FALL SEMESTER

* Please note that courses are subject to change.

Economic History

The course introduces students to economic aspects of world history and historical developments from Paleolithic times to the present. Special attention is paid, on the one hand, to the most important global developments, events and concepts of a universal character. On the other hand, major stages and concepts regarding the economic history of Polish lands throughout centuries are introduced. The main idea is to show the historical underpinnings of the current state of affairs, i.e. the impact of past events and developments on the present level of development of different countries and continents in the world.

Economic Growth

This course has been designed to provide students with broad insight into some of the main theoretical and empirical components of economic growth. The lectures first deals with some of the earlier thought and perspectives on the subject area, from the classical period, before embarking on more recent schools of thought on growth, measurement and output variations in different countries. These earlier topics serve as a foundation from which we are then able to explore some of the key determinants and constraints of growth. A natural starting point for this is via the analysis and decomposition of GDP per capita into its constituent components, which then allows us to investigate labor productivity and some of the policies currently being suggested to raise its performance across OECD countries. The final component of this course takes a look at more recently suggested measures of well being connected with the human psyche. This course, while drawing on and presenting information based on international materials, also uses a number of examples and cases from Central & East European countries, which continue to represent an interesting laboratory in providing ideas for future research.    

Entrepreneurial Management

Entrepreneurial Management focuses on the development of knowledge, skills, and attitudes that enable entrepreneurs to pursue opportunities in spite of significant resource constraints and uncertainties. Students work in teams to refine basic business concepts and then create strategic plans to support the creation of a new venture. Entrepreneurial Management is particularly relevant for students who plan to launch a new venture within the foreseeable future. The course focuses on start-ups, but is also appropriate for those interested in general management, project management, business development within a large company, and consulting services for the entrepreneurial community.

Export Finance

The aim of this course is to understand the risks that are involved in foreign trade. The students will learn about the different exposures and how foreign exchange rates can influence an internationally active business. Furthermore, they will be introduced to hedging instruments that a company can use to minimize the transaction exposure.

History of International Relations

The course focuses on the history of international relations in the second half of the 19th Century and until World War II. An overview of the main events of international politics will be provided. The stress of the course will be placed on the “Europeanization” of world politics during this age. Course reading, papers and lectures will stress the rising interdependence international relations; the forces behind changes in individual states’ power and influence over time, the causes of war and peace; and the rise of ideology leading two the devastating Second World War. Beside traditional aspects like political events and diplomacy, the role of economics and technological development will also be taken into account. Furthermore, an important aspect of the course will be the discussion of the historic background to current events of world politics.

International Communication in Business and Management

This course provides a systematic examination of structural, behavioral and cultural aspects of business management across nations based on the exploration of the relationship between international business, success, and the culture and institutions of individual countries.

International Organizations

The course International Organizations is devoted to the issue of the contemporary world and the role of the IOs in it. There are both theoretical and practical issues such as: definitions, classification of IOs, structures, functions, decision-making processes and relations between IGOs and INGOs. The course aims to: 1) to familiarize students with international organizations, their structures and role in the world, 2) to show differences between IOs; structures, varieties of procedures, decision-making processes, 3) To understand relations between IOs and between states and IOs, and 4) to understand the complexity of the modern world and how contemporary problems may be resolved with IOs.

International Political Relations

Has the world since the end of the Cold War become more peaceful or not? Is it for its inhabitants a better place to live? Is the present world moving towards a “Clash of Civilizations” or to the “End of History”? These basic questions, which are relevant for you as students, citizens or future business people, will be discussed in this course. The driving forces of international politics today will be explored; these are classical political issues like diplomacy, security, war and peace, but also other aspects which are essential for the understanding of global politics, like economics, religion and human rights. The key questions of the course are: Who are the most important actors? What is the actors’ motivation? Where to do the trends in international politics lead? The course will be divided into a lecture and an exercise part. During the lectures students will become acquainted with the most important concepts and issues of International Relations. In the exercises specific events will be discussed and analyzed in detail.

Managerial Economics

Managerial economics is a branch of economics focused on decision-making. By integrating economic theory with a set of mathematical and statistical methods of solving managerial problems, it bridges the gap between economics and business practice. The students will enhance their ability to: 1) identify formal structures of specific types of managerial problems, 2) build, estimate and test statistical models of economic phenomena, and 3) analyze, forecast and optimize business situations using methods of econometrics and operations research.

Polish Economic Convergence

Post-reform Polish growth and industrial development has been achieved through increased labor productivity and driven by rising levels of demand and investment from both domestic and foreign sources. Consumer and producer goods have demonstrably met international standards and remain competitive in terms of price. The role and productive capacity of the Polish economy in the international marketplace is central to domestic price determination and output per head. This information allows us to estimate the period of time required for the economy to converge to income levels achieved in developed economies. This course questions the actual extent of the country’s economic convergence to date, introducing first the reforms, sources of growth and the present day performance of the labor market, before dealing with the measurement and analysis of industrial performance through the interaction of trade and investment. This course is for students of economics/business and contains theory and empiricism.