Purpose of the Course
This Program, which began in 2011 with a course on Turkey followed by a visit to Istanbul, gives students an introduction to an emerging economies. For Spring 2015, the course will focus on Panama and Colombia during the 2nd module of the spring term and follow up with a visit to both countries between May 18th and May 27th.
Course FAQs
1. Who should be taking this course?
· students interested in how business is conducted in emerging economies
· students looking for first-hand, in-country experience of how business is done
· students interested in country and industry analyses
2. What are the pre-requisites?
Students taking this course must have been selected as Hassenfeld Fellows.
3. What are the learning goals of this course?
After completing this course, students should understand the basic challenges and opportunities for business in emerging economies. This model may be used to understand how governments of other countries may manage their economies, technology, and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). Additionally, this course will give students first-hand exposure to how startups in emerging markets think about developing new products or services. Finally, this course will give students an in-depth, deep-dive into how the two most dynamic Latin American economies work.
4. What are the basic requirements/workload?
Students should expect to invest ~9-12 hours/week outside of class on the course.
5. What about the travel visas and requirements?
Panama allows students with U.S. study visas to enter their countries without a visa. In some cases, passport holders from certain countries might be required to purchase a tourist card upon arrival. For Colombia, citizens from ______must obtain visas from the Colombian consulate in Boston.
6. What does IBS expect of the Hassenfeld Fellows traveling to Panama and Colombia?
· Provide $500 to cover a portion of the trip’s expenses (financial aid is available)
· Fill out information sheets outlining all pertinent travel, dietary and health information
· require release and waiver forms and agree to a contract with International SOS for worldwide assistance and evacuation services in case of an emergency
· completion of all required course work prior to departure
Materials for the Course
This course uses various books and readings, as listed further on this syllabus. The Panama Fever book may be obtained inexpensively online. Additional books and cases are easily available on-line or at the Harvard Business School Press web site www.hbsp.org. All other course materials will be posted on Latte.
Language and Customs Seminar
Because business travel requires skill in negotiations and navigation of the host country’s customs and language, this course includes a seminar taught by Matt Magida. Students will have homework to do for this, and will be graded on it.
Grading
The final grade will be based on class participation (50%) and a group project (50%).
Disabilities
If you are a student with a documented disability on record at Brandeis University and wish to have a reasonable accommodation made for you in this class, please see me.
Academic Integrity
You are expected to be familiar with and to follow the University’s policies on academic integrity (see http://www.brandeis.edu/studentlife/sdje/ai/). Instances of alleged dishonesty will be forwarded to the Office of Campus Life for possible referral to the Student Judicial System. Potential sanctions include failure in the course and suspension from the University.
Day
Instructor / Topic / Readings/work due prior to class:
1st
March 11th
A.Canella / · Introduction
· The Canal: Even the Conquistadors envisioned it / · Parker, Matthew, Panama Fever (Doubleday, 2007)
· The Panama Canal - Now for the next 100 years (The Economist, August 16, 2014 edition)
· What’s going on with the world’s canals (The Economist, August 13, 2014 edition)
2nd
March 18th
A.Canella / · Panama’s economy / · Latin America’s fastest-growing country has set its sights high (The Economist, July 14, 2011 edition)
· Colombia and Panama: Warm no more (The Economist, October 13, 2014 edition)
· IMF Executive Board Concludes Consultation with Panama (IMF, Press Release No.14/235, May 19,2014)
· Venezuelans Find Jobs and a Home in Panama (Bloomberg Business Week, May 1, 2014)
3rd
March 25th
M.Magida A.Musacchio / · What to expect from the visit (Magida)
· Class projects (Magida)
· Thinking like a startup (Musacchio) / · “Hypothesis-Driven Entrepreneurship: The Lean Startup,” Harvard Business School Background Note No. 8120095
· Jonathan Moules, “Start-ups rise as murders plummet in Medellín,” Financial Times, available on-line.
· Jonathan Ortmans, “A Way of Life in Medellin,” available at entrepreneurship.org
4th
April 1st
A.Musacchio / · The New Colombia
· Economy and history / · Watch the movie “The Two Escobars” prior to class: http://www.the2escobars.com/
· “Colombia: Strong Fundamentals, Global Risk,” Harvard Business School Case 710-012
· LaRosa, Michael J., and Germán R. Mejía.Colombia: A concise contemporary history. Rowman & Littlefield, 2013. Read chapters 5 and 6 and skim chapters 7 to ten.
5th
April 15th
M.Magida
A.Musacchio / · Group presentations
· Talk by Colombian consul / · Student mock presentations (15 minutes presentation followed by 15 minutes of Q&A for each group)
6th
April 22nd
A.Canella
M.Magida / · Cultural mores in Panama and Colombia (Magida) / · Watch movie “Invasion” on the 1989 U.S. invasion of Panama