YOU ARE READING A ROUGH DRAFT, TO BE REPLACED BY AN UPDATED SYLLABUS ON THE COURSE BLACKBOARD PAGE BYAUGUST 18TH

 

Office: FA 220-B

 

Office Phone: (708) 524-6681

Office Hours: TBA

 

Cell Phone: (630) 999-4553

Cyber Hours: TBA

 

Email: daron@dom.edu

… and by appointment

 

 

 

“Globalization… realizes and affirms our interdependence as human beings and societies. It exposes the fallacy of self-sufficiency, whether economic or cultural.”

-          Kenichi Ohmae, The Next Global Stage (2005), p. 122.

 

Course description

Welcome to the International Business Seminar class. This seminar is the capstone course, a culmination and synthesis of what you have learned and the ideas you have developed as a student of international business. As is often the nature of seminar courses, our success will depend heavily upon your contributions and will feature, as an end result, a research paper and presentation based upon your personal interest in International Business. You will be charged with choosing an area within the realm of international business to serve as your focal topic. That topic may be based on the topics we discuss in class or on an area of particular interest to you.

 

Course objectives and expected learning outcomes

There are so many topics in the area of international business, and a lot of items for us to talk about. We will approach these issues and objectives as future American or U.S.-based business professionals preparing to enter a truly global professional world. The desired outcomes of this course include the development of your strengths in areas including:

•         Understanding the impact of international business and the implications of a global economy.

•         Identifying and being able to critically analyze and synthesize issues of global concern.

•         Developing and expressing your views on International Business topics including theoretical foundation of international trade, ethical and social issues, cultural, political, and legal issues.

•         Understanding and expressing your views on interrelationships and importance of international business strategy and operations, including the areas of marketing, financial management, human resource management, and organizational structure and control.        

 

Special note for Seminar students:

You might wonder how this course differs from International Business 255. This course should be unique in several ways. First, this course offers a challenging variety of learning inputs and exercises, and your status as a member of this seminar compels you to approach and interpret these inputs with a broader, more mature, and more experienced perspective. This is true for your classmates, the next reason, and that should raise the overall level of conversation and learning. If you feel that your experience in this class is falling short of this higher level of learning, please let me know right away.

 

Prerequisite: Business Administration 255, 375, Economics 376

 

Meeting time/days, and location: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 12:30-1:20, room TBA

 

Required and recommended texts and materials

-          Required: Ohmae, Kenichi (2005). The Next Global State: Challenges and Opportunities in Our Borderless World. University City, PA: Wharton University Press.  ISBN: 013147944X

-          Other readings as assigned.

.

 

Assessment of Student Learning:

Your grade will be based upon your performance on the following measures:

 

Criteria

Possible Points per

Number

Total Points

Percentage

General Class (240)

 

 

 

48.0%

·         Classroom Covenant

10

1

10

 

·         Course Participation*

5

36

180

 

·         Chapter Presentations

10

3

30

 

·         Slice of Life

10

1

10

 

·         Other Assignments TBA

TBA

TBA

10

 

Debates (140)

 

 

 

28.0%

·         Preparation and Presentation

20

3

60

 

·         Written Debriefing

20

4

80

 

Final Project (120)

 

 

 

24.0%

·         Proposal

10

1

10

 

·         Progress Report

10

1

10

 

·         Presentation

50

1

50

 

·         Paper

50

1

50

 

TOTAL (500)

 

 

 

100.0%

Group work in italics, individual work is not

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Note: Out of respect for your personal, academic, and professional schedules, only 36 of the 38 scheduled class meetings will count toward your total grade. Anybody attending more than 36 meetings can get these participation points as extra credit.

 

Please rest assured that I want you to learn the course material and earn the best grade that you can. Please set up a time to meet with me if you are having difficulty with this class or just want to talk.

 

Course Schedule (subject to change)

 

WEEK

M

W

F

1

8/25

8/27

 

Course Overview and Networking

8/29

 

Course Overview and Project Introduction

2

9/1

Labor Day

No Meeting

9/3

The Global Consumer

9/5

Debate Prep 1

3

9/8

 

Chapter 1

 

9/10

 

TBA

9/12

 

TBA

4

9/15

 

Chapter 2

 

9/17

 

Debate 1a

9/19

 

Debate 1b

5

9/22

 

Chapter 3

 

9/24

 

TBA

9/26

 

Debate Prep 2

 

6

9/29

 

Chapter 4

 

10/1

 

PROPOSAL

10/3

 

WEEK

7

10/6

 

Chapter 5

 

10/8

 

Debate 2a

10/10

 

Debate 2b

8

10/13

 

Chapter 6

 

 

10/15

 

Debate Prep 3

 

10/17

Long Weekend

No Meeting

9

10/20

 

Chapter 7

 

10/22

 

Chapter 8

10/24

Senior retrea

No Meeting t

10

10/27

 

Debate 3a

10/29

 

Debate 3b

10/31

Halloween

 

Debate Prep 4

11

11/3

No Meeting

11/5

 

Chapter 9

 

11/7

 

Chapter 10+

12

11/10

 

PROGRESS

11/12

 

REPORT

11/14

 

WEEK

13

11/17

 

TBA

11/19

 

Debate 4a

11/21

 

Debate 4b

14

11/24

 

TBA

11/26

Thanksgiving Weekend

No Meeting

11/28

Thanksgiving Weekend

No Meeting

15

12/1

 

FINAL

12/3

 

PRESENTATIONS

12/5

 

WEEK

Finals Week

 

DATE AND TIME TO BE ANNOUNCED

Some answers to some questions you might have

Why so many TBAs?

Good question. During our first week of class, we’ll talk about some of the international business topics that are important to you, personally and professionally. That will help us to fill out the schedule, including the topics of our four class debates.

What are the debates?

During the semester, you will participate in four debates, either on the PRO side, the CON side, or as a JUDGE. This is an interactive way to put you in the middle of the discussion of some important international business issues. This worked well last year so I’m bringing it back for you.

What will we debate about?

See the first question about “TBAs.”

What to you mean when you say “Chapter 1,” “Chapter 2,” etc.?

I mean that these are the days in which YOU will present the chapters of our book to the rest of the class.

Okay, so you expect us to present the chapters and have debates. What exactly will YOU do?

This is a seminar, and according to Dictionary.com, a seminar is:

“a small group of students, as in a university, engaged in advanced study and original research under a member of the faculty and meeting regularly to exchange information and hold discussions.”

So that’s my answer. This course is a great opportunity for your development.

And that part in the definition about “original research…” Is that some sort of a threat?

It’s not a threat. It’s a promise. I’ll tell you more on August 27th!