Fall 2017 - 60940 - PA 388L – Advanced Topics in Management

Managing Overseas Operations

In this course, students will examine the unique aspects of managing an organization or operation overseas. What does one need to know, for instance, to manage a UN mission or a Save the Children office in Kenya? Basic principles will apply broadly to public sector, international or non-profit and private sector organizations. 

The focus will be on managing/administering the organization itself, not how the organization achieves its objectives in country. This is an important distinction. Through lectures, class discussions, readings, case studies, simulations and guest speakers, students will develop an understanding of external factors that affect an organization’s internal operations: the host government, the local security situation, the economy and local availability of resources, including human resources, etc. They will also examine internal management functions affected by operating in a foreign location: human resource management, financial and budget operations, administrative services for expatriate staff, etc.