IB 200 Introduction to International Business Spring 2009, T/R 8:00-9:15AM, Davis-Shaughnessy Hall 256 Saint Louis University - John Cook School of Business Contact Information: Office Hours: Instructor: Stanford A. Westjohn Tuesday: 9:15-10:15AM Office: Cook Hall Lower Level -30L Thursday: 10:30-11:30AM Phone: 217-821-8357 By appointment E-mail: westjohn@slu.edu E-mail is the best way to reach me. I will respond to all inquiries within 24 hours. If you do not receive a reply within that time frame, please do not hesitate to resend. COURSE DESCRIPTION : This International Business course is designed to introduce students to the practice of international business and build students knowledge of the global business environment. The course will examine economic, cultural, and political factors affecting worldwide business. The goal of this course is to equip students with skills and knowledge that are needed to compete in the global economy of today. READING MATERIALS: Textbook: International Business: Strategy, Management, and the New Realities Author(s): Tamer Cavusgil, Gary Knight, and John Riesenberger ISBN: 0131738607 Pub. Date: November 2007 Publisher(s): Prentice Hall Articles: Occasionally, articles will be assigned by the instructor. Students are expected to read all of the materials and questions about this material will appear on each of the exams. LEARNING OUTCOMES: Upon the conclusion of the course, students will 1. Understand the fundamental strategies of international business 2. Realize the critical importance of cultural, legal, natural, technological, and political factors as complements to business factors in doing business internationally 3. Appreciate the role of international business in the survival and success of business enterprises now and in the future 4. Understand the opportunities and challenges of working internationally 5. Be able to analyze a country's suitability for a product and design a business plan for that product GRADE DETERMINATION: Grading: 3 Exams + Final 45% Scale: 93-100% A 78-79.9% C+ Team Project 20% 90-92.9% A- 73-77.9% C Team Country Pres. 10% 88-89.9% B+ 70-72.9% C- Assignments 15% 83-87.9% B 60-69.9% D Chapter Quizzes 5% 80-82.9% B- Below 60% F Participation 5% Total 100%
EXAMS: Multiple-choice, short answer, essay and geography questions. Final exam will be during the finals week and it will cover material from the whole semester (comprehensive exam). o You are expected to read and understand material from the textbook as well as any additional material that instructor provides in class. TEAM PROJECT: Each student will work on the Team Project. Students have until the end of class on January 20th to find their partners. If groups are not formed by this date, instructor will randomly assign students to groups. Team project consists of the following: o Each group will select a country and a consumer product. The country will be chosen from a list of available countries supplied by the instructor. The product can be chosen by the group; however, it is subject to instructor approval and otherwise available on a first-come first-served basis. o Each group is responsible for brainstorming and coming up with a business plan for entering a foreign country. o Each group is responsible for preparing a comprehensive presentation of their report and a written executive summary of their project. PRESENTATION o You must provide the following: Description of your product as it is sold here in the US. Description of the targeted market (brief synopsis of country presentation). Description of the Country Risks in your targeted market. Description of the Cross-Cultural Risks in your targeted market. Justification for how you plan to enter the market: export, franchise, JV, FDI. Description of the consumer target market for your product, i.e. a consumer profile. List of at least 2 competing brands. Propose at least 2 cultural adaptations that you will make to your product. WRITTEN EXECUTIVE SUMMARY o Each team will turn in an executive summary at the end of semester. It should include a title page, one page single-spaced executive summary, references page of all references used for the project. o No tables, charts or figures should go in the summary. o You must use font size 12, style Times New Roman. o An executive summary is a concise summary of the entire report. It emphasizes the recommendation, but also briefly states the justification for the recommendation. It includes the most important points of each section of the report Each group will submit their executive summary and present their project to the rest of the class during the last few weeks of class. Class members will serve as a board of directors and complete a short evaluation of the presentation and submit them as part of their participation grade..
TEAM COUNTRY PRESENTATION (DBI): Each group will be responsible for Doing Business In... presentation. Each group will be assigned a country. Students will present information about location, main resources, important local current events, trading partners, consumer behavior, population (age and income distribution), government style, business style and customs, products from their country that are available here in the US, Presentation should last 15-20 minutes. Group members should make sure to have visually attractive presentation, be professionally dressed, not repeat each other, present equally, be clear, and bring their country closer to the rest of the class. CHAPTER QUIZZES: A quiz for each chapter is assigned, completed online and results emailed to westjohn@slu.edu. Quizzes are credit/no credit (based on answering at least 75% correctly); however, you can take them multiple times before emailing your final results. Students are not required to answer the essay questions, only the multiple choice and true/false questions Directions can be found on my website at http://www.westjohn.com, click on the student section. PARTICIPATION: Class attendance is necessary in order to participate. This class will be interactive so students are expected to participate with their own ideas and concepts. Students are expected to prepare and attend class regularly. Note that the Participation/Attendance points are part of your grade and could potentially lower your grade by a whole letter in case of failure to participate in the discussion and attend class. Participation grade will depend on the following: o Attending class o Participating in class o Doing homework OTHER DETAILS: Due Dates: All assignments must be submitted at the beginning of class on their due dates. Students with Disabilities: Saint Louis University encourages students with disabilities who believe that they may need accommodations in this class to contact the Office of Disabilities Services at 314-977-2930 as soon as possible to better ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion. Academic Honesty: Cheating of any type will be penalized. "Soliciting, receiving or providing any unauthorized assistance in the completion of any work submitted toward academic credits is dishonest." "It is the responsibility of any student who observes such dishonest conduct to call it to the attention of a faculty member or administrator." For a full statement of the Academic Honesty Policy for The Cook School of Business, consult the Dean's Office (DS200)
Class Schedule (subject to change) Date Chapter Topic 1/13/09 Chapter 1 Course Overview What is International Business 1/15/09 Chapter 1 What is International Business 1/20/09 Chapter 2 Globalization of Markets and the Internationalization of Firms 1/22/09 Chapter 2 Globalization of Markets and the Internationalization of Firms 1/27/09 Chapter 3 Organizational Participants that Make IB Happen 1/29/09 Chapter 5 Cultural Environment of IB 2/3/09 Chapter 5 Cultural Environment of IB 2/5/09 Chapter 17 Marketing in the Global Firm Team Country Report 2/10/09 Chapter 17 Marketing in the Global Firm 2/12/09 EXAM 1 (Chapters 1, 2, 3, 5, 17) 2/17/09 Chapter 6 Political and Legal Systems in Natural Environments 2/19/09 Chapter 6 Political and Legal Systems in Natural Environments 2/24/09 Chapter 7 Government Intervention in IB 2/26/09 Chapter 7 Government Intervention in IB 3/3/0 Chapter 8 Regional Economic Integration Team Country Report 3/5/09 Chapter 9 Emerging Markets 3/10/09 No Class Spring Break 3/12/09 No Class Spring Break 3/17/09 Chapter 9 Emerging Markets 3/19/09 EXAM 2 (Chapters 6, 7, 8, 9) 3/24/09 Chapter 10 Int l Monetary and Financial Environment 3/26/09 Chapter 13 Exporting 3/31/09 Chapter 14 FDI and Collaboration 4/2/09 Chapter 15 Licensing, Franchising and other Strategies 4/7/09 EXAM 3 (Chapters 10, 13, 14, 15) 4/9/09 Group Project Review 4/14/09 Special Topic 4/16/09 Group Presentation + Special Topic 4/21/09 Group Presentation + Special Topic 4/22/09 Group Presentation + Special Topic 4/28/09 Group Presentation + Special Topic 4/30/09 Review Day 5/11/09 FINAL EXAM (comprehensive)
Markets for Group Project 1. Argentina 2. Brazil 3. Chile 4. China 5. Colombia 6. Czech Republic 7. Egypt 8. Hong Kong 9. Hungary 10. India 11. Indonesia 12. Israel 13. Korea, South 14. Malaysia 15. Mexico 16. Pakistan 17. Peru 18. Philippines 19. Poland 20. Russia 21. Saudi Arabia 22. Singapore 23. South Africa 24. Taiwan 25. Thailand 26. Turkey 27. Venezuela