Tentative Schedule

MNGT 445.501 INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

Summer III 2009 ( 2:00-4:45) TWR OC2025 - Dr. Abbas Foroughi

Office: OC3018 Office Phone: 812-465-1667 Fax: 812- 465-1044
T(1:15-2:00 pm),  WR(12:00-2:00 pm),  or by appointment
E-MAIL: aforough@usi.edu  --   Homepage: http://business.usi.edu/aforough

(Note: When you send me an email message, always begin the “Subject” of your message with “MNGT445.501”)

TENTATIVE SYLLABUS (Schedule is subject to change)- http://business.usi.edu/aforough/abbsyll.htm

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course focuses on issues related to International Business. Students will discuss globalization, its drivers and pros and cons, and describe the types of opportunities and challenges globalization is creating for business managers. Students will also explore how political, economic, and legal systems differ and the factors that determine a nation’s level of economic development. Students will evaluate ethical issues faced by international businesses and theories that explain trade flows between nations. Students will also have the opportunity to examine the global monetary system and theories and current trends regarding foreign direct investment, and to analyze issues related to regional economic agreements. Students will evaluate decisions faced by firms as they enter foreign markets--promises and risks associated with exporting, information sources and government programs that exist to help exporters, counter trade, production and logistics decisions, and staffing policies in an international business firm.

REQUIRED MATERIALS:

1)  Text: Global Business Today, 6th ed., Charles W. L Hill, McGraw-Hill, Irwin, 2009

2)  Calculator.

Additional readings will be sent to students as attachments, and online web links will be assigned during the semester. Students will use a variety of information resources including, but not limited to, books, journals, newspapers and magazine articles, Net News and other Internet resources. Materials in the Rice Library are available for reference

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

1.       Discuss various issues related to international business and  globalization, its drivers and pros and cons, and describe the types of opportunities and challenges globalization is creating for business managers.

2.     Explain how political, economic, and legal systems differ and the factors that determine a nation’s level of economic development.

3.     Describe the macro-political and economic changes taking place worldwide and the way transition economies are moving toward market-based systems.

4.     Articulate the implications for management practice of national differences in social culture and political economy.

5.   Identify ethical issues faced by international businesses, philosophical approaches and ethics, and how managers can incorporate ethical considerations into their decision making.

6.     Narrate why nations trade with each other and the different theories that explain trade flows between nations.

7.     Summarize the ideas that unrestricted free trade will raise the economic welfare of countries that participate in a free trade system and that government can play a proactive role in promoting national competitive advantage in certain industries.

8.     Discuss the implications of international trade theory on business practice.

9.     Summarize the policy instruments used by governments to influence international trade flows.

10. Present the arguments against strategic trade policy and the implications for managers of developments in the world trading system.

11.  Discuss the current trends regarding foreign direct investment and the various FDI theories.

12. Describe how political ideology shapes a government’s attitudes toward FDI, the costs and benefits of FDI, and the range of policy instruments governments use to influence FDI.

13.  Explain the different levels of regional economic integration and the economic and political arguments for and against regional economic integration.

14.  Analyze the history, scope, and future prospects of the world’s most important regional economic agreements.

15.  Detail how the foreign exchange market functions and the role that forward exchange rates play in insuring against foreign exchange risk.

16.  Compare the different theories that explain how currency exchange rates are determined and their relative merits.

17.  Contrast the merits of different approaches toward exchange rate forecasting..

18.  Explain how managers can handle translation, transaction, and economic exposure.

19.  Trace the historical development of the modern global monetary systems and the roles of the World Bank and the IMF in the international monetary system.

20.  Describe the exchange rate regimes used in the world today and why countries adopt different exchange rate regimes.

21. Analyze the debate surrounding the role of the IMF in the management of financial crises and discuss the implications of the global monetary system for currency management and business strategy.

22.  Explain the concept of strategy, the various strategies for competing globally and their pros and cons, and how pressures for cost reductions and local responsiveness influence strategic choice.

23.  Define the three basic decisions firms contemplating foreign expansion must make.

24.  Compare and contrast the advantages of the different modes that firms use to enter foreign markets and identify the factors that influence a firms’ choice of entry mode.

25. Hypothesize the promises and risks associated with exporting and identify the information sources and government programs that exist to help exporters.

26. Discuss the various types of counter trade and articulate how they can be sued to facilitate exporting.

27.  Assess why production and logistics decisions are of central importance to many multinational businesses.

28. Evaluate how country differences, production technology, and product features affect the choice of where to locate production activities.

29. Weigh factors that influence a firm’s decision of whether to source supplies from within the company or from foreign suppliers and what is required to efficiently coordinate a globally dispersed production system.

30. Speculate on why a firm might vary product attributes, distribution strategy, advertising and promotional strategies, and pricing strategy from country to country.

31.  Critique the different approaches to staffing policy in an international business, why managers may fail to thrive in foreign postings, and how management development and training can increase the value of human capital in an international business firm.

TEACHING METHODS

1. Lectures
2. Student participation in discussions
3. Student case analyses and article presentations
4. Real life examples, Internet, web sites, and video presentations

PERFORMANCE EVALUATION:

I.   EXAMS   

There will be 4 exams (including the final).  Exams 1,2,3 will each be worth 100 points. The final exam will be worth 100 points. Exams may consist of a combination of multiple choice, true/false, short answer, and essay questions. The class schedule lists exam dates; however, exam dates are relative to progress through the chapters and are subject to change, when needed, by 1 or 2 class period dates. Students are responsible for staying informed about classroom activity and exact exam dates.

2.   QUIZZES (50 Points)

Quizzes, announced and unannounced, will be given. Videos will be viewed in class and students will be required to answer questions about them. Exercises, both in-class and out of class, will be assigned, as needed.

3. RESEARCH TASK EXERCISES (60 Points)

Students will complete six Research Task exercise assignments  (located at the end of each chapter) which involve research using the following link http://globaledge.msu.edu. Each assignment will include answering the Research Questions for the chapters assigned, handing them in to the instructor on the due dates listed on the syllabus, and being prepared to discuss the exercises at the beginning of the class on the date they are due. Research Task exercises must be completed for the following chapters : 1, 4, 7, 9, 12 &, 14

4.   ARTICLE/CASE/INTERNETWEB SITE PRESENTATION (30 Points)

Each student will locate and present to the class one current article/case/Internet web site which describes practical applications of the topics discussed in the text for presentation to the class. Articles should pertain to the material in the chapter being studied at the time. Students should inform the professor at the beginning of the course, so that he can assign topics and dates for each student's presentation and students can plan ahead to find appropriate articles. Students should hand in a photocopy of the article and a short outline of the important points brought out in the article. In preparing presentations, students should go beyond merely summarizing the main points, concentrating on what makes this article relevant to the topic we are studying and the issues or problems it raises.

Article presentation grades will be determined using the following standards

C (75%) - Student read the article and presented it.

B (85%) - Good choice of article, but comments are primarily of a summary nature

A (95%) - Good choice of article, good thought-provoking, critical analysis

Note: While content will be a major consideration for grading the presentation, grammar and organization of thoughts will also be taken into consideration.

5.    GROUP PROJECT - I  (70 points)

The textbook includes a case study at the end of each chapter. Teams will be formed early in the course based upon student preferences for the case they wish to present. These teams will work together on a case analysis.  Please follow the instructions in preparing your case analysis:

    a.   Case Write-up (50 of the 70 points)

Your written case write-up should include:

1.       An overview of the company/issue raised in the case.

2.       Answers to the questions at the end of the case.

3.       An update on the company/issue and on similar industries, based on an Internet search.

You should include copies of all tables, diagrams, etc. used. The cover sheet should include team member names. Provide a copy of the entire text to the instructor.

    b. Oral Case Presentation (20 of the 70 Points)

The presentation should be your group’s professional best, last no more than 15 minutes, and each team member should have a part. An overhead projector is always available, and other audiovisual equipment can be provided upon request.

  
6.    GROUP PROJECT-  II(100 points)

This is a group project. Students select a manufactured product and recommend whether the company should create or acquire a new firm in the country of choice. Using a real product and a real firm makes it easier to get verifiable information. Students consider legal, political, cultural, social and economic variables. They must also examine corporate strategy and marketing options. An interim report requiring wide-ranging data collection is submitted in the middle of the course. Students use this as a basis for analysis; the instructor uses this to ensure the students are on track. Students present their recommendations in a written report and a class presentation. Peer evaluation is an essential part of the grade since the written report and much of the class presentation are group grades.

Students may find “Business Around the World” on the McGraw Hill website an effective research tool.

A.    Cover page should include title of the research project, your name, and “Submitted to Dr. Abbey Foroughi, in partial completion of the requirements for MNGT 445, Summer III, 2009”

B.    Body of the paper

1. Introduction: Provide a broad overview of the paper that introduces the topic, including  historical background on the subject, the methodology employed (state how you got your information—through an Internet search, article search, survey, etc.).

        2. Use of References: All references to anyone else's work must be acknowledged and cited, with the author’s name and the publication date in parentheses. Example:  (Turner, 2006). If you use a direct quote, in which you want to include, in quotations marks, the exact words included in an article, you must include the page number from which the direct quote was taken. Example: (Turner, 2006, 125-126).

Failure to state references for information you use from a particular source is plagiarism.

C.      References should be listed at the end of the paper, arranged in the alphabetical order of the last name of the author in the following format.  Example: see the following link. http://business.usi.edu/aforough/example.pdf

7.       CLASS PARTICIPATION (30 points )

Students are expected to participate in class, which means coming to class prepared to answer questions about the chapter material,especially that contained in the review questions at the end of each chapter. Students may be required to take short quizzes and to participate in group activities in class. Students should be prepared to participate in case discussions and article presentations and discussions.

In short:

Student grades will be based on a maximum of a possible 750 points which can be earned during the semester, 400 points from exams and 200/230 points from projects and class participation.

Tentative Schedule

MNGT 445.501 INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

Summer III 2009 ( 2:00-4:45) TWR OC2025 - Dr. Abbas Foroughi

Office: OC3018 Office Phone: 812-465-1667 Fax: 812- 465-1044
T(1:15-2:00 pm),  WR(12:00-2:00 pm),  or by appointment
E-MAIL: aforough@usi.edu     Homepage: http://business.usi.edu/aforough

(Note: When you send me an email message, always begin the “Subject” of your message with “MNGT445.501”)

Above schedule is subject to change. Students are expected to read all materials in advance of the lecture and be prepared to discuss and answer/ask questions. Students should plan on reading 1 chapter ahead.