International Strategy International Management MBA Session 2014, Module 11 GSEM University of Geneva

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1 International Strategy International Management MBA Session 2014, Module 11 GSEM University of Geneva SYLLABUS Faculty: Prof. Dr. Sebastian Raisch, University of Geneva Phone: Course Overview: This course is designed to address the creation of competitive advantage in large, complex organizations that span national boundaries. Multinational corporations account today for about half the productive wealth in the industrialized world. Operating in a global rather than domestic arena presents the manager with many new opportunities. However, with these new opportunities come the challenges of managing strategy, organizations, and operations that are innately more complex, diverse, and uncertain. Unlike purely domestic competitors, companies that compete across borders have to make choices about which product to offer around the globe; where to compete within the world; where to locate the various activities of the firm; and how to organize to effectively coordinate its worldwide activities. Our objective is to explore the challenges of global competition and provide you with a framework for dealing with them. We will address the following main areas: International Expansion: Benefits and Challenges Global Strategies: Competing in International Markets Global Organization: Local Adaptiveness vs. Global Integration Entry Decisions: Where, When, and How to Enter New Country Markets Global Economic Crises: Managing in Difficult Times Sustainability: Acting Responsibly in the Global Marketplace Learning Objectives As an outcome of this course, participants are expected to acquire knowledge, skills, and sensitivities that will help them manage effectively in an international business environment. They are expected to be able to analyze global firms and markets, derive strategies for international expansion, and make appropriate decisions on entry modes and tactics. Further, they should gain a basic understanding of how to manage organizational and ethical challenges in multinational organizations. Since most organizations have to deal with global competition, this course is intended for students interested in pursuing management positions in almost any type of organization. 1

2 Course Schedule: The course is structured along international strategy s core themes. Each core theme is discussed in a theory-based lecture and a case-based practical exercise. Prior reading of the case studies is indispensable for following this course. May 2, 2014 Introduction & International Expansion Course Introduction Lecture International Expansion Lecture International Expansion / Case Group Work Wal-Mart International Expansion / Case Class Discussion Wal-Mart Global Strategies Lecture May 3, 2014 Global Strategies & Global Organization Global Strategies / Case Group Work / Class Discussion Unilever Global Organization Lecture Entry Decisions Lecture May 16, 2014 Entry Decisions & Global Economic Crises Entry Decisions / Case Group Work Starbucks Entry Decisions / Case Class Discussion Starbucks Global Economic Crises Lecture Global Economic Crises / Lecture / Class Discussion Case Singapore Airlines Guest Speaker (tba) Lecture / Q&A May 17, 2014 Acting Responsibly in the Global Marketplace Sustainability Lecture Sustainability / Case Ikea Group Work Sustainability / Case Ikea / Wrap-up Class Discussion 2

3 Course Preparation: Participants in the course are expected to have a basic understanding of strategic management s core topics and tools. It is recommended that students follow the Business Strategy or the Stratégie d entreprise module before entering the International Strategy course. For students without any prior expertise of strategic management, we provide two texts ( What is Strategy? by M. Porter and Managing Strategy and Strategic Planning by R. W. Griffin) on CHAMILO that should be helpful for understanding the fundamental issues and concepts of strategic management. Course Readings: International Strategy is an interactive, case-based class. Active participation in class discussion is absolutely necessary if learning is to take place. More generally, effective case discussions require widespread and active participation on the part of the class. Class participation helps to develop an understanding of the actual situation faced by decision makers and to develop insights, alternative courses of action, and analyses that are not inherently obvious. Case discussions also present an opportunity to apply course frameworks to business situations. Effective participation requires a thorough reading of the case and assigned materials and a good deal of thought about the case situation before coming to class. To be clear, I expect the students to both attend class and participate actively in the discussions. The cases (*) are mandatory material to be studied prior to the course. Students are free to read the supporting texts prior or after the course. All cases and texts all provided in the course reader / on CHAMILO. May 2, 2014 P. Ghemawat, Distance Still Matters: The Hard Reality of Global Expansion, Harvard Business Review, September 2001, pp S. Raisch and J. Neumann, Wal-Mart: Striving for Global Dominance, Case Study, University of St. Gallen, 2009.* May 3, 2014 G. Hamel and C.K. Prahalad, Do You Really Have a Global Strategy, Harvard Business Review, July-August 1985, pp J. Zobel and C. Christensen, Unilever s Butter-Beater: Innovation for Global Diversity, HBS Case Study, ECCH , 1998.* C. Bartlett and S. Ghoshal, Organizing for Worldwide Effectiveness: The Transnational Solution, California Management Review, Fall 1988, pp

4 May 16, 2014 K. Gupta and V. Govindarajan, Managing Global Expansion: A Conceptual Framework, Business Horizons, March-April 2000, pp M. Moffett and K. Ramaswamy, Planet Starbucks (B): Caffeinating the World, Thunderbird Case Study, A , 2003.* D. Rigby, Moving Upwards in a Downturn, Harvard Business Review, June 2001, pp R. Deshpande and H. Hogan, Singapore Airlines: Customer Service Innovation, Harvard Business School Case Study, , 2011.* May 17, 2014 M. E. Porter & M. R. Kramer, Strategy and Society: The Link Between Competitive Advantage and Corporate Social Responsibility, Harvard Business Review, December 2006, 84(12): C. A. Bartlett, V. Dessain, & A. Sjöman, IKEA s Global Sourcing Challenge: Indian Rugs and Child Labor Harvard Business Case, * Complementary Readings: Further non-mandatory (but potentially helpful) readings: General Management Textbooks R. Grant, Contemporary Strategic Analysis, Oxford: Blackwell (6 th ed.), M. A. Hitt, R. D. Ireland, and R. E. Hoskisson, Strategic Management: Competitiveness and Globalization, Mason: Thomson (updated yearly). A. C. Inkpen and K. Ramaswamy, Global Strategy: Creating and Sustaining Advantage across Borders, New York: Oxford University Press, G. Johnson, K. Scholes, and R. Whittington, Exploring Corporate Strategy: Text and Cases, New York: Prentice Hall (updated yearly). Key Publications on International Strategy Topics: C. Bartlett and S. Ghoshal, Tap Your Subsidiaries for Global Reach, Harvard Business Review, November-December, 1986, pp A. Bartmess and K. Cerny, Building Competitive Advantage Through Global Networks of Capabilities, California Management Review, 35(2), 1993, pp

5 J. Birkinshaw and N. Hood, Unleash Innovation in Foreign Subsidiaries, Harvard Business Review, March, 2001, pp N. Checa, J. Maguire, and J. Barney, The New World Disorder, Harvard Business Review, August, 2003, pp T. M. Hout, M. E. Porter, and E. Rudden, How Global Companies Win Out, Harvard Business Review, September-October, 1982, pp T. Khanna, Billions of Entrepreneurs: How China and India are Reshaping Their Futures and Yours, Cambridge: Harvard Business School Press, J. Kurtzman, G. Yago, and T. Phumiwasana, The Global Costs of Opacity, MIT Sloan Management Review, Fall 2004, pp M. E. Porter, The Competitive Advantage of Nations, Harvard Business Review, March-April, 1990, Course Evaluation: The final grade will be based on an individual take-home assignment, which involves the application of class concepts and constructs to a case that we have not discussed. The case will be made available to you in class at 1:00 PM on Saturday, May 17 th, Together with the case, you will receive a number of concrete assignment questions. You are supposed to respond to these questions in the form of a maximum three-page executive summary (Word, 12pt, 1.5-spaced). Please submit the summary electronically (to my assistant s account: jonathan.schad@unige.ch) by no later than 1:00 PM on Monday, June 2 nd, A good summary will identify the main issues, outline key analytical points, identify options, and if necessary, make recommendations. The preparation, analysis, and written work done in respect of the final exam are to represent individual effort based on the course material made available to you. It is not acceptable for members of the study group to submit essentially similar analyses of the same case as individual work. The individual case analysis that you submit must clearly represent your own thinking. Responses in English or French are accepted. Students will receive a written individual feedback on their submitted papers together with their grades. 5

6 Course Faculty: Sebastian Raisch is Professor of Strategy and acts as Vice Dean and Director of the MBA program at GSEM. He earned a PhD from the University of Geneva and a Habilitation from the University of St. Gallen. Previously, he held faculty positions at the University of St. Gallen and the Harvard Business School. Prior to life in academia, he was a strategy consultant, working in different European countries. Sebastian s current research interests concern the areas of corporate growth, innovation, organization design, and leadership within multinational firms. His research has been published in leading academic journals such as the Academy of Management Journal, Harvard Business Review, Journal of Management, Journal of Management Studies, and Organization Science. He has won the Academy of Management Executive Best Paper Award 2005, the Strategic Management Society (SMS) Best Paper Award for Practice Implications 2010, the SMS Best PhD Paper Prize 2012, the Emerald Citations of Excellence Award 2012, the Journal of Management Scholarly Impact Award 2013, and other awards for excellence in research and teaching. Sebastian has conducted research and consulted top managers in companies such as BMW, Deutsche Bank, General Electric, Nestlé, Siemens, VW, and UBS. Jonathan Schad is a PhD student and a teaching assistant at GSEM, under the supervision of Professor Raisch, since In addition, he is a research associate at the Center for Organizational Excellence (CORE). Before joining the team he has been working and studying in various countries in Europe and Asia. 6