Course Objectives
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the fundamental concepts of international business. It
will provide students with a basic understanding of the global business environment. This course covers
the macro-level environmental factors that affect international businesses today. We will discuss such
topics as globalization, country environments (political, legal, and economic), culture, global trade and
foreign direct investment, regional economic integration, the foreign exchange market, the global monetary
system, international strategy, and international human resource management. Students should leave this
course with an increased appreciation of the challenges and opportunities of doing business internationally.
Grading
Your grade in this course is determined as follows:
Individual Assignments: Grading Scale:
Exam 1: 25% 100 A+
Exam 2: 25% 94-99 A
Case Write-Ups: 10% 90-93 A-
Class Participation & Other Assignments: 10% 87-89 B+
84-86 B
Group Assignments: 80-83 B-
Country Project Report (including peer evaluations): 20% 77-79 C+
Country Project Presentation: 10% 74-76 C
70-73 C-
67-69 D+
64-66 D
60-63 D-
Below 60 F
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Exams
All exams are non-comprehensive and include assigned readings as well as material covered in class. They
will consist of multiple choice and short answer questions. Requests for rescheduling an exam will be
considered only with timely notification to the instructor and appropriate documentation such as a written
medical excuse or a note from the academic dean. It is your responsibility to inform the instructor in
advance of the exam. Approval for rescheduling is at the discretion of the instructor.
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randomly selected to support or oppose this statement. All students should articulate their assigned
viewpoint using their group’s findings to support their arguments.
You are also requested to complete and submit the student information sheet at the end of the syllabus.
This will help me learn about your backgrounds, as well as link names to faces.
I may periodically assign additional assignments not listed on the syllabus. You are expected to complete
these assignments on time.
Your participation grade will reflect the degree to which you contribute to class, rather than simply whether
you are physically present. Excellent class participation is characterized by a student consistently
attending class, contributing to case (and other) discussions, being well-prepared for the current event
assignment, and demonstrating superior understanding and insight on the material. Good class
participation is characterized by students consistently attending class and contributing to case (and other)
discussions as well as being reasonably prepared for the current event assignment, while only occasionally
demonstrating superior understanding and insights on the material. Poor class participation is
characterized by a student inconsistently attending class and contributing to class discussion, demonstrating
lack of preparation for the current event assignment, and rarely demonstrating superior understanding and
insights.
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Group projects will be graded as follows:
1) Content – 80%
This is the most important part of the report. This shows a group’s ability to find, sift through,
and compile information pertinent to this assignment. It also shows your analytical ability in
terms of determining the challenges and opportunities of doing business in a country.
Thoroughness, accuracy, and keen analysis should come through in this portion of the paper.
2) Process – 20%
This refers to readability, flow, logic, organization, professional look, and writing mechanics of
the report. Reports should be clear, concise, structured in a logical fashion and easily readable,
with a logical flow of thoughts and ideas as well as transitions between paragraphs. The report
should be devoid of spelling and grammatical errors. It should also look neat and professional,
adhering to paper specifications noted above.
Note that I will not re-assign individuals to a different group after the initial assignment has been made. It
is the group’s responsibility to work together. Students desiring guidance on working with group members
are welcome to ask me for advice. If group members are unable to work together, they have the right to
fire themselves or another group member(s) from their group. In this case, the fired individual(s) must
complete a different country project report individually, with the same specifications described above.
Fired individual(s) should email me about being fired so that I can provide them with a different country to
research.
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This area refers to general presentation skills. Students should be audible, come across as
confident and knowledgeable, and clearly state their points. Practicing in advance is important
and helpful.
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Peer Evaluations
Teamwork is important in the workplace and in this class. Since the quality of group output is dependent
upon each individual’s quality contribution, it is vital that each group member work as part of the team.
Because I cannot assess the degree to which group members are performing their fair share of work, group
members will anonymously evaluate the performance of each member. Members will assess each other (as
well as themselves) on their contribution to the country project report, attendance at meetings, timely
contribution to individually assigned tasks, and overall performance. Group members will multiply the
number of people in their group by 100 points and assign their total points among the members. All
members must receive between 80 and 120 points from each evaluator (i.e. you can not give someone a
zero score). Each individual’s average score will be the basis for his/her peer evaluation score, which is
multiplied by the overall group’s country project report score to obtain the final country project report
score for that individual. For example, an individual who was a member of a six-person group that earned
80 points out of 100 on the country project report and who was given the peer evaluations shown in the
table below would receive the overall group case analysis project grade as listed in the “individual project
grade” column below. Thus, student E whose group received a country project report score of 80 and
whose average peer evaluation score was 510/600, or 0.85, would obtain an individual country project
report grade of 68. Note that I maintain the right to disregard self-ratings that are substantially higher than
peer ratings.
WEBCT
Class notes, the syllabus, and other relevant course-related materials will be posted on WEBCT. You may
download this material from the website. In addition, you are advised to check your messages on WEBCT
prior to each class session. This will be the main way of disseminating any messages or instructions
relating to the course. Furthermore, groups will have a message area on WebCT to facilitate
communication about the country project. Note that exam, written case, overall group country project
report (i.e. without peer evaluation), and country project presentation grades will be posted on WebCT.
WebCT can be accessed at webct.utdallas.edu using a UNIX ID and password.
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Common Courtesy
You are expected to be courteous during class time. Please respect your fellow students by turning off cell
phones and beepers before class, refraining from talking with others when someone is speaking, and
arriving punctually to class. Also, note that laptop usage during class is prohibited, as this is distracting to
fellow students.
Scholastic Dishonesty
Any student who commits an act of scholastic dishonesty is subject to discipline. Scholastic dishonesty
includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarizing, colluding, submitting for credit any work or materials
that are attributable in part or fully to another party, taking an exam for another person, and engaging in or
attempting to engage in any act designed to give unfair advantage to a student. The University of Texas at
Dallas has several procedures to deal with students who commit acts of scholastic dishonesty, ranging from
flunking the course to being expelled from the university. Visit
http://www.utdallas.edu/student/slife/TitleV.html for further information on this topic.
Note that this course has specific grade reductions due to plagiarism. Plagiarism is a serious offense and
points will be deducted for committing it. As noted in the section on group projects, papers that have
excessive plagiarism (over 50%) will automatically receive a grade of zero, while those with varying
degrees of plagiarism will have points deducted based on the extent of the violation. Five points will be
deducted for 1-9% of the paper being plagiarized, ten points for 10-19%, twenty points for 20-29%, thirty
points for 30-39%, and forty points for 40-49% of the paper taken from other sources. If you are not sure
what plagiarism is or how to properly recognize sources, you are strongly encouraged to talk with me
before submitting written work.
Tentative Course Schedule
You are responsible for having read the chapters in accordance with the dates below. Read the material
BEFORE coming to class on the day it is to be discussed. Other reading materials may be assigned in
addition to those in the schedule below, but these will be mentioned at least one class period in advance.
Feb. 14 The Political Economy of International Trade Ch. 5 Group 2: Current events
(con’t)
Is a Tax Break an Export Subsidy?
(pp. 204-205)
Entering Foreign Markets Ch. 11
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Feb. 21 Exporting, Importing, and Countertrade Ch. 12 Artais Weather Check (pp. 440-441)
Nike’s ethical practices (Debate) Reserve “Nike’s Dispute with the University of
Reading Oregon” references for viewpoints
Mar. 21 Group Meetings – Groups will meet Ch. 6 Detailed Outline of Country Project
individually with the instructor to discuss Report
their progress and detailed outline for the
country project report
The Foreign Exchange Market Ch. 8 The Collapse of the Thai Baht in 1997
(pp. 311-312)
Apr. 18 Global Human Resource Management Ch. 15 Global Human Resource Management
at Coca-Cola (pp. 535-536)
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Student Information Sheet
BA 4371 Section 004 – Spring 2005
General Information
Name: ____________________________
Phone # ____________________________
Hometown: ____________________________
Work experience:
International experience (study abroad, travel, work, etc.) – include length of time and country(ies)
Personal goals:
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