I anticipate an optional international trip to accompany this class.

The trip would occur between Jan 2 – Jan 12, 2013.

Currently, I am exploring the feasibility of Turkey and/or Germany.

If these are not feasible, other alternatives will be explored.

Will keep you posted.

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/ MOR 542 (Section 16692R), Fall 2012
Strategic Issues for Global Business
Popovich 104, TuTh5:00 – 6:20 pm

Terance J. Wolfe, Ph.D.

Email:

Office:Bridge 307-F

Phone:213.740.0765

FAX:213.740.3582

Office Hours:Thursday, 3:45 – 4:45; by appt

Course Overview

If you’re not confused, you’re not thinking straight, Simone Weil

No problem can be solved from the same consciousness that created it, Einstein

This class seeks to extend and refine your understanding of the setting and practice of the strategic management of global business. The course complements the knowledge, skills and understanding derived through GSBA 519B, GSBA 515, and the learning and experience obtained through PMGlobe or PRIME. It does so through an in-depth analysis of contemporary global strategic business issues, and a deeper examination of various global strategies, structures and sources of competitive advantage.

Central to an understanding of strategic issues for global business are an appreciation for both the external context or operating environment of the firm, as well as the firm’s internal strategies, structures and capabilities. Therefore, we will examine strategic issues at both the external and the internal levels. What challenges are presented by the environment?, and how well resourced, structured, etc is the firm for competently responding to them? How do these jointly impact the identification of firm-level key strategic issues? Strategic managers and decision-makers are historically myopic, ahistorical, apoliticaland ethnocentric in their perspectives and their choices – perhaps to our collective detriment. This class seeks to contextualize global business strategy by enhancing awareness of contemporary global issues, their significance to global strategy, and their potential impact on strategic choice.

Objectives. The purpose of this course is to focus on current strategic issues for global business. The major objectives for the participants are to:

  • Develop and enhance a global mindset and further an appreciation for the global context of contemporary business.
  • Increase awareness and knowledge of global structures of trade and governance, and how they both shape and influence, and are influenced and shaped by, global organizations.
  • Foster an awareness of contemporary global issues and current events, and foster an awareness of their impact on global strategic business decisions.
  • Increase knowledge and understanding of global strategies, structures, and sources of competitive advantage.
  • Examine business ethics, integrity and social responsibility in the global context.

Instructional Philosophy

The key to acquiring knowledge is involvement. A measure of knowledge acquisition is the ability to formulate better questions. As a graduate student, you are expected to participate actively, responsibly, and competently. Involvement will be in the form of discussion, questioning, reports, analysis, and problem-solving. I have high expectations for your participation. This requires that you take the initiative to prepare adequately for each session through reading, exploring, and analyzing the assigned material.

Each student can achieve the course objectives through the following process:

  1. Competent preparation -- demonstrated by active participation in assigned activities, including case preparation, analysis, and discussion.
  2. Integration of subject matter -- demonstrated through oral and written reports.
  3. Professional approach -- demonstrated by reflecting a mature, responsible, and managerial perspective to the analysis and understanding of organizations and the concepts under review. This may be evidenced by respect for the thoughts and contributions of your classmates as well as the instructor.
  4. Punctuality -- demonstrated by timely arrival for each class session, as well as timely delivery of course assignments.

Course Format

The course will employ a variety of pedagogical approaches including lecture, discussion, in-class exercises, case analyses, videos, and individual and team presentations.

Course Materials

The majority of class materials are available through the web, and the appropriate addresses are provided in the schedule of classes and assignments (see pages 14 – 21 of this document). In addition, there are a set of required Harvard articles and case studies to be purchased and downloaded directly through the Harvard Business School Press website. These are all identified in red on pages 6 – 11. Specific download information will be emailed to you entitling you to a 50% academic discount.

Requirements & Grading

Satisfactory completion of each of the following requirements is necessary for a passing grade:

  1. Advanced preparation of class assignments
  2. Class participation15%
  3. Midterm20%
  4. Individual Case Analyses (two @ 10% each)20%
  5. Team Presentations (four @ 12.5% each)45%

One at 10% (Strategy concept, governance)

One at 35% (Country Analysis)

TOTAL100%

Syllabus_MOR 542_Fall-2012

EVALUATIONS

Assessments of student performance fall into two broad classes of evaluation: individual contributions, and team analyses and presentations.

A.Individual Evaluations (55%)

Each student has direct and complete control over fifty-five (55) percent of her/his final grade. There are three basic components of this grade: class participation (15%), case write-ups (20%), midterm exam (20%). Passing performance on each of these is essential for overall individual success.

Class Participation (15%):

The primary instructional vehicle is classroomdiscussion and engagement. Class participation is essential to course success. It is imperative, therefore, that students thoroughly prepare in advance of each class.

Case Write-Ups (20%)

We will discuss a total of five Harvard case studies during the course of the term. Each student will complete two (2) brief individual case analyses from among these five. Discussion questions are provided in the syllabus. Students should present their specific recommendations along with their supporting analysis based upon the application of appropriate analytical techniques. Case write-ups should not exceed five (5) pages of written text (Times-Roman 12, double-spaced, with page numbers). Appendices may be included beyond the five pages based upon your discretion.

Midterm Exam (20%)

There will be one exam (Tuesday, November 20). The exam will cover material from each of the in-class team presentations on the topics of global strategy concepts, international governance institutions, global mindset, dominant logic, the macro-environment, and ethics and integrity.

B.Team Evaluations – Group Analysis and Presentation (45%)

Forty-five (45) percent of each individual’s grade is a function of her/his ability to work with others and make contributions toward collective analyses and presentations. An essential attribute of organizational success, and a quality often stressed by recruiters, is the ability to work effectively with others. This course allows you to continue honing your skills in contributing to task groups and collective performance. It does this through written group projects and oral presentations.

The purposes of the group project are to enable each student, through individual effort and group interaction, to either (1) review and report on a specific aspect of global strategy, or (2) review and report on a specific global governance structure such as the WTO or a regional trade organization/agreement. Each student will also work on a team and complete a specific country analysis of a country receiving a lot of current public analysis and discussion. These may include the BRICS, MIST and/or PIIIGHS countries, or other meaningful countries of current international or global interest (e.g., Japan, various Middle Eastern and North African countries, etc).

To achieve these purposes, students will be formed into groups of three students each. Team projects will be jointly evaluated by the professor and team and class members.

Further guidance for these specific projects will be discussed in class and posted on Blackboard.

Written and Oral Report. Teams will prepare powerpoint presentations and submit hard copies for each of the assigned team projects. For global strategy concepts and governance institutions, teams will have 10 minutes for presentations; there will be no time for Q&A. Allsubmitted powerpoint presentations will be posted to Blackboard. Hard copies of powerpoint presentations are due at the start of class for each of the respective presentations. Ten (10) percent of your total grade will be assessed through peer evaluation.

Class Rankings (10%). Each team presentation will be ranked by the rest of the class from 1 (most effective) to 5 (least effective). Teams ranked most effective will receive an A+; teams ranked least effective will receive a B-. The remaining teams will be distributed in between. In particular, rankings will focus on the relative value to one’s learning of each of the presentations.

Peer Evaluations (10%). As one might expect, group assignments pose evaluation problems as to the contributions of individual members -- a problem well acknowledged in the literature on organizational economics. Specifically, this poses a problem of ``opportunism’’ or ``shirking’’ in team production. To control for such opportunism, each team member’s performance will be evaluated by every other member; that is, by those who are most likely to know, and therefore most capable of evaluating, individual contributions to group effort. Ten (10) percent of your total grade will be assessed through peer evaluation.

Academic Integrity Policy

The MarshallSchool is committed to upholding the University’s Academic Integrity code as detailed in the SCampus Guide. It is the policy of the MarshallSchool to report all violations of the code. Any serious violation or pattern of violations of the Academic Integrity Code will result in the student’s expulsion from the degree program.

It is particularly important that you are aware of and avoid plagiarism, cheating on exams, fabricating data for a project, submitting a paper to more than one professor, or submitting a paper authored by anyone other than yourself. If you have doubts about any of these practices, confer with a faculty member.

Resources on academic dishonesty can be found on the Student Judicial Affairs Web site ( The “Guide to Avoiding Plagiarism” addresses issues of paraphrasing, quotations, and citation in written assignments, drawing heavily upon materials used in the university’s writing program. “Understanding and avoiding academic dishonesty” addresses more general issues of academic integrity, including guidelines for adhering to standards concerning examinations and unauthorized collaboration. The “2005-2006 SCampus” ( contains the university’s student conduct code.

Students with Disabilities

Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the letter is delivered to me as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in STU 301 and is open 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone number for DSP is (213) 740-0776.

Syllabus_MOR 542_Fall-2012

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Syllabus_MOR 542_Fall-2012

Peer Rating Form for Team Projects

Governance & Country Analysis

Governance Institution: ______Country Analysis: ______

Rank order each of the members of the team with which you worked for the Governance Institutions and Country Analysis projects INCLUDING yourself on each of the items below (1 is best, 2 is next best, etc.). The Peer Evaluation counts towards each student’s final grade. Use the back of this form for required comments as per the guidance at the bottom of this page.

Please list each of your group members below in alphabetical order by last name. Be sure to include yourself.

ALPHA by LAST NAME

Group Members:A.______

B.______

C.______

D.______

Rating Criterion / Group Member / A / B / C / D
1. Quality of contribution to group discussions
2. Quality of contribution to writing the assignment
3. Quality of contribution to organizing the assignment
4. Quality of initiative when something needed to get done.
5. Reliability in completing assigned responsibilities
6. Amount of effort put forth.
7. Commitment to the group
8. Leadership, motivation provided to the group.
9. Emphasis on getting the task done.
10. Emphasis on cooperation and working well with others.
11. Would want to work with this group member again.
TOTAL
Assign an alphabetical grade to each member of the group based on your OVERALL impression of her/his contribution to the group’s performance. You may assign a group member any grade from 0 to A+. However, you cannot assign A’s to more than two of your group members. Failure on the part of each team member to observe this constraint will result in each team member receiving a B for the peer evaluation.

On the following page, provide at least three directly observable behaviors that represent what you believe each team member did well, AND at least three behaviors that you observed that represent areas for improvement/development for each team member. This is NOT about personalities, but rather it is about those behaviors that are in service and supportive of successful team work and those behaviors that are not.

Syllabus_MOR 542_Fall-2012

Peer Rating Form for Team Projects

Governance & Country Analysis

Governance Institution: ______Country Analysis: ______

A:______
Did Well (behaviors):
Area for improvement/development (behaviors):
B:______
Did Well (behaviors):
Area for improvement/development (behaviors):
C:______
Did Well (behaviors):
Area for improvement/development (behaviors):
D:______
Did Well (behaviors):
Area for improvement/development (behaviors):

Syllabus_MOR 542_Fall-2012

MOR 542 – Case Discussion Questions

IBM – CORPORATE SERVICE CORPS

  1. In July 2007, what is the biggest challenge facing Kevin Thompson, and why?
  2. Are IBM’s CSR activities a coherent whole? Where does the CSC fit into the broader portfolio?
  3. What is your assessment of the CSC’s effectiveness and impact (both business and social)? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the program?
  4. What are your recommendations for the CSC moving forward?
  5. Taking into account the Porter & Kramer framework on Strategy and CSR, provide a constructive critique of IBM’s CSC and broader CSR initiatives.

GENZYME’S GAUCHER INITIATIVE:

GLOBAL RISK AND RESPONSIBILITY

  1. How was Genzyme able to emerge from its marginal position in the high-risk biotech business to become a strong global player in that industry? What are Genzyme’s core competencies? Its core vulnerabilities?
  2. What do you think of Henri Termeer’s “universal provision” and “universal pricing” policies? Are they socially responsible? Commercially viable? Competitively sustainable?
  3. How can the company reconcile the tension created between the Gaucher Initiative’s humanitarian commitments and Genzyme’s commercial imperatives?
  4. Specifically, what should Tomye Tierney do about the situation in Egypt? How should she respond to Genzyme’s Middle East sales organization? To Project Hope representatives? To Egyptian government officials? To her bosses, Sandy Smith and Henri Termeer?
  5. Evaluate Genzyme’s Gaucher initiative in relation to the perspective developed by Porter & Kramer.

BARING PRIVATE EQUITY PARTNERS INDIA LIMITED:

BANKING SERVICES FOR THE POOR IN BANGLADESH

  1. What parameters measure the success of a social entrepreneurship venture?
  2. What factors led to the success of the Grameen Bank?
  3. What problems did the Grameen model face?
  4. What factors led to the success of SafeSave?
  5. Is SafeSave replicable? Is SafeSave scalable? To what extent?
  6. How do the players discussed fit into the generic competitive strategies framework (Porter)?
  7. Which type of microfinance business models should Subramaniam target for investment in India?

MEDICAL EQUIPMENT INC. IN SAUDI ARABIA

  1. Is bribery or corruption in your home country a problem (yes, that does include the US  )? Give one or two examples.
  2. How do expatriates live in Saudi Arabia? Does Grover understand the local culture and how that relates to doing business in Saudi Arabia?
  3. Conduct a stakeholder analysis:
  4. Who are the stakeholders in this case?
  5. What is their relative influence; that is, which stakeholders are the most powerful/influential? Which are the least?
  6. What are their specific goals/objectives/interests?
  7. What are their outcome preferences?
  8. Whose interests are similar? Different? Are there any alliances?
  9. How would you recommend addressing their respective outcome preferences?
  10. Grover considers the option of sending Al Humaidi to a Medical Equipment showroom in France or the United States. How does that compare to paying Al Humaidi a bribe?
  11. What should Grover do now? Why?

BLOOD BANANAS: CHIQUITA IN COLUMBIA

  1. What do you think were the root causes for Chiquita’s actions in Columbia that ultimately led to their conviction?
  2. Conduct a stakeholder analysis:
  3. Who are the stakeholders in this case?
  4. What is their relative influence; that is, which stakeholders are the most powerful/influential? Which are the least?
  5. What are their specific goals/objectives/interests?
  6. What are their outcome preferences?
  7. Whose interests are similar? Different?
  8. How would you recommend addressing their respective outcome preferences?
  9. Do you think Chiquita or its managers had a choice? Why or why not?
  10. What other companies or industries do you think should be worried about the type of experience Chiquita had in Columbia? How, if at all, does this story affect your perspective on doing business abroad? (See also the assigned youtube video on William Browder’s experience in Russia).
  11. What can current CEO Fernando Aguirre do now to restore Chiquita’s reputation and ensure future competitiveness?

Syllabus_MOR 542_Fall-2012