2011 Course Syllabus
Introduction
The Global Business Project (GBP) is a graduate-level course, designed and developed by a
consortium of Centers for International Business Education and Research (CIBERs), led by the
CIBER at UNC-Chapel Hill. The are two primary goals of the course: 1) that MBAs (and graduate
students in related disciplines) increase their global business and language/cultural competency
through guided hands-on business experience in global markets and 2) that the companies assisted
by the students receive valuable assistance in expanding/increasing their global positions. Students
enrolled in GBP must be MBAs or graduate students at one of the GBP consortium-member
institutions: Columbia University, Duke University, George Washington University, Purdue University,
San Diego State University, Temple University, University of Connecticut, University of Hawaii Manoa, University of Maryland, University of Miami, University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill,
University of Pittsburgh, University of Wisconsin - Madison or their partner institutions in the
destination countries: Burapha University (Thailand); Kwansei Gakuin (Japan); Tsinghua Univesity
(China); and UNISINOS (Brazil).
The countries designated as GBP countries are chosen by the CIBER leadership at the GBP
Consortium schools with several purposes in mind: 1) to increase the usage of languages other than
English – primarily less commonly taught languages – in business activities 2) to establish and/or
increase commercial ties between the U.S. and other countries important – or emerging as
important – to US competitiveness, and 3) to capitalize upon the individual strengths and
international ties of the participating CIBER institutions, with each CIBER responsible for leading
teams to a country or region that matches its school's particular expertise. In 2011, the destination
countries are Brazil, China, Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam led respectively by Duke, UNC and
UNISINOS; UNC and Tsinghua University; Temple and Kwansei Gakuin; Maryland and Burapha;
and Hawaii and Wisconsin.
.
GBP teams-- guided by faculty advisors from the business and language departments of the GBP
consortium institutions and their international partners --utilize a problem-solving approach developed
by Dr. Paul Friga. Using TEAM FOCUS as their problem-solving model, teams advise their clients on
a multitude of issues and derive a set of recommendations and an implementation plan to address
those issues. The course begins with the GBP Kick-off Weekend in Washington D.C., March 11 –
13th, continues with virtual team work from March 14th though May 4th and on-the-ground work in the
destination country from May 1 – May 27th, culminating in a final presentation and report delivered on
or about May 27th. Course credit for GBP is set by the school where a participating student is
enrolled; grades are based on assessments by project leaders and team members, business and
language faculty advisors, the country lead faculty, and the client.
Faculty Leadership [see Blackboard for a detailed list of responsibilities per role]
The UNC-CIBER provides the primary design and overall coordination for the course through the
direction of GBP Program Director/UNC CIBER senior faculty advisor Dr. Lynne Gerber.
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Lead Faculty for GBP Countries
In 2011,six CIBERs have the responsibility for recruiting the clients, creating the teams, and guiding
the projects process in the five project countries. The Duke CIBER has primary responsibility for
Brazil, with assistance from UNC as co-lead; UNC for China; Temple for Japan; , Maryland for
Thailand, Hawaii for Vietnam, with assistance from the Wisconsin CIBER. The faculty leaders for the
six GBP countries, who are responsible for monitoring the progress of all projects in their countries
and for arriving at a grade for each student participating in one of their country’s project are:
Thailand:
Brazil: Professor Arie Lewin – Duke CIBER director
China: : Professor Gary Clinton – CIBER Advisory Board member and UNC adjunct professor
Japan :Professor Jean Wilcox, Temple University professor, Temple CIBER
Thailand: Professor Kislaya Prasad – University of Maryland CIBER director
Vietnam: Professor Shirley Daniel – Hawaii CIBER Director
Language Advisors
Language and Cross-cultural advisors assist with the language aspects of the project, advising and
critiquing individual team members as well as the teams the oral and written work in the primary
languages of the destination countries. They assign a high pass, pass, or low pass grade to each
student prior to the in-country portion of the project, which gets incorporated into the grade awarded
to each student by the primary country leader faculty member (see above section). This year’s
language/cross-cultural mentors/advisors are:
Brazil: Professor Magda Silva, Duke Visiting Assistant Professor of Romance Languages
ChinaProfessor Zhou Yi, UNC- Chapel Hill Lecturer of Mandarin and Working Mandarin
JapanYuhei Inoue, PhD candidate at Temple University
Thailand: Jutharat Palevitz – lecturer for Thai language and culture at Foreign Service Institute
Vietnam: Professor Shirley Daniel – Hawaii CIBER
Faculty Advisors/Cohort Leaders
Faculty advisors provide oversight to the team, with particular guidance to the project leaders. They
also and serve as a liaison between the client and team, gather feedback from the client on the
team’s work, and recommend a final grade for each team member and team. Those faculty advisors
listed as cohort leaders serve additionally as coach/mentor for faculty advisors and project leaders,
either for overall program/course or a particular group of projects.. This year’s faculty advisors are:
Brazil
AGCO
Wendell Gilland
China
Glen Raven
Gary Clinton
Japan
Kobe
Kenichi Tsujimura
Thailand
Burapha
James Spina
& Banpot
Wiroonratch
G.E.
John Joseph
Google
Nick Didow
Hakutsuru Sake
Jean Wilcox
T.C. Radio
Siva Viswanathan
Cohort leader –China
& Suchart Upatham
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Vietnam
GapIT
Shirley Daniel
P&G
Longistics
Shannon McKeen - Noel Greis
Sichang Islands
II-Horn Hahn
Cohort leader -Brazil
Mana Chaowarat
& Wagner
Kamakura
RBS
Iuri Gavronsky
&Alex Belloni
Syngenta
Kevin Leibel
Central Group
Mukul Kumar
Robert Fellows
LORD
Ann Marucheck
Thailand cohort leader
Westinghouse
Bud Smith
Dr. Paul Friga will serve as at-large cohort leader for Vietnam and Japan projects, as well as a
general advisor for cohort leaders for all countries
Dr. Lynne Gerber will serve as general advisor for project leaders for all countries..
Faculty of Record at CIBER Institutions
Students enroll in GBP at their home institutions and receive grades from their school’s GBP
professor (faculty of record), via the Lead Faculty member for the country in which their project is
based. For 2011, students should check with their CIBER office if they are unsure how to register for
GBP at their school.
The Project Scope of Work and Non-disclosure Agreement (NDA)
The project’s Scope of Work is prepared by the team, in consultation with the faculty advisor and the
client during the Kick-off Weekend. By the end of the Kick-off Weekend, each team will have finalized
-- and team members, faculty advisor and the client will have signed -- a Scope of Work letter that
clearly defines the project scope and outlines what will be performed by the team. This document will
thereafter serve as the basis for all project work. During the project, any substantive changes to the
Scope of Work as defined at the Kick-off Weekend will require an addendum to the Scope of Work
letter, agreed to and signed by all parties. In addition to the SoW, all team members, faculty advisors,
and country lead faculty will sign Non-disclosure agreements to ensure confidentiality to clients.
Technological Aspects of the Course
Other than the Kick-Off Weekend, the Hub City Meeting, and the on-the-ground project work in the
destination country, teams will be working virtually over the Internet. Teams will be required to post
their deliverables and manage their projects on Blackboard and team/client meetings should be
conducted on Adobe Connect, with phone connectivity. Support is provided for Blackboard and
Adobe Connect by the GBP lead CIBER, UNC-Chapel Hill. For virtual meetings other than
Team/Client meetings, teams are welcome to use Adobe Connect, but with voice over IP, not phone
connectivity. There is an additional charge for the phone connectivity, and UNC has access to only a
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small number of phone connections that must be scheduled and will be allocated on a first/come first
serve basis..
1) Blackboard
Blackboard is the primary site for course information relevant to all teams, country-and projectspecific information and data, and asynchronous sharing of documents and data, weekly
progress by team members, and discussion among team members and with faculty advisors.
The GBP Blackboard site is available for all team members, lead faculty for each country, and
all faculty advisors.
To access Blackboard, go to http://blackboard.unc.edu and then use your ONYEN (UNC only)
or as a non-ONYEN account using the login and password provided to you by the UNC
CIBER. Once you are logged on, click on MBA889 Spring 2011 GBP. When you are in the
course site, spend a few minutes familiarizing yourself with the site, especially in the area of
Course Documents (where general course information and country-specific materials will be
posted throughout the course) and your project’s group area, where you will post project
specific information and discussion.
If you have problems with Blackboard any time during the course, first use the HELP available
on the site; if you do not receive the help you need in a timely fashion, contact GBP Program
Manager Debbie Williams at the UNC CIBER with the nature of your problem and the steps
you have taken to try to solve it. (drw@unc.edu)
2) Adobe Connect
Adobe Connect is an enterprise web conferencing software that allows you to conduct secure
web meetings where you can share your desktop or files in pdf or PPT) and communicate with
others through Voice-Over-IP using your computers microphone and speakers (you can also
see each other if you have webcams). Teams will be expected to meet weekly on Adobe
Connect with their team members (and faculty advisors, at least at the team meetings
immediately prior to client meetings), using voice-over IP. For virtual team/client meetings and
with the meetings with the faculty advisors who are not with the teams during the in-country
part of the project, teams may reserve phone lines, since Voice-Over IP is often problematic
for international connections. To secure phone lines, and phone numbers, project leaders
should connect with GBP Program Manager well in advance of the meeting. (drw@unc.edu)
To use Adobe Connect, you will need a computer with high-speed Internet access, with
speakers and a microphone built in, or with a headset with microphone plugged in to the
computer. If you would like to use the video feature, and be seen by others, you will also need
a webcam.
Project leaders will be the only ones authorized to set up Adobe Connect meetings and
arrange for the phone lines. Project leaders will be provided with specific instructions related to
Adobe Connect the week following the DC Kick off. If at any time you have problems with
Adobe Connect during the course, first use the HELP available on the site; if the problem
persists, contact Debbie Williams.
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Team Discussions and Meetings
Each team has a Group Area on Blackboard, which can be accessed through the Project Groups
button. After you click the Project Groups button, go to Group Pages and then click on your group’s
name. Each Group Area consists of a Group Discussion Board, File Exchange, and Send Email
sections. Teams are expected to post data and relevant documents in the File Exchange area and to
engage in discussion in the Group Discussion Board. By using the Group Discussion Board instead of
email, you can keep better track of your questions and answers and progress around a particular
area or issue, and you faculty advisor and language faculty member can view and comment upon
your issues/questions at any time during the week. From time to time, you may wish to email
members of the group or the entire team; doing so from the Send Email section permits you to email
from within the Blackboard site and not have to go to Outlook or some other email server.
In addition to the team’s faculty advisor, the language advisor and country lead faculty member will
serve as resources to the team, and may periodically check in to the Blackboard discussion. It is the
team’s responsibility to formally contact the language advisor when the team is preparing
communication, surveys or presentations in the client’s language, but it is likely that the language
mentor will touch base from time to time as he/she monitors the Blackboard Discussion.
Each team is expected to arrange at least one real-time meeting each week to review its progress
and plan for the next week’s actions. During the Kick-off Meeting, the team and the faculty advisor
should decide together if the faculty advisor will attend all weekly meetings, or only those that occur in
the week immediately prior to the four client meetings that occur from March 14th through May 27th
(see below). Prior to every team meeting, one team member should be responsible for initiating the
Meeting Planner & Notes Form (or similar, or your choosing) and posting it on Blackboard at least 24
hours before the meeting. The team should identify a team member to take notes during the meeting
and post within 24 hours of the meeting the completed Meeting Plans & Notes Form as well as the
Weekly Tasks Form for the upcoming week. Templates for the Meeting Plans and Notes and Team
Weekly Tasks are located at the end of this syllabus and also in Blackboard, under Course
Documents – For All Teams folder.
COURSE Schedule, based on TEAM FOCUS [see GBP Summary Chart]
GBP projects are divided into 4 phases, each one beginning and ending with a meeting with the client
(shown in table form at the end of this section). During the first two phases, teams meet at least once
weekly to discuss direction and progress among themselves and are joined in that meeting by their
STAR professor. Before each client meeting, the team is expected, during its regular weekly
meeting, or a specially-called meeting, to make a dry-run presentation to the team’s faculty advisor,
and – during the in-country portion, by the country leader(s) and, possibly, some subject matter
experts. At the final client meeting, the team’s project leader provides the client with a bound copy of
the final presentation, and a data CD (see “The Final Presentation” under Administration).
Kick-off Weekend: Develop the TEAM process and begin to Frame and Organize
(March 10-13)
 Set parameters for T.E.A.M. and prepare Team Charter
 Conduct Kick-off/Scope of Work Meeting with client
o Finalize Scope of Work and Sign Scope of Work letter and Non-disclosure
agreement(NDA)
o Set expectations for client/team communication and meetings
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Resource Materials: On Blackboard – Syllabus; Policies & Procedures; Templates for Scope of
Work and NDA; Took Kits on T.E.A.M., Scope of Work, Issue Trees and Hypotheses
Deliverables (to be posted on Blackboard in Team’s File Exchange area: Team Charter,
Kick-off Meeting Power Point, Scope of Work
Phase One (March 14 – April 1): Continue to Frame & Organize and begin to Collect
 Create Issue Trees, Hypotheses, and Finalize Content Maps
 Determine what data are needed to answer key questions and how to collect the
answers
 Team Meetings: at least once per week with STAR professor; additional, as ropriate,
among PL and team members
 Deliverables (to be posted on Blackboard in Team’s File Exchange area): Issue
Tree and Hypotheses - Process & Content Maps; annotated Power Point
presentations from Client meetings # 2 ( Preliminary Findings – Part One):
Data Collection questions and process for both primary and secondary
collection;
Client Meeting # 2 – Preliminary Findings – Part One (Virtual meeting, using
Adobe Connect, on or about April 1 – 1 to 2 hours)
Phase Two (April 2 – May 4) Collect, Begin to Understand and Synthesize, plan incountry portion of project
 Create primary data collection templates ( i.e. interview, survey, or focus group
questions)
 Continue secondary data collection and analysis and begin primary research
 Determine the “So What’s” that will head each slide on final deck
 Be sure that each conclusion ( so what) are well founded in data
 Resource Materials: On Blackboard – Toolkits 7& 8: Data base links; Templates for
interviews and surveys; Free survey tools; Examples of ghost decks and story lines,
Articles on giving and receiving feedback
 Meetings: at least once per week with STAR professor; additional, as appropriate,
among PL and team members; one meeting with client by May 1
 Deliverables: Draft of Ghost Deck, with clear story line and evidence of
support for recommendations; Scripts for Primary Research collection;
Creation of fact pack (findings); In-country Plan, articulated on BB, for
touching base when in country with faculty advisor; mid-course
assessments ( to be conducted on line on Qualtrics), which will be used for
feedback session at Hub City weekend.
Client Meeting # 3-Preliminary Story/Plans for In-country Portion (Virtual
meeting, using Adobe Connect, on or about April 29 – 1 hour)
 Presentation of Work in Phase Three
 Finalize action items for on-the-ground work
Phases Three & Four – (Continue to Collect), Understand & Synthesize (May 14 – May
27)
 Participate in Hub City Weekend, reviewing Preliminary Findings and Preliminary
Story with team, client, and country leaders; and conducting mid-project
assessment and feedback session
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




Execute on-the-ground project plan, refining as needed
Meetings: with client, outside experts, and country leaders as appropriate
Conduct a dry run of the final presentation no later than May 25 to Country leaders
and others experts selected by country leaders
Present final presentation to client, consisting of executive summary, the complete
story (hypotheses, recommendations with rationale, and action plan)
Deliverables: Annotated final presentation , flanked by 1 to 2-page executive
summary at beginning and Implementation plan at the end – color for client
and STAR archives, black & white for team; two final CDs (blanks provided by
STAR program office), with all presentations, fact packs, raw data, and
models); Team Member and Project/ Course Evaluations, to be completed on
line through Qualtrics survey
Final Project Presentation on or about May 27th, in person
 Present a thorough summary of findings and a detailed implementation strategy for
next 12 months
 Collect client evaluation of team
 Final presentation and CD given to client and GBP program office;
Meetings with the Client
Each team is required to have four meetings with the client: 1) the Scope of Work Meeting during the
Kick-off Weekend; 2) Preliminary Findings by April 1; 3) Preliminary Story and In-country Plans by
May 4; 4) Presentation of Project: Outcome and Recommendations, by May 27th. Before each client
meeting, except the Scope of Work meeting during the Kick-off Weekend, the team is expected,
during its regular weekly meeting, or a specially-called meeting, to make a dry-run presentation to
both the team’s faculty advisor and the language advisor. The team, either on its own or at the
suggestion of their faculty advisor or language advisor, may also solicit the help of the Lead Professor
for the team’s country. The mandatory client meetings are shown below, with key objectives.
Mandatory Meetings with GBP team and client
Date
Meeting
March 10
Kickoff/Begin
Phase One
TBD –
on or about
April 1
Preliminary
Findings
TBD
on or about
May 4
Preliminary
Story and Incountry Plan
TBD On or
about May 27
Final
Presentation
Key Objectives
Receive a company and project overview from
client; confirm objectives & approach, establish
Internet meeting dates and times for Phases One
and Two
Mode of Attendance
Collect relevant data and begin to understand
possible strategic actions
By Adobe Connect
Present hypotheses and plan for further data
gathering and analysis
Finalize/ Agree to Action Plan for on-the –ground
project work
Review of project process and
Outcome/Recommendation
For client
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In person
By Adobe Connect
In person/ or By
Adobe Connect
Final Presentation and Report
By May 27th each team will deliver a written report (in color and spiral bound) and supporting CD to
the client, and an identical final report package (spiral-bound report & CD) to the UNC – CIBER, CB
#3440/Skipper Bowles Drive, UNC-Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-3440 Attn: Ms. Debbie
Williams. The UNC-CIBER office will distribute copies of the report and CDs to the team’s faculty
and language advisors and the country’s lead professor. Guidelines for the final report are at the
end of the Syllabus. Blank CDs will be given to Project Leaders at the DC Kick-off event.
The written report should include an Executive Summary; Analysis and Rationale for
Recommendations; Recap of Recommendations, with suggested timeline for implementation; and
Appendices. If approved by the team’s faculty advisor, the final report can be an annotated version
of the final Power Point presentation, with an executive summary in the front, either as part of the
Power Point, or in a Word document immediately preceding the PP. Guidelines for the final
report are at the end of the Syllabus.
The CD should include annotated Power Point presentations and/or other written interim reports
made to the client over the course of the project, beginning with the Final Presentation; it will also
include supporting data and reports that the team collected over the course of the project that client
might be able to utilize. In cases where the client has representation in destination country, the
Power Points, supporting documents and final report should be provided in the language of that
country as well as in English. It is the responsibility of each team to ensure that the final
presentation and report are free of language and formatting errors.
Client Confidentiality
GBP projects are with real companies for whom we must uphold general consultant's confidentiality
standards. The standard GBP Confidentiality Agreement can be found in Blackboard, under Course
Documents – For All Teams folder. At the Scope of Work meeting with the client during the Kick-off
weekend, all team members and the faculty advisor and any GBP Consortium members with access
to the Blackboard and Adobe Connect sites will sign two copies of each project’s confidentially
agreement. One agreement will go to the primary client contact; the other will be filed at the UNCCIBER, and a copy will be posted on the Project’s Group page on Blackboard.
Assessment of Performance and Assignment of Grades
GBP students are enrolled in the GBP course at their own institutions and grades will be awarded to
the faculty of record in the format normally used for each institution. 55% of each student’s grade will
be based on the individual performance of that student, as assessed by other team members, the
team’s faculty advisor, language advisor and country leader(s). 45% of the grade will be based on
the success of the project as rated by the client, the faculty advisor, language advisor, and country
leader(s). Individual Assessment (mid-course and Final) and the Project Evaluation Form (completed
at the end of the project) will be collected via an online survey using Qualtrics; hard copy samples are
posted under Course Documents – For All Teams. The UNC-CIBER will initiate the assessment
process at the appropriate time and provide instructions for completing and turning in the forms.
After receiving assessments from the various stakeholders, the lead faculty for each country will
assign a grade for each student, and send the grade to the GBP Program Manger, who will forward
the grade to the faculty of record for the course at the student’s home institution, who will convert it to
the school-specific grading scale.
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Course Evaluation
The week after the Kick-off Weekend, GBP participants (students, faculty, consortium members, and
clients) will be asked to complete an anonymous Kick-Off Weekend evaluation survey. At the end of
the course, each Consortium-member school will ask their students to complete the standard course
evaluation. Because the standard evaluations will most likely not capture some of the unique aspects
of this course – dual languages, guided project work, virtual teaming, etc., we will ask students,
faculty advisors, and clients to complete a another brief survey within 2 weeks of the close of the
course. These evaluations will in no way affect the grades for any students enrolled, but will be used
to inform and assist the Consortium as it prepares for its next year of the Global Business Project.
Form Templates (can also be found in Blackboard in Course Documents – For All Teams folder)
I.
Meeting Objectives & Notes (for all meetings with team, faculty advisor and clients)
II.
GBP Weekly Tasks and Meetings Planner
III.
Call/Email/Visit Planner ( includes template for scripting the call or visit)
IV.
Final Report Guidelines
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I. Meeting Objectives and Notes: Project Name _________________________
[name and date of ]Meeting
Meeting Mode: ( i.e. Adobe Connect, in person, combination)
Meeting Objectives:
In attendance:
Notes (Items Discussed and Items Decided)
Action Items (may be written, or transcribed onto Weekly Tasks Form)
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II. GBP Weekly Tasks and Meetings Planner
Project: ___________
Week: _______________
Team
Member
Tasks
Meetings this
week:
Type of Deliverable
(i.e. call sheets,
market data,
financial data
Method ( i.e.
Adobe, SKYPE,
in person)
Date
Possible sources
for data
Coordinator/
Arranger
With entire
team
PM with
_______
With Faculty
advisor
With Client
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How to be
shared with
team/faculty
advisor
By when
Note taker/distributor
III. Call / Email/Visit Planning Worksheet for Project: _______________________
Company Name:_______________
Phone Number: ________
Contact Name:
Relationship to your client: □ customer □ competitor
□ prospective buyer/distributor □ other: _________________________
Primary Goal of Your Call/Email/Visit:
Secondary Goal of Your Cal/Email/Visit:
Opening statement (valid business reason for call with benefits statement to client)
Prepared questions:
Anticipated objections and responses:
How are you adding value in the conversation?
Closing Statement: (Summarize what you’ve agreed, summarize action items, schedule next
interaction)
Voicemail script if they are unavailable for this call:
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IV. GBP Report Guidelines
GLOBAL BUSINESS PROJECT
REPORT TEMPLATE
The following outline is an example of what information the final report might include and how
it should be formatted. Please keep in mind that this is an example. Depending on different
project circumstances, each report may vary in content.
1.
Executive Summary
a. Recap of key question and project scope
b. Recommendations
2.
Analysis/Rationale for Recommendations
3. Recap of Recommendations, with timeline for implementation
4. Appendices and Working Documents (some in Power Point, and some supplied only on
CD)
The written report should include an Executive Summary; Analysis and Rationale for
Recommendations; Recap of Recommendations, with suggested timeline for implementation; and
Appendices.
If approved by the team’s faculty advisor, the final report can be an annotated version of the final
Power Point presentation, with an executive summary in the front, either as part of the Power Point,
or in a Word document immediately preceding the PP.
The CD should include annotated Power Point presentations and/or other written interim reports
made to the client over the course of the project, beginning with the Final Presentation; it will also
include supporting data and reports that the team collected over the course of the project that client
might be able to utilize. In cases where the client has representation in destination country, the
Power Points, supporting documents and final report should be provided in the language of that
country as well as in English. It is the responsibility of each team to ensure that the final
presentation and report are free of language and formatting errors.
The cost of two spiral bound color copies and up to 5 black and white copies of the final report will
be
Absorbed by the GBP program. Original receipts should be sent to GBP Program Manager Debbie
Williams,
UNC Chapel Hill, CB#3440, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3440, along with a GBP reimbursement form (
available on Blackboard).
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