COURSE OVERVIEW

The forces of globalization have increased the permeability of traditional boundaries around countries, economies and industries. These forces include the expansion of international trade and investment, the growth of multinational corporations (MNCs), the ability of information and communication technology to span time and distance, and the shift of the world’s economic center of gravity from the West to Asia. Because of globalization, the environment of business is now more complex, more dynamic, more uncertain, and more competitive than ever before.

This course examines the opportunities and challenges that firms face when conducting business across national borders. Its main objective is to develop an understanding about the complex dynamics at play that shape the changing global business environment within which nations and firms compete. Special attention will be given to exploring the positive and negative impacts of various country-context factors on firms’ international business operations, with emphasis on foreign direct investment and its effective management. Specifically, this course aims to:

• Develop in students a working knowledge of the global business environment including its economic, cultural, political-legal, and government intervention
• Provide students with conceptual frameworks for analyzing business opportunities globally and across countries in different stages of economic
• Analyze the challenges that businesses face when entering foreign markets and competing against local firms and other international
• Develop in students the ability to think strategically about leveraging various country differences to create worldwide competitive

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Throughout the course, we will make use of a variety of teaching methods and materials, including lectures, assigned readings, research reports, videos, case discussions, and student teams’ presentations. Learning will be evidence – not opinion – based and emphasize integrating theory and practice through a disciplined application of course materials to analyze problems.

We will also welcome your personal experiences and observations as input for class discussion. At the successful completion of the course, students should be able to:

• Articulate key aspects of the global business environment and the multinational
• Compare and contrast the international context with their home business
• Analyze the opportunities and challenges of doing business in and with firms in a foreign country within a fast-changing global
• Understand the management problems facing businesses during international
• Appreciate the influence of culture and other non-economic forces (e.g., legal and political factors) on doing business in the global

Cheng: “More than a Regional Agreement …”

Bartlett & Ghoshal: “Tap Your Subsidiaries for Global Reach” Bartlett & George: “Acer, Inc.: Taiwan’s Rampaging Dragon”

Cheng & Cooper: “A Strategic Context Approach to International HR …”

The course requirements include (1) nine weekly individual on-line quizzes, (2) nine individual

Three main criteria will be used in evaluating your performance on course assignments:

• Your knowledge and understanding of the materials covered in class and the assigned readings.
• Your synthesis of these
• Your ability to apply the materials to analyze and solve

Each criterion is equally important. It is not possible to use information unless it has been acquired and understood. This means that you need to study the assigned readings and attend class. It is not likely that synthesis can be achieved with memorization, since the ability to perceive relationships depends on understanding. Finally, if we are to enhance your managerial effectiveness it will be necessary to focus on how the information can be applied to solve real- life problems.

Company International Expansion Project Report

prepare a consultancy report for a real or hypothetical client company from any home country to expand its operations into a foreign country. The report consists of three main sections. Section I is an assessment of the country’s attractiveness for foreign direct investment (FDI) by your client firm through examining the business opportunities and challenges presented by each of the three country context dimensions listed in the syllabus below (see topics for the period January 30 to February 13). Section II is a similar assessment of the country’s attractiveness for FDI but with a focus on three policy interventions from the country’s national government (see topics for the period February 27 to March 20). While market potential for selling products or services in the country is an important consideration for FDI attractiveness, other options such as opportunities for conducting manufacturing, R&D, global marketing, capital financing, logistics and distribution, etc. should also be examined.

Building on these two country assessments of attractiveness for FDI, Section III of the report details a recommended plan of actions for the client firm to enter into and establish a subsidiary operation in the country examined. The action plan will specify the nature of the proposed subsidiary operation which could be a single or combination of two or more value-chain activities (sales, manufacturing, logistics, R&D, etc.). It will then discuss how this proposed operation can best be implemented via a set of three recommended actions including: Entry mode/strategy (e.g., licensing, joint venture, wholly-own subsidiary), subsidiary role/mandate, and human resource plan.

The full report is expected to be about 20 pages long (double spaced with 12-point font and one- inch margins), not counting the cover sheet, executive summary, references, tables and appendices. The report will include the following sections and their component parts (each about 1-2 pages long):

Introduction

• A brief description of the client firm, its industry base, and the foreign country

Section I

• Economic analysis of the country’s attractiveness for FDI by your client
• Cultural analysis of the country’s attractiveness for FDI by your client
• Political-legal analysis of the country’s attractiveness for FDI by your client

Section II

• Trade policy analysis of the country’s attractiveness for FDI by your client
• Currency policy analysis of the country’s attractiveness for FDI by your client
• Regional integration analysis of the country’s attractiveness for FDI by your client

Section III

• Recommended subsidiary operation (e.g., manufacturing) and rationale for your client firm.
• Recommended entry mode/strategy (e.g., joint venture) and rationale for your client
• Recommended subsidiary role/mandate (e.g., implementer) and rationale for your client firm.
• Recommended subsidiary staffing/HR plan and rationale for your client

The report will be evaluated using the following criteria:

·         The analysis incorporates original research findings produced by the team.

• The analysis incorporates relevant concepts/frameworks/research findings from course materials (lectures, assigned readings, cases, ).
• Each section answers the question directly and
• The analysis is logical and well
• The report is well organized, well written, and professionally

Week/Date     Topic, Activity, and Reading Assignment

1/Jan 16           Introduction to course

Globalization and international business

The changing landscape of global economic competition

Video discussion: “Boeing vs. Airbus”

Readings:

Chapter 1: Globalization

Ghemawat: “Distance Still Matters” (on Blackboard)

2/Jan 23           Internationalization of business

Foreign direct investment and the MNC Global trends, opportunities, and challenges

Case memo and discussion: “Who Makes the Apple iPhone?” (pp: 33-34)

Readings:

Chapter 15: Market Entry strategy Chapter 8: Foreign direct investment

3/Jan 30           *Complete quiz 1 the night before class Economic context of international business Location and country advantages International trade and economic development

Case memo and discussion: “Indonesia: The Next Asian Giant?” (pp: 156-157)

Readings:

Chapter 2: National differences in political economy (pp: 43-45 only) Chapter 6: International trade theory

4/Feb 6            *Complete quiz 2 the night before class Cultural context of international business Cultural differences as threats or opportunities Ethical issues in international business

Video discussion: “Doing Business in China”

Readings:

Chapter 4: Differences in culture

Chapter 5: Ethics in international business

5/Feb 13          *Complete quiz 3 the night before class

Legal and political context of international business Political economy and country development

Nation-states in transition

Case memo and discussion: “Siemens Bribery Scandal” (pp: 150)

Readings:

Chapter 2: National differences in political economy (not including pages 43-45) Chapter 3: Political economy and economic development

6/Feb 20          First Interim International Expansion Report Presentations

7/Feb 27          *Complete quiz 4 the night before class Government intervention and trade policy Protectionism and world trading systems Regulations in cross-borders transactions

Case memo and discussion: “The Global Financial Crisis …” (pp: 289)

Readings:

Chapter 7: The political economy of international trade Chapter 16: Exporting, importing, and countertrade

8/March 6        *Complete quiz 5 the night before class Government intervention and currency policy Globalization of the financial markets International monetary and exchange rate systems

Case memo and discussion: “South Korean Currency Crisis” (pp: 373-374)

Readings:

Chapter 10: The foreign exchange market Chapter 11: The international monetary system

9/March 13      ** Spring Break **

10/March 20    *Complete quiz 6 the night before class

Regional integration and free trade agreements (FTAs) Trade blocs, economic clusters, and international business Collaborative ventures and strategic alliances

Case memo and discussion: “NAFTA and Mexican Trucking” (pp: 290-291)

Readings:

Chapter 9: Regional economic integration

Cheng: “More than a Regional Agreement …” (on Blackboard)

11/March 27 Second Interim International Expansion Report Presentations

12/April 3        *Complete quiz 7 the night before class MNC strategy and organization

Competitive capability and asset configuration Headquarters role and subsidiary relations

Case memo and discussion: “The Globalization of Starbucks” (pp: 484-485)

Readings:

Chapter 13: The strategy of international business Chapter 14: The organization of international business

13/April 10      *Complete quiz 8 the night before class Subsidiary role and capability development Global supply chain and competitive advantage Worldwide learning and innovation

Case memo and discussion: “Acer, Inc…” (on Blackboard)

Readings:

Chapter 17: Global production, outsourcing, and logistics

Bartlett & Ghoshal: “Tap Your Subsidiaries for Global Reach” (on Blackboard)

14/April 17      *Complete quiz 9 the night before class

Subsidiary staffing and human resource management Managerial roles and responsibilities

Developing transnational managers

Case memo and discussion: “Staffing Policy at AstraZeneca” (pp: 622-623)

Readings:

Chapter 19: Global human resource management

Cheng & Cooper: “A Strategic Context Approach to …” (on Blackboard)

15/April 24     Third Interim International Expansion Report Presentations