EXECUTIVE MBA COURSE

Source: http://www.mhhe.com/business/management/businessAroundTheWorld/enter.html#

Introduction

The objective of this course is to provide the advanced skills required to function within the modern global business world, as well to facilitate the understanding of how the changing international business world affects businesses in Canada. The course is also intended to provide a solid knowledge foundation for MBA students in the study of international trade, both theoretically and practically. By the end of this course, you will understand the significance of international organizations and treaties and their impact on business today.

You will study the globalization of markets and understand the fundamental shifts that are occurring in world economies along with the very real differences that exist amongst countries and their corporations competing in cross-border trade and global investment.

Key questions include:

You will learn what bearing government policies and "brands" of ideologies have upon a business, the impact of changing patterns of regional economic integration, and how global businesses are beginning to address sustainable development challenges.

Throughout Canada’s short history it has been a nation of explorers and traders and yet, since the end of WWII, globalization has touched Canada (and the world) in profound ways. Bilateral and multilateral treaties have been ratified while regional trading blocks have been created and people have awakened to increasingly open economies.

Students need to think beyond the standard SWOT type analysis. They need to understand what globalization of markets and production means to today’s business. A company’s understanding of international organizations’ potential influence in daily business operations is paramount.

Some key questions:

There are more institutions than meet the eye. We will try to get to know some of them: what makes them tick, how they lobby for change, what their policies are. How have the increases in the number of bilateral and multilateral trade treaties, in the post-WWII era shaped the trading world as we know it? Foreign Direct Investment supposedly plays a large role in spreading prosperity around the globe, yet not all would agree. FDI has immensely benefited Canada yet has left it with perpetual insecurities in relation to the concentration of foreign ownership by American corporations within our borders.

Ever since the idea of Manifest Destiny was first discussed in the United States in the mid-1800s, Canada's malaise has ranged from fear of its southern neighbour to downright paranoia.

The economic landscape in Canada is to a certain degree shaped upon Canada's ambiguity towards the USA. On the one hand, Canada became a branch plant economy of the USA after WWII, while on the other, Canada resents American investments, a testament to the Foreign Investment Review Agency of the early 1970s.

Along the continuum between capitalism and state socialism (very few countries remain in the socialist realm) varying degrees of state intervention in economies exist. The WTO (and as its predecessor, GATT) has aggressively promoted the changing of the tariff landscape through its lobbying of member nations to lessen government controls of and subsidies to industries. How have the various GATT/WTO rounds affected the geopolitical situation of the North-South divide? These are micro examples of the broader sphere of “Global Business Today” upon which we are about to embark upon.

Textbook
Charles W.L. Hill, Thomas M^cKaig, Global Business Today,  3^rd Canadian Edition, 2012 McGraw Hill
ISBN: 0070401799

Readings on external websites:
In the Resources section, you will find links to websites specially chosen by the learner-coach for each module. Although none of this reading is required, we suggest you familiarize yourself with these resources as they may help you both in answering the discussion questions and working on your assignments.

Web-Based Conferences

We will be using web-based conferencing to communicate with each other. There will be a main class conference for each module where you will conduct the weekly discussions. We will also have separate conferences for each assignment for questions and comments about the assignments.

There is more information on expectations for the discussion questions and netiquette information in general in the section on participation.

For the individual research assignment, you will choose a product manufactured in Canada which is to be exported to a country other than the USA. The product may not include wine, wood, water, or maple syrup. Although services are very important in the world of global business, the student may only deal with a Canadian-manufactured product. The product may be a retail product or it may be a wholesale product.

For this paper, you need to imagine you are the actual exporter and prepare a comprehensive export marketing implementation plan. The report’s contents will include details that answer the following questions:

• What is the source of the actual finished product (Canadian company information)?
• What is the rationale behind the decision to export to country “X”?
• What export/import documents are needed when leaving Canada and when arriving in the foreign country?
• As the exporter, do you intend to use a distributor an agent?
• What are the risks and advantages of using a distributor an agent?
• What is the transportation plan --- why did you choose a certain mode of transportation over another (intermodal), etc.?

Similarly, the form/sources of payment to be accessed must be detailed:

• What currencies, forward payment, or types of letters of credit will be used?
• Or, will exchange be done through barter, or countertrade?
• What agencies will be involved: Business Development Bank of Canada, Canadian International Development Agency funding, Inter American Development Bank, etc.). Why?

You will have to explain your rationale for selecting one type of letter of credit over another. Research about Export Development Canada, or the Canadian Commercial Corporation will complement other research. All sources of information must be clearly sourced and quoted.

You must understand marine (seasonality) or air insurance and indicate in the report as to why you chose one form over another. You will need to understand the cost factors involved in tramp line vs. conference line shipping.

Not all shipping insurance covers for damages at sea. Some insurances only cover for goods lost at sea. If, for example a box tilts more than 45 degrees, insurance might not cover damage that ensues.

As an exporter, how would you know if the box has tipped 45 degrees?

• What types of packaging, marking, packaging, and regulatory notices must go on the goods, or accompany the goods?
• What Inco terms have been selected (Free on Board, Cash on Delivery, Free alongside ship) and why?

You will be responsible for getting this product from the warehouse where it is manufactured in Canada through customs in the host country, but you are not responsible for getting the product to the shelves of stores in the host country.

• What about international trade and tariffs barriers?
• What regulations will you have to deal with from the following entities (but not limited to – depending on your export destination): WTO, or European, Mercosur, or the Southern African Customs Union (SACU)?

You may consult with a freight forwarder in order to find out about shipping logistics, but you may not assign your work to a freight forwarder.

Overall, your paper must comprehensively cover the complete export process including, but not limited to:

• documentation
• marketing
• financing
• insurance
• packing
• labeling
• marking
• transportation,

You must explore avenues of government and private assistance.

Resource material must also include scholarly articles.

The paper must be a minimum of 30 pages (10, 500 words), 12-point font, double-spaced. Papers must not exceed 35 pages (12, 250 words). Sundry information must be inserted into Appendage section(s) and the appendages do not count for the required 35-page upper limit.

This paper is due at 11:59 p.m. ET on the Sunday of Week 4
Papers received after this time risk being ignored and not marked.

NAFTA Assignment
Group Assignment
(40 Marks)
Due: Sunday of Week 7

Your group will prepare a report on NAFTA, while considering other regional trading blocs in the western hemisphere.

The following figure taken from Chapter 8 of my book provides clarification on the levels of economic/political evolution existent within young to mature stages of the integration process.

Key to understanding the “drift” of this assignment is to comprehend that most provisions of the original Free Trade Agreement (FTA) have now expired, not because of a shift away from free trade; rather, many free trade agreements become “victims” to the process of increased economic integration as a free trade area moves to the outer reaches of the above “Circle of Levels of Economic Integration”. For example, the FTA has now been superseded and replaced by NAFTA. Some experts say that NAFTA will eventually cease to exist, only to be superseded by a type of FTAA (Free Trade Agreement of the Americas). I emphasize “by a type of FTAA” because as it now stands, the FTAA reality is severely stalled and thus for the foreseeable future cannot be cited as a viable trading block. You may mention the FTAA in your paper, but it will not account for any marks, given its doldrums status.

If NAFTA does outlive its current self by expanding to become a type of FTAA, other western hemisphere trading blocs may cease to exist, and be absorbed into this larger framework.

In preparing this report on NAFTA and its possible expansion, you must study all other existing regional trading agreements in the western hemisphere – from the Canadian Arctic to the Cape Horn. The purpose of this component of the exercise is simply to heighten awareness of current free trade realities in the western hemisphere outside of the NAFTA framework.

First of all, you must:

1. Take into account the original Free Trade Agreement from which NAFTA evolved. In other words, when did the FTA come into effect, what was the motivation for the FTA and who were its protractors and detractors?
2. Identify NAFTA treaty objectives.
3. Discuss the major concerns pertaining to NAFTA in its infancy stages.
4. Discuss the major concerns pertaining to NAFTA in its current phase.
5. Point out two Canadian industries that were hit the hardest by this accord and two Canadian industries that have benefited the most from this accord. Explain. Please note that you will be required to substantiate this part of your reply through citation of specific trade figures for that time which may be found, but not limited to at www.strategis.gc.ca

Your reply to this part must not exceed 6 pages.

Secondly, you must:

1. Name trading blocs (other than NAFTA) within the western hemisphere.
2. Name the relevant treaty (including date of treaty) of enactment for each trade bloc.
3. Identify treaty objectives for each trading bloc.
4. Indicate progress achieved from date of inception to present time - per trading block. You may be required to cite either trade figures and/or cite a general description of treaty progress based on actual organization documentation.

Your reply to the above 4 points must not exceed five pages, per trading bloc.

Thirdly, you must:

1. Identify two major longstanding trade irritants between NAFTA countries Canada and the United States.
2. Discuss and describe the NAFTA dispute settlement procedures and mechanisms (tribunals) in place which deliberate on these and all contentious NAFTA issues.
3. Analyze the consequences of the outcomes of these decisions re: these two long-standing trade irritants, in assisting or hindering NAFTA from moving to the outside of the sphere.

Fourth, you must:

1. Express a view as to what level of integration NAFTA will reach in relation to the Economic Integration Level Circle. This must be based on trade talks and public opinion since 1995.

Fifth, you must

 Resource material must also include scholarly articles.

The paper must be a minimum of 35 pages (17,500 words), 12 point font, double-spaced. Papers must not exceed 40 pages (24,500 words). Sundry information must be inserted into Appendage section(s) and the appendages do not count for the required 40 page upper limit.

The same research restrictions/permissions regarding interviews apply to this group assignment as indicated in the description for the individual assignment.

This paper is due at 11:59 p.m. ET on the Sunday of Week 7.
Papers received after this time risk being ignored and not marked.

Participation in the Online Discussions
28 Marks
Due: Sunday of Every Week

Participation including discussions and contributions which may include (but are not limited to) scholarly reviews or magazine articles.

Renowned publications (Le Monde, The Christian Science Monitor, Rolling Stone, The Financial Times of London, The Globe & Mail, The Washington Post, The Economist, The New York Times, La Repubblica (Italy), El Pais (Spain) may be referenced, along with wire services such as Agence France Presse, BBC News, CBC, etc. Personal experience is encouraged, as long as it supports your discussion. Each module participation mark is worth 4 marks - (7  modules in all)

Quality, not quantity is expected. Original and critical thought is encouraged, even if it is outside the box. “I agree” comments do not count as meaningful contributions. Student must gauge themselves to ensure that their participation does not become monopolistic. Good etiquette, professionalism, and courtesy are expected, as well as offering theoretical perspectives from the readings and fresh ideas from your own experience. Be sure to respond to others’ postings as well as providing your own.)

Each module closes on Sunday night at 11:59 p.m. E.T. Participation for each new module begins at 12:01 a.m. Monday.