PD:Estratègia Internacional

Teaching plan for the course unit

General information

Course unit name: International Strategy

Course unit code: 364558

Academic year: 2025-2026

Coordinator: Vesna Savic

Department: Department of Business

Credits: 6

Single program: S

Prior considerations

The course integrates a sustainability perspective in a transversal manner across all topics.

A gender perspective is also applied throughout the course content and activities.

Estimated learning time

Total number of hours 150

Face-to-face and/or online activities

	- Lecture with practical component	Face-to-face		30
	- Problem-solving class	Face-to-face		30

Supervised project

Independent learning

Recommendations

Group work should be structured to ensure balanced participation among all members. Individualistic approaches are discouraged.

International students are encouraged to work closely with local students, so that their home-country experiences can be meaningfully contrasted with local practices.

Competences / Learning outcomes to be gained during study

-	CB2 - Capacity to apply knowledge and understanding in a manner that indicates a professional approach to the work or vocation, and have competences typically demonstrated through devising and sustaining arguments and solving problems within the field of study.
-	CG9 - Capacity to interpret the evolution of the business environment and adaptations to change.
-	CG6 - Creative and entrepreneurial skills (capacity to conceive, design and manage projects).
-	CG8 - Capacity to communicate in English and/or other foreign languages orally and in writing, comprehension skills, and mastery of specialized language.
-	CG7 - Concern for sustainability (capacity to assess the social and environmental impact of actions taken in a particular setting and capacity to adopt integrated and systemic approaches).
-	CG3 - Capacity for learning and responsibility (capacity for analysis, synthesis, to adopt global perspectove and to apply knowledge in practice).

-	CE11 - Understanding of the culture and business practices of different countries, as the basis for adapting to an interacting effectively with other geopolitical contexts.
-	CE10 - Ability to take planning and organizational decisions in an international busniess context.
-	CE6 - Ability to appraise processes and decision-making in the development of international operations.

Learning objectives

Referring to knowledge

— Use and correctly apply the main tools for strategic diagnosis in both external and internal contexts.

— Analyse the various types of business strategy applied in the strategy formulation process.

— Recognise the importance of the main tools for monitoring and controlling a business strategy.

— Acquire a detailed understanding of the rational model of strategic decision-making and the different phases of a business strategy.

— Acquire a general understanding of strategic management, including accurate knowledge of professional language and terminology.

Referring to abilities, skills

— Acquire the capacity to search for, select and analyse business information from different sources (internet, written press, databases, etc.) in order to solve case studies and problems.

— Learn to work as part of a team and communicate, debate, negotiate and interact with other people to make decisions in situations with varying degrees of information.

Referring to attitudes, values and norms

— Acquire the critical spirit, creative capacities and proactive approach required for future professional activity.

Teaching blocks

Introduction to strategic management

1. Strategic management of the company

2. Corporate goals and values

Strategic diagnosis and analysis

3. External analysis

4. Internal analysis

5. Decision-making tools and business models

Strategy formulation

6. Generic competitive strategies

7. Sector-specific strategies

8. Innovation strategies

9. Growth and development strategies

10. Internationalisation of the company

Teaching methods and general organization

The course combines face-to-face lectures and various complementary activities (case studies, problem-solving exercises, etc.), which are completed either individually or in small groups, both in and out of class. The estimated total learning hours are distributed as follows:

— Two 2-hour classes per week, during which essential information is provided to enable students to work through the course syllabus and achieve the learning objectives.

All of the academic and administrative information for the subject (assessment procedures, delivery dates for exercises, etc.) are posted on the Virtual Campus, the primary channel for communication between students and teachers.

Class attendance is integral to the learning process, which is based equally on individual and group work and active participation in class. Students are expected to prepare for classes by completing the relevant case studies and recommended reading, as outlined in the course plan. Moreover, this course is part of the INNDOC programme 2022PEDC-ECO/I07, which aims to introduce the flipped-classroom methodology via just-in-time teaching. Full details of the programme will be explained in the first class.

Official assessment of learning outcomes

Continuous assessment

Continuous assessment requires students to engage consistently with the course material and submit graded work throughout the semester. Marks are awarded for specific assessed tasks and activities.

Continuous assessment accounts for 45% of the final grade, while the mark for the final examination is worth the remaining 55%. Continuous assessment consists of three sets of activities. The mark for continuous assessment (45%) is the weighted average of the activities proposed. Failure to submit any of the tasks does not alter the way in which the final mark is calculated.

The three sets of activities consist of:

Team-based project (20%)

Completing a project related to the course content. This is undertaken in groups of 3-5 members. Each group must submit a list of members to the lecturer within the first three weeks of the course. The groups cannot later be changed.

Project guidelines are uploaded to the Virtual Campus at the beginning of the course. The project will likely focus on a specific company. It involves completing several tasks: researching information, performing external and internal analyses, using diagnostic and decision tools, describing the business strategy and model, and presenting the project to the class. The final oral report (the format of which is provided in advance) presents the project conclusions.

Flipped classroom activities (15%)

This course forms part of the implementation of the teaching innovation programme consisting of flipped-classroom via just-in-time teaching. Three topics are proposed for study using this methodology and students are strongly encouraged to participate in these activities. The tasks are likely to include the individual preparation of teaching materials in advance, analyses of different contexts, sharing of knowledge, and the creation of examples, tests, group exercises and quizzes. The different dynamics associated with each specific task are explained in detail at the beginning of the course. The average mark is calculated for students who participate in these three activities and accounts for 15% of the continuous assessment grade.

Class activities and participation (10%)

This includes both individual and team-based activities. These range from reading assignments in and out of class to short quizzes, team competitions, discussions, and presentations.

To complete the continuous mode of assessment, students must sit a final examination covering the entire syllabus, as scheduled by the Academic Board.

Students opting for this mode of assessment should bear the following points in mind:

— Students must obtain a mark of at least 6 out of 10 on the continuous assessment activities in order to be eligible for a weighted final grade that takes into account the examination mark. Students who do not achieve this minimum mark are automatically transferred to the single mode of assessment.

— The continuous assessment mark can only be taken into account if a mark of at least 4 out of 10 is obtained on the final examination.

— The final examination is divided into a theoretical section and an applied section, each of which is worth 50% of the examination mark. In order to be eligible for weighting, a minimum mark of 4 out of 10 is required in each section.

— Students who do not reach a mark of 4 in one of the sections of the final examination will receive a final mark of 3.5 and cannot weight this mark with the continuous assessment mark.

Submission of the first continuous assessment exercise implies the student has opted for this mode of assessment.

Examination-based assessment

The single assessment procedure consists of a final examination worth 100% of the final grade. The examination is divided into a theoretical section and an applied section, each of which is worth 50% of the examination mark. The theoretical section consists of multiple-choice questions. A minimum grade of 4 out of 10 is required in each section; otherwise, the final grade for the examination is 3.5.

The final examinations for both the single and continuous assessment procedures are held on the same day at the same time.

Repeat assessment

Students who do not pass either the single or continuous modes of assessment are entitled to repeat assessment, which consists of a final examination. Under no circumstances can any continuous assessment marks be carried forward to repeat assessment.

The dates for repeat assessment are as scheduled in the Faculty’s academic calendar and coincide with the second undergraduate examination period.

The methodology and criteria for the repeat assessment examination are the same as those for the single assessment exam.

Reading and study resources

Check availability in Cercabib

Book

GUERRAS MARTíN, Luis Ángel; NAVAS LÓPEZ, José Emilio; GARCÍA MUIÑA, Fernando. La Dirección estratégica de la empresa: teoría y aplicaciones. 5a ed. Cizur Menor (Navarra): Civitas Thomson Reuters, 2015

Versió en línia (5a ed., revisada i actualitzada, 2016)
Catàleg UB

JOHNSON, Gerry; SCHOLES, Kevan. Exploring corporate strategy: [text and cases]. 7th ed. London: Prentice-Hall Europe, 2006

Catàleg UB

MINTZBERG, Henry; QUINN, James Brian. El Proceso estratégico: conceptos, contextos y casos. 2a ed. México, D.F.: Prentice-Hall Internacional, 1993

Catàleg UB

NAVAS LÓPEZ, José Emilio; GUERRAS MARTíN, Luis Ángel. Fundamentals of Strategic Management. 2nd edition. Thomson-Reuters Civitas, 2018, , ISBN: 978-84-9197-751-3

Catàleg UB