Global Business Management I & II (autumn & spring)

Minimum 2 successfully completed semesters in a Bachelor Business programme or an equivalent of 60 ECTS. This will need to be confirmed by means of an official certificate, a survey of completed courses, or a signed letter from the sending university.

Click here for Howest language expectations.

All students

All students should bring their own laptop, with all necessary and officially licensed software. The course overview above mentions any further specific software necessary for the course unit. Howest applies a very strict policy on the use of legal software.

Non-exchange students

Non-exchange students can only attend the English-taught semester as a Postgraduate course and need to have completed at least a full Bachelor degree programme at the time they start the English-taught semester course at Howest.

COMPULSORY MODULES: 27 ECTS

Only 24 ECTS compulsory when Chinese Language and Culture or Personal Development and Group Processes is chosen.

Courses listed in the same cell cannot be taken separately.

Cultural & Socio-economic Introduction to Belgium - survival course Dutch
In this module you will learn about Belgian and Flemish culture and socio-economic data, all in comparison to the socioeconomic data of your home country. This module includes a survival course Dutch and visits to several important cities in Belgium.

Cross-cultural communication
In the context of a globalized world, intercultural communication has become very important. However, effective cross-cultural communication and cooperation is still quite a challenge. This course looks at the barriers that arise when people from different cultures and social groups interconnect, and what you can do to lower those barriers.

International Business aims to introduce you to the basic concepts necessary for a broad understanding of the international business environment. You will be able to understand concepts relevant to International Business and the differences between the business systems of the world’s leading economies.

Global Trends is a series of guest speakers addressing current and future trends in Global Business Management.

CRM
CRM is a customer relationship management (CRM) solution that provides the tools and capabilities needed to create and maintain a clear picture of customers, from first contact through to purchase and post-sales. Customer Relationship Management can be utilized for Sales Force Automation, Marketing Campaigns and complete Customer Service Management as out of the box functionalities.

Students will learn to work with CRM-software, using the Salesforce Trailhead self-learning platform. Badges and points need to be collected by the students at the end of each module.

Supporting CRM & MKT tools. Next to the CRM-software students will also look into supporting tools:

• Google Adwords, Search Engine marketing (SEO/SEA), Display & video advertising
• Google Analytics
• Marketing Automation: Flexmail, Mailchimp,...
• Customer journey mapping software

Nowadays companies make the difference, not (only) by keeping costs low, but by renewing products, processes or markets. You will learn why innovation is so important, how it can be triggered in a company, and which are the necessary ingredients in the innovation process. Furthermore, the topic of managing innovation is also covered.

When the rate of external change exceeds the rate of internal change, an organisation is in trouble. Although the implementation of any change in a company is not an easy task, companies cannot afford a status quo. As students, you will achieve the competences needed to establish changes in your future professional environment.

Within only one intensive week and with the help of your team you will develop and present a business plan: you come up with the best possible business idea and learn how to develop this into a business plan.

ELECTIVE COURSE(S): MAX. 3 ECTS FROM MODULES BELOW

Students who choose Chinese Language and Culture (6 ECTS) OR Personal Development and Group processes (6 ECTS) may drop Change Management (3 ECTS)

In this module you will learn more about experiential learning, group dynamics, team coaching and situational leadership and you will become more aware of your own behavior and role within the group.

Human Resource Management is a specific approach in personnel management which in recent years has set the norm. In this course the focus will be on operational human resource management. Examples of topics that will be discussed are selection, appraisal, rewarding, socialization, performance & development.

What is supply chain and what is the "new" supply chain?
Short introduction to Blockchain, physical internet and the new network economy. From new network economy to data driven supply chain. Digital transformation and disruption: impact on economy and on logistics. Internet of Things, Augmented Reality, Artificial intelligence and Big data and data analytics in the supply chain. Data Sharing Platforms: NxtPort, Nallian, Xynaps, RX/SeaPort, GTD (IBM/Maersk). State of affairs digital documents and blockchain (eCMR, eECD, eWaste, ePhyto, eBL,….). Legal aspects of Blockchain. Global logistics delivered through Blockchain. Lean thinking & Lean working with/through big data/Blockchain.

The logistical digital transformation? Keys to success.

Nowadays, there is an increasing need and interest in Chinese culture and language. It is useful to know about the language when coming to China for travel or business. The Howest Confucius Institute offers (elementary – intermediary – advanced) Chinese language courses for students. The course also involves a small tailor-made and practical project. The course may be extended in the second semester (Spring).

This English course provides students with training in speaking, listening, reading and writing skills, all focused on their ongoing or upcoming academic experience. The lecturer will take the diversity of academic areas of the participants into account, addressing a range of topics and choosing subjects that are relevant to the attending students wherever possible.

The course aims at the B2 proficiency level. We strongly recommended it to all exchange students who have not fully achieved the B2-level in English at the moment of application for their mobility project. For the more proficient students, the course offers an interesting immersion experience.

Classes take place in the evening.

COMPULSORY MODULES: 27 ECTS

Only 24 ECTS when staying a full year.

Courses listed in the same cell cannot be taken separately.

In this module, you will learn about Belgian and Flemish culture and socio-economic data, all in comparison to the socio-economic data of your home country. This module includes a Dutch survival course and visits to several important cities in Belgium.

In this module, you gain insight into what sustainability is today, which theories and frameworks exist and which solutions are already implemented in the current business environment.

We explore the domain of sustainable business management and look at the frameworks and challenges in the three main areas that can be defined: economic, social and environmental.

We discuss practical solutions that could help face the challenges discussed in the first part. We look into corporate social responsibility, social entrepreneurship, digitalization, sustainable energy and circular economy.

Students will play an international business game in teams. The game consists of different rounds with increasing degrees of difficulty for making the team decisions.

Learn to communicate interculturally.
Learn to communicate inclusively.
Learn strategies to apply this knowledge generally within companies.

It's about intercultural communication, intercultural awareness and intercultural competence. Cultural models and dimensions will be examined in order to provide you with a framework for international negotiations and intercultural leadership and to improve your employability skills.

It's about inclusive communication, meaning you share information in a way that everybody can understand.

It's about creating strategies for companies that are committed to staying relevant in a diverse and ever-changing society.

International marketing is the application of marketing principles in more than one country, by companies overseas or across national borders. International marketing is based on an extension of a company’s local marketing strategy, with special attention paid to marketing identification, targeting, and decisions internationally.

A course based on the outcome of the Erasmus+ Project Consume Aware. The objective of this project is to study consumer awareness in the European Union. Individually and in team, students will focus on at least one of the following themes: the importance of consumer awareness; consumer protection in Europe; consumer rights, both national and European examples and practices (for the tangible goods sector and services sector); institutions of consumer rights protection; building consumer awareness.

GOOD ICT background is recommended. Make sure your laptop runs on Windows Operating System otherwise you can’t install the required software.

Turning data into knowledge.
Presence in the lessons is required. When missing classes 4 times students need to send an email to the lecturer explaining the reason for their absence in order to be admitted for the examination.

Data Visualisation and machine learning

• Introduction
  Before you can start learning how to use data science techniques and build machine learning solutions, it might be useful to start by defining what we mean by "data science".
• Working with Data
  Now that you have learned about the principles that underpin data science and you've been introduced to Azure Machine Learning, it's time to explore the ways you can prepare data for modeling.
• Visualizing Data
  After cleaning your data, it can be useful to explore it visually before selecting the features that will help you create a useful model.
• Building Machine Learning Models
  Now that you understand the iterative process of exploring data and building and evaluating models, it's time to examine some specific model types.

The objective of this course is to obtain insight in analogue and/or digital tools (e.g. UX Design and Customer/Buyer Journey) to gather and analyse quantitative and qualitative marketing data. You will come across the typical jargon in the field and the legal framework concerning privacy, intellectual property and e-commerce. You will be able to build a commercial website taking into account a specific target audience.

ELECTIVE COURSE(S): 3 or 6 ECTS FROM THE MODULES BELOW

Nowadays, there is an increasing need and interest in Chinese culture and language. It is useful to know about the language when coming to China for travel or business. The Howest Confucius Institute offers (elementary – intermediary – advanced) Chinese language courses for students. The course also involves a small tailor-made and practical project.

You learn how to organize an event in a professional way. A project needs to be SMART. It has a start, an end, goals, stakeholders, a target audience. Projects can be simple, like organizing an event e.g. a business conference, but also very complex, like building a space rocket. In this module you learn the basics of managing a project: P6 method, risk analysis, budget, roadmap, work breakdown structure, ...

Focus on SMART, teamwork, phases of project management, after-action review.

International Business Law aims to give students an understanding as well as practical knowledge of legal problems arising in the area of international business, and to equip them with the skills needed to prevent and tackle these problems.

The research module is aimed at preparing students to write a final thesis. You will learn to select a relevant research topic in your field of study and you will get tips about writing a thesis partly on desk research, partly on field research. This module also focuses on the proper use of the English language, speaking and writing.

The student acquires knowledge and insight concerning the functioning of financial institutions and their environment, in general, and in the area of the main variables of the management of financial institutions, in particular, within an international legislative context. The student is able to judge in an uncertain context: able to cope with uncertainties that are specific to the banking environment or able to elaborate accurate forecasts of the main bank variables.
The student can deal with complex problems: he is able to analyze a (risk) situation and contribute to a strategic solution for the organization. The student has knowledge of risks, can map these various risks that financial institutions and companies face, and has insight into some basic risk management techniques. The student acts ethically and morally responsible with respect for the applicable legislation and guidelines.

This English course provides students with training in speaking, listening, reading and writing skills, all focused on their ongoing or upcoming academic experience. The lecturer will take the diversity of academic areas of the participants into account, addressing a range of topics and choosing subjects that are relevant to the attending students wherever possible.

The course aims at the B2 proficiency level. We strongly recommended it to all exchange students who have not fully achieved the B2-level in English at the moment of application for their mobility project. For the more proficient students, the course offers an interesting immersion experience.

Classes take place in the evening.

In this spring semester Global Business Management II, international students coming from a partner institution in the USA can choose for an internship in a company with a duration of 8 weeks. Contact the international coordinator Business Management personally when submitting your application to determine the most suitable internship provider.

For the remaining 18 ECTS, you follow the modules: CULTURAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC INTRODUCTION TO BELGIUM; AI FUNDAMENTALS, INTERNATIONAL MARKETING; ENTREPRENEURSHIP: BUSINESS GAME and PROJECT CONSUMER AWARENESS. If you already participated in GLOBAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT I then INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH is an alternative for the module CULTURAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC INTRODUCTION TO BELGIUM.

For more info, please contact International Coordinator Business Management Lieven Theys lieven.theys [at] howest.be (lieven[dot]theys[at]howest[dot]be)

Remaining 18 ECTS:

You follow the modules: CULTURAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC INTRODUCTION TO BELGIUM; AI FUNDAMENTALS, INTERNATIONAL MARKETING; ENTREPRENEURSHIP: BUSINESS GAME and PROJECT CONSUMER AWARENESS.

If you already participated in GLOBAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT I then INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH is an alternative for the module CULTURAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC INTRODUCTION TO BELGIUM.