Award in Cross-border ecommerce

This module introduces students to the concepts of cross-border trading and is particularly relevant to students interested in setting up their own online business focused on winning an international clientele. The module guides students through the international frameworks and structures that impact international commerce. It provides an overview which will enable them to better understand international legislation on eCommerce, the digital single market concept, the requirements for an international strategy, international logistics and distribution, harmonisation of VAT and tax in the EU, and regional and national cultures.

This module will cover the following 6 topics:

1. International legislation and treaties

2. Understanding the Digital Single Market concept

3. Developing an international strategy

4. International logistics and distribution

5. Harmonisation of VAT and Tax in the EU

6. Regional and National Environments and Cultures

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of the module/unit the learner will have acquired the responsibility and autonomy to:

1. Identify the way in which divisions of a company transact with each other, such as the trade of supplies or labour between departments.
2. Analyse the challenges in eCommerce and to understand about the dynamic currency conversion service that allows international customers the option to pay for goods in their own currency when using a Visa or Mastercard at the point of sale, rather than the local currency.
3. Understand broadly about internationalization and how a business designs a product in such a way that it will meet the needs of users in many countries.
4. Analyse the concept of Value Added Tax, consumption tax calculated on the value added to goods and services in European Union.

Learning Hours:

Module will consist of the following learning hours:

Contact hours: 10 hours (pre-recorded lectures – 6 hrs, online tutorials – 3 hrs and online forums – 1 hrs)

Self-study: 11 hours (research on notes – 6 hrs and assessment – 5 hrs)

Assessment: 4 hours (finalisation of assessment) 

Learning Hours per module: 25 hours

Course Delivery: Part-Time

Language of Instruction: English

Teaching Methods:

• Pre-recorded lecture presentations and the respective slides will be made available to students on the e-learning platform
• Discussions will be carried out via Video Conferencing and will be recorded for other students in the course to view.
• Contact hours will also include contributions in Forum discussions where the tutor will assess the students’ posts and provide his/her own feedback.
• Participating students will be presented with:
  Video presentation – 6 hours of audio-visual recording/module. This will include a presenter interviewing an expert in the field of the respective module that is being covered.
  Each hour will be split into 4 – 15minutes segments to allow for better access and download.
  Reading Material – additional reading materials for students to read and can better understand the topic
  FAQs – to assist students with basic questions that are normally asked on the topics
  Glossary – to assist students in having the correct information on key subject terms
  2 Online tutorial sessions per module
  2 online Forum discussions per module
  1 short Assignment per module

Assessment Methods:

Tutorial participation 20%
Forum discussions 30%
Assignments 50%