Program Description
 

GSBA 580: The Global Context of Business

This course seeks to improve awareness and understanding of economic, institutional, and cultural issues pertinent to business, markets, policies, and trade in Latin America and Asia.  In addition, it trains students as global managers by allowing them to compare and contrast the U.S. business experience with that of various countries and industries.  The course further seeks to teach patterns of competition in world markets through examination of specific industries and firms.

The course has four interrelated learning components:

Global Economics Module

The Global Economics Module consists of a set of class sessions that focus on the economic environment of countries and the global economic environment in order to understand the context in which international and global business take place. Macroeconomic indicators, concepts, and models will be studied in order to acquaint future global managers with the language and intuition of macroeconomics, introduce a global outlook on economic conditions, and help managers become sophisticated consumers of global economics. The role of government policies in affecting economic outcomes and business conditions will be assessed. Finally, the implications of the economic environment for managerial decisions, including which countries present the best opportunities for entry or expansion, will be examined.

Global Strategy Module

The Global Strategy Module consists of a set of class sessions that focus on the challenges and opportunities for developing strategies in global multi-business corporations. This module presents frameworks for analyzing the global environment in which business decisions take place, including customers, technology, economics, competitors, special interest groups, and government. Then, the module examines the firm as a player in multiple markets and nations, and examines how strategic decisions affect the firm in its current markets, in its home country, and in shaping its global options for the future. Several different aspects of corporate and global strategy will be analyzed in this module, including motives for diversification, vertical integration, and global expansion, the impact of national differences on firm strategy, risks in dealing with foreign governments, market entry decisions, sources of global competitive advantage, and the dynamics of global competition between large competitors from different countries.

Prime Module:

The PRIME Module focuses on the applications of frameworks for international and global business to a specific country or pair of countries. First, this module consists of a series of country-specific class sessions on the cultural and social context of one or two specific countries, the economic, institutional, and political environment of these specific countries, and the implications of these contextual factors for international management decision-making, strategy, and business practices. Second, this module allows you to apply material you have been learning to an international company-specific business issue; for this company-specific issue, you will complete a group research project that you will present to the managers of the company in question. Finally, this module is centered around an international field trip to the country or pair of countries which you have been studying. This field trip provides an experiential learning environment in which to integrate all components of the course. The trip consists of a weeklong schedule of on-site visits to companies and institutions in order to meet with managers and visit their operations so that you can learn first-hand about the issues affecting international business.

Joint Class Sessions:

In addition to the three modules, there are a set of joint class sessions that are explicitly focused on integrating material across the various modules. Four class sessions will be jointly taught by the Global Economics and Global Strategy faculty. These four sessions will examine issues related to globalization, comparative advantage and national competitiveness, and institutions and policies that promote economic growth from both economic and corporate strategy perspectives.These sessions will be jointly taught by the Global Economics, Global Strategy, and PRIME faculty in conjunction with guest speakers and will focus on issues related to Global Citizenship, Corporate Social Responsibility, and Ethical Issues in conducting global and international business.