Please keep in mind that the International Seminar you have signed up for is a class with many of the same types of requirements as any other MBA class. There are reading assignments and written assignments that will be evaluated. One area where the International Seminar is somewhat different from a typical UC MBA class is that you are acting as a representative of our college and university in a foreign (in all senses of the word) environment. Thus, while some of the rules listed here may seem strange or obvious, they still need to be stated and observed.
Attendance: You
are required to be on time and
attend all seminar sessions. The
only valid excuse for missing a session is illness (please don’t get sick
overseas and a hangover doesn’t count!).
Conduct: Please
observe local customs about classroom conduct.
For example, in many places, it is rude to eat or drink in class. Ask before doing. Some instructors will
conduct an informal American style class.
Others will be more rigid and formal. Be respectful of these
differences. That’s part of the cultural
lesson. Pay attention to the culture readings. They offer good guidance. Business
casual dress is fine. We are
representing our school and don’t want to be perceived as “Ugly Americans.”
Classroom environment: You
may note that in some instances classrooms tend to be darker and warmer than
ours. Be prepared.
Assignments: In
addition to reading the material and attending the sessions, you have two
assignments, described below. The first
assignment is 20% of your grade, class participation (attendance, etc.) is 20%
and the post-seminar assignment is the remaining 60% of your grade.
Term Assignment
Options
The term assignment
accounts for 60% of your grade for the International Seminar Course. Keep in mind that if you intend to count
this class towards any concentration other than International Business, your
term assignment must focus on that discipline. For example, if you want to
count this as a Finance class, the paper must have a Finance focus. Additionally, you must indicate your
intention to count the paper towards a particular concentration PRIOR to turning it in.
These assignments may
be done in teams of two (2) people or individually. The expectations will be
the same regardless of whether you do it individually or as a team. The
objective is to apply the knowledge you have gained from your seminar, research
that you do when you return, and your prior MBA course work, to practical
issues of doing business in
Option 1: Develop a
business plan for your organization (one where you currently work or one that
you select) that focuses on building or expanding operations overseas. What kind of political, cultural, economic,
financial, marketing, human resources and logistics/distribution issues must
the company address to be successful? Be
careful. If, for example, you determine
that your firm should form a joint venture or acquire a local firm, you must be
able to identify likely candidates. You should identify whether your operation
will be a sales, distribution, and customer service center, or if you will also
engage in production overseas. You also
need to provide financial/accounting information that shows the potential costs
and benefits of this venture. (Could count towards
Management, Operations, Finance or Marketing, depending on the specific
emphasis on those subjects.)
Option 2: If your
company is already running an operation in
Option 3: Design a
training program for developing personnel in your organization for placement in
Option 4: Develop a
marketing plan for a product or service to be marketed in
Option 5: Propose a
project. You need to get approval from
me for the project no later than the beginning of the second week of Fall term (Oct 4). Of particular interest would be papers
that focus on trade policy issues, WTO membership, economic
policy issues (particularly around currency) and other macro policy issues.
My expectation is
that the term project will be a professionally developed document that you
could present to the people who would be making financing and operational
decisions related to the proposal. I don’t like to put specific page requirements
on these projects, but in the past these have typically been about 25 pages,
single-space text plus references, exhibits and tables. Quality is more
important than quantity! Please make
certain to include all references (including web references) and to cite
sources within the text itself.
If you have questions
or need clarification on this assignment, don’t hesitate to contact me (lawrence.gales@uc.edu or 556-7127.