Introduction to International Business- Subject to change

Introduction to International Business

CH-300-A
Introduction to International Business Seminar CH-300-B

Fall Semester 2020

1. General Information

Instructor- Prof. Dr. Christoph Lattemann

Professor for Business Administration and Information Management
Jacobs University Bremen; Business and Economics; Office: Research IV, Room 81 a/b
c.lattemann@jacobs-university.de

PhD Associates to Prof. Dr. Lattemann

Ricardo Guerrero (r.guerrero@jacobs-university.de); Simon Michalke
(s.michalke@jacobsuniversity.de)

Teaching Assistants:
Adriana Martinez Borjas (a.martinez@jacobs-university.de)
Timo Lukas Behrend (t.behrend@jacobs-university.de)
Please note that for course related questions you should first contact the TAs.

Courses Times and Location

(Prerequisites: non; Mandatory for IBA, GEM, and IEM students)

Tuesday- Lecture: 11:15-12:30

Friday- Seminar: 8:15-9:30; 9:45-11:00
Location: Microsoft Teams
Fridays are designated for case study presentations.

Official Course Description

“International Business” provides the foundation for the basic domains of business
(accounting, economics, finance, management, marketing and production) in the international
context in which modern businesses increasingly interact with their various stakeholders. It
provides the basics to make informed and effective business decisions. This course focuses
on business decision making and enforces your leadership skills with a sensitivity and
knowledge of internationalization in order to be successful in today's global economy.
Particular emphasis is given to cultural, political, legal, economical aspects. The goal is to
provide a deeper understanding on globalization, cross-cultural businesses, politics and law
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Introduction to International Business- Subject to change

in business, economic systems and development, international trade, business-government

trade relations, regional economic integration, international financial markets and monetary
systems. In the context of corporations, it provides a deeper understanding of international
strategy and organizational structure, selecting and managing entry modes, developing and
marketing products internationally as well as managing international operations.

Meet the professor!

The following video contains a short introduction of Prof. Dr. Christoph Lattemann and your
TAs, Timo and Adriana, explaining the overall course structure and what to expect as an
enrolled student of this course.
Video - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bdw9tje9MTvXSeNy6r4T8Ocslz8IM13S/view

2. Course Structure

This course will be taught through asynchronous teaching. That means, you will be provided
with the slides, annotations (either audio or written) as well as additional material which you
can study. If you need further feedback / discussions etc. we will have the option to discuss
on the Teams (forum) or weekly Q&A session on Tuesdays. The overall course structure is
composed in the following way:
• Introduction to International Business Lecture o Pre-recorded lecture slides and
videos will be uploaded accordingly before the
Tuesday Q&A weekly seminar taking place on MS Teams from 11:15-12:30pm.
Students are strongly encouraged to actively participate in the discussions and
clear any doubts regarding the covered topics.
• Introduction to International Business Seminar o The seminar aims to simulate an
international work environment consisting of group work and Harvard Business
Cases. Students are expected to actively contribute and solve the weekly cases they
are assigned and submit them via TurnitIn. Each group will have to present a
designated case study on the Friday seminar session. Students are welcomed to
discuss and get feedback from their TAs.

Technical Infrastructure

Lecture- The course will be taking place on the Microsoft Teams “F20_CH-300-
A_Introduction to International Business” team, for the time being, until November the course
will be virtual. Further information regarding the latter will be provided accordingly. o All
information regarding the lectures can be found accordingly under each channel. The
individual channels contain the pre-recorded lectures and videos that will be uploaded before
the Q&A session taking place on Tuesdays. For further guidance watch the “meet the
professor!” video attached at the beginning of the syllabus.
Seminar- The seminar presentations also take place on Microsoft Teams under the “Student
Presentations” channels on the “F20_CH-300_B_Introduction to International Business
Seminar” team. Furthermore, students are expected to submit their case studies via TurnitIn
before Thursday at 8am (further information below).

*YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR KNOWING THE CONTENT OF THIS SYLLABUS!*

Introduction to International Business- Subject to change

Workload

This course has a total of 7.5 ECTS (1 ECTS= 25/30 study hours)= 187.5- 225 h

• Lecture (35 hours)

• Seminar (17.5 hours)
• Private studies on cases (50 hours)
• Private studies on content (85 hours)

Attendance

It is your own responsibility to make sure you learn the concepts in the course. Attendance in
class will not be checked or graded. Keep in mind though that some of the exam questions
will be based on the classroom discussion and activities. So, coming to class will not only
help you master the concepts covered in the course, it will also help you earn better grades
on the exams!

3. Course Materials

Course materials - registration, course description, grades, slides, files - are located on
CampusNet:
• Use your CampusNet login name and password to sign in.
• You can view the material and download files ONLY if you have registered for the
course.
Note: Course materials are also uploaded on Microsoft Teams. Please download Microsoft
Teams. Once registered via Campus Net, the system will automatically register you to the
F20_CH-300-A_Introduction to International Business team and CH-300-B_Introduction to
International Business Seminar.

Reading Material

Textbook
In its structure and contents, the course strongly resembles the pertinent sections of the
textbooks:
• Hill, C. W. International Business – Competing in the Global Marketplace , 8E, 2011,
McGraw-Hill Irwin
• Global Business Today (GBT), Hill, C.W.; Hernandez-Roquejo, W.; Global Edition,
2011, ISBN 978-0-07-122084-2 (or newer versions)
• International Business- The Challenges of Globalization. Wild, J.; Wild, K.; Han, J.;
Pearson Education, 2015, ISBN 0133401
• Global Business, Peng. M.; Cengage Learning, 2019, IBSN 978-1-337-40682-6

Journal/ Newspapers
• The Economist o https://www.economist.com/

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Introduction to International Business- Subject to change

• The Financial Times- Free subscription with Jacobs University credentials.

o https://www.ft.com

Harvard Case Studies

Please get access to all the Harvard cases at the beginning of the course. You have to
purchase the noted cases on the timetable below (section 5). You can get the cases from
https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/pages/home or http://www.thecasecentre.org/main/.

Turnitin.com

Class ID: 25956674

Enrollment Password: CH-300
Classname: Introduction to International Business2020
Only one person from the group submits the case. Please see below for further information
regarding the file label.

Facebook Group

Organized by the TAs

4. Learning Facilitators

Learning facilitators enable you to add richer and deeper meaning to the course context.
They enable you to “own” the content of the course to make it tangible, personally valuable,
and useful. The following learning facilitators will be used frequently in the seminar and as a
complement in the lectures.

Seminar- Harvard Cases, Country Presentations, and MiniMBAs (teamwork)

• Description: Case methods are used to complement lecture, reading, exercises and
assignments. The case method presents students with a “real” international business
situation managers faced. It merges your personal experience and expertise, with the
acquired knowledge such as theories and frameworks, in order to analyze a “real”
world business situation. You will have to carefully read the case and answer the
questions with fact-based analyses (quantitative and qualitative). The
recommendations have to be based on the case data. In class discussion enables you
to debate about the various answers you come up with.

• For the miniMBAs please visit also www.provenmodels.com. You will have a collection
of about 22 miniMBAs on Campusnet. Www.provenmodels.com provides more
models, which may apply to the cases.
o Each group should use 2-3 relevant MBAs for each case.

• Group work will be graded on the basis of the conductor’s evaluation.

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o If you have free-riders in your group, please proceed as follows: Talk to your
peers, if they are not responsive, then contact the TAs. If nothing can be done,
then the TAs will talk to the professor.

Delivery: Summary Report (max. 2 page) and powerpoint presentation (only presenting team
/ max. content 15 slides). Both documents have to be turned in by Thursday at 8am. The
summary report has to be turned in via TurnitIn and the presentation via email to
a.martinez@jacobs-university.de if you are group A and t.behrend@jacobs-university.de if
you are group B. Please “cc” the professor on your presentation submission. Please use the
summary report template for further reference provided on Campus Net/ Microsoft Teams.

5. Case and Country Presentation

Students will be organized in 2 x 7 groups (6-9 students each). Group names will be A-1...7,
B-1...7,. Groups will present their cases as follows:
• Groups
o A-1 to A-7: Friday 8:15-9:30 o B-1 to B-7: Friday 9:45-11:00
Note: This information is subject to change based on the total number of registered students.

• Description: Prepare also a short country presentation of the company’s country or

where the case mainly takes place (i.e. see Table 1). Prepare a case presentation.
• Delivery: Maximum one page country profile and a short presentation (max. 5 content
slides and no more than 5 min presentation). Try to talk specifically about business
etiquette in this country.
o Last minute minor changes are not penalized. o Please see rubric uploaded
on Campus Net for further information regarding grading components.
o Cases have to be submitted in electronic word format via www.turnitin.com.
o The file name should be: Group name_Case; Example: A1-1_Chiquita

• Case presentation: Give a description of the case (10 min), presentation and
discussion of the 3-4 given questions and provoke the critical thinking of students by
making strong points (15 min), present and discuss the given extra/additional
questions (10 minutes). If time allows it, provide additional one or two
questions/discussion points to be discussed within the presentation (5 minutes). The
presentation should come to an end after 40-45 minutes!

Harvard Cases Table

Authors Title ECCH No. Topic Country Industry

Jones et al. L’Oreal and the 9-805-086 Globalization France Cosmetics
globalization of
American Beauty

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Roger Four Seasons Goes to 9-803-069 National Cultures Canada Hotel/Service

Hallowell, Paris: “53 Properties,
Carin-Isabel 24 countries, 1
Knoop, David philosophy”
Bowen
Mulligan, T.; Chiquita Brands 9-797-015 Politics of Trade & Panama Food
Spar, D. International (A) Protectionism
Hill, C.W. Mittal Steel Textbook FDI India Steel
(p.486-488)
Hill, C.W. European Energy Textbook Regional EU Energy
Market (p.540-541) Integration
Foerster, S.; Huaneng Power 9A98N001 Finance PRC Energy
White, J.; International, Inc.:
Karolyi, A. Raising Capital in
Global Markets
Alon, I., Tchibo Selecting and Austria Consumables
Lattemann, Managing Entry
C. Modes Franchising
Hill, C.W. Ikea Textbook Entry Modes Sweden Furniture
(p.906-918)
Hill, C.W. Dove Textbook Marketing The Soap
(p.1051-53) Netherlan
ds
McMaster Fiji Water and 9B09A008 CSR/Marketing Fiji/South Beverages
Nowak Corporate Social Pacific
Responsibility- Green
makeover or
“Greenwashing”?

6. Means of Evaluation

This course employs a noncompetitive, mastery system of grading. If you answer 90% of the
material or more correctly, you will still earn an “A-” or better regardless of how well any other
student performs. That is, there is no curve in this course. In principle, every student in the
course can earn an “A”, but the opposite is also a possibility. Thus, don’t expect that you get
an A or B like this just because you attend the course or provide the deliveries or work hard
and long hours, they need to be of exceptional quality, failing to do so will result in a lower
grade. For each written work you will get detailed written feedback in the form of an
evaluation form.

• Means of Evaluation- Lecture Proportion of Grade

Final Exam 100%
• Means of Evaluation- Seminar o Harvard Business School Cases (team)
40% (10 cases, each 4%) 40%
Presentation (team) 40%
Participation 20%
Points and Grading

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Introduction to International Business- Subject to change

Final course grades are non-negotiable. It will only change if the lower grade results from a
mathematical error, or if a higher grade was given by mistake. It is important that each
student frequently check their class grades and immediately notify the instructor of any
discrepancies. If you are absent, remember, there are no make-up’s or extensions in general
and you might earn zero points for that work.

7. Academic Integrity

Attempting to receive credit for written work that is not one’s own is a violation of Jacobs
University’s Code of Academic Integrity (https://www.jacobs-
university.de/academicpolicies/academic-integrity-code). This includes, but is not limited to:

• Students who intentionally copy work from someone else knowing that this is against
the rules;
• Students who copy an idea but fail to cite the source of the idea because he/she does
not understand how to cite sources;
• Students who unintentionally copy an idea based on something he/she just read;
• Students who turn in the same assignment for two classes without seeking prior
permission from instructors.

If there is evidence that academic dishonesty occurred, the instructor may apply an
appropriate sanction, which will then be reported to the Office of Academic Affairs.
Alternatively, the case may be referred to the Academic Integrity Committee, who will
determine the appropriate disciplinary actions to be taken. It is each student’s responsibility to
learn the rules governing the proper use of sources. If you have questions concerning the
appropriate use of sources, please refer to the resources provided in this course or ask your
instructor.

8. Team Spirit

From time to time, an individual consistently underperforms (or is not a team player) to the
detriment

of the group. While I expect you to deal with such situations as professionally as possible
within the group, I recognize that it is not always possible to do so. In the first instance, you

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should send a written notice of the group’s dissatisfaction to the offending party with a copy to
the TAs. If this does not resolve the situation, the case is referred to Prof. Dr. Lattemann

9. Timing

W Date / Topic Read before HBS-Case Venue/Material

Week class

1 Sep. 1 S00-Introduction, syllabus Syllabus MS Teams – F20_CH-300-

A_Introduction to IBA

Sep. 4 Q&A (Session 8:15-9:30) MS Teams – F20_CH-300-

A_Introduction to IBA

Sep. 4 S01-Globalization Chapter 1 Pre-Recorded PPT, incl. videos

2 Sep. S02-Politics and Law in Business Chapter 2 Pre-Recorded PPT, incl. videos

Sep. S03-Economic Systems & Development Chapter 2 Pre-Recorded PPT, incl. videos

Sep. 11 Q&A (Session 8:15-9:30) MS Teams – F20_CH-300-

A_Introduction to IBA

3 Sep. S04-Ethics in International Business Chapter 4 Pre-Recorded PPT, incl. videos

Sep. S05-Quick MBAs –www.quickmba.com quickmba.com Pre-Recorded PPT, incl. videos

Sep. 18 Q&A (Session 9:45-11:00) MS Teams – F20_CH-300-

A_Introduction to IBA

4 Sep. S06-Cross-Culture Business Chapter 3 Pre-Recorded PPT, incl. videos

Sep. 22 Q&A (Tuesday 11:15-12:30) MS Teams – F20_CH-300-

A_Introduction to IBA

Sep. 25 Global Production and Supply Chains I Case L’Oreal Students pres. MS Teams –
F20_CH-300-B_Introduction to
IBA Seminar

5 Sep. S07-International Trade Theory Chapter 5 Pre-Recorded PPT, incl. videos

Sep. 29 Q&A (Tuesday 11:15-12:30) MS Teams – F20_CH-300-

A_Introduction to IBA

Oct. 02 - National and Corporate Culture Case Four Seasons Students pres. MS Teams –
F20_CH-300-B_Introduction to
IBA Seminar

6 Oct. S08-Political Economy of International Chapter 6 Pre-Recorded PPT, incl. videos

Trade

- Business-Gov. Trade Relations

Oct. 06 Q&A (Tuesday 11:15-12:30) MS Teams – F20_CH-300-

A_Introduction to IBA

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Oct. 09 Politics of Trade & Protectionism Case Chiquita Students pres. MS Teams –
F20_CH-300-B_Introduction to
IBA Seminar

7 Oct. S09-Foreign Direct Investment- Chapter 7 Pre-Recorded PPT, incl. videos

Oct. 13 Q&A (Tuesday 11:15-12:30) MS Teams – F20_CH-300-

A_Introduction to IBA

Oct. 16 Case on FDI Case Mittal Steel Students pres. MS Teams –

F20_CH-300-B_Introduction to
IBA Seminar

8 Oct. S10-Regional Economic Integration Chapter 8 Pre-Recorded PPT, incl. videos

Oct. 20 Q&A (Tuesday 11:15-12:30) MS Teams – F20_CH-300-

A_Introduction to IBA

Oct. 23 Case Case European Students pres. MS Teams –

Energy Market F20_CH-300-B_Introduction to
IBA Seminar

9 Oct. S11- International Financial Markets Chapter 9/10 Pre-Recorded PPT, incl. videos

Oct. 27 Q&A (Tuesday 11:15-12:30)

Oct. 30 - Rising Capital in Global Markets Case Case Huaneng

Power

10 Nov. S12 - International Strategy and Chap 12/13

Organization

Nov. 03 Q&A

Nov. 06 - Competitors & Industries Case Tchibo

11 Nov. S13- Entry Strategy and Strategic Chap 14/15

Alliances - Managing Entry Modes

Nov. 10 Q&A

Nov. 13 - International Franchising /Entry Case Ikea

Modes

12 Nov. S14 - Global marketing and R&D Chap 17

Nov. 17 Q&A

Nov. 20 Case Case Dove

13 Nov. S15 - International Human Resource Chap 18

Management

Nov. 24 Q&A

Nov. 27 Case on CSR Case Case Fiji Water

14 Dec. Wrap Up

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Dec. 01 Q&A

10. Feedback

We welcome any type of feedback regarding the course structure or technicalities. We

understand that as a new student to Jacobs in the amidst of a pandemic, it might difficult to
adapt to a university environment. We are here for you and we look forward on getting the
best out of this semester!

*Additional readings, currently unlisted, in the form of handouts, articles, or any other written or audio-visual
material will be assigned and made available before they are due. Moreover, this syllabus may be altered at the
discretion of the professor if necessary. The professor reserves the right to make changes.

“The information provided in this document is intended for informational purposes only and is subject to change.
The Instructor of Record may especially make improvements, additions and/or changes in the order or content
of the sessions and/or the required literature described in this information before the course starts. Upon mutual
consent with the class this is also possible once the course is running.”

*YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR KNOWING THE CONTENT OF THIS SYLLABUS!*