International Business

Course Lecturer Name(s): Dr. Reccia Charles  

Course Director Name:   Dr. Reccia Charles  

Course Lecturer(s) Contact Information:  Phone: 444.4175 ext 3260, Fax: 473.444.1655, Email: rcharles1@sgu.edu  

Course Director Contact Information:  Phone: 444.4175 ext 3260, Fax: 473.444.1655, Email: rcharles1@sgu.edu   

Course Lecturer(s) Office Hours:  By appointment via Zoom   

Course Director Office Hours:  M/W/F:11a-12:30 & 3p-4:30p, T/Th: 4p-5p  

Course Lecturer(s) Office Location: Windward Hall 2nd Floor  

Course Director Office Location: Windward Hall 2nd Floor

Course Support:   Mahalia Charles mcharl11@sgu.edu X3863  

Course Management tool: To learn to use Sakai, the Course management tool, access the link https://apps.sgu.edu/members.nsf/mycoursesintro.pdf  

Online Classroom: http://mycourses.sgu.edu  

Course Description:   

An introduction to globalization and the cultural, economic, political, and legal environments of international business, including an overview of risks, challenges, and opportunities of developing country firms competing in the global marketplace.  This course outlines fundamental differences among developed and developing countries, starting briefly with broad historical differences and moving on to specific issues such as the protection of property rights, corruption and the effects of political institutions on business. The focus is on the emerging markets the BRICs and the Caribbean; with special attention paid to identifying the business opportunities associated with base of the pyramid markets; and developing the strategies and business models required to productively explore those opportunities.  

Course Objectives:   

1. To convey an appreciation for the growing importance of the global economy.  
2. To illustrate the numerous differences between the international and domestic aspects of the various functional areas of management.  
3. To familiarize students with terminology of International business, the major international organizations, and the main multinational companies the most important supra-national entities, and the economic geography of global business.  
4. To sensitize students to the importance of cross-cultural differences.  
5. To reach a high level of familiarity with current issues in international economics and politics.  

Student Learning Outcomes:  

1. Discuss the impact of globalization on countries, businesses and their citizens.  
2. Explain the role of international organizations/agreements that affect business organizations including regional agreements, the World Bank, the World Trade Organization, and the International Monetary Fund.  
3. Analyze the political, legal, economic, and /cultural environment of multinational organizations in order to develop competitive strategies in a global environment.  
4. Evaluate the impact of internationalization on company strategies and on the mode of entry chosen by a multinational organization.  
5. Apply your knowledge of cultural values to evaluate the implementation of alternative management techniques in different cultures.  

Program Outcomes Met By This Course:  

• Demonstrate effective written and oral communication skills. (ISLO 3)
• Critically think, motivate and collaborate to solve business problems. (ISLO 4) 
• Demonstrate an understanding of political, management, economic, legal and financial issues as they affect international business decisions. (ISLO 8)
• Demonstrate an awareness of cross cultural differences and analyze its significance for the development and implementation of alternative management techniques applicable to varying cultures. (ISLO 10)       

SAS Grading Scale: Grades will be assigned as follows:  

A  = 89.5% or better

B+ = 84.5 - 89.4%

B  = 79.5 - 84.4%

C+ = 74.5 - 79.4%

C = 69.5 - 74.4%

D = 64.5 - 69.4%

F = 64.4% or less 

Course Materials:  

COURSE TEXTBOOKS LOCATED AT https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/sgugd which completes the first stage of the process. You are now free to use over 6,000 books under the Education Compete library. Additionally, you can logon via Founders Library and look for Proquest Ebook Central to locate your texts.  

Required Texts:  

• The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid: Eradicating Poverty Through Profits by CK Prahalad (Author) BOP  
• The Lexus and the Olive Tree: Understanding Globalization  by Thomas L. Friedman (Author) Lexus  
• International Business: The New Realities 5^th Ed or 4^thEd by Tamer Cavusgil  (Author), Gary Knight (Author), John Riesenberger (Author) CKR   
• International Business Readings supplied via Sakai Modules 

Supplementary Readings/Resources: 

Recommended:  

The Economist   

Availability: Founders Library   

The World Is Flat 

Author: Thomas Friedman  

Availability: Founders Library

In addition to the main text, the lecturer will distribute reading materials to generate discussion. Students are expected to read links, websites and case studies added at the end of each chapter which support the principles and ideas presented in the chapters.   

Documentaries: 

Gung Ho (available on YouTube) (Stars: Michael Keaton)	On the Map
Commanding Heights 1 – 3 (Available on Sakai)	Jamaica For sale
Is America #1? (Available on Sakai)	Life + Debt
Black Gold (Available on Sakai)	Blood Diamonds (Available on Sakai)

Course Grading Requirement:  Course Requirements:  

1. This is a seminar course. Students must keep up with the readings in both the text and the reading volume, and be prepared to discuss the material in class on the assigned days.  Read critically, evaluating in light of your own experience and knowledge.  Each of you has much to contribute and I expect you to do so!  Attendance is mandatory.   
2. Group Projects.    

Project A: Caribbean products going global: This team project is designed to provide you with a sound understanding of how companies that engages in international business apply the concepts discussed in class to make real-life business decisions. Your team assumes the role of consultants that will advise the chosen company on some critical issues related to expanding into a new market. Teams will be made up of 3-4 students each.  The final presentations will be due April 25 via the Sakai Dropbox. The Presentation must include the following sections:   

I. Product and Company Selection 

Select a product that at least one members of the team has a specific knowledge about and is currently marketed in his/her home country. Describe the product, the manufacturer, and the international business orientation of the firm.  

II. Market Analysis 

Select a market in which that product is not currently being sold. Preferably you should focus on a European country.  You must select a product/country combination for which a profitable business opportunity likely exists. Elaborate a market analysis in which you examine the competitive, economical and political environment that will impact the future success of your product and company there. Focus on the aspects of these environments that are most relevant to your company and product.   

III. Market Entry Strategy 

After selecting a product and analyzing the target market, evaluate the different market entry strategies available. Assume that the company does not merely want to export its product to the given market, but has plans to develop a more strategic approach to entering this market.   

IV. Location 

As part of your analysis in part III, make sure to suggest one or more particular cities or regions that will play a role in your proposed strategy.  Describe the advantages of the proposed locations in terms of operations and distribution among others.   

The Presentation will be 15 to 20 minutes in length. The written materials (the PowerPoint) should be free of grammatical errors, spelling errors, and typos, and should follow consistently a standard reference format (APA Style); the report should be documented and the bibliography should be comprehensive, from a variety of sources, and with an emphasis placed on recent sources (at least 5 ranging from 2015 onwards).  The course project should integrate the knowledge gained from the assigned readings, lectures, outside research, and the student's own professional expertise as a viable university level approach in addressing the major issues that confronts the international business. Students are required to provide periodic updates to the instructor prior to the Presentation and Submission of the final projects.  

Project B: X-Culture Global Collaboration: International Business Consulting  The students in this course will have an opportunity to gain first-hand experience in international business collaboration and business consulting.  X-Culture is a large-scale international experiential learning project. Each semester, over 4,000 students from 120 universities in 40 countries participate in the project.    

You will be working in an international team of 5-6 people for about eight weeks. Every semester, we select several companies that present their real-life international business challenges. Your team will have to select one of those challenges and suggest your solution. The detailed list of tasks to be completed for each challenge is provided in the Challenge Instructions (access code 20202b).   

For more on the project, visit www.X-Culture.org.  

To complete the X-Culture Project, please follow the following steps:   

1. Review project materials on this page: http://www.x-culture.org/2020-2b (access code: 20202b)   
2. Around March 1, you will receive an X-Culture Welcome Letter that includes your personal Readiness Test link. You will be asked to complete a test that will check if you've reviewed the materials from #1. The test will take about 30 min to complete and must be complete by March 6.

95% of all students pass the test the first time, another 3% pass on the second try. As long as you carefully review the project materials, you should have no difficulties passing the test. If you fail the test, you will still have to complete the test, but you will have to work individually, not in an international team.  

3. As long as you pass the Readiness Test, on October 6 you will receive the names and contacts of your team members. There will be 5-6 team members from different countries.   

If you fail the test, you will be given another chance. If you fail again, you will have to complete the project individually.   

4. You will then have two months to develop a business proposal for a real-life client organization.    
5. After the project is over, you will receive an X-Culture Global Business certificate.   

Furthermore, members of the best teams will be invited to attend the Academy of International Business Conference (www.x-culture.org/meetings/). The students will meet in person their teammates, present their work, and have a chance to participate the many conference networking and presentation events.   

All students receive X-Culture Global Collaboration Experience Certificates and the members of the best teams receive Best Team awards ($1,000 per team, contingent upon funding availability).  

The project will involve a series of tasks that you and your team must complete.   

Although you will work in a team, your grade will be largely determined by your INDIVIDUAL performance. X-Culture is an exercise, not a test. This means that your effort and diligence matters more than your knowledge (we have exams to test your knowledge). As long as you complete each task fully and on time, submit your weekly progress updates, and your team members give you high weekly peer evaluations, you will get an excellent grade.  

3. Students will be expected to refresh their knowledge of basic geography in order to be better able to discuss and interpret global developments.  Similarly, students will be expected to keep up with current economic/geo-political events and be prepared to discuss the events in class.   
4. Exam 1, Midterm, Exam 2 and Final exams. The exams are a mix of multiple-choice items.  
5. Online Assignments.  The assignments will be located in the Assignments tab on Sakai.

The assignments are a blend of written research, application & interpretation questions.   

Course Schedule:   

WEEK     Readings: Book Chapters/Sakai Reading Module Location.

1              CKR Chp 1/ CKR Chp 2 / Lexus 1 – 3/Sakai Module 1

2              CKR Chp 3/ /Lexus 4 – 7/Sakai Module 1

3               CKR Chp 4/Sakai Module 1

4               CKR Chp 11/Lexus 8 – 14/Sakai

EXAM 1

5              CKR Chp 12/ Sakai Module 2

6              CKR Chp 13/ CKR Chp 14/Sakai Module 2

Quiz 1 (if class numbers are high)

7              CKR Chp 15/ CKR Chp 16/BOP 1 – 5/Sakai Module 2

8

Midterm Exam

9               CKR Chp 5 / CKR Chp 6/Sakai Module 3

10             CKR Chp 7/ CKR Chp 8/Sakai Module 3

11             Project Reviews

12             CKR Chp 9/ CKR Chp 10/Sakai

EXAM 2

1Modu3 le 4 CKR Chp 17/Sakai Module 4

14            Project Finalization

**

.

Quiz 2 (if class numbers are high                                                                            )

15  Sakai Module 4/

Project Presentations (Project DUE)  **

16

Final Exam