AMBA 606

 

Syllabus
	Read Me First -- Seminar Description and Objectives  ||  Seminar Overview and Requirements || Seminar Communications
	Seminar Grading Criteria		Materials to Purchase		Weekly Assignments

 

Read Me First

Seminar Description


This seminar is global in scope, focusing on various types of business organizations and environments that shape organizational decisions. Approached from an opportunities and risk perspective, the course is based in social, environmental and fiscal business sustainability against which regulatory structures, legal systems, governance models, and policy making defines the internal and external functions of business where local, state, national, and international affairs come together. Major theoretical approaches and issues guiding the seminar include critical thinking, international ethics, social responsibility, and the impact of politics, economics and technology. The course functions as a term-long team project comprised of team, subgroup, individual, and conference activities enhanced by web and media-based resources and some teleconferences. In this seminar a significant shift is required in conceptual development from local and national focus, to international focus and global thinking, and from individual performance to effective teamwork.

Seminar Objectives
Upon successful completion of this seminar, the participant should be able to:


1. Construct a global approach to the practice of business management, including financial performance measures.

2. Advocate the selection of a country into which an enterprise could expand its business operations.

3. Assess the important business opportunities and risks associated with establishing business operations in selected countries.

4. Assess the impact tariff and nontariff barriers, product/service standards, intellectual property enforcement, and the regulation of anti-competitive practices of selected countries have on the local business operations of a multinational enterprise (MNE) or a small and medium-size enterprise (SME).

5. Assess the impact of social infrastructure, government structures and regulatory practices, business and work force culture, contract enforcement mechanisms, and corporate governance structure of selected countries on the local business operations of a MNE.

6. Assess the impact of international technology standards, national monetary and fiscal policies, economic infrastructure, and financial markets on the local business operations of a MNE.

7. Apply personal and professional values in the context of ethical global business practices.

Seminar Overview

Expect new approaches in AMBA 606. It is a new course.  It is your second to last course in a graduate program; accordingly, it is demanding and difficult.  It is intended to  help prepare you better for work  that involves complex type of interactions requiring you to analyze information, grapple with ambiguity and solve problems that are designed to be reflective of real-life situations.  Do not expect the assignment questions to have "cut and dried, easy-to-find solutions."  Expect to encounter some "rough and tumble" situations!Be prepared to work intensely from the first week onwards as each lesson and each assignment builds, one on the other, across the entire term, culminating in a term-long case study in Week 13. Be prepared to undertake effective and meaningful self-assessment of your individual and team work.


The primary goal of this seminar is to help you develop a global mindset and attain the basic, demanding, skills needed to start, contribute to, and/or manage projects with international scope within a global operation and global context.  The course will help you to increase your knowledge of and comfort with the types of risks and opportunities companies face in environments external to their countries of origin as operations are expanded internationally. You are encouraged to recognize that other types of organizations such as nongovernment and government agencies are playing an increasing role in the global business era. Although many of you are likely to focus on the MNE, the concepts and frameworks also apply to SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises),  public agencies, nonprofit organizations and nongovernment organizations (NGOs).  You are welcome to select from amongst any of these organization types in your team case study and you must provide your reasons for the selection you make.


Specific emphasis is placed on the impact that political and economic policies of organizations such as the G-8 Countries http://www.g8.gc.ca/, the European Union http://www.hg.org/eu-govt.html, and emerging entities have on international business transactions.Some of the major areas to be studied include country factors, global trade and investment, the global monetary system, the strategy and structure of international business, and business operations including global human resource management.

The requirements of this class are linked to your ability to integrate your own professional experience as you build on resources and learning skills from your previous courses through individual and team-based approaches to the issues emerging in AMBA 606. 

Each week brings a wealth of study-related material your way. The comprehensive term project which extends from Week 1 to Week 13 -- in the form of a case study to be developed by your team -- is designed to be the culminating team experience in the MBA program. Effective team skills cannot be overemphasized. From the onset of the course you and your fellow team members will be evaluated in how you demonstrate effective team building and teamwork skills.

Seminar Resources and Requirements
Assignment Instructions
-  You can view an introductory video highlighting the key features of AMBA 606 at  http://marconi.umuc.edu/ramgen/GS/amba606/intro-revised.rm.
-  Download the entire syllabus and use it as a checklist to guide assignment preparation and completion. 
-  All the reading and written assignments are contained in the weekly assignments section of this syllabus.
-  You are responsible for your own learning.  If you have questions, please ask your professor.


You are required to begin all your conferences throughout the term by Tuesday.  Then you have the remainder of the week to enrich your conferences, interact with those who participate in your conference, and learn in the conferences of your classmates.  Failure to open your conference by Tuesday results in a late penalty. All assignments are to be completed no later than Sunday, midnight, Eastern Time, of each week unless you have made arrangements in advance with your professor. You are responsible to post your assignments in the correct places; please observe the syllabus guidance provided in the assignment sections regarding the posting of your assignments.

You are responsible for addressing all elements of an assignment.  Should you find that a particular component does not apply, you still need to identify that component and indicate why you feel it does not apply.

The Toolbox
The AMBA 606 Toolbox is a rich multimedia resource site. Developed collaboratively by all course faculty members, and set up by Andrew Creed (Research Assistant) and Jacob Krivoruchko (Faculty Assistant), the Tool Box offers the following course enrichment resources. You are required to integrate material from the Toolbox into your weekly assignments as assigned and/or on a voluntary basis.


• Articles to support weekly assignments and other pertinent related topics.
• Photographs with subheadings illustrating various topics and arranged according to weekly seminar themes.
  
• Web links consisting of useful items encountered by your professors.
• Video grabs.
• Global Minutes, a series of multimedia features by AMBA 606 faculty on course themes.
• Overviews of weekly lessons.
• Papers, notes, and other research by AMBA606 faculty.
• Faculty profiles and contact details.

You will find a well developed matrix in the Toolbox with links to resources based on seminar themes. Please orient yourself to the Toolbox at the beginning of the course so you will know how and where to find items as you need them throughout the term.  Please let us have your feedback about the Toolbox feature.  It will develop and grow based on your valuable responses to it.

Required Readings
The required readings must be well integrated (but not parroted back) in all your assignments.  To complete your assignments you will need to have completed, thought through, and applied the content of the required readings. 

Suggested - Supplemental - Readings
The suggested readings are provided as a possible source of enrichment for your assignments.  Try to use them as much as you can.

Global Minutes and Other Multimedia Material
As you will discover, AMBA 606 faculty members are in the process of developing a variety of multimedia material for your learning pleasure. The Global Minutes are in audio-video format with transcripts available.  To use them you are required to have RealPlayer.  Go to Real.com and download the free player.  Many of the multimedia materials are required.


Webliography
You will find the Webliography in your course menu.  It contains useful references and is where you will post entries related to the components of  your team's 'work, including individual reports.  You are also welcome to post useful articles and other information there for reference by your classmates.  Please remember to circulate an email message when you post something - that way everyone will know you have placed something for their review.


Workbook
From time to time we will ask you to submit material in your workbook.  To start with, please set up the following workbook pages:


• Self Assessments Week 1
• Self Assessment Week 10
• Individual Report Week 4
• Individual Report Week 9
• Individual Report Week 11
• Faculty-Student Interaction 1
• Faculty-Student Interaction 2
• Faculty-Student Interaction 3
• Miscellaneous Interactions

You are welcome to contribute other information in additional workbook entries.  To facilitate learning and communication, your professor may ask you to provide other material in this area from time to time.

Cases
In addition to the case study you will create throughout the term with your team mates, you will find numerous other cases in the Hill text to assist you in understanding global corporations.  Your professor may add other cases from time to time.  


globalEdge and Power Web
These course enrichment resources http://www.mhhe.com/hill accompany the Hill text.  Explore them and use them as much as you can.

Executive Summaries
You will find considerable emphasis is placed on having effective executive summaries throughout your work this term; in individual, conference and team assignments.  Please check the Toolbox for a section on helpful approaches to effective Executive Summaries.

Executive-in-Residence
We are fortunate to have Maurice Hladik (Diplomat, International Trade Expert and Business Person) with us in AMBA 606.  You are welcome to interact with him individually, or to involve him as a consultant for your team case study.

Guest Speaker
From time to time the course may feature other guest teleconference speakers for which you will be notified well in advance.  All teleconference require registration.  Once registered, the courtesy of your attendance is expected.

TEAM CASE STUDY


Team project
The course assignments throughout the term contribute to your term-long case study project. This team effort is guided by a team work plan and is comprised of whole team, sub-group, and individual assignments which are informed by your weekly conference and other activities. The only way to do well in all of these assignments is to ensure that you are working well together as a team from the beginning of the semester onwards through to the completion of the course. 
Note:  Do not confuse individual efforts combined into a single document for teamwork.  Teamwork requires a consolidated effort each week throughout the term.  At term's end your teamwork will produce a case study based on the findings of each assignment throughout the term.

Team Work Plan
You need to work closely together in preparing your team work plan and in updating it as necessary.  It is your principal guidance throughout the term and needs to be taken very seriously.  It should serve as a source to assist you improve continuously, help you determine if you are on track, and be a mechanism for helping you make necessary changes as the term develops.  Make your team work plan work for you.  It should be prepared in consultation with the following guidelines: Preparing a Team Work Plan http://info.umuc.edu/mba/public/MBA-team.html 

Steps to a successful term project

• Teams: In AMBA 606 you may select your own team members. Ideally each team is comprised of 4 or 6 members.  Organize your team as early as possible. In instances where team composition is not determined before the terms begins, your professor and/or the faculty assistant will assign members to a team.
  
• Try to include at least one team member who has experience in setting up web pages.
• From the term's outset, understand that your team will work together in the development of your case study throughout the term.  Even for individual reports, you should be guided by your team work plan and discuss your orientation, emphasis and content with your fellow team members to ensure individual activities support the overall, planned team effort.
  
• Choose a team name within the first week of the semester. Your team name should reflect the business nature and professionalism needed for business success in the international market place.
• In the Global Meeting Place (student lounge):  Create a main topic conference area with your team's name as the title and a list of the members on your team.  E-mail this information to your professor and the faculty assistant.
• Each team selects a company that team members have not studied before along with one of the company's major product lines. Each team must select a different company. You are welcome to select a company that is based outside of the US. It is a good idea to select companies that are not within the Fortune 500 List. Post your company and product line as a response in your team's main topic area of the Global Meeting Place conference.
• Each team selects a pair of countries from amongst those listed in the week 1 assignment.  Each team must select a different country set. Each team and each country sub-group will work with the same country throughout the term (except for Week 8 where you will select a different study set and compare to your case study company and countries)
  
• Post the country pair that you have selected as a response to your team's main topic area in the Global Meeting Place conference, and also e-mail this information to your professor and the faculty assistant.
• Please send an email message to your classmates and professor(s) noting when you have posted the above information in the Global Meeting Place.
• Subgroups: At the beginning of the term, each team forms two country subgroups of 2 or 3 members for each country.  As country sub-group members, you will confer with one another throughout the term. If there are two members in one country sub-group and three members in the other country sub-group, three topics must still be covered in the Individual Reports of Weeks 4, 9 and 11.  The subgroup reports are due in Week 12. 
  
• Each subgroup researches specific issues in one of the two countries selected by the team.
• First Team Assignment:  In the first team assignment the team discusses its chosen company and product line, and provides an overview of the business environment of the two countries selected for their case study. In addition, each team prepares and publishes a team web page. If you need assistance with your web page development, the faculty assistant will help you. You will work on the first team assignment in Weeks 1 and 2.  The first team assignment is due by the end of Week 2. All team members will receive the same grade for team assignments unless I receive indication from team members that a member has not contributed a full share of the work. To assist you in determining your approach to this assignment, you may find it helpful to have a look at a sample of web pages prepared by teams in previous semesters:       
  

• Individual Reports in Support of the Case Study: There are two individual reports in support of your case study.  In Weeks 4, 9 and 11, individual students - in consultation with fellow team members - prepare an individual report on your selected country, integrating your selected company focus, choosing from amongst the topics provided in the assignment instructions for that week. Remember to identify the audience that has been selected and to whom your work is directed.

• Subgroup Report: In week 12, after completion of the individual reports, each subgroup prepares a summary report on its country. Team members need to ensure that each group organizes and presents the material in a manner that serves the overall team decisions and the end-of-seminar project.
  

• Second Team Assignment:  The second team assignment, due in week 13, is the completion of the team's case study.  It is comprised of a written report in which the team recommends which of the two countries studied throughout the term offers the most favorable business climate for your study company. As an appendix to this assignment you will provide an assessment report in which the team evaluates how effectively the behaviors and learning objectives in its team work plan were achieved. Each team is expected to use the evaluative criteria stated in its team work plan to prepare this assessment report.
  

More on the Individual and Subgroup Reports
For the two individual reports, the topics selected by the members of both subgroups in a team will be the same. If the subgroups have two members each, each subgroup will select the same two topics for each of the three individual reports. One member from each subgroup will prepare an individual report on the common topic focusing on the country chosen by his or her particular subgroup. If one subgroup has two members and the other three members, the extra subgroup member should select a third topic for each individual report. Although team members may work with each other in planning their analyses, it is important to remember that the Weeks 4, 9, and 11 reports are still individual activities. All team members will receive an individual grade for their individual reports. In the week 12 subgroup assignment, the members of each country subgroup should work together to review and synthesize their findings. If you have any questions about the organization of your individual reports or subgroup reports, please raise them with your professor.

Global Meeting Place:  In addition to posting the information on your team term project, this conference has been created as a place where you can voice your questions and concerns. Since I don't visit the classroom every day, please send me an email note when you post something requiring my response. If the issue concerns your classmates, send them an e-mail message saying you have  posted something for their attention. Material posted in this area is not graded.


Study Group Area:  Use the Study Group area for team-related work (e.g., planning, discussion, posting of work-in-progress, etc.).  Your professor and faculty assistant will visit this area from time to time, in some instances to post feedback related to the team, etc.


Conference Activity
The main objectives of the conference activities are to provide opportunities for you to develop your own thinking and present it in an interactive learning context.
Note:  The conference activity format in AMBA 606 is considerably different from that to which you are accustomed from previous courses.  You will need to follow the instructions carefully, especially at the beginning of the term.  


Conference Instructions:

Anatomy of an effective conference:

- Think about the conference discussion topic itself.
- Think about the discussion topic in the context of the week's main heading and sub-topics.
- Read about the topic; a grasp of the required readings is mandatory. 
- Develop a guiding question related to the topic.  Apply your critical thinking.
- Open your conference, including the posting of your guiding question, by Tuesday.
- Develop your conference and interact with participants within your own conference (and in the conferences of other students) from Wednesday to Sunday.
-  Include learning material from the current international press (see Webliography for resources; use other of your preferred resources)
- Contribute during the week in the conferences of your peers that best support your learning needs.
- You must wrap-up your conference by Sunday, midnight in a special section entitled "Conference Wrap-up" where you summarize what you have learned from the assigned readings and other
    resources, from your peers and yourself.  Conclude your wrap-up with an Executive Summary of your conference week.

To ensure conference success:

Self Assessment:  To assist you in developing self assessment skills that will enable you to be a more effective manager and leader, you are required to submit your own self assessment of your Week 1 and Week 10 conference activities.  Click here for the template/rubric you will use in assessing your conference participation.  You will also find the Self Assessment template/rubric in the Conference menu.  Submit your conference self assessments for weeks 1 and 10 in the Workbook folders you have set up for this purpose. You must provide written comments in support of all numerical scores. The Self Assessments in Weeks 1 and 10 are required assignments.  Grades for Weeks 1 and 10 will not be posted if your self assessment has not been posted. You are welcome, however, to use the Self Assessment guidelines in preparing and managing all your conferences. Doing so will help you ensure you are doing well in your conferences activities.


Electronic Portfolio: One of the cornerstones of the MBA program is the student Electronic Portfolio (EP), which is very similar to the type of portfolio that an artist might put together. In this seminar you begin the process of putting together your own portfolio. The EP will record your accomplishments throughout the MBA program. It will also help you achieve the goals that you have set for yourself in your personal life as well as in your career. The activities that you chronicle in your EP will reflect your personal and professional growth over the course of your MBA program. You will prepare your EP using a series of templates that have been prepared to help guide your efforts. Although your EP will not be graded in this seminar, you do need to complete it in order to pass the course. If you do not complete it as specified in this syllabus, you will receive an Incomplete. These templates have been prepared in pdf format and can only be completed using the full version of Adobe Acrobat. You will not be able to use the free Adobe reader. We recommend that you use the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Standard. This software is easy to use. Once it is loaded on your computer, a button will appear on the top menu of other software, such as Word. After you have completed one of your individual papers in Word, with a click of a button on the Word menu you can convert the document to pdf format. Using Adobe Acrobat effectively eliminates the computer viruses that often infect Word files. You can also convert PowerPoint, Excel, and even Microsoft Project files into pdf format with a click of a button.

Additional Instructions
You should prepare and save all your assignments, including all conference activities, on your computer before you post them to the WebTycho classroom. Be sure your work is well edited (unintended "?", for example, should not appear in your submitted text. You should never type your assignment directly into the WebTycho classroom. If your computer crashes or if you are disconnected from the Internet before you finish posting your work, you will lose everything you have not saved. In addition, shortly after the seminar is over you will no longer have access to any of the materials you posted in the WebTycho classroom. You will want to keep a copy of your work to include in your electronic portfolio.

Before completing your first assignment, please take a moment to review the information presented in the Academic Policies section of the WebTycho Syllabus.  In addition, you should review the General Online Netiquette Guidelines and Webtycho Help and Email Changes pages located in the WebTycho Course Content area. There is also a series of other reference documents located under Course Content in the WebTycho classroom which will help you to complete the course assignments.


There are many interesting web sites in the Webliography in the WebTycho classroom.  You are encouraged to add to this list as you come across web sites that you find useful for a particular topic. When you add a web site to the Webliography, please send an email to the professor and the rest of the class letting them know about the web site as well as what you found interesting.

You are encouraged to refer to and build upon previous coursework in the MBA Program.  However, if you want to use material from an assignment submitted for a previous course, be sure to get approval from your current instructor first. You should request permission for each assignment in which you would like to include material from a previous assignment.  Resubmission of coursework from previous classes (whether or not taken at UMUC), partially or in its entirety is unacceptable, unless prior approval is obtained from the instructor for the specific assignment.  Using coursework from a previous class, partially or in its entirety, without explicit prior approval of your instructor will result in a grade of zero for the assignment.

Seminar, Course, and WebTycho Evaluations
Your feedback on this seminar is very important to UMUC. You may be asked to complete a survey that focuses on the specific content and assignments in this seminar at the end of the semester. Please take time to complete this survey. With your help we can continue to improve the quality of the MBA program.

About 21 days before the end of the semester, you will be asked to complete a standard course evaluation described in the Graduate School Policies section of this document. UMUC uses this evaluation to assess the effectiveness of classroom instruction. You will have approximately one week to complete the evaluation. If you do not open the file and either respond to the questions or simply click on no response in this time period, you will be "locked out" of the class until you do complete the evaluation. This means that you will not be able to enter the classroom. Once you have completed the evaluation, you will regain access to the classroom. If you have any problem getting back in your classroom, contact WebTycho support at 1.800.807.4862.

You will be asked to complete a WebTycho evaluation just after the midpoint of the semester. This evaluation asks you to comment on WebTycho and the quality of any technical support you may have received. There will be a class announcement indicating when the evaluation is available. You will not be locked out of the classroom if you do not complete this evaluation. However, it is very important to the university that you take the time to complete all evaluations. In this way you can improve the MBA Program.
 

Seminar Communications
In the MBA program it has been our experience that in order to create a rewarding online learning experience there has to be frequent communication between faculty and students and among the students themselves. The accelerated format of the MBA program places a premium on effective communication.

There are several primary communication vehicles -- your Bio, posting class announcements, posting comments in conferences, Study Group interactions and email. The classroom is our public space, and that will be our primary channel of communication for class announcements, assignment instructions and clarification, and class discussion. For more personal one-to-one communication, email will be our primary channel.  During the week your professor will usually answer email communications within 24 hours.


Your Bio:
Update your Bio specifically for AMBA 606, noting any international experience you have had. Include your telephone contact numbers in a clearly marked area at the bottom of your bio.

E-mail communication: 
º    When you write e-mail messages to your professor and the faculty assistant, be sure to include your course and section number in the Subject line.
º    Always show appropriate business courtesy by starting with a form of address that includes the person's name you are addressing.
º    Always sign your full name in concluding your communication.


Telephone and teleconference:
Your professor may schedule telephone conference calls.
Be sure your telephone contact numbers are at the bottom of your updated AMBA 606 Bio.


Assignment feedback:
UMUC requires assignment grades within 10 days of assignment completion.  However, you can expect to receive feedback on each of your assignments within the week following their submission; that means by Sunday midnight of the following week. You will receive your grade and specific comments intended to help you improve subsequent assignments. If you have not completed all parts of the assignments, your professor may withold your grade until the assignment is complete (Note:  Late penalties will apply in such cases). The goal is to help you achieve the highest level of performance possible in this seminar.

Your instructor will post specific information regarding communications and how to contact him or her in the WebTycho classroom.

Student Communications
There are several ways in which you may communicate with your classmates at minimal cost in addition to email. You can use the chat function in WebTycho. If your faculty member has activated the "class awareness" function in the classroom, you will be able to see who is currently in the classroom with you. You can then engage a classmate  who is online with you using the WebTycho chat function. In addition, there are a variety of free commercial applications through which you can "instant message" your classmates. One of these is Yahoo Messenger. In addition to text messaging, you can also have an audio conversation with one or more classmates if you all have a microphone. You can also add video with a web cam. Instructions have been prepared for using these features of Yahoo Messenger (http://info.umuc.edu/mba/yahoo/Yahoo.html). This can be a very effective method of communicating with your team members.

 

Seminar Grading Criteria

Graded Items/Percentage of Total Grade 

1. Two individual reports in support of case study worth 20 points.

2.  One reflective and integrative individual report worth 10 points.

3. Two team assignments in support of case study worth 25 points.

4. One subgroup report worth 15 points.

5. A series of conference activities worth 30 points.

MBA Program Grading Philosophy
This is a graduate course.  This course is course seven and second to the last course in your program.  Accordingly, you are expected to deliver graduate-level work in a professional manner.  The average grade for  graduate courses is a "B." If you complete each assignment at a level consistent with graduate work, you can expect to get a "B." This does not mean you have to be an expert on the subject matter, but you are expected to put in as much time as is necessary to demonstrate an acceptable level of understanding.

An "A" represents excellence. In order to earn an "A," you must consistently demonstrate a superior understanding of the subject matter. This doesn't mean perfection. It means doing more than is expected for an assignment. It means spending as much time as you must to submit your very best work with each and every assignment.  For adult students,  putting in the time it takes to do your very best work week in and week out isn't always possible. After all, most likely, this course is not the most important thing in your life. Your family and your work are more important. However, if you do not consistently submit the very best work that you are capable of doing, you should not expect to get an "A."

At the other end of the grade distribution, if you don't take the time to develop an acceptable level of understanding of the subject material, you could receive a "C."  If you don't complete your assignments on time or if you don't work cooperatively with your study team, you could also receive a "C." If you have questions about the subject matter or if you don't understand an assignment, don't hesitate to get in touch with your instructor.   She or he is there to help you to learn this material, and you should let your instructor  know how to make your learning experience more rewarding.
 
With respect to the team assignments, each person on a team will typically receive the same grade for an assignment. However, a team member's grade may be adjusted downward for a specific assignment if the faculty member determines the quality of the that person's participation to be substandard. To allow your faculty member to review team member contributions to all team assignments, each team member is expected to post all contributions in the team's study group conference.

Timeliness
Timely completion of all assignments is critical to student success in an accelerated graduate program such as the MBA program.  Instructors may grant limited extensions of time for submission of specific seminar requirements for unexpected business, health, or personal emergencies only, but only if  such requests  are made in advance of the assignment due date. A specific deadline for submission of the assignment will be established at the time of the request. All other late submissions will result in a  late penalty.  Your instructor will post the specific late penalty that will be applied to late assignments in the Course Content area.


Complete assignments effectively
Part of being an effective manager is ensuring you understand the assignment well, and carry out the assignment effectively the first time around.  AMBA 606 is fast paced.  Do not ask to resubmit work for which you have earned a poor grade. Requests for resubmission of work will not be granted.


If you have any questions about a grade you received, you should contact your professor.   She or he is there to help you understand the material, enhance your learning abilities, and to improve your performance in the course.
 
 

Materials Used from Previous AMBA Seminars

PLEASE NOTE: Because the MBA degree is a cohort program and is designed around several programmatic themes, textbooks purchased in one MBA seminar may be required in subsequent seminars. Each syllabus sets out the reading requirements for that individual seminar. If you have not saved your previous course materials, you will be expected to repurchase those materials required in ensuing seminars. If you are taking this particular seminar as a dual degree student, you will be expected to read and become familiar with all required material for this seminar including material covered in previous MBA seminars.

Ordering Materials You can order these books through the UMUC virtual bookstore (http://www.umuc.edu/bookstore/bookstore.html).


Required Texts


• Friedman, T. L. (2005). The world is flat, a brief history of the twenty-first century.  New York: Farrar Straus Giroux. ISBN 0-374-29288-4

• Hill, C.W.L. (2005). International business: Competing in the global marketplace (5th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill. ISBN 0-072-94939-2
  

Accessing Articles in the Web Databases A significant portion of the reading in this seminar is comprised of articles taken from a variety of professional journals. Most of the articles are available in the ABI/Inform (A), Business Source Premier (B), and Expanded Academic ASAP (E) databases, which can be accessed through the UMUC library web page (http://www.umuc.edu/library/database/). These databases are part of the University System of Maryland Databases and E-Journals. Some of the articles are available in the Reserved Readings (R) section of the WebTycho classroom. The particular database in which each article can be found is indicated next to the article. Instructions have been prepared to help find these articles (http://info.umuc.edu/mba/public/MBA-library.html).

Weekly Assignments

 

Week 1

Globalization and Global Business:  Opportunity, Risk, and Sustainability 


Subtopics
• Sustainability concept and applications
  
• Country and company selection criteria
• Team work
• Addressing an audience to which term-long team study applies
 
Required Reading:

• Hill, C.W.L. (2005). International business with global resource CD, PowerWeb and world map (5^th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill. Chapter 1 
 
• Kedia, B.L., & Mukherji, A. (1999).  Global managers: developing a mindset for global competitiveness. Journal of World Business, 34(3). (B)
 
• Meet the globetrotters. Project in AMBA 606. UMUC MBA Newsletter. Retrieved on July 22, 2005 from  http://info.umuc.edu/mba/newsletter/globetrotters.html
  

Suggested Reading:


• Friedman, T. L. (2000).  The lexus and the olive tree.  New York: Random House.  Chapters 1 & 2

• IMF Staff. (2002).  Globalization: Threat or opportunity?  Retrieved on July 22, 2005 from http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/ib/2000/041200.htm

• Hayes, R. (2002).  Johns Hopkins Symposium on Foreign Affairs series, Paragon or Paradox? Capitalism in the Contemporary World.  Retrieved on May 5, 2005 from  http://www.ran.org/about_ran/global-economy-hayes.pdf
  
  
• Mills, J. (2004).  Three yards and a cloud of dust: the small-bore approach to globalization. In J. Kurtzman, G. Rifkin, & V. Griffith, MBA in a Box, practical ideas from the best brains in business (pp. 65 - 73). New York: Crown Business. (R)
  

• Team Globetrotters: What works? (n.d.). UMUC MBA Newsletter. Retrieved on July 22, 2005 from http://info.umuc.edu/mba/newsletter/whatworks.html

Special Resources


• EIU Country Reports
Quarterly analysis and forecasts of the political, economic and business environment for Canada, Chile, China, Czech Republic, Germany, India, Ireland, Mexico, North Korea, and South Africa. Included in each Country Report is a detailed review and analysis of political and economic events, a compilation of the latest economic indicators, as well as a 12-24 month political outlook and economic projection.

• EIU Executive Briefing
  
Access to strategic intelligence for global executives and political researchers on industries,countries, and management practices; updated frequently.


• EIU Viewswire
  
Business, politics, finance, economics, regulations, trade and industry information covered in articles and statistical data from 195 countries. 

 
Required Content

Toolbox
      Practical insights on Week 1. Learning from Maurice Hladik, Executive-in-Residence

Multimedia
 
• Global Minute with Professor Saad Laraqui.  Prevailing questions of AMBA 606 (transcript included). AMBA 606 Toolbox
 
Assignments

 

Week 2

Country Factors:  Political, Economic, and Legal Systems 


Subtopics
• Development
• Sustainability and global business
• Dow Jones Sustainability Index
• Major agencies, regulatory issues, and sustainability trends
  

Required Reading:
 
• Dow Jones Sustainability Index. (n.d.).  Retrieved April 24, 2004 from http://www.sustainability-index.com
  
  
• Hill, C.W.L. (2005). International business with Global Resource CD, PowerWeb and World Map (5^th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill. Chapter 2

• Kedia, B.L., & Mukherji, A. (1999).  Global managers: developing a mindset for global competitiveness. Journal of World Business, 34(3). (B)
  http://www.globalization101.org/issue/intlaw/

• Sen, A. (2002, Jan 1).  How to judge globalism: Global links have spread knowledge and raised average living standards.  The American Prospect, Inc., 13(1). (E)
  

• Zadek, S. (2004).  Sustainable business is accountable business. In J. Kurtzman, G. Rifkin & V. Griffith, MBA in a Box, practical ideas from the best brains in business (pp. 49 - 52). New York: Crown Business. (R)
 
Required Multimedia:

Subtopics
• Culture, values, society, and nation
• Socio-political organization
• Law, ethics, management, and change

• Drake, M., & Ross, J.  (2005).  Corporate integrity: Vital for global business. Unpublished paper. (R)
  
  
• Hill, C.W.L. (2005). International business with Global Resource CD, PowerWeb and World Map (5^th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill. Chapter 3

Assignments:
 

Conference Activity

For discussion:  In presenting an overview of culture, Hill claims that many ethical principles are held universally across cultures. Discuss whether or not it is reasonable to expect Western business people and businesses to adhere to the same ethical standards in foreign countries they use at home.  Based on the assigned readings, the Week 3 Overview,  and other experience, and with reference to your selected countries, illustrate your discussion with relevant examples. Indicate why and how the culture of a country might influence the ethical codes, management challenges, and the costs of doing business in that country.  Identify whether or not your selected company will need to make any changes in its management practices in the country or countries concerned. Part 1: Start your own topic area within the Week 3 Conference area by Tuesday, using your name in the title.  Part 2:  Manage your conference discussion around the topic elements listed in the discussion area. Remember you are to post your conference opening by Tuesday, then host, and manage your own conference throughout the remainder of the week.  You are resonsible for ensuring your conference has participation by other course members - market your conference if necessary. Part 3:  Wrap-Up your final conference in the text box by Sunday, midnight, Eastern Time, incorporating the instructions provided earlier in the syllabus section, Anatomy of an effective conference, including your conference executive summary.

PART III:    The Global Trade and Investment Environment



Week 4

International Trade:  Theory, Policy, and Systems 


Subtopics
• Political economy of international trade
• Trade advantage:  absolute, comparative, competitive
• Subsidies, Free trade, World trading system
• Firm strategy
 
Required Reading:
 
• Friedman, T. L. (2000).  The world is flat.  New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.  Chapter 1
  
  
• Griffin, R.W., & Pustay, M.W.  (2003).  Political Risk. In R.W. Griffin & M.W. Pustay, International business: A managerial perspective (pp. 72-82). New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. (R) 
  
  
• Hill, C.W.L. (2005). International business with Global Resource CD, PowerWeb and World Map (5^th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill. Chapters 4 and 5  

• Mintzberg, H. (2004).  The fall and rise of strategic planning. In J. Kurtzman, G. Rifkin & V. Griffith, MBA in a Box, practical ideas from the best brains in business (pp. 119-133). New York: Crown Business. (R)
  

 

Individual Report Supporting Case Study

International trade is important.  International trade theory is very important.  Your grasp of trade theory is important.  In this assignment, you need to demonstrate your grasp of at least one trade theory by applying Porter below. Part One: Absolute advantage, comparative advantage, and competitive advantage are key components in international trade theory and government policy. Making special reference to Porter's "Diamond" (Hill, p. 165/6), ensure you understand and define these concepts as part of your individual approach to the political economy of international trade in the topics below.  Part Two:  Each person in a country subgroup selects one of the issues from the list below and writes a four to five page paper, which discusses this issue in the context of his/her case study country. A different issue must be selected by each person researching the same country. To facilitate preparation of the final report, members in both subgroups should select the same topics. For example if a team is focusing on India and China, each country subgroup should select the same topics to discuss (i.e., if there are two members in each subgroup, tariff barriers and intellectual property, for example, could be selected and discussed; if there are two members in one subgroup and three members in the other subgroup, the subgroup with two members will need to determine how the third topic will be addressed). There needs to be a balance in the issues discussed; i.e., the same issues need to be discussed in both subgroups.  If there are three members in one subgroup and only two members on the other, the same issues need to be discussed for both countries. As individuals you need to collaborate with your team members in the planning and preparation of this individual assignment.  (1) Tariff barriers: What tariff barriers exist which would make it difficult to import your product into your target country or would substantially increase the cost of doing business within that country and what strategy or strategies might you pursue to minimize their effect on your operations in that country? Tariff barriers include not only duties paid to import your product into a country, but such things as quotas which may limit the number of units you can import, complete prohibitions on importing the product, or costs which are not directly related to the product itself, but rather the cost of importing such as customs, taxes (such as VAT) or harbor fees.  (2) Non tariff barriers: What non tariff barriers exist which would make it more difficult, and/or more expensive, to market your product or service in your target country and what strategy or strategies might you pursue to minimize their effect on your operations in that country? Non tariff barriers may include such measures as local content requirements that mandate a certain percentage of the product's content be manufactured locally, or restrictions on the way services are offered such as the Japanese requirement that law firm offices must have the named partners in the Japanese office for their name to appear on the door thus, effectively denying foreign law firms the use of names with global recognition.  (3)  Intellectual property and competition law:  These are complex issues within a country, and are compounded when moved to the regional and/or global level.  What risks do you see of losing control over the company's intellectual property if you either sell the product or move manufacturing operations into the target market, and what strategy or strategies might you pursue to minimize their effect on your operations in that country? To assist in sorting out the issues and addressing them, professional associations such as the Licensing Executives Society International can be helpful: www.lesi.org (4) Anti competitive practices: Are there any risks and practices (which are considered anti competitive in the U.S. or identified other developed countries) present in the two target countries due to lack of government regulation?  And could those anti competitive practices be used by existing competition to make it difficult for your company to successfully do business there? Among anti competitive practices are the following:  dumping, cartels that set price and control the product market,  monopolies that may pressure dealers and distributors to refuse to carry your product, boycotts, and other practices. (5)  Product and service standards: Identify the implications product and service standards have for international trade, and how standards are managed in your selected country.  Are there any standards imposed on your product or service by the target market which make it potentially difficult or too expensive to manufacture or market your product there and what strategy or strategies might you pursue to minimize their effect on your operations in that country? Standards include such measures as health and safety standards which limit the materials that may go into your product, or environmental standards which may regulate emissions from your product. (6) Dispute resolution:  How predictable and fair are the processes for resolving contractual or other conflicts or disputes in your target country?  This requires and assessment of the legal system in terms of, among other things: the clarity of the laws and regulations governing commercial activity; the efficiency, neutrality, and objectivity of the judicial system; the enforceability of judicial or arbitral decisions: fairness as applied to foreign nationals; reciprocity and recognition of judgments; and protection of property rights and due process.  You should consider also whether arbitration including foreign arbitrators is recognized and enforceable under the laws of the country you are studying this term.  Bear  in mind that the work you do in the individual papers this week and throughout the term are necessary for the sub-group and team decisions to be taken in the weeks that follow. The report should be formatted in accordance with the APA standards as presented in Hacker (2003). Each of the individual reports should be submitted to the team web page as part of a single, team document.  Be sure to include a title for each individual's report, and identify the writer of the report.  References should be included at the end of each individual report.


   


Week 5

Foreign Direct Investment and the Political Economy of Trade 


Subtopics
• Government policy instruments
• Horizontal/Vertical direct investment
• Structural arrangement and specific regional organizations
 
Required Reading:


• Friedman, T. L. (2000).  The lexus and the olive tree.  New York: Random House.  Chapters 6 & 7
  
  
• Hill, C.W.L. (2005). International business with Global Resource CD, PowerWeb and World Map (5^th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill. Chapters 6 and 7

            Assignment:

Conference Activity

For discussion: 1.  Identify, compare, and contrast common explanations of FDI.  Then concentrating on vertical FDI, identify which theory offers the better explanation of the historical pattern of vertical FDI and substantiate your reasons. 2. Then using the globalEdge exercise (No. 1) at http://www.mhhe.com/hill,use the World Investment Directory (WID) to expand your conference to include a brief report regarding the investment status of other countries compared to the United States. 3.  Try to determine if your selected countries invest in the United States, and to what extent the United States invests in your selected case study  countries.  Post your observations in your own conference. To access the globalEDGE from the web site above, enter the student edition (on left side of screen), choose chapter 6 from the drop down box. The last selection that appears under the chapter is the globalEDGE Exercise.  Select this link and go to Exercise 1. Part 1: Start your own topic area within the Week 5 Conference area by Tuesday, using your name in the title.  Part 2:  Manage your conference discussion around the topic elements above. Remember you are to post, host, and manage your own conference.  You are responsible for ensuring your conference has participation by other course members - market your conference if necessary. Part 3:  Post your final conference wrap-up in the text box by Sunday, midnight, Eastern Time, incorporating the instructions provided earlier in the syllabus section, Anatomy of an effective conference, including your conference executive summary.


   


Week 6

Regional Economic Integration

Subtopics
• How trade works
• Levels of economic integration
• Regional organization
  
• Political economic factors for and against
• Structural arrangements
  
 
Required Reading:
 
• Friedman, T. L. (2005).  The world is flat.  New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.  Chapters 3 & 4
  
  
• Hill, C.W.L. (2005). International business with Global Resource CD, PowerWeb and World Map (5^th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill. Chapter 8
 
• The European Union at a glance. (n.d.). Retrieved July 22, 2005, from  http://europa.eu.int/abc/index_en.htm
  
 

Required Multimedia:


•  Global Minute with James Stewart.  Regional Economic Development.  AMBA 606 Toolbox
  

Assignment :
 

Conference Activity

For discussion: 1.  Determine the identity and intended functions of major REIs (regional economic integrations).  Study the cases in Hill carefully (pp. 290 - 312). 2.  Identify and present five REIs of your own choosing. 3.  Then assess the importance of this statement:  “Regional economic arrangements, such as APEC, ASEAN, the European Union, MERCOSUR and NAFTA, benefit the citizens of all countries, not just those countries that are member nations of the agreements." Discuss whether or not you agree with this statement in the context of your chosen company and country and your developing team case study. Review Professor Stewart's Global Minute in the Toolbox and include reference in your conference to the areas that apply. Part 1: Start your own topic area within the Week 6 Conference area by Tuesday, using your name in the title.  Part 2:  Manage your conference discussion around the topic elements above. Remember you are to post, host, and manage your own conference.  You are resonsible for ensuring your conference has participation by other course members - market your conference if necessary. Part 3:  Post your final conference wrap-up in the text box by Sunday, midnight, Eastern Time, incorporating the instructions provided earlier in the syllabus section, Anatomy of an effective conference, including your conference executive summary.


 
PART IV:   The Global Monetary System
 

Week 7

International Monetary System and Global Markets  

Subtopics
• Foreign exchange and exchange convertibility
• Economic theories of exchange
• Exchange rate forecasting
• Crisis and crisis management
• Impacts of technology
  
• Benefits, functions, and attractions of global capital market
  

Required Reading:
 
• Hill, C.W.L. (2005). International business with Global Resource CD, PowerWeb and World Map (5^th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill. Chapters 9, 10, and 11
 
• OECD  (n.d.) OECD Purchasing Power Parities. Retrieved July 30, 2004 from  http://www.oecd.org/department/0,2688,en_2649_34357_1_1_1_1_1,00.html

Conference Activity (required but not graded)

Use the globalEDGE site in preparing this conference. Define PPP, Purchasing Power Parity. For Discussion: The Big Mac Index (Hill, p. 325) compares the purchasing power parity of 120 countries based on the price of an identical item in 2002.  Locate the latest edition of this index. Identify the five countries (and the currencies) with the lowest purchasing power parity according to this classification. Then, use the Universal Currency Converter (Webliography) to determine the current price of a Big Mac for the five countries.    Alternatively, and/or additionally, if you have access to the more recent Starbucks Index, also include reference to the current price of a cup of coffee in five countries of your choice.  Identify what you learn about foreign exchange from this exercise and how you can apply this information to your case study. Part 1: Start your own topic area within the Week 7 Conference area by Tuesday, using your name in the title.  Part 2:  Manage your conference discussion around the topic elements above. Remember you are to post, host, and manage your own conference.  You are responsible for ensuring your conference has participation by other course members - market your conference if necessary. Part 3:  Post your final conference wrap-up in the text box by Sunday, midnight, Eastern Time, incorporating the instructions provided earlier in the syllabus section, Anatomy of an effective conference, including your conference executive summary.

PART V:   The Strategy and Structure of International Business

Week 8

Global Business: Strategy, Structure, Organization, and Governance  

Subtopics
• Strategy and the firm
• Management and materials
• Management focus
• Marketing, research and development
  
• Global opportunity, profit and strategic choices
• Vertical and horizontal differentiation
  
• Pricing strategy, standards and regulatory influences

Required Reading:
 
• Eun, C., & Resnick, G. (2004).  Corporate governance around the world. International financial management (pp. 472-495).  New York: McGraw Hill. (R)
 
• Grant, R. (1991). Porter's competitive advantage of nations: An assessment. Strategic Management Journal (12). pp. 535 - 48. (R)
  
 
• Hill, C.W.L. (2005). International business with Global Resource CD, PowerWeb and World Map (5^th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill. Chapters 12, 13 and 14;  refer also to Chapters 15 and 16

•   Friedman, T. L. (2000).  The lexus and the olive tree.  New York: Random House. Chapters 11 & 12

• Global Minute with Mike Evanchik.  Strategic issues in AMBA 606. AMBA 606 Toolbox

Assignment:



Team Conference Activity

You have now studied a number of companies and their global operations. Based on the discussions in Hill, Chapters 12, 13, 15, and 16, each team will choose a company, other than your selected team company, for  your team conference. Place your team's company selection in a notice in the Global Minutes (each team should have a different company).  Review Professor Evanchik's Global Minute and integrate what you learn from it into your conference discussion. For discussion: Think about the firm as a value chain, and discuss the global supply chain management for this other company. In formulating your answer you will want to consider: (1) the company's strategic stance and what it means to both value and supply chains; (2) the potential for performance ambiguity arising out of that particular strategic stance; (3) whether or not the company has any particular exchange problems resulting from its strategic stance so that it needs to be paid in USD, and what alternative policies the company could adopt in the event of such problems; (4) the risks associated with changing the strategic stance or altering exchange rate policies. Then focus on the case study company being studied by your team this term, relating what you have learned about your team-selected case study company to your overall conference discussion about value and supply chains.  Part 1: Start your own team topic area within the Week 8 Conference area by Tuesday, using your team name in the title.  Part 2:  Manage your conference discussion around the topic elements above. Remember your team is to post, host, and manage your own team conference.  Your team is responsible for ensuring your conference has participation by other course members - market your conference if necessary. Part 3:  Post your final conference wrap-up in the text box by Sunday, midnight, Eastern Time, incorporating the instructions (adapted to your team process) provided earlier in the syllabus section, Anatomy of an effective conference, and including an executive summary of your conference.  Each team member will receive the same grade for this team-based conference activity.


 
 

Week 9

Global Business Entry: Strategies and Alliances  

Subtopics
• Business implications and strategies 
  
• Management focus
• Entry modes and decisions
• Management and technology focus
• Export/import and reimport
  

Required Reading:
 
• Hill, C.W.L. (2005). International business with Global Resource CD, PowerWeb and World Map (5th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill. Chapter 14 - 19
  
  
• Mintzberg, H. (2004).  The fall and rise of strategic planning.  In J. Kurtzman, G. Rifkin & V. Griffith, MBA in a Box, practical ideas from the best brains in business (pp. 119- 133).  New York:  Crown Business. (R)
  
 
Suggested Reading:


• Schwartz, P. (1996).  The art of the long view:  Planning for the future in an uncertain world.  New York:  Doubleday.

Required Multimedia:


• Global Minute with James Stewart.  Attitude and technology in global business. AMBA 606 Toolbox
  
 
Required from the Toolbox:

            Practical insights on Week 9.  Learning from Maurice Hladik, Executive-in-Residence 

Assignments:

Week 10

Global Business Operations: Export/Import Standards 
 
Subtopics

• Import, Export, Countertrade, and Integrative Trade
  
• Export Assistance
  
• Strategy and Finance
 
Required Reading:
 
• Hill, C.W.L. (2005). International business with Global Resource CD, PowerWeb and World Map (5^th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill. Chapters 15 - 20.
  
  
• Hodgson, G.  (2004).  Trade in evolution: the emergence of integrative trade.  Ottawa:  Export Development Corporation/Exportation et Development Canada.  Retrieved April 4, 2005 from http://www.edc.ca/docs/ereports/speeches/2004/economics/030104_Integrative_e.pdf

Assignment:



Conference Activity

Hill notes that "inexperienced exporters have a number of ways to gain information about foreign market opportunities and avoid common pitfalls that tend to discourage and frustrate novice exporters." Review various import/export strategies that can increase the probability of your case study company's success in the global market place. Identify sources whereby exporters can increase their knowledge of foreign market opportunities.  Illustrate your discussion with the ways in which nations try to help domestic firms in the export/import process.  Create your own topic within the Week 10 Conference area by Tuesday, using your name in the title. Wrap-up:  Post your wrap-up, including your conference executive summary, in the text box by Sunday, midnight, Eastern Time. You will also submit the required Week 10 Self Assessment as part of your conference activity in your Workbook by Sunday midnight, Eastern Time.

• Hill, C.W.L. (2005). International business with Global Resource CD, PowerWeb and World Map (5^th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill. Chapters 16 and 17; also Chapters 15 - 20.
  
 
• Sullivan, J. (1999) What is infrastructure. In Sullivan, J., Exploring international business environments (pp. 475-506). Boston, MA: Pearson Custom Publishing. (R)

• A. P. Moller-Maersk Group.  Welcome to careers and jobs.  http://career.maersk.com/en/Career/

• Term long team assessment and summation
• Recommendations to audience
• Individual learning outcomes