Azerbaijan University

School of Business
Fall 2011
Mgs 3000 Globalization and Business Practices
instructor: Fuad Aliyev
Cell: 050 3387245,
E-mail: fuadaliyev@gmail.com
Class hour: Friday 6:30-9:30 p. m
Office hour: by appointment
Main reading material: International Business: Strategy, Management and the New
Realities. By S. Tamer Cavusgil, Gary Knight and John R. Riesenberger, Pearson
Prentice-Hall, 2007 (ISBN 0-13-173860-7)
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course examines worldwide integration of economic, political, and socio-cultural
aspects of business in order to explore and understand the existing environment for
international business.
Students develop a world-view of the global marketplace. Special consideration is given
to key issues in ethics, global social responsibility and technology.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
By the end of this course, you should be able to:
1.

Develop thought processes and analytical skills essential to a

global business mindset.

2.

Practice critical thinking by keeping current with global

events and discussing their implications.

3.

Understand the role of globalization in shaping the business

environment and assess trends, challenges and opportunities created by the
globalization of business practices.

4.

Identify complexities introduced by globalization and

integrate concepts learned in this class with those acquired in other courses.

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5.

Identify and evaluate major issues related to ethics and

social responsibility in the international arena.

6.

Critically evaluate various components of a national

environment: technological, cultural, economic, political, and legal systems, and
their influence on business practices and strategies.

7.

Examine trade and investment theories and patterns, and

critically evaluate the role of governments and their impact on the international
business environment.

8.

Critically evaluate the role of various forms of regional

economic integration on national economies.

9.

Apply the concepts learned and knowledge gained in the

case of specific international organizations.

10.

Develop written and oral communication skills as well as

research and group skills.

COURSE METHODOLOGY
The central theme of this class will be the study and evaluation of the international
business environment. The primary teaching vehicles are lectures, class discussions,
speakers, team projects, and an analysis and critique of cases. You must read the
designated text material and all other assigned readings before each class session.
CLASS POLICIES:
Overflows: No overflows are available
ATTENDANCE: The attendance policy is firm. Do not ask the instructor to make any
exception to this policy.
Students are expected to attend all classes. Attendance is based on the entire period.
Tardiness and partial attendance (for example being present only before or after break)
is considered an absence and will affect your final grade. Legitimate reasons for being
absent are (1) illness - note from doctor required; (2) death in family - copy of death
notice; (3) jury duty - bring official notice from court; (4) religious holidays. Students
must make arrangements with their employers to leave work in plenty of time to attend
all classes. Missing any class due to business requirements is not a legitimate absence.
Legitimate absences count toward the 2 absences limit.
As a courtesy, please inform the instructor in advance if you will not be attending a
given class, will be arriving late or have to leave early.

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Also, your instructor must be informed in advance before any exam is missed. Failure
to notify the instructor before missing an exam will lead to a grade of zero (0) on that
exam.
Sleeping: Get a good nights rest before coming to class. Falling asleep in class is not
acceptable. It will negatively impact your final grade.
Side conversations: Side conversations make it difficult for your classmates to actively
listen and learn. Please be considerate of others.
Inattention: Please do not read other books, newspapers nor work on a computer
during class. Note taking must be done by hand. You are expected to pay attention and
join in individual and group discussions. It will help you master the material.
Courtesies expected: All cell phones and beepers MUST be put on a silent-mode
during class time. Failure to do this will result in being excused from class for the
remainder of the day and the loss of (5) five meaningful contribution points. No food is
allowed in the classroom. There is a break during the middle of each class. That is the
time to take care of personal activities, not during class sessions.
Academic dishonesty: Although no one expects cheating in or outside the classroom,
the penalty may range from an F for the assignment to an F for the course. Cutting and
pasting from websites or other digital documents without proper attribution is
plagiarism, a form of cheating and a violation of academic honesty. Disciplinary actions
may follow.
Late work: No late work will be accepted. Please do not ask for any exception to this
policy.
Make-up exams: No make-up exams will be given
Presentations: Possible.
Course and instructor evaluation: Students are strongly urged to complete the
course/instructor evaluations as soon as it becomes available at the end of the semester.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
The course requirements are as follows:
Exams (2): The first one will cover Chapters 1 - 4, and the second, a common final exam,
covers Chapters 5 - 10. Exams may be a combination of any of the following: multiple
choice, true/false, scenarios, definitions, short answers, and/or essays.
Quizzes: You may have up to one per week. There are no make-ups for quizzes.
Missed quizzes are graded zero. Quizzes can be given at any time during the class.
Quizzes will be in-class and unannounced.

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Case Write-Up & Discussion: You will be assigned one case for write-up and
discussion during the semester. The purpose is to learn how to apply international
business principles to specific situations. Limit the written assignment to three to four
typed, double-spaced pages. The case analysis must include:
a. An introduction and summary of the case
b. Answer all the questions at the end of the case. Explicitly write the question,
followed by its answer. A response that simply rehashes the case facts and
narrative is not satisfactory. Your answer must demonstrate an in-depth
understanding of the salient issues characterizing the case, critical analyses and
evaluations of the issues and recommendations or proposed solutions as
appropriate.
c. Conclusions about the case and answer to the following question:
What concepts of international business does the case illustrate?
On the days when a case discussion is scheduled, preparation of the case by all class
members is mandatory. Your instructor may ask you to formally present your case
analysis to the class. The case method of teaching is only effective when participants
have thoroughly studied the case and are prepared to contribute to the class discussion.
Class members may be asked to open the discussion or may be cold called. The
quality of your contribution will be emphasized over the frequency of your comments.
Cases are available at the end of each chapter of your textbook. Cases are due on the
assigned dates per the course schedule.
Country Analysis At the beginning of the semester, your instructor will create teams of
3 to 5 students, depending on class size, and assign a country to each team. The team
will develop expertise on its assigned country by regularly reading news articles and
other material from and about the country. This is not a cut and paste process that
amounts to plagiarism (see Academic Dishonesty above). The team needs to write a
useful narrative of the topics that gives the reader an under-standing of the country as a
place to do business. A final report should include:
1. Introduction
2. Geography/resources

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3. Background on the country useful for an international business person; cultural

environments facing someone conducting business in the country: business
ethics, corruption
4. The political, legal and economic environment
5. Prospect as a trading partner, government policies on international trade,
direction and terms of trade
6. Participation in cross-national cooperation and agreements, regional trading
blocks, FTAs and other forms of international economic integration
7. Attractiveness for trade and as a site for foreign direct investment
8. Any major trends and events affecting its standing in the global business
environment.
The goal is to integrate and apply the knowledge gained in this class in the context of
your assigned country analysis. Each team will make a 15-20 minute presentation to the
class. Completing your presentation within this time limit is a factor on the project
grade
Each team member must complete a peer evaluation of every other member of the
group. If you do not complete the peer evaluation, it will negatively impact your
meaningful contribution.
Homework: Your instructor may assign homework to help you prepare for and
participate meaningfully in classes.
Meaningful Contribution: Your class participation grade will be based on attendance
plus the quality of your contributions. Complete all assignments on time. Be prepared
to discuss the chapters, the international newspaper articles, the cases, the videos, and
all other supplemental material. More importantly, you should be able to support your
arguments using the text and other readings. In this class, you are expected to
contribute by asking engaging questions, and class discussions, and sharing relevant
examples, experiences, and news with your classmates.
Variances: Please see the attachment at the end of the syllabus.

GRADING
ITEM
Exam I

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POINTS

PERCENTAGE

25

25%

ITEM

POINTS

PERCENTAGE

Exam II

35

35%

Quizzes

10

10%

Case

10

10%

Country Analysis

10

10%

Meaningful Contribution

10

10%

100

100%

TOTAL POINTS

The final grading scale will be as follows: A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, D+, D, D-, F.
Scores
A+ =
A
=
A- =
B+ =
B
=
B=
C+ =
C
=
C=
D+ =
D
=
D=
F
=

AKTS scores
97 100
93 96
90 92
87 89
83 86
80 82
77 79
73 76
70 72
67 69
63 66
60 62
0 59

A = 90 100

B = 80 89

C = 70 79

D = 60 - 69
E = 50 59
Fx = 40 49
F = 0 39

The course syllabus and the schedule provide a general plan for BUSA 3000 for Fall
2010. Revisions may be necessary. Your instructor will keep you informed of any
changes.

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SCHEDULE OF CLASSES
Week
1

Topic
Syllabus, class policies, Internet resources, organize country analysis teams,
case and country assignments, schedule for the final exam and the procedure
to address conflicts (variance exam)
Address class members concerns about any part of the syllabus
Review case analyses and country analysis presentation
Intro to course, background for international business (IB), cultural
environments facing IB (Chapter 1)

2
Globalization of Markets and the Internationalization of the Firm (Chapter 2)
Case discussion Ch 1, p 23
Case discussion Ch 2, p 53
3
Organizational Participants that Make International Business Happen
(Chapter 3)
Case discussion Ch. 3, p. 85
4

Theories of International Trade and Investment (Chapter 4)

Case discussion , Ch 4, p 117

Mid-Term Exam (60 minutes)

The Cultural Environment of International Busines

Case discussion Ch 5, p 151

Political and Legal Systems in National Environments

Case discussion Ch. 6, p. 186

Government Intervention in International Business

Case discussion Ch. 7, p. 1215

Regional Economic Integration

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Week

Topic
Case discussion , Ch 8, p 246

10

Understanding Emerging Markets

Case discussion Ch. 9, p. 277

11

The International Monetary and Financial Environment

Case discussion Ch. 10, p. 305
Written cases due

12

Country Analysis presentations

13

All Country analysis reports due

Final Exam Review

14

Final Exam (90 minutes)

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