BUS 245, Introduction to International Business

DL/WebCT version                                          Office:  KC 425

Phone:  552-2309

Professor Candida Johnson                               Office Hours:  to be announced

TEXT:  Wild, Wild and Han, International Business, 5th edition, Prentice Hall of Pearson Education, Inc.

ALSO REQUIRED:  Students will be required to use one of the following periodicals to identify current and relevant material to be used in class discussions as well as complete other assignments:  Business Week (preferably the international edition), the New York Times, FORTUNE, Wall St. Journal, and others as appropriate.  Typically access to the current editions of these publications are available for free during the day/week/month of the current edition.  You may also choose to subscribe to one of these are go to your nearest library.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:  The United States and the rest of the world are now part of a global economy, a global marketplace.  An introduction to this international environment of business is provided by this course with an emphasis on the challenges and opportunities this global economy offers all organization—large or small, US- or foreign-owned, doing business in the United States or abroad. An emphasis will be on the international trade and finance, strategic planning, socio-cultural issues, and political and legal forces.

PREREQUISITES:  None

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

Designed to show why international business is so important in today’s global marketplace, this course will explore the reasons why companies “go international” and the wide variety of companies involved in international business-both large, multinational corporations and international start-up firms.  Companies go international not only to increase sales and thus profits, but also to access resources.  At the conclusion of this course, students should be prepared to:

•        Discuss the meaning of international business and its importance to economic growth.

•        Identify and describe the basic forms of international business activities.

•        Discuss the causes of globalization, as well as its advantages and disadvantages.

•        Evaluate the impact on business of the legal, technological, political and economic characteristics of the world’s various marketplaces on international business.

•        Understand the various elements of culture and how these influence international business as well as their impact on the issues of ethics and social responsibility.

•        Understand at least one of these regions— Canada, Western Europe, China and the Pacific Rim—as a major marketplace and business center in the world economy.

•        Develop an awareness of the current and potential impact of international trade and globalization, as well as its challenges faced by the economies of the formerly Communist countries of Eastern and Central Europe, as well as the developing nations of African, Middle Eastern, and South American countries.

•        Appreciate and better understand the challenges of international strategic management.

•        Understand the impact of foreign-exchange markets on international business as well as the impact of foreign exchange rates on doing business and economic growth.

•        Understand the factors influencing the development of national trade policies and their impact on international business.

•        Recognize the growth of global linkages and the resulting impact on global trade and investment environment for all nations.

•        Understand the various strategies for analyzing and entering foreign markets.

•        Utilize the Internet and other sources to develop information on potential international markets and the analysis of current international business activity.

•        Create a profile of a foreign country and its potential as an international market.

•        Demonstrate an increased knowledge of world geography.

STUDENT EVALUATION

Participation in weekly online discussions           20%

Projects and exercises associated with readings 30%

Mid-term exam                                                                                                 20%

Final exam                                                                                                        20%

Quizzes                                                                                                            10%

ONLINE DISCUSSION PARTICIPATION

Your online participation will be evaluated on a quantity and quality basis.  Also, please note that if you miss three discussions, you will be dropped from the class with an AW and this begins with Week One.  Your comments should advance the discussion, add value and be relevant. Comments such as "I agree, “I disagree,” or "ditto" are not considered value-added participation.  Therefore, when you agree or disagree with a comment, please state and support your agreement or disagreement. You are required to participate in all discussions.  For each discussion, you are to post your first response by the Friday of that week and then respond to your classmates’ postings by the following Monday. 

Discussions will be due as noted with each posting by Professor Johnson.  Please note that this represents 20% of your final grade.  I cannot stress enough the importance of these discussions in enhancing your understanding of the material in the text.

PROJECTS ONE AND TWO

During the semester for your first project, you will create a Country Profile and Commerical Guide for the country of your choice.  Among the topics to be included are:  political environment; legal environment; economic environment; participation in international trade; trade regulations (trade barriers); participation in trade alliances; and monetary and banking systems.  Specific directions for this profile will be provided via the Discussion Board and Email.  The Due Date and specific directions will be provided at a future date.

The second project will involve planning a business trip to the country which you have profiled.  Your trip will include both business and leisure activities as you explore and validate market opportunities.  This project’s Due Date is December 10.

SUBMITTING YOUR WORK

Discussions:  Your contributions should be posted on the Discussion Board as assigned.  Your contributions will be available to everyone in the class.  Your first addition to the discussion must be posted Friday night midnight of the week and your responses by midnight on the following Monday night. (Typically, this is Monday night.)

Exams:  The Mid-term and Final Exams will be taken online.  You will have one opportunity to take each exam with a limited amount of time available for each.  You will be given more details on this process as the time approaches.  There are no makeup exams for either the mid-term or final.  Each exam covers those chapters and readings which precede it; the final exam is not cumulative.

Quizzes:  Quizzes are to be completed at the end of each lesson.  They will be due by Mon evening of each week.  You will be given the chance to take each quiz twice with your grade an average of the two scores.  If you are happy with your first quiz score, you need not repeat the quiz.  You will again have only a limited amount of time to take each quiz.  You will have until 11:55 pm on Monday night to take each quiz with the exception of holiday weekends when you will have an additional 24 hours.

Projects:  Please email projects to the instructor no later than the day designated on the assignment page.   These must be emailed as a Microsoft Word file—no other will be accepted including Microsoft Works or Word Perfect.  If you are using either of these software, you should save these documents so that they may be opened in Word.  If your project is submitted late, you will lose five points per day.  The due dates for these projects will posted with the project assignment and directions.

Late Assignment Policy:

Late Assignments will be penalized at five points per day.

STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS

To succeed in this course, each week you should complete the following steps:

• Read assigned textbook material in a timely fashion.

• Complete assignments as scheduled.

• Complete self-graded quizzes.

• Submit any graded assignments on time.

• Participate in discussions on a regular basis.

• Follow international business news in at least one periodical on a weekly basis.

METHODS OF INSTRUCTION

Professor Johnson will lead the class through class discussions that will focus on the week’s readings in the text, class assignments, and/or case studies.  There will be two projects requiring written reports.  Students will be expected to complete a variety of tasks utilizing the Internet as a major source of data and information. 

COURSE POLICIES AND EXPECTATIONS

EMERGENCIES

• If you have an emergency and need to reach me, please use the information I have listed above.

• If you can’t connect to the Internet, call your Internet service provider

• If your computer crashes, either call the computer manufacturer or the business you bought it from.

• If you can’t participate in class for any reason for over 24 hours, call or email me.

LOGIN POLICY

You are expected to log on to the course at least three times per week. Online courses move swiftly and if you miss too many days, you may find yourself lost. Please try to keep up with the discussion board and your other assignments

EMAIL CHECK POLICY

I plan to check my email for this course Monday through Friday at around 9:30 am.   If your message arrives after these times, then I may not respond until the following day. I will often respond sooner, but do not expect it. When you send me email, please put the title of this course and the topic you are writing about in the “Subject” line, for example, “BUS 245, Quiz 2.”  Unfortunately I receive some 50 SPAM messages each day, and I don’t want to overlook yours.  I will not check my email on Saturday and Sunday unless I have indicated so in the discussion board for the current lesson.

DOCUMENT MAILING POLICY

When you attach documents to your email, these should be sent in Microsoft Word 97 or higher.

NETTIQUETTE POLICY

Online etiquette is extremely important. We must show respect to one another at all times. Rudeness and disrespect will not be tolerated in this course. Please recognize that communication is rather “flat” online where we cannot see and hear each other. So be cautious when using sarcasm or negative statements. Whenever possible, give constructive criticism and treat others the way you would like to be treated.

TECHNOLOGY EXPECTATION

I expect that you have basic Internet skills if you are in this course. If you need to review any of the basics, please go to the Microsoft site and brush up. http://www.microsoft.com/insider/internet

CONFIDENTIALITY POLICY

The communication that happens within this classroom should stay within it. Like any class, we are a community and we need to treat each other with respect.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

I will post most announcements in the appropriate area on the web site. Please check that section regularly to make sure you keep up.

STUDENT COMMITMENT

You should budget adequate time each week for reading the textbook, participating in class discussion, and completing all assignments. You will be responsible for keeping up to date with all lessons and assignments. You should also be respectful of your fellow students at all times. Online courses take as much time to complete successfully as traditional courses so please plan accordingly.

INSTRUCTOR COMMITMENT

As your instructor, I will follow the course outline as detailed in this syllabus, and should any changes be required I will announce them well in advance to give you time to adjust. You can count on my availability during office hours, and you have the right to expect prompt responses to your questions, comments, and requests. I will grade your work in a timely manner and return it to you with constructive commentary. In this distance-learning course, you will receive at least the same attention and care you would find in a traditional class.

PLAGIARISM STATEMENT

Plagiarism is the use of direct quotations without identifying them as such, or the summarizing or paraphrasing of other quotations. If you do not specifically identify the source of ideas other than your own, you are plagiarizing.

Cheating is the unauthorized giving or receiving of information in examinations, quizzes, assignments or other class exercises. If someone else takes online tests or quizzes in your name, this is also considered cheating.

Honesty and integrity are very important in higher education. This standard pertains to what is written as well as what is spoken. To claim to have written something that is not entirely your own work is a violation of academic and personal integrity.

You are solely responsible for the preparation and presentation of your assignments. Each homework assignment, written activity, and test should be your own work. When working collaboratively, it is acceptable to ask for criticism and help, but such input should be limited and acknowledged when appropriate. When writing a paper, it is recommended that you have someone proofread and critique your work, but it is not acceptable that he or she re-write whole sections in the process.