INTRODUCTION TO GLOBAL BUSINESS

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CMR 244

INTRODUCTION TO GLOBAL BUSINESS

Spring 2019

Instructor: Dr. Chen Ferguson

Phone: Office: (513) 785-7703

E- mail: fergusc@miamioh.edu Office: UHH 103, MUH

Office Hour: Tuesdays 12:30 – 16:30 (please call my cell below before you come)

Other office times available by appointment

Cell: (513) 330-0888 (for issues that must be solved immediately)

COURSE DESCRIPTION

According to a report from the American Council of Education, “In the long run, those who can

move seamlessly between different nations, cultures, and languages will be positioned to

capitalize on the next scientific, technological, or information revolution.” This course is

designed to prepare you to become more aware of the globalization that we are facing today. It

will analyze how businesses and individuals compete in the global economy. It doesn’t matter

what your current job is or whether you are going to have an international job in the future – the

content of this course will impact all of us now and in the future, personally and professionally.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

 Upon completing this course, you will have a basic understanding of the following:

o Globalization

o How and why countries differ politically, culturally and economically o Types of foreign direct investments o Strategies for entry into new markets – importing and exporting o Dynamics of the global monetary system o Significance of outsourcing and logistics management

o Global human management

Academic Integrity (also known as Academic Dishonesty, Cheating): You must comply with Miami University’s Academic Integrity policy. You are expected to

know what behavior constitutes academic dishonesty, as well as the penalties and procedures for

dealing with it. Ignorance is no excuse. To learn more about your responsibilities, please visit:

http://www.miami.muohio.edu/integrity/.

If in doubt, please ask your instructor.

Students with Disabilities: Students with disabilities may request a reasonable

accommodation. Office of Disability Services (ODS) registration should be completed before

the provision of accommodations. Please contact ODS at (513) 785-3211 to request an intakemailto:fergusc@miamioh.eduhttp://www.miami.muohio.edu/integrity/

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appointment to complete registration and request accommodations. Students that have completed

ODS registration are encouraged to meet with faculty during week 1 of class to discuss

accommodation plans for the course.

REQUIRED TEXTBOOK

GLOBAL, by Peng, 4th edition, South-Western / Cengage Learning ISBN-13: 978-1337406826, ISBN-10: 1337406821

Quizzes and tests will be from the chapters in this textbook.

Additional Textbook Information:

A copy of the textbook is available at the library through Textbooks on

Reserve.

An electronic copy (e-book) of the textbook is available at a significantly

reduced cost. It can be ordered through www.coursesmart.com.

GRADING POLICY

Grades for this course will be based on the following weight:

Mid-Term & Final Exam 22%

Discussions / Quizzes / Other Assignments 55% Final Project 23%

100%

Mid-Term & Final Exam will cover the sections we will study. They will not be cumulative, so

chapters will not be tested twice.

The online discussion is designed for you to link the course content to everyday life, or what is

going on around us, as a global citizen. I consider the online discussion as a “classroom

discussion” where each student is expected to contribute. Discussions will be graded based on

statistics from the online system (e.g., how many new threads you have initiated and how much

input you have contributed to other students’ threads).

For each forum, you are required to have at least one thread and one comment on other students’

threads. It is strongly suggested that you browse the module at the beginning of each week, make

your study plan for that week, and have your first post completed by Thursday. Then your second

posting can occur any time before Sunday 11:59 PM when the module closes. By forming this

habit, you will be informed about the theme of the specific module and have time to plan for each

task of the module.

Based on the discussion, I may require you to post before you can see others’ comments to

encourage diversity of thinking. Furthermore, responses such as “I agree” or “I disagree” without

evidence do not demonstrate your learning. You need have your own argument or build upon your

classmates’ foundation to take it further.http://www.coursesmart.com/

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Quizzes consist of objective questions based on the textbook. Quizzes are open book

assessments without a time limit, so you are encouraged to read/re-read the textbook, find the

relevant section and choose the right answer.

In addition, throughout the semester, some assignments will be added that will help you link

what you have learned to current global business events. Please refer to Appendix A for

details.

For the final project, please see Appendix B.

OTHER INFORMATION

1. When you send me an email, please follow this subject line format to ensure good tracking:

Format: CMR 244 from {your name} – {topic}

Example: CMR 244 from John Doe – Syllabus

If you do not follow the above subject line format, your email may be classified as junk

email, so I may not be able to respond to you.

2. Please install multiple browsers to ensure you have at least one working when you want to do the course work.

3. Any student who misses more than two (2) weeks of coursework in a row without communicating with the instructor will be withdrawn from the class.

4. Late Submission

Since this is an online course, the due dates for all assignments have been set well in

advance – so try to give yourself some extra time and finish them before the due date.

How are you going to treat project deadlines in the workplace? I expect that you would not

wait until the last minute to try and finish. So please plan ahead, there will always be

something unexpected that jumps out, so start early to avoid missing deadlines.

One of the major differences between taking online and traditional classes is that you have to

form a habit to keep up with online course progress. Otherwise, it is very easy to fall behind.

To reinforce positive habits, the following late submission policy will be strictly reinforced:

On or before the deadline Normal

consideration

Up to ONE week late, with communication and official proof (doctor note,

etc.)

Normal

consideration

Up to TWO weeks late, without communication or official proof Up to 50% points

Beyond two weeks (even with official proof) 0 points

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Asking for exceptions from the above scenarios would not be fair to other students in the

class, because all other students also have to manage their priorities and get their work done

before deadlines. Please refrain from asking for exceptions beyond the above scenarios.

5. Point Deduction

Objective responses such as multiple choice and true/false questions are taken from test

banks. Thus, if your answer has been marked as wrong, please re-read the relevant section

of the textbook and think through the answer again. Maybe the author views an issue from a

different perspective.

For short answer questions in exams, assignments, and discussions, it is very challenging to

explain why each point is deducted from your submissions. My advice is to read your

classmates’ submission in discussions carefully and imagine how much time and research

other students have spent. Then ask yourself whether you have contributed as much to this

online learning community before you think that you are entitled to more points. The rule of

thumb is that if you have enjoyed working on the submission, probably I will enjoy grading it.

There are certain expectations regarding the quality of your submission:

I do NOT go back and forth with students about why certain points were deducted from the

submission. If you think that your grade is unfair, I am more than happy to meet with you in

person to go over the above standards against your specific submission. Please also keep in

mind that your points may be lowered if we go over the above criteria and re-evaluate your

submission more critically.

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CMR 244 – Spring 2019 – Schedule

Week of Topic/Chapter Module Due

1/28 Introduction – Globalizing Business (1) 1 2/3

2/4 Investing Abroad Directly (6) 2 2/10

2/11 Entering Foreign Markets (10) 3 2/17

2/18 Politics / Laws / Economics (2) 4 2/24

2/25 Cultures / Ethics / Norms (3) 5 3/3

3/4 Leveraging Resources /Capabilities (4) 6 3/10

3/11 Mid Term Exam (Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 10) 7 3/17

3/18 Trading Internationally (5) 8 3/24

3/25 – 3/31 Spring Break

4/1 Cultural Event Paper/Spring Break Picture Sharing 4/7

4/8 Foreign Exchange Rates (7) 9 4/14

4/15 Global Integration (8) 10 4/21

4/22 Internationalization of the Firm (9) 11 4/28

4/29 Managing Human Resources Globally (13) 12 5/5

5/6 Final Project Due 13 5/12

5/12 Final Exam (Chapters 5, 7, 8, 9, 13) 14 5/16

DISCLAIMER:

Although the instructor will make every effort to fulfill all the activities as scheduled, students

should be aware that assignments and scheduled events listed in this syllabus and course outline

may be subject to change if necessary during the semester. If there is any discrepancy, please

contact me.

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Appendix A – Cultural Event Paper OR Spring Break Picture Sharing

CMR244 – Introduction to Global Business

Spring 2019

Dr. Chen Ferguson

Option 1 – cultural events

The objective of this cultural event paper requirement is to create relevance between the course content and

what is going on around you. A cultural event paper is a narrative you will write after you actively participate

in a cultural event foreign to you, visit a foreign place or interview a working professional from another

country.

This paper must involve a global dimension or a culture different from your own, and it must also be from

your personal experience and direct interactions. Although you may need to conduct research, you have to be

in the environment yourself rather than just using secondary research (i.e., research that others have done).

In the paper, you can describe your personal experience together with research and insights. No matter what

you are going to reflect about, the common components of the cultural event paper include the following:

1. What is the “trigger” (an event, place or person) that encourages you to reflect? 2. What is the relevance of your reflection to the course content focusing on cross-cultural differences? 3. What are your insights about the global perspective or culture differences based on the knowledge

you have gained through the course and your direct interactions with your source or in the

environment?

4. What additional research have you conducted about this global perspective or cultural differences?

If you are going to reflect on attending a cultural event different from your own, your cultural event paper

may include: What is your observation? Why is it interesting to you? What are some of the exact cultural

differences or observations from the global perspective?

If you interview a working professional from another country, please make sure to prepare a list of questions,

which may include the cultural differences between two countries on the political, economic, and cultural

dimensions as well as the different human resource practices.

Whatever you choose to write about – whether it be an event, place, or person whom you interviewed – you

should compare and contrast your experience with what you know about your own culture. In this way, you

can use observation to highlight relevant cultural differences and then substantiate with your research.

The paper will be about 5-8 pages long and double spaced. It will be graded based on the descriptions of the

“trigger,” relevance to the course content and depth of your research and reflection.

Option 2 – Reflection with pictures

Expand your horizon by having some direct experiences involving international, cross-cultural and global.

Furthermore, attach pictures to prove that you were there, more importantly to use your creativity to show

1. What did you do? 2. Where did you go? 3. How was it related to international, cross-cultural and global dimension? 4. Why did you choose this experience to share? 5. What did you learn from your direct experiences?

The experience does not necessarily need to be fancy. It could be visiting a mosque, shopping at Jungle

Jim’s, dining at IKEA, etc. You should describe what, where, how and why, together with your pictures in

the setting. The goal is to provide you with an opportunity to reflect on your direct experience, integrated

with some research to substantiate your statements. Have fun!

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Appendix B – Final Project

CMR 244 – Introduction to Global Business

Spring 2019

Dr. Chen Ferguson

You are to select a multinational corporation – examples include P&G, GE and Lexis-Nexis, which are all

local companies within driving distance. Of course, you can also select some other companies to your

interest, such as Dow Chemical, McDonalds, Merck, etc. Then you will focus on that company in one

overseas country/market. They may or may not already be doing business in that country.

Conduct research by reading their website, their annual report (for international aspects), or other research

you can locate. You are to identify your sources of information in the form of a bibliography. The paper

should be no more than 15 pages, double spaced. Your grade will be based on content and organization of

thought, ideas, and structure.

Some of the course assignments are related to this final paper requirement. Therefore, it is OK to draw

from the materials you submitted before – the course is designed this way, so you will not be

overwhelmed towards the end of the semester. However, your write-up for this final paper is to be

cohesive (rather than simply “copy and paste” from your previous assignments). You are to demonstrate

your progress of assimilating and synthesizing information through the semester.

Please incorporate the following in your discussion:

1. Organization and product/service analysis a. Description of the organization b. Product or services “needs assessment” of the chosen overseas market/country c. Description of the company’s products or services to meet the need

2. Global strategy formulation a. Conduct a business risk analysis (associated with the chosen country)

i. Political ii. Competitive

iii. Cultural iv. Economic v. Legal

vi. Technological vii. Demographical

b. Compare and contrast the advantages/disadvantages of various modes of entry into the global markets

c. SWOT analysis d. Country selection

i. Market size and growth ii. Barriers to entry

iii. Previous experience in countries and timing 3. Current event research. With the Trump administration, America has entered a new era regarding

how to survive, compete and blossom amidst the reality of globalization. Which of Trump’s new

policies is going to impact your selected company? How does his protectionism benefit or hurt

your selected market/country? Is his policy going to deliver the result that he has promised?

Include your latest research and integrate some of your peers’ insights from our Canvas

discussions into your paper to make it a timely report.

4. Your overall evaluation of their strategies. What suggestions might you make to improve the company’s global expansion with new products or services? If you disagree with some of their

strategies, please discuss in more detail. Also, incorporate what you would do differently.