Certificate
International Business Programme
Module by module one step ahead: Being successful abroad
Are you working with colleagues, customers or suppliers from other countries? Are you preparing for an international career? Our modules, taught by a team of experienced professors, will provide you with excellent learning and development opportunities for the management across borders. Our International Business Programme is an English-language Executive Education programme and covers the major challenges of internationalisation. International Strategy and Structure, International Finance, Intercultural Leadership and Intercultural Management.
Please select 3 modules out of 4 to receive the certificate “International Business Programme”. Alternatively you can also select one or two single courses.
In addition, credits from our International Business Programme can be transferred to other Executive Education programmes such as the Executive MBA.
Knowledge- and skills-focused modules will enhance your career development: learn essentials, connect to equals and build your network
Curriculum & Calendar
International Strategy and Structure • If you want to expand internationally, this module is a “must have”. Taught by Professor Stefan Schmid, one of the leading experts in the field, the module is both conceptually insightful and practically helpful.
Since many firms are internationalising nowadays, the course will cover the international dimension of strategy. Which philosophy is behind our internationalisation strategy? Which market entry modes should be preferred? On which countries and which segments in these countries should we focus? How should we organise the value chain across borders? The course will provide you with answers to fundamental questions of internationalisation and also link international strategy to international structure.
Learn more
Key Topics
- Various options for being an international firm
- Objectives of the international firm
- The strategy of the international firm – an overview
- Strategic analysis in an international firm
- Market entry strategies for international firms
- Target market strategies for international firms
- Timing strategies for international firms
- Allocation strategies for international firms
- Coordination strategies for international firms
- Towards a modern perspective for international firms
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the course, participants will be able to:
- Differentiate the main categories of internationalisation strategies
- Characterise and explain the advantages and disadvantages of various options of internationalisation strategies
- Assess the links between internationalisation philosophies and objectives with internationalisation strategies
- Apply your knowledge to business cases on internationalisation strategies
Next dates
- 23-24 April 2024 + 29-30 August 2024 at ESCP Berlin Campus
International Finance • This module helps participants to develop a first understanding of international finance and is thus beneficial for every manager in a firm with international exposure, not only for financial managers. This module contrasts operational hedges and financial hedging strategies used in managing foreign exchange risk.
Changes in exchange rates may affect not only firms that are engaged in international trade but also purely domestic firms because the value of the local currency in foreign currency units has a direct impact on the competitive position of firms in open economies. Similarly, firms are less likely to use theoretically correct NPV approaches for investments in host countries with heightened political risk. To the extent that the vast majority of foreign direct investment remains uninsured, assessing the real effects of political risk appears essential.
Learn more
Key Topics
- Multinational Capital Budgeting
- Domestic Capital Budgeting: A Review
- Domestic vs. International Capital Budgeting
- Capital Budgeting from the Parent Firm’s Perspective
- Managing Foreign Exchange Risk and Political Risk
- Taxonomy of Foreign Exchange Exposures
- Measuring and Managing Transaction Exposure
- Accounting for Political Risk in Multinational Capital Budgeting;
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the course, participants will be able to:
- Understand the meaning of international financial markets for corporate decision-making in a globalised world
- Understand the economic intuition behind changes in exchange rates through the interplay of interest rates, inflation levels and exchange rates
- Understand basic techniques used to hedge foreign exchange transaction exposure
- Make international capital budgeting and financing decisions accounting for political (and country) risk factors
Next dates
- 25-26 April 2024 at ESCP Berlin Campus
Intercultural Management in Team and Leadership Setting • This course is designed for participants who either work in highly internationalised environments (multinational organisations) or take international development responsibilities. It has a strong focus on the intercultural dimension of business. The particularity of this course is that it includes a serious learning game on Intercultural Management that allows for the immersion of the participant in various intercultural environments (national, organisational, group, personal culture including intercultural team and leadership challenges). In a blended format, the innovative contents of the serious learning game will be complemented by role plays, discussions and debates in order to further develop participants’ intercultural skills and by company case studies in order to develop participants’ managerial skills. The overall goal is to learn about and experience intercultural management issues with a specific focus on teams and leadership.
Learn more
Key Topics
- Introduction
- Foundations and success factors of intercultural management
- Concepts of culture (personal, group, organizational, national culture)
- Concepts of intercultural competence
- Application of intercultural concepts in management situations, especially team and leadership settings.
- Trends in intercultural learning
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course, participants will be able to:
- Analyse the impact of the various cultural contexts (personal, group, organisational and national cultures) on interactions in international organisations
- Understand the various ways management practices can influence interactions in international organisations with a specific focus on intercultural encounters in team and leadership situations
- Understand the use of serious games in management education
Skills
At the end of the course, participants should have developed:
- Intercultural management and leadership skills
- International managerial skills
Values and attitudes
At the end of the course, participants should have developed:
- A positive appreciation of intercultural differences
- A positive appreciation of culture-bound differences in management practices
- A positive appreciation of inclusion
Next dates
- 1-2 April 2025 at ESCP Berlin Campus
International Leadership • The globalisation of business requires intercultural competence and global leadership capabilities. This module provides participants with the essential know-how and experience which is the indispensable basis for any successful career in an international context.
Working across cultures has become a feature of everyday business life. Yet, the virtual character of a lot of that collaboration, more emphasis on corporate cultures and more internationally educated managers from all over the world make us forget that we are often interacting with people from contexts that differ substantially.
The consequence is that we can easily underestimate these differences and interpret unexpected behaviour as personal flaws. Our actions and reactions then might be insufficient or outright wrong to gain trust from our collaborators, colleagues and partners. Yet, without trust no engagement, and without engagement it is hard to succeed in highly competitive, ever changing international markets.Therefore it is more important than ever to build the attitude, knowledge and skills to be a strong intercultural leader.
Learn more
Key Topics
- Cultural differences’ impact on expectations from leadership, specifically on leading, collaborating, decision making, initiative taking, communicating, evaluating, feedback and conflict
- Examples, mini-cases and film to make these differences come alive
- Exercises and debate around participants experience
- Intercultural strategy matrix and its application
- Situational leadership in intercultural settings and its application
- Trust-building framework and application
- Tools to create positive team dynamics and integrate intercultural teams
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the course, participants will be able to:
- Be more aware of the impact their leadership approach and behaviour has on engagement, effectiveness of collaboration and, finally, results in different cultural contexts
- Be better prepared to decide when to adjust to and when to drive culture
- Become more skillful at leading and managing in various international settings
- Develop their skills to integrate as well as leverage diversity and sources of knowledge
- Be more effective in consciously using culture development or culture change in teams
- Be more knowledgeable how to develop global competence in themselves and their collaborators
Next dates
- 25-26 April 2024 & 30-31 August 2024 at ESCP Berlin Campus
Admission criteria
- A previous university degree: Bachelor, Master’s degree or equivalent in any discipline
- A minimum of five years’ managerial-level experience, based on the demonstration of managerial skills and potential for success within your company
- Fluency in English: courses are taught in English and all coursework must be submitted in English