Global Business in Practice (edX)

Global Business in Practice helps you understand the impact globalization has on global trade and how companies need to react. Business schools are very good at compiling theories; we add value by combining those theories with the practical realities faced by top executives and exploring the management of global business from their perspectives. Leading industry experts will be featured throughout the course, including:

• Joseph P. Baratta, Global Head of Private Equity at Blackstone;
• Maximo J. Blandon, Managing Director at Stephens Inc.;
• Mark G. Del Rosso, Executive Vice President & COO of Audi of America;
• Thomas J. DeRosa, CEO and Director of Welltower;
• Fabrizio Freda, President & CEO of The Estée Lauder Companies;
• Franck J. Moison, Vice Chairman at Colgate-Palmolive;
• Roxana Pierce, Of Counsel at Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd LLP;
• Monica Vidal, Partner at MVS Global Consulting Services;
• Stephanie von Friedeburg, CIO and VP for Information and Technology Solutions at the World Bank Group.

You will understand the horizontal nature of practical problem solving rather than the vertical work and learning that traditionally happens in functional silos.
Our goal is that, through this course, you will come to explicitly understand that globalization affects every country regardless of its economic, political or social situation. In this context, as countries endeavor to adapt their policies to new demands, companies deploy strategies to attain an increasingly globally integrated production system. The globalized world forces us to seek and develop appropriate ways to undergo this process. Today, discussions about the advantages and disadvantages of globalization are insignificant and unimportant in the face of the great need to determine the essential conditions for countries, companies and individuals to really benefit from it.
A fundamental knowledge of core business disciplines is clearly a “must” for aspiring global leaders, but the complexity of the global world requires us to push the envelope and extend the limits of what is possible. Join us as we explore the future of global business leadership.

What you'll learn:
You will come away from this course with the foundational knowledge of what it takes to be a “Global Ready Leader” and will be able to use key findings about the workings of globalization to make more informed decisions in a business context:

• You will be able to understand the practical complexities of what globalization is and how it affects the business environment regardless of its economic, political or social situation.
• You will be able to articulate how global challenges are becoming increasingly complex by gaining insights from executives at different multinational corporations.
• You will be able to conceptualize the differences in global business orientations and apply them in specific situations (i.e., multinational, global, glocal) using academic frameworks.
• You will be able to explain how regulations and geopolitical forces shape global business environments and create both tensions and opportunities in the context of global business.
• You will be able to articulate how the global environment is changing and forcing companies to develop sustainability practices based on creating economic value by creating societal value.
• You will appreciate how global supply chains are the response to the increasing integration of international markets as firms try to remain competitive.