A Two-Semester Business Course
International Trade Foundation
Rationale
In economics, Business is the social science of managing people to organize and maintain collective productivity toward accomplishing particular creative and productive goals, usually to generate revenue.
The etymology of "business" refers to the state of being busy, in the context of the individual as well as the community or society. In other words, to be busy is to be doing commercially viable and profitable work.
The term "business" has at least three usages, depending on the scope — the general usage (above), the singular usage to refer to a particular company or corporation, and the generalized usage to refer to a particular market sector, such as "the record business," "the computer business," or "the business community" -- the community of suppliers of goods and services.
The singular "business" can be a legally-recognized entity within an economically free society, wherein individuals organize based on expertise and skills to bring about social and technological advancement.
With some exceptions, (such as cooperatives, non-profit organizations and (typically) government institutions), in predominatly capitalist economies, businesses are formed to earn profit and grow the personal wealth of their owners.
In other words, the owners and operators of a business have as one of their main objectives the receipt or generation of a financial return in exchange for their work — that is, the expense of time, energy, and money.
However, the exact definition of business is disputable as is business philosophy; for example, most Marxists use "means of production" as a rough synonym for "business." Socialists advocate either government, public, or worker ownership of most sizable businesses.
- How To Start A Business 14 session course on starting a business.
- Starting a Business Learn about details on how to start a business in 155 countries.
- Yahoo! Finance Aggregates some good financial articles and company information.
- MarketWatch.com Contains stock indices, business news, company information.
- International Business Times A business newspaper with global news coverage.
- American Business in China Information for American companies on doing business in China over the past 3 years.
International Trade is the exchange of goods and services across international boundaries or territories. In most countries, it represents a significant share of GDP. While international trade has been present throughout much of history (see Silk Road, Amber Road), its economic, social, and political importance has been on the rise in recent centuries. Industrialization, advanced transportation, globalization, multinational corporations, and outsourcing are all having a major impact. Increasing international trade is the primary meaning of "globalization".
International trade is also a branch of economics, which, together with international finance, forms the larger branch of international economics.
- Freetrade.org
- International Trade Centre
- Interactive Ricardian Model Simulator
- Consumers for World Trade Education Fund electronic trade library
- Data
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Teaching and Learning Resources
Prior Readings
 |
English Language Studies - Part 1 | |
English Language Studies - Part 2 |
|
Study and Career Development Skills | |
International Business 2 |
|
Business Administration | |
Quantitative Methods for Business |
|
International Business 1 | Plus 1 options from the following subjects: | |
|
Business Computing Skills | |
Principles of Management |
|
Information Systems | |
Essentials of Marketing |
|
Principles of Accounting | ||
Length of Course
Full
time study (intensive) for one academic year. Where the
programme is provided on a non-intensive basis it will
take longer to complete.
Entry Requirements
- Over 21 years of age and minimum of 3 years of business or administrative work experience.
and
All
applicants must have a minimum of Intermediate to Upper
Intermediate Level English (or IELTS 4.5-5) at the time
of joining the course. (Important: Also see English
Language Element following regarding Placement Tests).
Exemptions
No Exemptions are allowed – except for holders of a Recognised English Language qualification at a minimum First Certificate/Upper Intermediate Level obtained in the two years prior to joining the programme (see English Language Element section following). Such students exempted from English must substitute this subject with another in the Options subjects list, in order to obtain the Higher Certificate in Business Studies. :Also, read English Language Element, following.
Assessment
The local Centre will assess students.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion you will have:
1. Developed
your English Language skills up to or above the level
required by British Australian or American Universities.
2. Gained
a good conceptual and practical understanding of the
key areas of business.
3. Understood
the priciples and integration of the main functional
areas of a firm.
4. Enhanced
general knowledge and transferable skills in areas
such as communications, negotiations, organisation
and administration, computing, numeracy, literacy and
investigations.
5. Developed
your study skill and methodology which will give
you a head start in your future learning activities
in international higher education and professional
life.
Teaching and Learning Strategy
The entire course will be taught at the participating Learning Centres and consists of series of scheduled lectures, workshops (see module descriptors below), seminars and tutorials. In addition to the day to day tutor/student liaison, the modules have also a build-in Self Directed Study elements where the student is expected to prepare for the forthcoming in-class discussions and assignments by completing exercises or essays and by studying the recommended texts, the foundation course specific online resources, business related articles in the media, etc.
In addition to the final examination (70%) the final grades will be based (30%) on a range of continuous assessment outcomes where your attendance and in-class participation, exercises and assignments will be taken into consideration along with two written project reports and a group presentation.
Progression to Further and Higher Education
There is a wealth of full-time Higher education programmes available depending on which country you wish to study in. For example, in the UK there are HNDs (Higher National Diplomas), first and second degree programmes and professional programmes in banking, accountancy, marketing, law etc. These programmes may be provided at universities as well as at many colleges.
Often, students may attend a 2-year HND - or a university’s own diploma - before completing the final year of a degree programme at the same place of study or at another educational establishment. For example, two years study on an HND in London, followed by the final year at university that is located in another part of the UK.
Students should therefore, seek information on study progression possibilities from the establishment at which they wish to study (its Admissions Department), as well as from any representative office advising on all aspects of education within a country e.g., British Council Offices or Educational Sections of the appropriate Embassy or High Commission.
- British Council, Bangladesh
- British Council, Beijing
- British Council, Guangzhou
- British Council, Hong Kong
- British Council, India
- British Council, Malaysia
- British Council, Pakistan
- China-Britain Business Council
Entry Requirements by Institutions offering Higher Education
These may differ widely according to the overseas country in which you wish to study and the type of Higher education programme that you are seeking.
For example, entry into an American degree programme would be a good general education qualification but the degree programme would invariably be 4 years in length.
With regard to the entry to a first degree programme in the UK, it would usually be an Advanced level of general education or a programme of similar acceptable standing, such as a University Foundation Programme acceptable to the particular university. Invariably, candidates would have to have an acceptable qualification in a numerical subject such as, mathematics, physics or quantitative methods / statistics as well as an acceptable command of English.
English
Language
English Language is always a very important aspect of entry qualifications for Higher educational studies. Higher education establishments like to be sure that applicants have been adequately tested in the four aspects, reading, writing, listening and speaking so that they can readily learn, contribute to classroom discussions and present written work to an acceptable standard.
The normal English Language entry tests that meet the criteria are IELTS (International English Language Testing Service) and TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) at the grades indicated in the English Language Element of this course (namely, IELTS 6 or TOEFL 218) but there are many, many exceptions. For example, a university may accept a student who it considers is near the acceptable entry standard but may require that the student follows a short, intensive English Language programme at the university (eg., 3 months) before entering onto the degree programme and / or study English as part of the first year of their degree programme at the University.
The same will apply for HNDs and some Professional bodies’ qualifications and the particular teaching establishment may be a little more lenient with regard to the entry level – perhaps accepting a First Certificate / Upper Intermediate level. Nevertheless, by the end of year examinations the student would be expected to have demonstrated an acceptable command of English, both in class and in the examinations.
Many American universities who accept good English Language skills (but not entry level) would include English in the whole of the students first year’s study along with the other subjects.
Useful Contacts
- American Universities
- Colleges and Universities - Australia
- Colleges and Universities - China
- Colleges and Universities - Malaysia
- UK Universities & HE Colleges, Sensitive Maps
- Universities Worldwide
Recommended Texts
 |
Lectures on International Trade Jagdish
N. Bhagwati, Arvind Panagariya, T.N. Srinivasan Check the availability and buy your books from our Bookshop. |
Resources
