University of Denver
Daniels College of Business
MBA 4250: Values in the Global Marketplace
Spring, 2008
Faculty:
Professor John Holcomb
Office:
Phone/Voice Mail:
FAX:
Office Hours:
DCB 685
303-871-2634
303-871-2971
M and W, 5:00 – 6:00 p.m.; 10:00 – 11:00 p.m.
T and TH, 7:00 – 8:00 p.m.; 10:00 – 11:00 p.m.
or by appointment
jholcomb@du.edu
E-mail:
Texts
Values in the Global Marketplace, a course pack of case and readings, 2006
Values in the Global Marketplace: Readings in International Law, Policy, and Ethics,
Pearson Custom Publishing (2006)
James O'Toole, The Executive’s Compass, 1993, Oxford University Press, Inc.
All of the above are available in the university bookstore.
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND PURPOSE:
This course explores the meaning and elements of globalization and its impact on
business, including the roles played by clashing comparative values, legal systems,
political institutions, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), emphasizing their
impact on business strategy and decisions. The topics explored include global terrorism
and political risk, corporate governance, political corruption and corporate bribery,
international competition and regulatory policy, intellectual property protection,
international trade, environmental sustainability, and international human rights.
Readings in the course include detailed business case studies, high-quality text material,
the latest articles from international journals, and online articles posted on the electronic
Blackboard. Students are responsible for producing a team case analysis, participating in
class and online discussions, and responding to focused questions in a paper or two-part
exam.
PRINCIPAL COURSE LEARNING OBJECTIVE(S):
1. To explain important tools and concepts of values analysis (such as a moral
compass, corporate social responsibility, and ethical relativism) and apply them to
analyze various global business policy issues.
2. To explain important tools and concepts of public policy analysis (such as
political pluralism, power politics, politics matrix, and interest group framework)
and apply them to analyze various global business policy issues.
3. To explain important tools and concepts of legal analysis (such as hard v. soft
law, public v. private law, and methods of dispute resolution) and apply them to
analyze various global business policy issues.
4. To identify and explain the value elements and conflicts involved in key global
business decisions (e.g., bribery, crisis management, mergers, trade practices, and
outsourcing).
5. To identify and explain the legal elements and conflicts involved in key global
business decisions.
6. To identify and explain the public policy elements and conflicts involved in key
global business decisions.
7. To criticize key global business decisions, from ethical, legal, and public policy
perspectives, and to develop strategies and recommend options for resolving the
underlying business problems.
PERFORMANCE CRITERIA:
1. Exam questions will determine how well the students can identify and apply the
various legal, ethical, and public policy tools of analysis.
2. Case analyses and presentations related to various global business decisions will
determine how well the students can apply the tools of analysis to those global
business decisions.
3. Case analyses and presentations will also determine how well students can
criticize decisions made by companies discussed in those cases and recommend
policy options.
GOALS OF THE COURSE:

To enhance sensitivity to competing value perspectives which would allow a
business or manager to better adapt to different national cultures











To better understand the elements and importance of corporate social
responsibility and global corporate citizenship, and their connection to successful
business strategy
To reinforce the ability to “think politically,” as a necessary component of global
business strategy.
To better understand the influence, roles, and ethical/political perspectives of
global non-governmental organizations
To better understand the importance of national legal systems and international
economic and political institutions
To more fully appreciate the inter-relationship of economic, political, social, and
ethical factors in making global business decisions
To better understand the political hazards and risks of doing business on a global
basis
To better understand the competing legal perspectives on such key business issues
as corporate governance, antitrust/regulatory policy, and intellectual property
To better understand competing value and political perspectives on the movement
toward globalization
To better understand the legal mechanisms and political/economic conflicts
underlying international trade policy
To better understand competing value perspectives and political forces
surrounding such key issues as human rights and environmental sustainability
To better understand the complexity and elements of global crisis management
METHOD AND COMPONENTS OF INSTRUCTION:
Classes will include a combination of lecture segments, discussion of the assigned
readings, case presentations and discussions, and brief video segments. Throughout most
of the course, there will be two class sessions devoted to a given topic. During the first
class of each case week, the assigned readings will be discussed, occasionally along with
video examples of the issues of concern. During the second class, the assigned detailed
case will be presented and discussed by the case team, as described below. Those cases
are designated in bold face on the course outline and are from the case clearinghouse of
the Harvard Business School. Beyond the case discussions, there is an exam/paper
requirement for the course.
Case Teams:
For each case, there will be teams of 4-5 students, and each team will examine all of the
following elements of the specific case – legal element, public policy element, and ethical
element – along with a set of recommendations for the company involved in the case.
Each team may want to divide labor by having one or two team members responsible for
each of the elements. The websites posted for each case under “Websites” might be
helpful in doing the research for each case.
Analysis of the legal element of the case will focus on any litigation or court cases
directly raised in the case or indirectly related to the issues raised in the case. Statutes of
the US or other countries might also be relevant. The team member might also want to
examine any relevant international laws, agreements, or codes. For outside legal research
on a case, the team member should go to Academic Universe at e-resources on the DU
web page, and access any law review articles or legal news relevant to the issues in the
business case being discussed.
The team member analyzing the public policy element of the case should focus on the
roles played by any formal political institutions or non-governmental institutions
mentioned in the case or indirectly related to the case. Web sites of any groups
mentioned in a case, or public policy websites posted under Course Documents on
Blackboard might help in doing research on any of the various political actors, in addition
to the websites posted for the topic itself. The public policy team member should
emphasize the political power of each actor, along with the political tactics it is
employing. The team member might also want to apply the politics matrix or political
strategy spreadsheet, to be discussed in the first class session. The team might also
discuss where the issue resides in the global public policy cycle and when it traveled
through the various stages in the cycle.
The team member analyzing the ethical components of a case should first and foremost
apply the O’Toole compass in thinking through the various values in conflict in any case.
The team member should explain exactly how a given value relates to the case and which
political actor is advancing that particular value. The team might also apply concepts of
corporate social responsibility, social responsiveness, and social performance. The
concepts of moral and cultural relativism might also be relevant to the case. Additional
values, based on outside research, might also be considered.
Each team should write and turn in a paper on the day of its case presentation, with page
length of 25-30 double-spaced pages of text, not including any references. Moreover, all
the teams should meet together sometime before their presentation to discuss possible
recommendations to resolve the case. Such recommendations might include resolutions
of value conflicts, changes in corporate policies and procedures, and/or needed changes
in public policy. The cases to be discussed during the course are:
Crisis Management and Royal/Dutch Shell in Nigeria – April 10
The Collapse of Enron – April 17
Becton Dickinson and International Bribery – April 24
General Electric/Honeywell Merger – May 1
Merck Global Health Initiatives – May 8
Steel Industry Safeguard Protection – May 15
ABB and Sustainable Development – May 22
Nike and International Labor Practices – May 29
Discussion/Class Participation:
Those enrolled in the MBA program form a learning community with responsibilities for
others as well as oneself. This class forms a learning community of its own. It is
assumed that everyone shares a responsibility to maximize the learning experience for all
in the class. Each student should strive to contribute to class discussion. Participation
will be evaluated as to quality and quantity. Comments that reflect knowledge of the
reading material and any critical evaluation of that material will be much more highly
valued than simply opinions on any issues being discussed. Strong convictions are
encouraged, and convictions of all varieties will be respected, but those convictions
should be grounded in some analysis or knowledge of the issues under examination.
There are two opportunities to contribute to class discussion. First, students may
participate during class. Thus class attendance and participation are considered critical to
the success of the course. Students must assume responsibility for reading material and
preparing cases prior to class. Since participation will be scored, failure to attend class
will result in a loss of participation points. If students are unable to attend class, they
should inform the instructor before class. Students may also join discussion threads on
Blackboard and are strongly urged to do so. A series of questions will be posted at
various times throughout the course, related to each course topic.
Exams:
The first exam will be posted on April 25 and be available through April 27. The second
exam will be administered in class on Tuesday, June 3. Each exam will consist of
multiple choice and true-false and short essay questions. The second exam will not be
comprehensive but will cover the subjects and readings since the first exam.
Components of Final Grade:
Team Case Paper and Presentation
Class Discussion and Participation
Exams (@20% each)
40%
20%
40%
GRADE SCHEMATIC
Percentage range
Letter grade
Grade point
95.0%-100.0%............…… A.............……...4.0
90.0%-94.9%........….....…. A-.............……. 3.7
87.6%-89.9%.........…..…... B+...........…….. 3.3
83.0%-87.5%.............……. B .............……. 3.0
80.0%-82.9%...............…... B-.............……. 2.7
76.7%-79.9%..............…… C+............……. 2.3
73.4%-76.6%...............…... C.............…….. 2.0
70.0%-73.3%...............…... C-.............……. 1.7
66.7%-69.9%..............…… D+...........…….. 1.3
63.4%-66.6%...............…... D….............….. 1.0
60.0%-63.3%...............…... D-.............……. 0.7
0.0%-59.9%................…... F..............…….. 0.0
The course leaders will calculate all grades on a 100-point basis, carried to one decimal
place. All decimals will be rounded UP to determine the letter grade with respect to
percentage score.
It is the intent of the Graduate School of Business to operate in an atmosphere of
intellectual honesty and behavior that would set the highest standards in the business
community. We expect professional behavior from every class member. This includes
(among other things): being prepared for each class, turning in assignments on time,
showing respect and consideration for all members of the learning community, and
avoiding academic dishonesty of any sort. Violations of our standards of honesty and of
professional behavior, which are further described in the Student Handbook, and The
Code of Academic Integrity may result in an “F” in the course and a recommendation for
dismissal from the Graduate School. The DU honor code appears at the following link:
http://www.du.edu/ccs/honorcode.html
Finally, the course leaders reserve the right to revise this syllabus, if necessary, in order
to accomplish more effectively the learning objectives of the course.
Calendar, MBA 4250
Values in the Global Marketplace
Spring, 2008
Introduction to Course and Syllabus
(March 25 & 27)
Business and Ethical/Cultural Relativism:
What moral absolutes exist from one culture to another, or should business merely
“do in Rome as the Romans do?”
Baron, Chapter 18: Corporate Social Responsibility, pp. 653-674 (Custom Text)
Baron, Chapter 22: Ethics in International Business, pp. 807-813 (Custom Text)
O’Toole, The Executive’s Compass
Beauchamp & Bowie – Bowie, “Relativism and the Moral Obligation of
Multinational Corporations” (Course pack)
Stanley Hoffman, “Clash of Globalizations,” Foreign Affairs,
July/August, 2002 (Course pack)
Conversation with Joseph Nye, “The Power of Persuasion,” Harvard
International Review, Winter, 2003 (Course pack)
Jim Hoagland, “Elasticity,” The New Republic, May 17, 2004
John B. Judis, “Putting Liberty First: The Case Against Democracy,” Foreign
Affairs, May/June, 2003, pp. 128-134. (Course pack)
Thomas Carothers, “The Backlash Against Democracy Promotion,” Foreign
Affairs, March/April, 2006
Walter Russell Mead, “God’s Country?” Foreign Affairs, September/October,
2006
Daniel Yankelovich, “Poll Positions,” Foreign Affairs, September/October, 2005
Martin Peretz, “What the Cartoon Wars Have Revealed,” The New Republic
Online, Feburary 7, 2006
Ronald Dworkin, “The Right to Ridicule,” New York Review of Books, March 23,
2006.
Case: Joseph Badaracco and Jerry Useem, “Exporting American Culture,” 1999
(Harvard Case) (Course pack) – September 13
The Globalization Debate:
(April 1)
Is globalization a threat to important values or a positive force for change?
Samuel J. Palmisano, “The Global Integrated Enterprise,” Foreign Affairs,
May/June, 2006
Carl Shramm and Robert Litan, “Capital Ideas – Four Forms of Capitalism,”
The American Interest, September-October, 2006
John Gray, “The World Is Round,” New York Review of Books, August 11, 2005
(posted in course documents in “Articles on Globalization”)
Josef Joffe, “Dissecting Anti-isms,” The American Interest, Summer, 2006
Walter Russell Mead, “Through Our Friends’ Eyes – Defending and Advising the
Hyperpower,” Foreign Affairs, May/June, 2006
Niall Ferguson, “Sinking Globalization,” Foreign Affairs, December, 2005
John Gray, “The Global Delusion,” New York Review of Books, April 27, 2006
G. John Ikenberry, “Illusions of Empire: Defining the New American
Order,” Foreign Affairs, March/April 2004
Recommended but not required reading:
Richard N. Cooper, “A False Alarm: Overcoming Globalization’s Discontents,”
Foreign Affairs, January/February 2004
“Ranking the Rich,” Foreign Policy, May/June, 2004
“Measuring Globalization: Economic Reversals, Forward Momentum,” A.T.
Kearney Survey, Foreign Policy, March/April, 2004
Niall Ferguson, “A World Without Power,” Foreign Policy, July/August, 2004
Alan Wolfe, “Native Son: Samuel Huntington Defends the Homeland,” Foreign
Affairs, May/June 2004
Paul Starr, “The Return of the Nativist,” The New Republic, June 21, 2004
Terrorism and Political Risk:
(April 3)
Why should business be interested in global political and social stability?
John Mueller, “Is There Still a Terrorist Threat,” Foreign Affairs,
September/October, 2006
Joseph S. Nye, Jr., “Transformational Leadership and U.S. Grand Strategy.”
Foreign Affairs, July/August, 2006
F. Gregory Gause III, “Can Democracy Stop Terrorism?” Foreign Affairs,
September/October, 2005
Zbigniew Brzezinski, “The Dilemma of the Last Sovereign,” The American
Interest, Fall, 2005
Francis Fukuyama, “The Paradox of International Action,” The American Interest
Spring, 2006
Stanley Hoffmann, “The Foreign Policy of the U.S.,” New York Review of Books.
August 10, 2006
Jeffrey E. Garten, “From New Economy to Siege Economy: Globalization,
Foreign Policy, and the CEO Agenda,” STRATEGY+BUSINESS, First
Quarter, 2002 (Course pack)
Recommended but not required reading:
Coral Bell, “The Twilight of the Unipolar World,” The American Interest, Winter,
2006
Stephen M. Walt, “Taming American Power,” Foreign Affairs,
September/October, 2005
Mary Habeck, “Reading 9/11,” The American Interest, Fall, 2005
Anna Simons, “Making Enemies: An Anthropology of Islamist Terror,” The
American Interest, Summer, 2006
Michael Massing, “The Storm Over the Israel Lobby,” New York Review of
Books, June 8, 2006
David Cole, “Are We Safer?” New York Review of Books. March 9, 2006
Niall Ferguson, “The Reluctant Empire,” Hoover Digest, No. 3, 2004
Walter Laquerer, “The Terrorism to Come,” Policy Review (Hoover Institution),
August-September, 2004, No. 126
Kenneth Roth, “The Law of War in the War on Terror,” Foreign Affairs,
January/February 2004
Ronald Dwokin, “What the Court Really Said,” New York Review of Books,
August 12, 2004, Volume 51, Number 3
Crisis Management:
(April 8 & 10)
How do you become a poster child for bad corporate behavior or corporate hero?
Baron, Chapter 4: Private Politics, pp. 96-134 (Custom Text)
Shell, Greenpeace, and Brent Spar
Integrative Case: Rainforest Action Network and Citigroup (A)
John Holcomb, “Strategic Responses to Public Controversy,” Electric
Perspectives, 1986 (Course pack)
Clifford Bob, “Merchants of Morality,” Foreign Policy, March/April,
2002 (Course pack)
Case: Mihnea Moldoveanu, “Royal Dutch/Shell in Nigeria,” 2000 (Harvard
Case) (Course pack) – April 10
Corporate Governance and the Multinational Enterprise: (April 15 & 17)
If it takes a village to raise a child, what does it take to raise a multinational?
Bowen H. McCoy, “How to Restore the Trust,” Hoover Digest, No. 4, 2002
Baron, Chapter l8: Corporate Social Responsibility, pp. 675-689 on Corporate
Governance (Custom Text)
Scan latest articles at thecorporatelibrary.com, leading website on corporate
governance
Posted articles on Enron – see “Course Documents” and articles on corporate
governance
Case: The Collapse of Enron: Governance and Responsibility, Custom Text,
Chapter 18, pp. 682-689 and Lawrence case on Enron posted in course
documents – April 17
Corporate Bribery, Political Influence, and Corruption: (April 22 & 24)
What are the legal and ethical ways that a business can influence political decisions
from one political culture to another?
Baron, Chapter 8: Implementing Nonmarket Strategies in Government Arenas,
pp. 230-279 (Custom Text)
Drexel Burnham Lambert and Junk Bond Politics
Proposition 211: Securities Litigation Referendum (A)
Baron, Chapter 22: Questionable Foreign Payments, pp. 823-833 (Custom Text)
Thomas Donaldson and Thomas Dunfee, “When Ethics Travel: The Promise and
Peril of Global Business Ethics” (Course pack)
Raymond W. Baker and Jennifer M. Nordin, “Toolbox: Dirty Money,” The
American Interest, September-October, 2006
Ben W. Heineman, Jr. and Fritz Heimann, “The Long War Against Corruption,”
Foreign Affairs, May/June, 2006
Case: “Corruption in International Business (B)” (Harvard Case) (Course pack)
Case: Lynn Sharp Paine, “Becton Dickinson: Ethics and Business Practices (A),”
2001 (Harvard Case) (Course pack) – April 24
FIRST EXAM
Online Open April 25-27
Competition and Regulatory Policy:
(April 29 & May 1)
Who in the world really wants a free market anyway?
Baron, Chapter 9: Antitrust: Economics, Law, Policy, and Politics, pp. 280-322
Case: The Microsoft Antitrust Case (Custom Text)
Abbott B. Lipsky, “The Global Antitrust Explosion: Safeguarding Trade and
Commerce of Runaway Regulation?,” Fletcher Forum of
World Affairs, Summer/Fall, 2002 (Course pack)
David S. Evans, “The New Trustbusters: Brussels and Washington May Part
Ways,” Foreign Affairs, January/February, 2002 (Course pack)
Case: General Electric/Honeywell Merger (based on readings by Lipsky and
Evans above and other articles posted on Blackboard) (Course pack) –
May 1
Intellectual Property:
Who owns ideas, and is this dangerous?
(May 6 & 8)
Laurie Garrett, “The Lessons of HIV/AIDS,” Foreign Affairs, July/August, 2005
David S. Evans, “Who Owns Ideas? The War Over Global Intellectual Property,”
Foreign Affairs, November/December, 2002 (Course pack)
Baron, Chapter 22: GlaxoSmithKline and AIDS Drugs Policy, pp. 841-847
(Custom Text)
Cases: James Weber, James Austin, and Diana Barrett, “Merck Global Health
Initiatives (A) and (B),” 2001 (Harvard Case) (Course pack) – May 8
International Trade and Economic Development:
Income gap, what income gap?
(May 13 & 15)
Baron, Chapter 6: Nonmarket Analysis for Business, pp. 170-191 (Custom Text)
Baron, Chapter 17: The Political Economy of International Trade Policy,
pp. 597-652 (Custom Text)
Jagdish Bhagwati, “From Seattle to Hong Kong,” Foreign Affairs, December,
2005
Charlene Barshefsky, “With or Without Doha,” Foreign Affairs, December, 2005
Daniel Drezner, “Trade Talk,” The American Interest, Winter, 2006
N. Gregory Mankiw and Phillip I. Swagel, “Antidumping: The Third Rail of
Trade Policy,” Foreign Affairs, December, 2005
Alan S. Blinder, “Offshoring: The Next Industrial Revolution,” Foreign Affairs,
March/April, 2006
David Dollar and Aart Kraay, “Spreading the Wealth,” Foreign Affairs,
January/Feburary, 2002 (Course pack)
Response by James K. Galbraith to Dollar and Kraay, Foreign Affairs,
July/August, 2002
Daniel W. Drezner, “The Outsourcing Bogeyman,” Foreign Affairs, May/June,
2004
Russell Roberts, “The Great Outsourcing Scare of 2004,” Hoover Digest, No. 2,
2004
Case: Steel Industry Safeguard Protection (based on readings above and
additional posted articles) (Course pack) – May 15
International Environmental Sustainability:
(May 20 & 22)
What’s all the fuss, we’ve got plenty of air, water, and species, don’t we?
Baron, Chapter 11: Environmental Protection: Economics, Politics, and
Management, pp. 362-392; 396-400 (Custom Text)
Environmental Activism at Home Depot
Procter & Gamble and Disposable Diapers
Scrubbers and Environmental Politics (from Chapter 6, pp. 194-195)
Ethan B. Kapstein, “The Corporate Ethics Crusade,” Foreign Affairs,
September/October, 2001 (Course pack)
Joseph Lieberman, “Global Warming Goes to Markets,” The American Interest,
The American Interest, Fall, 2005
David Victor, “Recovering Sustainable Development,” Foreign Affairs, January/
February, 2006
Ruth Greenspan Bell, “What To Do about Climate Change,” Foreign Affairs,
May/June, 2006
Donald Kennedy, “The Choice (Review of Collapse by Jared Diamond),”
Foreign Affairs, March/April, 2005
Jim Hansen, “The Threat to the Planet,” New York Review of Books, July 13,
2006
Case: Forest Reinhardt and Emily Richman, “Sustainable Development and
Socially Responsible Investing: ABB in 2000,” 2001 (Harvard Case)
(Course pack) – May 22
Recommended but not required readings:
John Browne, “Beyond Kyoto,” Foreign Affairs, July/August 2004
Bill McKibben, “Crossing the Red Line,” New York Review of Books, June 10,
2004, Volume 51, Number 10
Human Rights and Social Justice:
(May 27 & 29)
Are workers human capital or factors of production, and why should we care?
Baron, Chapter 22: Ethic Issues in International Business, pp. 817-819
(Custom Text)
Baron, Chapter 4: Nike in Southeast Asia, pp. 119-122 (Custom Text)
Beauchamp & Bowie – Applebaum and Dreier, “The Campus Anti-Sweatshop
Movement” (Course pack)
Beauchamp & Bowie – Maitland, “The Great Non-Debate over International
Sweatshops” (Course pack)
Amartya Sen, “The Man Without a Plan (Review of The White Man’s
Burden by William Easterly),” Foreign Affairs, March/April, 2006
Joseph E. Stiglitz, “The Ethical Economist,” Foreign Affairs,
November/December, 2005
Gary S. Becker, “How Globalization Helps the Poor,” Hoover Digest, No. 4, 2003
Case: Jennifer L. Burns, “Hitting the Wall: Nike and International Labor
Practices,” 2000 (Harvard Case) (Course pack) – May 29
SECOND EXAM
June 3
.