INTB 3354 (17403): Introduction

to Global Business
Spring 16

MW 2:30-4PM
248

MH

Instructor: Alana Aleman

E-mail: alanaealeman@gmail.com
Office: 402A CBB
Hours: M 1:30-2:30 PM, W 12-1PM and by
Course Description
Integration of the global economy has changed the way in which businesses
operate. Businesses now must take into account a variety of factors when
operating abroad, and they also must be cognizant of the domestic impact of
globalization. This course is an introduction to key global business concepts
intended to prepare students for the global challenges that businesses face
today. In particular, we will focus on international trade and investment,
global labor forces, international competitive strategy, marketing abroad,
global operations, and supply chain management.
Learning Outcomes
Through lectures, classroom discussions, readings, and writing assignments,
students will demonstrate knowledge about the challenges businesses face
in a globalized world. Lectures will provide a foundation for students to begin
thinking about the factors that impact global operations, while writing
assignments will help students develop the critical and analytical thinking
skills necessary to effectively accomplish global business objectives.
Required Texts
There are four required books for the course:
University of Houston: INTB 3354 - International Business. Geringer, 1st ed.
ISBN-13: 9781259360510
The Sushi Economy: Globalization and the Making of a Modern Delicacy by
Sasha Issenberg
The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy by Pietra Rivoli
The Looting Machine by Tom Burgis
The Geringer textbook is available as an e-book in the McGraw Hill Connect
technology, or as a hard copy from the UH bookstore. The ISBN above is
for the textbook purchased from the UH bookstore. If you want to
purchase directly through McGraw Hill, you will be able to access registration
to Connect in BlackBoard, at which point you can pay directly online with a
credit card or access the free trial. Once you are registered, you can access
the e-book and Connect assignments from BlackBoard. If you purchase the
textbook without Connect Plus, you will need to purchase access
separately once entering into an assignment in Blackboard. The

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Stiglitz and Cowen books can be purchased from whichever retailer you
prefer.
Additional readings and materials will be available on BlackBoard. All
readings listed in the schedule below should be completed prior to
the class for which they are assigned. This is important, as the
majority of our classes will be based on discussion of these articles.
Recommended Readings
Anyone involved in international business should be aware of international
events, especially given todays volatile world. The following are a few
recommended (though not required) readings for those of you interested in
keeping up-to-date with current affairs.
The Wall Street Journal www.wsj.com
Financial Times www.ft.com
The New York Times www.nytimes.com
The Washington Post www.washingtonpost.com
BBC News www.bbcnews.com
The Economist www.economist.com
Many of these sources can be accessed via the UH library. Go to
http://guides.lib.uh.edu/economics and use your CougarNet ID to log in.
There you will find current and past issues of several publications.
BlackBoard and McGraw-Hill Connect
This course uses BlackBoard Learn and McGraw-Hill Connect. If you log into
your account (www.uh.edu/blackboard) you should see the course listed
along with any other courses you are taking that may use BlackBoard. In
BlackBoard, you will have access to grades, course materials, and Connect
assignments for this course, as well as the textbook. You should log into
BlackBoard regularly, as I make occasional announcements. Finally, although
BlackBoard has a messaging feature, I prefer if you e-mail me at the address
above.
In BlackBoard, you will click on Content to access all of your McGraw-Hill
Connect assignments. If you encounter any technical difficulties with
Connect, you must first contact McGraw-Hill Technical Support at 1-800-3315094 or via the chat feature at www.mhhe.com/support. Do not contact me
about technical issues with Connect until you have a documented
case number from support.
Honors Course
This is an honors course. By enrolling in it you demonstrate your
commitment to academic excellence. The class size provides for seminar
style conversations, and the class is conducted as a combination of lecture,
seminar discussions, and independent assignments outside of class.

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The honors course requires you to take initiative for your own learning.
Because so much of what we do in class is based on discussion, you must
come to class prepared having already read and taken notes over the
assigned readings.
Attendance and Conduct Policy
You must attend class if you expect to succeed in the course! Please try to be
on time and refrain from packing up early. In the event of an illness or some
other emergency that requires you to miss class, let me know as soon as
possible. Finally, if you have a personal situation that might negatively
impact your success in this course, I encourage you to communicate with
me.
Academic Honesty
Cheating in any form will not be tolerated. This includes: using study aides
of any kind during an exam, helping someone during an exam, buying
papers off of the internet, using a paper from a friend who previously took
the course, providing your work to a future student, passing off someone
elses work as your own, etc. If you are unsure if your behavior is
academically dishonest, ask me or consult your UH Student Handbook:
(http://www.uh.edu/academics/catalog/policies/academ-reg/academichonesty/).
UH Statement for Students with Disabilities
Students who need to take their exams at the Center for Students with
Disabilities must contact the instructor as soon as possible to make
arrangements. The University of Houston is committed to providing
reasonable accommodations for students who have registered with the CSD.
For more information, see www.uh.edu/csd or call 713-749-1527.
Assignments
We will have three papers this semester in place of exams. These papers will
be critical reviews of the assigned books listed above. Further detailed
instructions regarding these assignments will be available on BlackBoard.
Each Wednesday, two students will complete a presentation on a current
event related to that weeks topic of discussion. Prior to presenting in class,
students must post a link to their article on the Discussion Board in
BlackBoard. This must be completed by noon on the Tuesday before you are
scheduled to present.
Presentations must include:
1. Article title
2. Article source
3. Summary of the article, including at least four main points
4. Why you chose the article

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5. What is the central issue in relation to the course?
6. Regions of the world this is most immediately relevant to
7. At least three open-ended questions for discussion about the article
Presentations should be around 15-20 minutes in length. You will hand in a
hard copy of your presentation to me.
Finally, on designated weeks you will have assignments in BlackBoard
through McGraw-Hills Connect technology. These assignments are intended
to test your understanding of the material in the textbook. Connect
assignments are due by 11:59 PM on the due dates listed below.
Late submissions will be deducted 10% for each day late.

Grading Policy
This course will not be graded on a curve. Grades are earned, not assigned.
Papers turned in late will be deducted three points for each day it is late.
Current event presentations cannot be made up. The breakdown of grades is
as follows:
First Critical Book Review, February 22: 25%
Second Critical Book Review, March 21: 25%
Third Critical Book Review, April 25: 25%
Current Event Participation, Various: 15%
McGraw Hill Connect Assignments, Due Dates Listed Below: 10%
Final letter grades will be based on the following conversions:
93-100=A 90-92=A- 87-89=B+ 83-86=B 80-82=B76=C
70-72=C- 67-69=D+ 63-66=D 60-62=D- 00-59=F

77-79=C+

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Course Schedule and Assignments

***Subject to change***
Week 1, January 20th
Wednesday, January 20: Course Overview and Introduction to International
Business
Assignment: Access McGraw-Hill Connect (see instructions above)
Week 2, January 25th 27th
Monday, January 25th: The Challenging World of International Business
Reading: Chapter 1; The Globalization of Markets (On BlackBoard)

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Assignment: Connect Assignments due January 29th
Wednesday, January 27th: International Trade and Investment: Introduction
Reading: Chapter 2
Week 3, February 1st 3rd
Monday, February 1st: International Trade and Investment Today
Reading: Fair Trade: The TPPs Promise and its Pitfalls; What Is
TTIP?; TTIP: The Key To Freer Trade, Or Corporate Greed?; The
Trans-Pacific Partnership: Into the Home Stretch; Global Trade, In
Graphics; (on BlackBoard)
Wednesday, February 3rd: International Trade and Investment Today
Assignment: Connect Assignments due February 5th
Current Event:

Week 4, February 8th 10th

Monday, February 8th: International Business and Labor: An Introduction
Reading: Chapter 9; Dignity: Fast Food Workers and a new form of
Labor Activism; Yellens Job Puzzle: Why Are 20-Somethings
Retiring? (On BlackBoard)
Wednesday, February 10th: International Business and Labor: Unions
Assignment: Connect Assignments due February 12th
Current Event:
Week 5, February 15th 17th
Monday, February 15th: International Business and Labor: Vulnerable
Workers
Reading: Girl Power: The Costs of Sexism; In China, Human Costs
Are Built Into an iPad; Slavery: Just a Regrettably Unavoidable
Aspect of Business?; Child Labour on Nestle Farms: Chocolate Giants
Problems Continue (on BlackBoard)
Wednesday, February 17th: International Business and Labor: Migration and
Immigration
Current Event:
Week 6, February 22nd 24th
Monday, February 22nd: Markets, Power, and Politics of World Trade

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Reading: Rivoli, The Travels of a T-Shirt in the Global Economy
Assignment: First Critical Book Review Due In Class
Wednesday, February 24th: Globalization and Corporate Social Responsibility
Current Event:
Week 7, February 29th March 2nd
Monday February 29th: International Competitive Strategy
Reading: Chapter 10; At CES, Netflix Adds Over 130 Countries to
Streaming Service, Netflix Faces Challengers in its Push to Expand
Globally, Why Netflix is Banking on Bollywood; Amazon Invades
India (On BlackBoard)
Assignment: Connect Assignment due March 4th
Wednesday, March 2nd: International Competitive Strategy Contd
Current Event:
Week 8, March 7th 9th
Monday, October 12th: Marketing Internationally: Introduction
Reading: Chapter 14; The Parable of the Sower; Freedom from
Fries; Inside Monsanto, Americas Third-Most-Hated Company (on
BlackBoard)
Assignment: Connect Assignments due March 11th
Wednesday, October 14th: Marketing Internationally: Challenges and
Responses
Current Event:
Week 9, March 14th 16th Spring Break
No class
Week 10, March 21st 23rd
Monday, March 21st: Globalization and Culture
Reading: Issenberg, The Sushi Economy
Assignment: Second Critical Book Review Due In Class
Wednesday, March 23rd: International Business: Mergers and Acquisitions
Current Event:
Week 11, March 28th 30th

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Monday, March 28th: Global Operations and Supply Chain Management
Reading: Chapter 15; Using Technology to Create Safe and Ethical
Supply Chains (on BlackBoard)
Connect Assignments due April 1st
Wednesday, March 30th: Global Operations and Supply Chain Management
Current Event:
Week 12, April 4th 6th
Monday, April 4th: Doing Business in the EU and Asia
Reading: Why McDonalds In France Doesnt Feel Like Fast Food; I
went to McDonalds in France and Discovered how the US is doing it all
wrong; A Chinese Company in India, Stumbling Over Culture (On
BlackBoard)
Wednesday, April 6th: Doing Business in the EU and Asia
Current Event:
Week 13, April 11th 13th
Monday, April 11th: Doing Business in Africa and the Middle East
Reading: A New East Africa Campaign; Special Report: Nigeria After
Oil; One of Africas Most Promising Economies is Facing a
Fundamental Problem; Africas Economic Prospects in 2016: Looking
for Silver Linings (on BlackBoard)
Wednesday, April 13th: Doing Business in Africa and the Middle East
Current Event:
Week 14, April 18th 20th
Monday, April 18th: Doing Business in the Americas
Reading: Why Chinese Factories Fare Poorly In the U.S.; The Road
Ahead; Four Reasons 2016 Will Be A Strong Year for M&A; Latin
America to Stagnate on Venezuela, Brazil, World Bank Says (On
BlackBoard)
Wednesday, April 20th: Doing Business in the Americas
Current Event:
Week 15, April 25th 27th

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Monday, April 25th: MNCs and the Developing World
Reading: Burgis, The Looting Machine
Assignment: Third Critical Book Review Due
Wednesday, April 27th: Final Thoughts Course Wrap Up