University of Alberta School of Business
Department of Marketing, Business Economics and Law
Course Syllabus
BUEC 442 – The Global Business Environment Winter 2011
(LEC B1 – TR 14:00-15:20 HC L 2) (LEC B2 – TR 15:30-16:50 BUS 1-6)
Instructor: Runjuan Liu
Office: 3-21C Business Building Phone: (780) 492-0334
Email: [email protected] (please indicate in the subject line “BUEC 442”) Office Hours: Tuesday 11:00-12:00 and Thursday 11:00-12:00 (or by appointment) Prerequisites: BUEC 342 or instructor’s consent
Course Web: this course will use the Ulearn system (https://ulearn.ualberta.ca/webapps/login/).
All registered students should have access to the course page as of the first day of class. Class announcements and materials will be posted on the Ulearn. It is very important to check the Ulearn regularly for updated class information.
Required Readings: custom courseware for BUEC 442 (available in UA bookstore) and lecture notes (posted on the Ulearn).
Course Objectives and Structure:
Nations are more and more economically integrated. This presents business practitioners, consumers, and national policymakers with unprecedented opportunities and challenges. This course aims to provide students with a systematic understanding of the fundamental aspects of the global business environment that influence business decisions and behavior, and thus equip students to exploit the opportunities and cope with the challenges that are associated with globalization. To achieve these objectives, lectures will be used to study the analytical tools and concepts of international business, and case studies will be used to relate these concepts to actual business problems. We will also invite guest speakers to share their experience and insights at several points over the course of the semester. The course will be divided into five sections.
Part 1 - Comparative Advantage and Gains from Trade This section of the course will introduce the analytical frameworks used for understanding the comparative advantage of nations in the global economy. We will also examine the sources of comparative advantage and their implications for the global economy.
Part 2 - Competitive Advantage, Clusters and Global Competition This section of the course will introduce the analytical framework used for understanding the competitive advantage of nations in the global economy. We will also examine “clusters” and their functions in the global competition.
Part 3 - Multinational Firms in A Global Economy This section of the course will focus on the strategic question of how a multinational firm should best take advantage of market opportunities. We will also examine the problems involved in structuring the overall operations of a firm that is engaged in a large number of national markets.
Part 4 - Special Topics This section of the course will cover some hot topics in regards to international business. In this term, we will focus on two specific topics: the 2008- 2009 financial and economic crises and its implications for international business, and the rising of China as a world economic power. We are going to invite guest speakers to share their insights on these topics with us.
Part 5 - Group Presentations The final section of the course will consist of group presentations on their group projects.
Grading and requirements:
Class participation (10 points)
o Class attendance is one integral part of the course. It constitutes half of the participation mark (5 points). The attendance will be checked randomly about four times during the term.
o Class discussion is the other integral part of the course. It constitutes the other half of the participation mark (5 points). Students should come to class prepared to address the “discussion questions” associated with each class meeting. To receive full credit for this portion of the grade, students must consistently demonstrate through participation in class discussions that they have completed the required readings and thought through the issues in advance of the class.
News discussion (10 points)
o At the beginning of each class, about 3 students will report on interesting news of international business published in the newspapers or magazines (e.g. Globe and Mail, National Post, Edmonton Journal, New York Times, Economist) in 2011. Each student will have 5 minutes to present the news. The required sequence is: (1) title of the news, (2) source of the news, (3) summary of the news, (4) why it is interesting, and (5) your comments on the news. You will be evaluated based on the timing and clarity of your presentation and the relevance and insights of your comments.
Following all the news presentations, we will have about 5 minutes open-floor discussion of the news.
o Be sure to email me the title and source of the news one day before your presentation.
2 points will be deducted from the mark of the news presentation if you fail to do so.
o The order of appearance will be in alphabetical order through the term. It is your responsibility to check the list on the Ulearn to confirm your presentation date.
Midterm exam (25 points)
o There will be an in-class exam midway through the semester on Mar 3. The exam has to be taken at the scheduled time. The only exceptions are medical reasons (documented by a letter from a physician) and other exceptional circumstances that need to be documented. A make-up exam will be scheduled for anyone who misses the exam with a valid excuse.
Final case exam (25 points)
o There will be an in-class case exam at the last day of the class on Apr 12. The exam has to be taken at the scheduled time. The only exceptions are medical reasons
(documented by a letter from a physician) and other exceptional circumstances that need to be documented. A make-up exam will be scheduled for anyone who misses the exam with a valid excuse.
Team project (20 points)
o The class will be divided to several teams of 3 or 4 students. Students are responsible for choosing their own group members. The group list with member names and emails has to be emailed to me by Feb 3. The order of presentation will be in alphabetical order. It is your responsibility to check the list on the Ulearn to confirm your date of group presentation.
o Each team will write a project report on one topic I suggested. The list of suggested topics will be posted on the Ulearn. The project will be evaluated based on the rigorous analysis you made and interesting insights you provided in the report.
o A 1-page project proposal has to be emailed to me by Mar 3. The required components are: (1) what is the issue, (2) why it is interesting, (3) how you are going to tackle the issue. The proposal is not going to be marked, but 2 points will be deducted from the mark of the project if your group misses the proposal deadline.
o The project is maximum 20-page (everything included except title page). The general structure of the group project is: (1) executive summary, (2) introduction, (3) your argument, (4) conclusion, (5) references. The hardcopy of the group project has to be handed to my office (3-21C Business Building) by 4 pm on Apr. 18. Along with the hardcopy of the group project, each team is also required to submit a written report on the division of labor within the team with one sentence to conclude if each member contributes sufficiently to the output of the group. Every group member must sign the report of the division of labor.
o General format of the writing materials is Times New Roman, 12 point font, with double space and 1 inch margins.
Team project presentation (10 points)
o Each team will be required to prepare a 30 minutes presentation and prepare to answer questions from the floor during the following 5-10 minutes discussion of your presentation. Be sure to email me your powerpoints one day before your presentation.
2 points will be deducted from the mark of the project presentation if you fail to do so.
o The group presentation will be evaluated based on both the content and delivery of the presentation as well as the feedbacks from the audience. Each member of the group has to participate in the presentation.
The total grade is 100 points. Grade assignment will be based on the overall points achieved in the semester.
The Code of Student Behavior:
The University of Alberta is committed to the highest standards of academic integrity and honesty. Students are expected to be familiar with these standards regarding academic honesty and to uphold the policies of the University in this respect. Students are particularly urged to familiarize themselves with the provisions of the Code of Student Behavior (http://www.uofaweb.ualberta.ca/gfcpolicymanual/content.cfm?ID_page=37633) and avoid any behavior which could potentially result in suspicious of cheating, plagiarism, misrepresentation of facts and/or participation in an offence. Academic dishonesty is a serious offence and can result in suspension or expulsion from the University.
Course Outline
Date Topic Required Readings in the
Coursepack
Assignments Jan 11 Course overview
Part 1 - Comparative Advantage, Gain from Trade and Worries Jan 13 Gravity and
international trade Jan 18 Service outsourcing
Jan 20 Gain from trade Friedman, The World is Flat, Ch 5 Jan 25 Worries I: Nike case HBS case: Hitting the Wall: Nike and
International Labor Practices Jan 27 Worries II: Auto case Ivey Case: Globalization Threatens
Canada’s Auto Industry: Implications for the Economy and Society
Part 2 - Competitive Advantage, Clusters and Global Competition
Feb 1 Competitive advantage Porter, The Competitive Advantage of Nations
Feb 3 Corporate
competitiveness I
HBS case: ZARA: Fast Fashion Group list due Feb 8 Corporate
competitiveness II
HBS case: ZARA: Fast Fashion Feb 10 Clusters and
competition
Porter, Clusters and the New Economics of Competition Feb 15 Doing International
Business
Guest Speaker - Mark Robinson, Partner Deloitte & Touche Feb 17 A Hollywood cluster
Feb 21-25 Reading week Mar 1 The Corridor cluster
Mar 3 Midterm exam Midterm exam
Project proposal due
Part 3 – Multinational Firms in a Global Economy
Mar 8 Global strategy I HBS case: Microsoft in the People’s Republic of China
Mar 10 Global strategy II HBS case: Haier: Taking a Chinese Company Global
Part 4 – Special Topics
Mar 15 The rising of China as global economic power
Guest speaker – Gordon Houlden, Director of China Institute, University of Alberta
Mar 17 2008-2009 Financial Crisis
Guest speaker – Ian Glassford, CFO of Servus Credit Union Mar 22 International business
during the Crisis
Part 5 – Group Presentation Mar 24 Group presentation Mar 29 Group presentation Mar 31 Group presentation Apr 5 Group presentation Apr 7 Group presentation
Apr 12 Final case exam Final case exam
Apr 18 Group project due
Notes: The course outline may be adjusted due to certain circumstances. Any change will be announced in class and Ulearn in advance.
