BUAD 204 – Global Business from a Local Perspective
Syllabus – Spring 2013 – Days – Times
Professor:
Office:
Rex Kovacevich
ACC 234B
Office Phone: 213-740-5045
Office Hours: TBD
E-mail: rex.kovacevich@marshall.usc.edu
Course Description
An understanding of global business has become critically important whether a manager has to evaluate
supply chain options, new market opportunities or overseas investment possibilities. This 2 unit class is
designed for business majors who have not yet had an international class experience, and will complement
the core business classes you are taking by providing a global business perspective. Course content will
include concepts, frameworks and cultural insights that will boost your abilities to conduct business across
borders. To bring concepts to life, we will interact with Los Angeles area companies that operate globally.
The class will conclude with company visits to witness international business examples directly.
Learning Objectives
During our eight class sessions and subsequent company visits, you will…
 …understand the impacts of globalization on business and society through readings and
class topics covered.
 …understand the differences among global customer markets and different resource
markets through readings and class topics covered.
 …apply theories, models and frameworks based on class topics covered and an assigned
company and country research projects.
 …learn to assess the business environment in another country, including business
practices, economic and financial structures, institutions and institutional voids, political
and regulatory systems, and cultural and social conditions through class topics covered and
an assigned country research project.
 …develop an understanding of cultural differences and business practices through an
assigned country research project.
Required Materials
Course reader available in book store
Prerequisites and/or Recommended Preparation:
There aren’t any prerequisites, but the class is only open to Marshall students who have not
participated previously in a LINC (BUAD 104) or GLP (BUAD 102).
Course Notes:
Copies of lecture slides and other class information are available through your Blackboard account.
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Grading Policies:
The grading for this class will be Credit/No Credit. In order to receive credit for the course, you
must pass each of the following requirements:
Class Participation and Attendance
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Individual Preparation Papers
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Group Country Projects
Professional Behavior
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Phase III Learning Summary
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Group Company Briefing Project
Standards for earning “credit”
Participates during class sessions and company
visits, demonstrates preparedness and engagement.
Listens and on the “same page” as rest of class.
Absent from class no more than once, tardy to class
no more than twice. Never absent or tardy to
company events.
Submits papers on time for questions assigned to at
least 4 of the 5 discussion days. Answers assigned
questions.
Meets assignment requirements described on page 3.
Group judges level of contribution to be fair.
Meets assignment requirements described on page 3.
Group judges level of contribution to be fair.
Demonstrates high levels of professionalism
manifested in interactions with speakers and other
contacts met in class sessions or during visits.
Meets assignment requirements described on page 4.
In order to receive credit for the course, you must pass all of the above five components. Failing to
pass any one of these five components will result in receiving No Credit for the course.
Your performance in the class will be evaluated prior to departure for the company visits. Students
who are not passing the course based on the work completed by that time (such as Class
Attendance and Participation, the country briefing project, and the company briefing paper) may
drop the course (or receive no credit) and will not be allowed to travel on the company visits.
Behavior: Please remember that you are a representative of the USC Marshall School of Business
during company visits and your behavior reflects on the reputation of USC and the Marshall
School. Therefore, you are expected to behave professionally during visits. Inappropriate behavior
during visits will result in receiving No Credit for the course. In addition, violations of the
University Student Conduct Code will be referred to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs and
Community Standards (see http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/SJACS/).
Assignment Details:
1. Preparation Papers
 For 4 of the 5 classes with assigned discussion questions, complete a 1 page, doublespaced paper answering the assigned question(s) and submit a hard copy at the beginning
of class.
2. Country Report
Description
This paper is a short analysis of either Brazil, China, India, Japan, South Korea or Taiwan
by using either primary or secondary information sources.
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Educational Objectives
 Develop insights into a country’s competitive strengths and weaknesses
 Link a country’s current level of competitiveness with its history and country
characteristics
 Understand and appreciate the culture and business practices of another country.
Deliverables
 4 to 5 page single spaced written report due XX/XX/XX.
 10 minute class presentation on XX/XX/XX.
Issues to Address
 Use the Global Competitiveness Report published by the World Economic Forum as a
foundation for identifying examples of the countries competitive strengths and
weaknesses.
 Highlight key events from the country’s recent history that influences its current
economy or how business is done.
 Identify a few unique business practices linked to the country’s culture.
Other Information
 Class will be divided into 6 teams, with each team assigned to either Brazil, China,
India, Japan, South Korea or Taiwan.
3. Company Report
Description
This paper is a short analysis of one of the companies the class will visit. The purpose is to
prepare the team and the rest of the class for the company visit in March. You will have
access to a company contact for one personal interview, but will also have to use secondary
information sources.
Educational Objectives
 understand a component of a company’s operations through use of a business model
 identify influences from the macro-environment impacting an industry
 recognize ways value is added to the firm thorough its international operations
Deliverables
 4 to 5 page single spaced written report due XX/XX/XX.
 10 minute class presentation on XX/XX/XX.
Issues to Address
The paper should be divided into three sections as follows:
 Section 1: Company Description – business model characteristics (I’ll provide an
outline in class), company size and history
 Section 2: Global Operations – description benefits derived through the international
parts of the company’s value chain. Identify how the company benefits from global
business: selling to global customers?...relying on global value chain cost
savings?...benefitting from a passive overseas investment?...and/or benefitting by being
closer to needed resources?
 Section 3: Industry Description – competitor characteristics, macro-environmental
influences
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Other Information
 Class will be divided into 6 teams, with each team assigned to one of the 6 companies
we will be visiting.
4. Phase III Learning Summary
Description
Reflect upon the most important GLOCAL insights or takeaways you gained.
Educational Objectives
 integrate the learning about global/international business that came from both the class
sessions and the company visits.
 synthesize how country characteristics can align with global business opportunities.
 draw conclusions about ways a firm’s performance can improve through international
operations.
 reflect about what you learned in this course and what you gained from having taken it.
Deliverables
 An individual 2 page paper due March XX, 2013
 Participation in a class discussion about your GLOCAL experience March XX, 2013.
Issues to Address
You should integrate learning from the class sessions, your company and country research, and
the company visits. One useful approach is to compare what you learned through your
company and country projects with the information shared by groups that completed work on
other companies and countries.
CLASS GUIDELINES
Add/Drop Process
Students may not add the class after the first class meeting. Since the class meets relatively few
times, students will be dropped from the class after their second absence.
Technology Policy
Example: Laptop and Internet usage is not permitted during academic or professional sessions
unless I state otherwise due to a particular class activity. Use of other personal communication
devices, such as cell phones, is considered unprofessional and is not permitted during academic or
professional sessions. Videotaping lectures is not permitted due to copyright infringement
regulations. Audiotaping may be permitted if approved by the professor. Use of any recorded or
distributed material is reserved exclusively for the USC students registered in this class.
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Statement for Students with Disabilities
Students need to make a request with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) for each academic
term that accommodations are desired. Guidelines for the DSP accommodation process can be
found here: https://sait.usc.edu/academicsupport/centerprograms/dsp/registration/guidelines/guidelines_general.html
Students requesting test-related accommodations will need to share and discuss their DSP
recommended accommodation letter/s with their faculty and/or appropriate departmental contact
person at least three weeks before the date the accommodations will be needed. Additional time
may be needed for final exams. Reasonable exceptions will be considered during the first three
weeks of the semester as well as for temporary injuries and for students recently diagnosed. Please
note that a reasonable period of time is still required for DSP to review documentation and to make
a determination whether a requested accommodation will be appropriate.
(https://sait.usc.edu/academicsupport/centerprograms/dsp/registration/accommodationletters_howto.asp)
Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with
Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved
accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to me (or to your
TA) as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 a.m.–5:00
p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213) 740-0776. For more
information, visit www.usc.edu/disability .
Statement on Academic Integrity
USC seeks to maintain an optimal learning environment. General principles of academic honesty
include the concept of respect for the intellectual property of others, the expectation that individual
work will be submitted unless otherwise allowed by an instructor, and the obligations both to
protect one’s own academic work from misuse by others as well as to avoid using another’s work
as one’s own. All students are expected to understand and abide by these principles. SCampus, the
Student Guidebook, (www.usc.edu/scampus or http://scampus.usc.edu) contains the University
Student Conduct Code (see University Governance, Section 11.00), while the recommended
sanctions are located in Appendix A.
Students will be referred to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs and Community Standards for
further review, should there be any suspicion of academic dishonesty. The Review process can be
found at: http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/SJACS/ . Failure to adhere to the academic conduct
standards set forth by these guidelines and our programs will not be tolerated by the USC Marshall
community and can lead to dismissal.
Emergency Preparedness/Course Continuity
In case of a declared emergency if travel to campus is not feasible, USC executive leadership will
announce an electronic way for instructors to teach students in their residence halls or homes using
a combination of Blackboard, teleconferencing, and other technologies.
Please activate your course in Blackboard with access to the course syllabus. Whether or not you
use Blackboard regularly, these preparations will be crucial in an emergency. USC's Blackboard
learning management system and support information is available at blackboard.usc.edu.
Late Assignments
All assignments are expected to be submitted at the beginning of class on the given due date to
receive full credit. Late assignments will be accepted only if submitted by 5:00 p.m. of the due
date, and will be recorded as late.
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Appendix A: Peer Evaluations
Please allocate 100 points among your team members, including yourself, to reflect each person’s
relative contribution to your team. Write the name of each member of your team, including
yourself, in the spaces below and then assign points to each person. Make sure the points add up to
100.
Name Team Member
Points Allocated
Yourself
__________________________
_________
Team Member
__________________________
_________
Team Member
__________________________
_________
Team Member
__________________________
_________
Team Member
__________________________
_________
Team Member
__________________________
_________
Total:
___100___
Your comments explaining your evaluation:
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COURSE CALENDAR/READINGS/CLASS SESSIONS
Session
Date
1
Description
Phase I
“Reasons Companies Operate Globally”
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Course Introduction
Globalization drivers
Organizational benefits
Changing nature of the multi-national enterprise
Emergence of international institutions
Team building exercise
Assigned Reading: “A Bigger World” and “The Empire Strikes Back”
The Economist 09/18/08
Critical thinking discussion: Ultimately, the study of international business is no
different from the study of domestic business. Thus, there is no point in having a
separate course in international business.
2
“Country Differences”
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Cultural differences
Weighing comparative advantages among countries
o GINI coefficient
o Global Competitiveness Reports
Assigned Reading: “Global Managers Perceptions of Cultural Competence”
Business Horizons, 07/15/11 B4437
Critical thinking discussion: (1) A democratic political system is an essential
condition for sustained economic progress…and (2) A manager should feel
prepared for an overseas assignment if she learns a country’s language and
customs.
Teams formed and countries assigned
3
“Global Business Environment”
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International trade theory
Global monetary system
Foreign direct investment
Political dimensions of trade
Assigned Reading: “Managing Risk in an Unstable World” HBS R0506B
Critical thinking discussion: Is free trade fair?
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4
“Global Business Strategies – Part 1”
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Source, serve and/or invest?
International value chains and the global firm
Arbitrage, replication and aggregation
Dimensions of Cultural Distance
Assigned Reading: “Distance Still Matters: The Hard Reality of Global Expansion”
HBS R0108K
Critical thinking discussion: Success in overseas markets can only be achieved by
understanding local needs and customizing products accordingly.
Due date: country written reports and country presentations
5
“Experiencing Cultural Differences”
ELC Cultural Exercise
note: meet in BRI ELC or JKP 301
6
“Global Business Ethics”
Assigned Reading: TBD
(join the LINC classes)
7
Guest Speaker: TBD - topic relating to international value chains
Critical thinking discussion: If labor costs continue to rise in China, companies can
easily move to other countries like Vietnam to get cost savings.
Due date: company briefing papers
8
“Global Business Strategies – Part 2”
“Global Business Structures”
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Entry strategies
Weighing cost vs. local responsiveness
Due date: Company Presentations
Final preparations for visits
Phase II
3/XX to
3/XX
3/XX
BUAD 204 - GLOCAL
Company visits
Phase III
GLOCAL final class session
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