BUSI 5300
MANAGING THE MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISE
Winter, 2006-07
Instructor
David Cray
Office
920 Dunton Tower
Telephone
520-7802
Email
david_cray@business.carleton.ca
Office hours
3:00-5:00 Tuesday and by appointment
Class
Tuesday 6:00-9:00, DT 301
Course Objectives
This course has three distinct objectives each of a different type. The first objective is
the mastery of a certain amount of material bearing on the management of
multinational corporations, their place in society and their role in the international
economy. The objective here is not simply to understand how to make international
corporations more efficient and effective but to comprehend the impact they have on
the societies they link and the individuals who depend on them.
The second objective is the application of this basic theoretical framework to specific
cases. While there has been a huge volume of research in the area of international and
comparative management, the world of international business is so complex and
dynamic that the application of basic principles is seldom straightforward. One of the
major goals of this course is to hone your ability to sort through some realistic
problems that such companies face. The goal here is not necessarily to identify the
“best” solution but to understand the process by which such an analysis should
proceed.
The third course objective concerns the development of the student’s critical facilities.
On a topic as complicated as multinational enterprise, contrasting, even contradictory,
points of view are the rule. The student needs to learn how to evaluate conflicting
claims, to weigh evidence and to synthesize material from different perspectives.
This goes beyond simply comprehending the claims that an author makes. It involves
understanding the theoretical basis on which the author constructs his/her argument
and the influence this may have on what is presented. Mastering all three of the
course objectives will not only provide the student with a basic understanding of the
important issues surrounding the multinational corporation, but will also provide
skills which may be applied in other, related areas.
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Conduct of the Course
Each course meeting will consist of two segments. In the first part I will introduce
some of the main topics for the particular area that is being covered that week. I will
attempt to place current issues in both their historical context and their relation to
recent developments in the international economy. In the second portion of the
session the class will discuss the class will discuss a case relevant to the week’s topic.
At various points during the class we will also consider current articles or
developments in the field.
Course Schedule
Week 1
Jan. 9
The Multinational Enterprise in the International Economy
Reading: McFarlin, Dean B. and Paul D. Sweeney, International
Management: Strategic Opportunities and Cultural Challenges, 3rd
edn., Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2006, chapter 1.
Case: New Balance, pp. 3-4 & 41 in McFarlin and Sweeney.
Week 2
Jan. 16
The Environment of International Business
Reading: McFarlin and Sweeney, chapter 2.
Assignment: Analyze the International Business Environment of
Walmart.
Week 3
Jan. 23
Strategy in Multinational Enterprises
Reading: Deresky, Helen, International Management: Managing
across Borders and Cultures, 5th edn., Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Pearson Prentice Hal, 2006, chapter 6.
Case: FedEx vs. UPS, pp. 309-17 in Deresky.
Week 4
Jan. 30
Modes of Entry
Reading: McFarlin and Sweeney, Chapter 9.
Case: Starbuck’s International Operations, pp. 318-23 in Deresky.
Country analysis due in class.
Week 5
Feb. 6
Strategic Partnering
Reading: Deresky, chapter 7.
Case: Trouble in Paradise, pp. 344-48 in McFarlin and Sweeney.
Week 6
Feb. 13
The Structure of Multinational Enterprise
Reading: Deresky, chapter 8.
Case: Asea Brown Boveri, pp. 304-07 in Deresky.
Reading Week
Feb. 20
No class.
Week 7
Feb. 27
The Importance of Culture
Reading: Deresky, chapter 5.
Case: Chiba International, Inc., pp. 146-53 in McFarlin and Sweeney.
Week 8
Cross-Cultural Negotiation
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Mar. 6
Reading: McFarlin and Sweeney, Chapter 7.
Case: Dell’s Dilemma in Brazil, pp. 179-88 in Deresky. Case
analysis due.
Week 9
Mar. 13
International Human Resource Management
Reading: McFarlin and Sweeney, chapters 12 & 13.
Case: A First-Time Expatriate’s Experience in a Joint Venture in
China, pp. 460-70 in Deresky.
Week 10
Mar. 20
Motivation and Leadership in Multinational Firms
Reading: Deresky, chapter 11
Case: West Indies Yacht Club Resort: When Cultures Collide, pp.
449-60 in Deresky.
Week 11
Mar. 27
Learning and Innovation in Global Firms
Reading: Peng, Mike W., Global Strategy, Taunton: MA:
Southwestern Thomson, 2006.
Case: Skandia AFS: Developing Intellectual Capital Globally, pp.
648-64, in C.A. Bartlett and Sumantra Ghoshal, Transnational
Management, 3rd edn., Boston: McGraw Hill Irvin, 2000.
Week 12
Apr. 3
Ethics in International Business
McFarlin and Sweeney, chapter 3.
Royal Dutch/Shell: Human Rights in Nigeria, pp. 136-39 in Charles H.
Hill, International Business: Competing in the Global
Marketplace, 5th edn., Boston: McGraw Hill Irvin, 2005.
Assignments and Assessment
The mark for this course will consist of three components.
Country analysis
Case analysis
Company management analysis
30%
30%
40%
100%
In the country analysis you should identify the aspects of the nation you select which
would be most important for a company that wishes to invest there. These should
include items such as the size of the country, its wealth, its resources, the financial
system, its geographical location, its infrastructure, the types of businesses that exist
there and the relevant political variables. The paper should include not simply this
and other relevant information, but also an analysis of what these factors would mean
for a potential investor. Each student will choose a separate country. The United
States, Japan, China and Canada may not be chosen. Sources for all the information
included should be clearly identified. The paper should be approximately 10 pages
long, double-spaced. The country analysis is due in class on January 30.
For the second assessment activity you will be asked to analyse a case that will be
distributed by January 30. The analysis should be 10-12 pages long. It should
identify the key issues in the case, possible solutions to the issues and the factors
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within the company and its environment that would influence the solution. You
should choose a particular response to the issues and defend your choice. The paper
will be evaluated on the depth of insight you demonstrate, the utilization of concepts
from the course and the practicality of your solution. The case analysis is due in
class on March 6.
The final class requirement is the analysis of an international company. You may
choose any company that has international operations (but no student may select the
same company as another). You will be expected to collect information from various
sources (these may include interviews if the company is local) on the way that the
company operates and the problems that it faces. You are then to interpret this
information in light of the ideas and concepts we have discussed in the course. The
paper should be 10-15 pages long. The company management analysis is due in
my office by noon on April 6.
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IMPORTANT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
REQUIRED CALCULATOR IN BUSI COURSE EXAMINATIONS
Starting Fall 2006, only Texas Instruments BA II Plus calculators will be permitted
in all 1000-level Business course examinations.
Starting Fall 2007, only Texas Instruments BA II Plus calculators will be permitted
in all Business course examinations.
This calculator is available in the campus bookstore (1st floor, University Centre) and
at various other off-campus retail stores.
GROUP WORK
The Sprott School of Business encourages group assignments in the school for several
reasons. They provide you with opportunities to develop and enhance interpersonal,
communication, leadership, follower-ship and other group skills. Group assignments
are also good for learning integrative skills for putting together a complex task. Your
professor may assign one or more group tasks/assignments/projects in this course. If
you have a group assignment you may find the resources at
http://sprott.carleton.ca/academic_programs/groupwork useful.
Before embarking on a specific problem as a group, it is your responsibility to
ensure that the problem is meant to be a group assignment and not an individual
one.
MEDICAL CERTIFICATE
Please note that in all occasions that call for a medical certificate you must use or furnish
the information demanded in the standard university form.
http://www.carleton.ca/registrar/forms/Med_Cert_Carleton_University.pdf
PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
Students with disabilities requiring academic accommodations in this course are
encouraged to contact a coordinator at the Paul Menton Centre for Students with
Disabilities to complete the necessary letters of accommodation. After registering
with the PMC, make an appointment to meet and discuss your needs with me at least
two weeks prior to the first in-class test or ITV midterm exam. This is necessary in
order to ensure sufficient time to make the necessary arrangements. Please note the
deadline for submitting completed forms to the PMC for formally scheduled final
exam accommodations is March 9, 2007, for the Winter term courses. Please refer to
http://www.carleton.ca/pmc/ for all PMC information.
RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCE
Students requesting academic accommodation on the basis of religious observance
should make a formal, written request to their instructors for alternate dates and/or
means of satisfying academic requirements. Such requests should be made during the
first two weeks of class, or as soon as possible after the need for accommodation is
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known to exist, but no later than two weeks before the compulsory academic event.
Accommodation is to be worked out directly and on an individual basis between the
student and the instructor(s) involved. Instructors will make accommodations in a
way that avoids academic disadvantage to the student.
Students or instructors who have questions or want to confirm accommodation
eligibility of a religious event or practice may refer to the Equity Services website for
a list of holy days and Carleton’s Academic Accommodation policies, or may contact
an Equity Services Advisor in the Equity Services Department for assistance.
PREGNANCY
Pregnant students requiring academic accommodations are encouraged to contact an
Equity Advisor in Equity Services to complete a letter of accommodation. The
student must then make an appointment to discuss her needs with the instructor at
least two weeks prior to the first academic event in which it is anticipated the
accommodation will be required.
PLAGIARISM
The University Senate defines plagiarism in the regulations on instructional offences
as: “to use and pass off as one’s own idea or product work of another without
expressly giving credit to another.”
Borrowing someone else’s answers, unauthorized possession of tests or answers to
tests, or possession of material designed in answering exam questions, are also subject
to university policy regarding instructional offenses.
The photocopying of substantial portions of a textbook (e.g. more than 1 chapter or
15% of the total page count) without the publisher's permission is another misuse of
intellectual property, and is also a violation of Canadian copyright law. Access
Canada's web site provides guidelines on legitimate copying.
http://library.wlu.ca/access/guidelines.htm