International E-Business

Module Outline

This module examines how developments in modern Information and Communications Technology (ICT) impact on traditional models of business organisation. In particular, emphasis will be on the increasing extent and growth rate of globalisation and how international business organizations are affected by rapidly-changing uses of technology in support of business objectives.

The course examines the impact and interrelationships among:

• E-commerce business issues
• Internet technology
• the social and legal contexts of e-commerce.

Throughout the programme, the focus will be on how e-commerce affects each of these themes, and the managerial issues which arise. Every business student must develop a full understanding of the business and economic forces driving e-commerce, and how these impact on markets (including new, electronic markets), on transparency in pricing, on the increasingly global nature of competition and the implications for business organisations.

Learning outcomes

By the end of this course, students should have an understanding of the following, and their relevance to business advantage: 

• The meaning of e-business and identification of current / future trends?
• Processes for the development and implementation of web-based IS and IT strategies?
•  The creation of business plans for e-business?
• Technical, architecture and integration issues?
• Supply-chain management and e-procurement?
• Linking websites with ERP systems (especially web-driven ERP)?
• The impact of e-business on organisational design?
• Privacy, Security and Safety considerations in e-business?
• Legal frameworks in e-business?
• Political, cultural and ethical aspects of e-business