12 h/p/w
Assessment
Presentations 1 & 2, Written report, Group oral presentation
This unit provides students with an introduction to statistics. The ability to accurately collect, analyse, and interpret data, is an essential skill in businesses today. In this unit students are introduced to basic statistical methods and practice and their role in business and organisational decision making. The unit explores various data types and methods of sampling and collection. It examines graphical and numerical statistical methods and introduces concepts such as probability, inference, distributions, estimation, and hypothesis testing.
Workload
3 timetabled h/p/w; 9 personal study h/p/w; Total 12 h/p/w
Assessment
Tutorial quizzes, Practical exercises, Examination
This unit is designed to introduce students to the issues involved in undertaking business in the global market place. It examines why businesses engage in international trade and business and consider the role that economics, politics, culture and ethics play in the decision to operate internationally. As well as reviewing the arguments for and against globalisation, the unit looks at how organisations evaluate, plan and undertake international engagement and expansion in a global context.
Particular attention is given to the appropriate means for engaging in international trade and expansion given the nature of and circumstances facing the organisation. Students are introduced to concepts of international financing, marketing and human resource management.
Workload
3 timetabled h/p/w; 9 personal study h/p/w; Total 12 h/p/w
Assessment
Tutorial participation, Case study, Essay, Group project
This unit provides students with an introduction to operations and logistics management and examines key issues currently facing all service and manufacturing organisations when creating the products and services. The fundamentals of managing logistics has become a key advantage in the contemporary business context. A primary aim of the unit is to illustrate the principles involved in effectively creating value through using the techniques and tools of operations and logistics management. Continuously improvement of operations and logistics management can help ensure the organisation’s long-term success. After placing the activities required for the operations and logistics manager into a conceptual framework, the practical issues and difficulties in making operations and logistics decisions are examined, including operations and logistics strategy, planning and control, warehousing, transportation, e-commerce operations, and improvement activities.
Workload
3 timetabled h/p/w; 9 personal study h/p/w; Total 12 h/p/w
Assessment
Participation, Group presentation, Examination
This unit provides students with an introduction to concepts of business ethics and the elements of good corporate governance. The unit discusses the role of corporate officers and their associated obligations, expectations, and responsibilities. It identifies and discusses the instruments and institutions responsible for maintaining good governance such as the ASX, ACC, ASIC, and APRA, including legislation on the notification of data breaches. Students also explore and discuss the difference between ethics, morals, and values and actively consider a range of different moral and ethical dilemmas. Students also learn about the different aspects of risk encountered in the organisational environment.
Workload
3 timetabled h/p/w; 9 personal study h/p/w; Total 12 h/p/w
Assessment
Report, Case study, Examination
This unit provide students with the fundamentals of marketing theory and practice within the global business environment. Students will learn how to interpret the role of business marketing, and to analyse markets and market characteristics. They are introduced to and apply contemporary marketing theories and practice. They examine the key concepts of consumer behaviour and the factors that influence consumer demand; what people buy and how businesses respond to this demand. Furthermore, the unit explores how international businesses are developing their competitive edge as they face emerging challenges and issues in a global marketplace that is influenced by digital, social and visual media. The unit concludes with students examining how businesses integrate ethical, sustainable and socially responsible practices within their marketing strategies.
Workload
3 timetabled h/p/w; 9 personal study h/p/w; Total 12 h/p/w
Assessment
Quizzes, Group research presentation and Reflective journal, Case study
This unit provides students with an introduction to organisational behaviour and change management applicable to the dynamic global business environment. Organisational behaviour can be described as the study of human behaviour at the individual group and corporate level. Students will gain of organisations by examining personal characteristics, drivers of behaviours, group dynamics, and the associated change management processes that organisations can use to maximise their effectiveness.
Workload
3 timetabled h/p/w; 9 personal study h/p/w; Total 12 h/p/w
Assessment
Quizzes & Participation, Group report and presentation, Examination
This unit provides students with an introduction to data analytics. In this unit, students will lay the groundwork necessary for today’s data analysis practices including data process chain, data warehousing, descriptive and predictive analyses, Business Intelligence process flow, and Data Mining. In addition, students will build a solid foundation in various Business Intelligence frameworks, architectures, applications, tools, and management practices. Students will further develop the essential knowledge to elaborate on the trends and implications of traditional, modern and next-generation data analytics solutions. Through real-world case studies, students will apply critical thinking skills to develop data analytics solutions that map out business metrics, employing a data-driven approach and business intelligence tools and platforms used in international business and cybersecurity contexts.
Workload
3 timetabled h/p/w; 9 personal study h/p/w; Total 12 h/p/w
Assessment
Quizzes, Case study, Mid-trimester Exam, Examination
This unit provides students with an introduction to international law and politics. Businesses need to observe the laws of the countries in which they operate. But those national laws do not develop in isolation. Rather, they are shaped by international rules on matters as diverse as employment, investment and the supply of goods and services. Those rules make up international law, which is in turn a by-product of international relations and politics. This unit explores how international law and politics operate, and how they affect businesses in their day-to-day dealings. By introducing students to some of the basic concepts and rules of international law, as well as institutions such as the World Trade Organisation, this unit will help graduates navigate the legal complexities that arise each time business is transacted across international boundaries.
Workload
3 timetabled h/p/w; 9 personal study h/p/w; Total 12 h/p/w
Assessment
Quizzes 1&2, Research essay, Project
This unit provides students with an overview of Strategic Management in an international context. It covers the key concepts and theories in the field and how they can be used to interpret and evaluate business situations in domestic and international settings. The aim of the unit is to show how management strategy can help companies create and capture value. The central objective will be to understand differences in profitability across firms in the global economy, placing special attention to the factors that explain why some firms achieve above-average performance. The focus of the unit is on understanding the drivers of sustainable competitive advantage, in particular in a global context, and an understanding of the relationship between internal and external factors.
Workload
3 timetabled h/p/w; 9 personal study h/p/w; Total 12 h/p/w
Assessment
Case study, Scenario analysis and report, Examination
This unit provides students with an introduction to entrepreneurship and innovation. The unit encourages entrepreneurial behaviour through the introduction of the principles of entrepreneurship, the process of creativity and innovation through the human-centred design methodology, and the impact of this process on the success of new enterprise creation. On completion of this unit students will have an increased understanding of entrepreneurship, entrepreneurs and the significance of innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The associated skills and techniques acquired in this unit will provide a strong foundation for both new product/service development and the launch of an entrepreneurial or corporate new venture.
Workload
3 timetabled h/p/w; 9 personal study h/p/w; Total 12 h/p/w
Assessment
Presentations, Interview, Participation, Presentation
This unit provides students with the foundations of business strategy. With the advent of an interdependent global marketplace, modern business engagement is complex and constantly being re-invented. The purpose of this unit is to equip students with the ability to approach complex business problems from the cross-functional and multidimensional perspective of the CEO. To develop and maintain successful sustainable corporate strategy, there must first be an understanding of the links between the wider macro influences, our own industry nuances and the assets we control internally.
Starting with an understanding of the historical development of strategy, this unit will investigate the journey from the work of Sun Tsu to Mintsberg Strategic Thinking Schools through to more recent concepts of Total Quality Management, Business Process Re-engineering and onwards. While the environment of our businesses was focused on our local domestic markets for many decades, it is now essential to be aware of the threat of global competitors. Case analysis is used extensively to link concepts and frameworks to real-world examples. Group work engages students in the challenges of interpersonal communication, task allocation, coordination and control.
Workload
3 timetabled h/p/w; 9 personal study h/p/w; Total 12 h/p/w
Assessment
Quiz, Essay, Case study, Group report
This unit provides students with an introduction to the development of marketing strategies for organisations operating in the international business environment. Emphasis is placed on analysing trends in the international marketing environment, identifying business opportunities and adapting standard marketing concepts to the diverse social, cultural, political and economic situations found in international markets. Attention is also given to the link between marketing and fulfilment mechanisms and customer service and the international economic, political, legal and cultural environmental influences on marketing planning. Students will be required to assess the impact of media on marketing strategy, and to analyse marketing opportunities in international contexts.
Workload
3 timetabled h/p/w; 9 personal study h/p/w; Total 12 h/p/w
Assessment
Tutorial participation, Report 1&2, Group presentation
This unit provides students with an introduction to the application of economic analysis to trade and finance in a global context. While the unit focuses primarily on macroeconomic considerations, it also addresses basic microeconomic concepts that underpin trade and finance strategies. The unit will consider the extent to which markets allocate resources efficiently; the degree to which market restrictions are efficient; the effectiveness of different tax regimes; the relative efficiency of different market structures; the best means by which to control environmental damage; the practicality of the government provision of public goods, and the degree to which the macro-economy is subject to coordination failure. It sets these aspects in the context of the modern global economic environment and examines how firms attempt to reach optimal profitability and efficiency in the face of constraints.
Workload
3 timetabled h/p/w; 9 personal study h/p/w; Total 12 h/p/w
Assessment
Tutorial participation, Report, Presentation
This unit provides students with an introduction to global supply chain management. Supply chain management is the management of relationships in the network of organisations, from end customers through original suppliers, using key cross-functional business processes to create value for customers and other stakeholders. The ability to accurately forecast demand for products and services is central to supply chain management.
The aim of this unit is to debate the fundamental processes of supply chain management – demand forecasting and inventory optimisation – in terms of demand-driven forecasting, the dynamic balancing of customer demand and systems capability. While the unit gives an overview of supply-driven inventory management, it does not go into the details of warehousing or inventory control. Rather, the emphasis is on review of demand-driven forecasting and how inventory management is shaped by demand forecasting. The overall aim is to assess a methodology that combines data, analytics and an understanding of contemporary supply chain process optimisation.
Workload
3 timetabled h/p/w; 9 personal study h/p/w; Total 12 h/p/w
Assessment
Tutorial participation, Quizzes, Case study, Project
This unit provides students with an introduction to key leadership issues and challenges business managers face in an international environment. Rather than concentrating on theories of leadership, the unit focuses on the development of practical leadership skills. Particular emphasis is given to cross-cultural management, workplace diversity, managing a distributed, virtual and multicultural workforce, and culture-based tactics for international negotiations. The unit encourages students to consider the concept of leadership through the lens of managers who are required to work in local and global environments simultaneously, examining the intersections of leadership and management and the role of multicultural competence in creating competitive advantage.
Workload
3 timetabled h/p/w; 9 personal study h/p/w; Total 12 h/p/w
Assessment
Tutorial participation, Case study 1, Critique, Case study 2
This unit provides students with an introduction to sustainability in business. Sustainable business models should not only provide economic value for a business but enhance the environment and society. Sustainable business models are as yet in their infancy and are the focus of current debate and research. The overarching question is what is meant by sustainability in the business context and whether it can be achieved. There are numerous areas that can be factored into a sustainable business model so as to provide solutions that maximise benefits for society and the environment, but the ultimate task is to persuade current and potential business leaders that adopting such solutions will benefit not only a business but also all its stakeholders. This course adopts an interdisciplinary approach to sustainable business encompassing global initiatives underpinned by environmental and ecological considerations.
Workload
3 timetabled h/p/w; 9 personal study h/p/w; Total 12 h/p/w
Assessment
Tutorial participation, Case study, Assignment
An important element of success in business organisations today is the ability to undertake research-based projects. Such projects might seek to describe an organisational environment, identify issues, or suggest solutions to an identified problem relevant to the program they have been enrolled in. This unit builds upon students’ previous study in their program and offers an opportunity to focus on a relevant area of interest through a formal research-related project. Students in this unit will learn about the principles of effective research and conduct a short research project on a topic of interest based upon or influenced by their areas of interest within their program.
The unit is in two parts. In the first part, students either learn about the fundamentals of organisational research or have a refresher course to ensure that all students in the unit have the same level of preparation. They also work with the unit coordinator to develop an agreed research topic. In the second part, they conduct their major project. During this period, they will also meet and consult regularly with the unit coordinator to discuss their project progress.
Workload
6 timetabled h/p/w; 18 personal study h/p/w; Total 24 h/p/w
Assessment
Participation, Research report and Presentation Part 1&2
