Topic

Topic 1: Understanding global business context .

Topic 2: Skills and competencies for managing in a global context.

Topic 3: Cultural differences in behaviour and mindsets.

Topic 4: Cultural differences in leadership and decision-making.

Topic 5: Internationalisation of a firm: Creating value in a global context

Topics 6: Identifying international opportunities

Topic 7: Identifying international opportunities: Understanding emerging markets

Topic 8 Internationalisation as entrepreneurial activity. International entry strategic decisions.

Topic 9: Internationalisation of Services. International outsourcing .

Topic 10: Team management and conflict resolution across cultures. Ethics in a global context.

Topic 11. Negotiating in a global context.

Session 12: Group presentations (Company project). Course wrap up.

Session 13: Final Examination

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from the Course Planner at http://access.adelaide.edu.au/courses/search.asp?year=2011

This course has the following objectives:

1. To develop a high degree of awareness of existing differences in ‘country’ level political, economic, legal and cultural environments and the practical impact of such differences on international business activities;
2. To understand behaviour of major stakeholders in the global economy such as national governments, supranational organisation and multinational companies;
3. To explore a managerial perspective of those aspects of the global business environment which directly affect a business’s foreign trade and environment;
4. To develop sound knowledge of strategies that may be used by a firm to manage challenges and seize opportunities presented by globalisation of the world economy and international business operations;
5. To gain sufficient understanding of cross-border business functional issues to be in a position to contribute to decisions about the internationalisation of business

Course materials pack: Readings and case studies Course materials posted on MyUni: Case studies, lecture notes, exercises, and library links to readings.

Books:
Bartlett, C.A. & Ghoshal, S. 1989. Managing across borders: The transnational solution. Harvard Business School, Boston, Mass.
Cavusgil,T., Knight, G. and Riesenberger, J. 2011. International business. 2nd edition. Prentice Hall.
Doz, Y., Santos, J. and Williamson, P. 2001. From Global to Metanational: How Companies Win in the Knowledge Economy, Harvard Business School Press
Dunning, J.H. 1993. Multinational Enterprises and the Global Economy, Addison Wesley.
Fukuyama, F. 1992. The end of history and the Last Man. New York: Free Press.
Ghemawat, P. 2007. Redefining global strategy: Crossing borders in a world where differences still matter. Harvard Business School Publishing.
Ghemawat, P. 2011.World 3.0: Global Prosperity and How to Achieve It. Harvard Business School Publishing.
Hill, Charles (2013), International Business, 9th ed, McGraw Hill International.
Huntington, S. P. 1996. The clash of civilizations and the remaking of the world order. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Johansson, J. 2008. Global marketing: Foreign entry, local marketing, and global management. McGraw Hill/Irwin.
Khanna, T. and Palepu, K. 2010. Winning in Emerging Markets: A Road Map for Strategy and Execution . Harvard Business School Publishing.
Lasserre, P. and Schutte, H. 2006, Strategies for Asia Pacific: Meeting new challenges, Macmillan Business, Sydney.
Lewis, R. (2006). When cultures collide: Managing successfully across cultures. Nicolas Brealey Publishing, London
Ohmae, K. 1990. The Borderless World, Harper Business Press.
Porter, M.E. 1986. Competition in global industries. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.
Porter, M.E. 1990. The competitive advantage of nations. The Free Press, New York.
Rugman. A. 2001. The end of globalisation: Why global strategy is a myth and how to profit from the realities of regional markets. Amacom.
Sen, A. 1999. Development as freedom. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Stace, D. 1997. Reaching out from Down Under: Building competence for global markets. McGraw- Hill, Sydney.
Trompenaars, F., and Hampden-Turner, C. (1997). Riding the Waves of Culture, Nicholas Brealey, London.
Trompenaars, F., and Hampden-Turner, C. (2001). Building Cross-cultural competence: How to create wealth from conflicting values . New York: John Wiley and Sons.
Trompenaars, F., and Hampden-Turner, C. (2004). Managing people across cultures. Chichester: Capstone.
Trompenaars, F., and Hampden-Turner, C. 2004. Managing people across cultures. Chichester: Capstone.
Walker, D., Walker, T. And Schmitz, J. 2003. Doing business internationally. 2 ed. McGraw-Hill
Warner, M. (ed) 2003. Culture and management in Asia. Routledge Curzon.
Yip, G. 2011, Total Global Strategy, 3rd ed, Prentice Hall- Pearson Education International.
Zeng, M. & Williamson, P.J., 2008. Dragons at your door: How Chinese cost innovation is disrupting global competition. Harvard Business School Press.

Annual Reports:
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD): Annual World Investment Reports.
World Economic Forum: Annual Global Competitiveness Reports.
World Trade Organisation: Annual reports.
World Bank: Annual Reports

Journals:
Academy of Management Journal
Harvard Business Review
Journal of International Business Studies
Management International Review
Journal of World Business
McKinsey Quarterly
The Economist
Business Week

Databases (available online via UoA library)

Business Source Complete (EBSCO ) A very large database covering all aspects of business / commerce related subjects for over 1,200 journals some indexed back to 1886. contains a high percentage of active, peer-reviewed, business related journals Additional full text, non-journal content, includes financial data, books, conference proceedings, case studies, investment research reports, industry reports, market research reports, country reports, company profiles, SWOT analyses and more. Search tip - type "" (quotation marks if you need to find a phrase eg: "interest rates").
Products and trade names guide (B2NB) by Dun & Bradstreet Search for products & services of Australian public and private companies, by company name, brand or UNSPSC code. Also details information on Australian companies.
AusStats Australian Bureau of Statistics website Everything on the ABS web site is accessible free of charge. Special access arrangements apply to Confidentialised unit record files (CURFs).
Mint Global [Bureau van Dijk] Mint Global is the ORBIS database of over 50 million companies from around the world. Includes listed and unlisted companies. The information is presented in five modules: companies, news, market research, directors and scanned reports. Export data to spreadsheets.
Osiris [Bureau van Dijk] A fully integrated public company database ... Financial information [is included] on 57,000 listed and major unlisted/delisted companies worldwide (45,500 are non-US companies). The information includes: standardised and "as reported" financials (including restated reports), SEC filings, images of annual reports, corporate actions and dividends, detailed earnings estimates including recommendations, ownership, stock data, news and ratings.
ZEPHYR [Bureau van Dijk] containing M&A, IPO and venture capital deals with links to detailed financial company information. ZEPHYR now contains information on over 600,000 transactions (as of December 2008). Up to 100,000 new deals are added per year. ZEPHYR has nine years of global coverage and includes deals involving European companies going back to 1997.
GMID (Global Marketing Information Database) GMID contains over a million demographic, economic and marketing statistics for 205 countries worldwide. The database also contains 6-year historic market size data for more than 330 consumer products in 52 countries, plus 5-year forecasts.
CEIC Macroeconomic, industry and financial time series database for global emerging and developed markets. product information
SourceOECD A major source of international statistics and reports. Hint: click on Advanced search (under the Search for box) to add limits by date, field name or format (eg: statistics, working papers etc).
UN Comtrade Delivers international trade statistics. See also the Statistics database of the World Trade Organization.
ViewsWire - Asia - E I U. Analyses (including Excel spreadsheets) for each country under the following headings:-
Politics / News analysis, Background, Political structure, Outlook. Economy / News analysis, Background, Economic structure, Latest indicators, Outlook, 5-year forecast, 5-year summary, Country risk rating, Background Data. Finance/ News analysis, Outlook, EIU currency forecasts, Consensus currency forecast, Interest rate forecast, Equity prices, Euro exchange rate, Daily US dollar exchange rates Business / News analysis, Background, Business environment, Outlook, Corporate strategy, Industry overview Regulations / News analysis, Investment, Competition and price, Licensing and IP, Trade, Foreign exchange, Tax Country forecasts / Country Risk Summary / Country briefing (see also: ViewsWire in Factiva)
World development indicators online (WDI) World Bank Obtain country time series indicator (spreadsheets) such as: consumption, savings, education, employment, banking, health, roads, agriculture, stocks, markets etc. (see the online help).
WTO (World Trade Organization) Statistics database The Trade Profiles section provides standard information on the structural trade situation and trade policy measures of members, observers and other selected economies. The profiles are complemented with general macroeconomic indicators. The Time Series section provides a searchable database on international trade in merchandise and commercial services.
Economist Intelligence Unit - Asia Provides independent, authoritative analysis and forecasts on country, industry and management analysis. Note: the Library provides access to other Economist Intelligence Unit titles via the Factiva database (click on Source and search for Economist Intelligence)
GMID (Global Marketing Information Database) [Euromonitor] GMID contains over a million demographic, economic and marketing statistics for 205 countries worldwide. The database also contains 6-year historic market size data for more

In preparation for each lecture please visit MyUni course site www.myuni.adelaide.edu.au to access course materials. The lecturer’s PowerPoint files and other relevant material for each session will be posted on MyUni weekly. Power point lecture notes offer both a summary of important material and some supplementary information. MyUni will also be used be the lecturer to post important messages.

The course uses a mixture of readings, experiential exercises, and case studies.

The University expects full-time students (i.e. those taking 12 units per semester) to devote a total of 48 hours per week to their studies. This means that you are expected to commit approximately 9 hours in preparation for each 3 hour face to face session. This includes preparation for classes and working on assignments.

Topic 1: Understanding global business context . Reference material: Course Materials and MyUni: Topic 1.

Topic 2: Skills and competencies for managing in a global context. Reference material: Course Materials and MyUni: Topic 2. Case study: “The case of the floundering expatriate”.

Topic 3: Cultural differences in behaviour and mindsets. Reference material: Course Materials and MyUni: Topic 3. Case study: “Trouble in Paradise”

Topic 4: Cultural differences in leadership and decision-making. Reference material: Course Materials and MyUni : Topic 4. Case studies: “The making of the superstar”, “A difficult start”, “Contrasting cultures”

Topic 5: Internationalisation of a firm: Creating value in a global context Reference material: Course Materials and MyUni: Topic 5. Case study: “Ingvar Kamprad and IKEA”

Topics 6: Identifying international opportunities Reference material: Course Materials and MyUni: Topic 6 Case study: “Parking Creators International”

Topic 7: Identifying international opportunities: Understanding emerging markets Reference material: Course Materials and MyUni: Topic 7 Case study:“PaintCo Brasileira Ltda”

Topic 8 Internationalisation as entrepreneurial activity. International entry strategic decisions. Reference material: Course Materials and MyUni: Topic 8. Case study: “PaintCo Brasileira Ltda”

Topic 9: Internationalisation of Services. International outsourcing . Reference material: Course Materials and MyUni: Topic 9. Case studies: “China Automotive Finance: Service Operations Redesign”; “Bangkok Dusit Medical Services Pcl: Healthy international expansion”

Topic 10: Team management and conflict resolution across cultures. Ethics in a global context. Reference material: Course materials and MyUni: Topic 10 Case studies: “Participate and that’s an order”, “Culture clash in the boardroom”

Topic 11. Negotiating in a global context. Reference material: Course materials and MyUni: Topic 11 Case study: “Walking the blurry line in China: Negotiating deals and staying out of jail”. Role play: instructions to be distributed in class

Session 12: Group presentations (Company project). Course wrap up.

Session 13: Final Examination

Assessment item	Percentage of total mark	Relevant learning objective(s)
Individual Country Project Report	20%	Learning objectives 1 - 4
Individual Reflection Report	10%	Learning objectives 3
Group Company Project (Report)	15%	Learning objectives 2,4
Group Company Project (Presentation)	5%	Learning objectives 2,4,5
Class participation	10%	Learning objectives 1 - 5
Final Exam	40%	Learning objectives 1 - 5

Students in this course are expected to attend all seminars throughout the trimester.
The MBA program is largely undertaken through face-to-face class sessions to facilitate interactions between the lecturing staff and fellow students. Accordingly there is an expectation that you will attend all of the scheduled classes. If work commitments, illness or other circumstances require you to be absent from some lectures, please inform your lecturer in advance by either phone or email so that you may discuss the topic(s) to be covered in the class session and the tasks you need to complete before the next session. It is your responsibility to make arrangements with the lecturer or other students to catch up on information discussed in class, however, it is unlikely that lecturers will be able to repeat a class to cover your absence.

Please note that if you have not attended at least 80% of the class sessions for a course you will forgo your right, on academic grounds, to any supplementary assessment opportunities.

While all MBA courses for which there is an examination are run in an open book format, candidates should note that they will not be given credit for work copied from textbooks, websites or other materials distributed during classes. Appropriate referencing in examinations is required where others’ work is referred to.

Assignment 1: Individual Country Project Report (20 %)
A local company in the industry of your choice asked you to prepare a report that assesses cultural differences between their home country and one of the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) or CIVETS (Columbia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey, South Africa) countries and the potential effect of these differences on their proposed business operations in that country. You are expected to identify potential cultural risks and challenges that the company may face and offer recommendations on how these may be managed. Please feel free to choose the industry you are well familiar with.
The report must reflect your knowledge of relevant theoretical frameworks.

Note:
The purpose of this assignment is to work with two cultures/business contexts: the one you belong to and, thus, know well (a ‘home country’) and the one you are not familiar with (a ‘host country’). The ‘home country’ is where you normally reside, i.e. Australia for most of you. The ‘host country’ can be any from the BRIC and CIVETS list provided you are NOT linked to it due to your cultural background. This is required to ensure students’ equity in access to information/data and stimulate your learning by exploring something new and unfamiliar.

Length: 2500 words. Exceeding a word limit will attract a 5% mark reduction. The word count excludes the executive summary and appendixes.
Due date: 16 June 2014

Assessment criteria:
· Logic and flow of argument;
· Ability to present your findings clearly and succinctly;
· Application of key relevant theories and concepts;
· Research skills and use of data to support the analysis;
· Recommendations and trade-offs identified in analysis;
· Relevance to the topic;
· Effective overall strategy, adequate introduction, body, and conclusion;
· Presentation: word limit; layout; referencing and bibliography.

Assignment 2: Group Company Project (Report 15%; presentation 5%)
Group size: 4-5 students

Based on your knowledge of a selected company and its recent cross-border activity (trade or investment)
analyse (based on the data that you have) the company’s reasons to start cross-border activity, to select the foreign markets that it has; to choose the foreign market entry mode(s) that it has; and the factors that appear to be associated with its current levels of success (or, failure) in these markets. Please provide recommendations to the Board on improving the company’s international business operations.

OR ALTERNATIVELY

Based on your knowledge of a selected domestic company that is currently considering commencing international operations
· analyse how international expansion will add value to the company;
· assess the company’s internal capability for international expansion;
· suggest what market(s) it should enter and what market entry strategy will be appropriate;
· identify possible challenges that may arise in the process of international expansion and suggest some mitigation strategies.
Whichever topic you choose, the report must reflect your knowledge of relevant theoretical frameworks.

Notes:
· You cannot choose a company you are currently working for/worked for in the past. This is required to ensure students’ equity in access to information/data and stimulate your learning by exploring something new and unfamiliar.
· Your choice of the company must be approved by the lecturer by Saturday 14 June to ensure you have adequate material for application of course concepts.
· By Monday 23 June you should submit a one-page summary of the project for the lecturer’s approval to help you finalise the scope of the report.
· In order to demonstrate a reasonable familiarity with the company you have selected you may use data collected through interview(s), media reports and other published materials, including the company’s annual reports and/or its web site.

REPORT (15%):

Report length: 3500 words excluding an executive summary and appendixes. Exceeding a word limit will attract a 5% mark reduction.
Due date: 30 June 2014

Assessment criteria:
· Logic and flow of argument;
· Ability to present your findings clearly and succinctly;
· Application of key relevant theories and concepts;
· Research skills and use of data to support the analysis;
· Recommendations and trade-offs identified in analysis;
· A reasonable familiarity with the firm you have selected and its international industrial environment;
· Relevance to the topic;
· Effective overall strategy, adequate introduction, body, and conclusion;
· Presentation: word limit; layout; referencing and bibliography.

PRESENTATION (5%):

Presentation duration: 10 minutes plus 5 minutes for discussion during each session.
The purpose of this session is to enable you to share your research with your colleagues and obtain feedback on your projects prior to submission. These are not meant to be formal presentations but informal briefings to obtain feedback during class. You should comment on any problems you have had with your project and how you solved these. You are not expected to present the entirety of your research findings during these sessions, hence you should select those elements of your project that you found to be particularly interesting or contentious and use the time to gain feedback and enable the class to learn from your research.

Due date: 28 June 2014. Power point slides must be submitted to the lecturer by Thursday 26 June 2014.

Assessment criteria:

• Research quality and progress to date
• Application of relevant course concepts in analysing research
• Stimulating interest for the audience;
• Highlighting key points;
• Handling questions/discussion.

 Assignment 3: Individual reflection report 10%

Please reflect on what you have learned in this course about mindfulness, how you work to develop this skill and what implications it has for you as manager. In light of your understanding and practice of mindfulness, please analyse how you handle(d) current (past) work-related situations that require expanded awareness.

Report length: 800 words. Exceeding a word limit will attract a 5% mark reduction.
Due date: 7 July 2014.

Assessment criteria:
· Logic and flow of argument;
· Ability to present your findings clearly and succinctly;
· Application of key relevant theories and concepts;
· Recommendations and tradeoffs identified in analysis;
· Relevance to the topic;
· Effective overall strategy, adequate introduction, body, and conclusion;
· Presentation: word limit; layout; referencing and bibliography.


Class participation (10%)

Assessment criteria:
· Participation in class discussions such as for example putting forward one’s point of view with a brief supporting argument; summarising and evaluating ideas/issues that arise from course readings; asking questions directly related to issues/problems discussed in class;
· Participation in case study group discussions and presentations (topics 7-11);
· Contribution to MyUni “Current events” (a one paragraph summary must be provided along with a file or a web link);
· Class attendance.

Final Examination (40%)
There will be an open book examination. The examination may include a case study.
Date: to be advised 

Please retain a copy of all assignments submitted.
Please attach an ‘Assignment Cover Sheet’, which is signed and dated by you before submission.
All group assignments must be attached to a ‘Group Assignment Cover Sheet’, which must be signed and dated by all group members before submission. All team members are expected to contribute approximately equally to a group assignment.
You are required to submit your assignments as Word.doc(x) file directly to the lecturer at olga.muzychenko@adelaide.edu.au. PDF files and assignments not complying with formatting requirements will not be accepted.

Formatting requirements:
· Double spacing with 2.5 cm margins
· Page numbers on each page
· Tables and figures correctly labelled and include titles (note difference between tables and figures!)
· Relevant diagrams should be in the main body of the report only supplementary material in the appendix
· Appendixes (for additional information) attached and labelled.
· Your assignment must include a title page that indicates your name, student number, email address, course name (Global Business), course coordinator, assignment topic and word count (excluding executive summary, attachments and appendices). Please note that word limits will be strictly enforced. The word count excludes the executive summary, and appendixes. Exceeding word limit will be penalised by a 5% mark reduction.

Lecturers can refuse to accept assignments, which do not have a signed acknowledgement of the University’s policy on plagiarism.

Assignment Guidelines including Referencing Details
A copy of the Postgraduate Programs: Communication Skills Guide will have been given to you at the beginning of your program. This guide will assist you structure your assignments. A copy of the guide can also be downloaded from http://www.business.adelaide.edu.au/current/mba/download/2009MBACommSkillsGuide.pdf

This publication also provides guidelines on a range of other important communication skills including writing essays and management reports, making oral presentations etc.
In preparing any written piece of assessment for your postgraduate studies it is important to draw on the relevant ‘literature’ to support critical analysis. Also essential is to reference the literature used. Correct referencing is important because it identifies the source of the ideas and arguments that you present, and sometimes the source of the actual words you use, and helps to avoid the problem of plagiarism. (Further information on plagiarism is provided later in this course outline.)
The Harvard system is widely used in the Business School. Guidelines for the use of this style of referencing can be found in the Communication Skills Guide.

Further assistance with referencing is available from the Faculty’s Learning Support Advisors. The contact details are provided on page 6 of the Communication Skills Guide.

Late Assignment Submission and Extensions to Due Dates
Students are expected to submit their work by the due date to maintain a fair and equitable system. Extensions will generally only be given for medical or other serious reasons. All requests for extensions must be emailed to the lecturer in charge of the course before the due date. Each request will be assessed on its merits. A late assignment (without prior arrangement) will be penalised by a 5% mark reduction for each day that it is late.

Return of Assignments
Lecturer’s aim to mark and return assignments to students within two (2) weeks of the due date with written feedback.