What is international business?
Today, the business world has no boundaries. Since the world is connected digitally, and the control/monitoring day of daily operations is becoming easy, the companies are increasingly going global in pursuit of not only profits but also sustainability. Furthermore, these companies earn foreign currencies for the countries they are headquartered in. International businesses are mainly dominated by multinationals from countries like the USA, UK, Japan, Germany, China, and India.
Following are some of the reasons for the companies to go international:
- The low cost of labor and raw materials in international markets forces a company to relocate its production to these international markets.
- Product Maturity: A product may have reached a maturity stage (end of product life cycle) in its home country, however, it can get a new lease of life in international markets.
- Competition: Intense competition drives a company to look for markets abroad that have little or no competition.
- Some companies relocate to a different geographical region to cater to the high demand generated in that area. This relocation also saves on transportation costs, thus facilitating low production costs in the market.
- After a product recovers its R&D costs, it can be sold in international markets at a price covering its production and overheads only. In such a scenario price of the product will be much lower than the prices in its domestic market but it would have ensured good returns for the company.
- Geographical Diversification: Companies may prefer geographical diversification over product line diversification.
- Capacity utilization: International markets ensure high demand due to a large global customer base, this will ensure capacity utilization of the factories.
Reasons to study international business course:
- Global Exposure: Studying international business courses will help students develop a global business mindset not only across different sectors but also across varied disciplines like finance, marketing, supply chains, cloud computing, cyber security, etc. Furthermore, the students will gain competencies regarding complex economic scenarios across geographies besides insights into the global business climate.
- Immense employment opportunities: Globalization ensures sustainability. With companies going global, there is a growing demand for executives with an international perspective to operate effectively on a world stage.
Possible job profiles could be:
- Business Adviser
- Business Analyst
- Corporate Investment Banker
- Data Scientist
- Human Resources Officer
- Management Consultant
- Marketing Executive
- Procurement Manager
- Product Manager.
Improved Cultural Awareness
Culture refers to different customs, beliefs, norms followed in a community. The ability to successfully navigate these cultural norms can mean the difference between success and failure. The study of the international business course will give students experience not only about different cultures of the world but also the challenges faced by them. They will know how to approach issues from different perspectives. These skills gained by students will be valuable to employers and will enhance their employability.
Competitive edge
Setting up business in other countries is not a cakewalk. It involves meticulous planning, logistics, interaction with central and state governments & their various departments, vendor development, fulfilling varied formalities pre and post-starting of operations, and even out-of-the-box business procedures and strategies. Study of international business course will offer its students competitive edge vis-a-vis general business courses and they will be highly sought-after by such companies. Moreover, these students can also use their knowledge and expertise to take their businesses International.
Travel around the world
Many international business courses offer international internships and work visas to facilitate the global experience. International placements and assignments are a perk for your job.
Problem-Solving Skills
International business involves lots of complexities-from foreign policy & logistics to cultural & ethical issues. The study of the international business course will impart to its students the dexterity to deal with such complexities and approach the concerns with a different perspective to come up with innovative solutions. The curriculum offered by colleges involves lots of case studies that address real-world business scenarios/problems faced by companies at the global level.
International Business is challenging at all levels. But given the uncertainty due to the current pandemic, this degree will give students an advantage over competition such that they will have a successful career.