SYLLABUS SPRING 2015
PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY
Center Valley Campus
IB 303 International Business
On-Line 8 week accelerated course
“Tentative efforts lead to tentative outcomes. Therefore, give yourself fully to your endeavors. Decide to construct your character through excellent actions and determine to pay the price of a worthy goal. The trials you encounter will introduce you to your strengths. Remain steadfast … and one day you will build something that endures; something worthy of your potential.”
Epictetus, Roman Teacher, Philosopher 55- 135 A. D.
(He must have been a mountaineer too!)
…where you meet and befriend your inner mountaineer
PRACTICAL, POSITIVE, PERSONAL, PERSUASIVE, PASSIONATE
“Whatever be the detail with which you cram your student, the chance of his meeting in after-life exactly that detail is almost infinitesimal; and if he does meet it, he will probably have forgotten what you taught him about it. The really useful training yields a comprehension of a few general principles with a thorough grounding in the way they apply to a variety of concrete details. In subsequent practice the (students) will have forgotten your particular details; but they will remember by an unconscious common sense how to apply principles to immediate circumstances.”
Whitehead, “The Aims of Education.”
Welcome Team!!
This online course will familiarize you with similar technology platforms that you will encounter and be expected to use in the global business environment when you graduate. So apply yourselves as individuals, in teams, and in the ‘real world’ collaborative opportunities that this course will challenge you with (SEE FINAL PAPER ASSIGNMENT). I look forward to guiding you on this expedition!!!
International Business is employed in everything we do in life both personally and professionally….they are inseparable! Consequently, this course is designed to give you insights into both dimensions…. I have read the text book and all of the cases and articles you will encounter in this course, so I am looking for much more thought in your responses and not merely having the subject matter regurgitated in our class discussions and in your writings……I want to know how you think and feel because you will be confronted with new global challenges daily that will require you to apply these concepts and ideas….this is a chance to begin building your “life’s global tool belt”.
As a general rule of thumb for all discussions and questions in on-line class sessions, I am looking for your personal insights on how the questions relate to you and your life’s strategy of becoming a global citizen.
I use the SOCRATIC method of inquiry in this class….in other words, I ask you a lot of questions that go several levels deep which is pretty much like the real world you will graduate into.
What do you think?
How do you feel?
What have been your experiences if any?
How does this relate to your life strategy of dealing with uncertainty, ambiguity, rapid change, discontinuity, etc. in a global environment?
What did you learn?
How will you apply what you just learned?
FOR GREAT DATA AND STATISTICS>>>Go to the following link and then type in The Netherlands in the search box. Once there, you will find a plethera of information about the country.
http://www.trade.gov/cs/
Instructor:
Michael J. Krajsa
Instructor in Business
Penn State University – Lehigh Valley Office: Room 217-J
Center Valley, PA 18034
mjk38@psu.edu
(W) 610 285-5030
E-mail: mjk38@psu.edu.
EMAIL IS THE PREFERRED METHOD OF COMMUNICATION OR STOP BY MY OFFICE or by appointment or by SKYPE
Course Text
Global Business Today. (2009). (5th ed.) by Charles W. L. Hill, McGraw-Hill Irwin, New York, NY. ISBN: 978-0073210544
Course Objectives
- To introduce participants to the concept of International Business at the corporate, business, and functional levels and to show how strategies contribute to a firm’s performance.
- To learn that an International Business strategy is driven by and should reflect the organization’s mission and long term goals and objectives.
- To help participants develop skills in analyzing the dynamic global environment in which firms compete.
- To identify the capabilities of firms and recognize the demands and challenges of crafting a strategy—strategy formulation in an International context.
- To understand that an International Business strategy addresses decisions regarding the selection or choice of which businesses, products, markets, customers the firm intends to serve as well as the methods or approaches that will be deployed to perform these activities—strategy implementation .
- To learn and understand that strategy requires the ‘right’ combination—timing, order or progression of programs or initiatives, and an unambiguous and convincing value creating logic.
- To learn that International Business is futuristic and therefore provides an ideological and navigational instrument for a diversity and multiplicity of organizational decisions—operational and tactical.
- To inform and guide participants in intelligent International Business decision making
ONLINE Class Preparation and TIMELY Participation is imperative
Class participation, preparation, and timely participation of assignments online is mandatory….DUE DATES ARE DUE DATES! YOUR TIMELY CONTRIBUTIONS are essential for facilitating exchange and interaction among participants. Similarly, class preparation and participation is indispensable for creating and enriching the learning environment. Therefore, class preparation, and participation are fundamental in ensuring an in-depth understanding of this subject.
Preparation for class implies that students have read assigned materials prior to doing your assignment, and in discussion boards you are ready to ask questions, argue, express opinions, make comments, and challenge everything rather than accepting things at face value. Participants’ diverse cultural experiences, opinions, and observations are valuable and critical to learning and will be rewarded. In order to facilitate critical thinking, questions will be asked and you will be asked in your assignment also to share anecdotal experiences, and more importantly discuss how they relate to concepts and theoretical models covered in class.
ONLINE ASSIGNMENTS
This is a writing intensive course. Reading & Writing Exercises along with Current Events are interwoven into your Online assignment which are due weekly on Thursday and Sunday nights at midnight…. why it is 60% of your grade.
ONLINE assignments are due on the designated dates in ANGEL for each Lesson. This syllabus also has information. These Online assignments are posted in ANGEL please be respectful of your fellow classmates’ time by completing them in a timely manner and doing your part in responding in discussion boards…YES you can work ahead.
To further expand your horizontal knowledge and thinking, I encourage you to read current events from popular business publications which provide a rich context to bridge the gap between strategic management concepts and practical applications. Thus, in addition to your assigned readings participants are required to read business magazines regularly. The objective is to gain familiarity with the business environment, identify strategic management concepts in the popular press, and explore the implications certain social and economic issues may have for businesses. Publications such as Business Week, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Fortune, Forbes, Fast Company, and The Economist, amongst others.
The fundamental goal for these reading and writing exercises is to provide you with opportunities that will enable you to recognize and analyze International Business opportunities, issues, problems, and applications from the contemporary business arena, and discuss their strategic or policy implications for individuals, businesses, industry, and society at large. In addition, these exercises are designed to improve your writing and communication skills as well as reinforce your analytical skills.
When reading these articles you should ask yourself:
- What is the International Business issue(s) or problem(s) discussed in the in the article?
- What International Business concepts are illustrated by the article?
- What types of International Business decisions are exemplified by the article?
- What are the implications for employees, managers, businesses, and the society at large?
- What would I do in this situation?
Grading:
Your grade will be based on the following:
Individual semester Project |
20% |
Participation |
10% |
Online Assignments |
60% |
Individual Digital Presentation or Paper |
10% |
Grading Scale
The letter grade equivalent to the points earned is indicated below.
AA-
B+ B B- |
93-10090-92.99
87 – 89.99 83 – 86.99 80 – 82.99 |
C+C
D F
|
77 – 79.9970 – 76.99
60 – 69.99 0 – 59.99
|
If you are prevented from completing this course for reasons beyond your control, you have the option of requesting a deferred grade from your instructor.
Course Schedule:
PLEASE SEE ANGEL LESSONS FOR ASSIGNMENTS AND DUE DATES
The schedule below outlines the topics we will be covering in this course, along with the associated time frames. This is subject to change…see Lessons and due dates in Angel
- Course begins on January 2, 2015
- Course ends on March 15, 2015
Note: Regardless of where you live, all assignments are due on Thursday and Sunday Nights at 11:59 PM Eastern Time (ET). All readings refer to the textbook unless noted otherwise.
Lesson 1: Globalization |
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Lesson 2: Political & Economy Structure |
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Lesson 3: Culture and Ethics | |
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Lesson 4: Economic Integration |
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Lesson 5: International Business Strategy |
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Lesson 6: International Finance |
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Lesson 7: Foreign Direct Investment | |
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Lesson 8: International Business Strategy |
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Lesson 9: Market Entry & Exporting: Alternative Entry Modes | |
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Lesson 10: Global Manufacturing | |
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Lesson 11: Global Marketing | |
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Lesson 12: Global Human Resources | |
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Lesson 13: Final Paper and Individual digital Presentation due | |
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Week 16 | |
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Formal instruction will end on the last day of class. Provided that you have an active Penn State Access Account user id and password, you will continue to be able to access the course materials for one year from the day the course began (with the exception of library reserves).
Academic Integrity
The World Campus is committed to maintaining academic integrity in this and all other courses it offers. The World Campus, the academic unit that is the home of each course, the course instructor, and exam proctors take academic integrity matters seriously.
Academic integrity—scholarship free of fraud and deception—is an important educational objective of Penn State. Academic dishonesty can lead to a failing grade or referral to the Office of Judicial Affairs
Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to:
- cheating
- plagiarism
- fabrication of information or citations
- facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others
- unauthorized prior possession of examinations
- submitting the work of another person or work previously used without informing the instructor and securing written approval
- tampering with the academic work of other students
In cases where academic integrity is questioned, Penn State’s policy on academic integrity requires that the instructor give the student notice of the charge as well as the recommended sanction. Procedures allow the student to accept or contest the charge through discussions with the instructor. If a student accepts the charge and the recommended sanction, the respective College files the case with the Office of Judicial Affairs. If a student chooses to contest, the case will then be managed by the respective College or Campus Academic Integrity Committee. If a disciplinary sanction also is recommended, the case will be referred to the Office of Judicial Affairs.
All Penn State colleges abide by this Penn State policy, but review procedures vary by college when academic dishonesty is suspected. Information about Penn State’s academic integrity policy and college review procedures is included in the information students receive upon enrolling in a course. For that information in advance of enrolling in a course, please contact us.
Additionally, students enrolled at Penn State via the World Campus are expected to act with civility and personal integrity; respect other students’ dignity, rights, and property; and help create and maintain an environment in which all can succeed through the fruits of their own efforts. An environment of academic integrity is requisite to respect for self and others, and a civil community.
For more information on academic integrity at Penn State, please see the Academic Integrity Chart for specific college contact information or visit one of the following URLs:
www.psu.edu/dept/oue/aappm/G-9.html
http://www.sa.psu.edu/ja/
Accommodating Disabilities
Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University’s educational programs. If you have a disability-related need for reasonable academic adjustments in this course, contact the Office for Disability Services (ODS) at 814-863-1807 (V/TTY). For further information regarding ODS, please visit the Office for Disability Services Web site.
In order to receive consideration for course accommodations, you must contact ODS and provide documentation (see the documentation guidelines). ODS will provide a letter identifying appropriate academic adjustments. Please share this letter and discuss the adjustments with your instructor as early in the course as possible. You must contact ODS and request academic adjustment letters at the beginning of each semester.
Additional Policies
For information about additional policies regarding items such as Penn State Access Accounts; credit by examination; course tuition, fees, and refund schedules; and drops and withdrawals please see the World Campus Student Policies Web site.
Disclaimer: Please note that the specifics of this Course Syllabus are subject to change, and you will be responsible for abiding by any such changes. Your instructor will notify you of any changes.