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COURSE SYLLABUS
International Business Behavior
(ADEP) BUS 476
Fall 2011
PROFESSOR:

Anna W. Kwong

CLASSROOM:

Woodland Hills Campus-WH 4

TIME:

Thursdays, 6:00 to 9:30 PM, 9/1 11/10

OFFICE HOURS:

By appointment. Typically right before

Or after class time

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Email address: akwong@clunet.edu,

Campus phone: 805 493- 3325
annawkwong@cox.net (for urgent
messages)

TEXTBOOK:

International Management Strategy and

Culture in the Emerging World by
Ahlstrom / Bruton, 2010 edition,
ISBN# 978-0-324-40631-3

MANDATORY READING:

Economist Magazine (Students may

subscribe at bulk/discount rate. Details
will be provided on first night of class.)

Optional READING:

Wall Street Journal

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course provides a review of current organizational development
approaches developed in the United States for possible international
application. Cultural influences fostering or hindering the development of
effective humanistic organizations are explored. Prerequisite: Business
Administration 394 or consent of instructor.
It is designed to provide both conceptual and practical approach to a
systematic study on how international businesses behave, function and
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manage in the real world. Recent studies reveal that many business graduates
have a hard time applying international business behavior and management
theories they have learned in class at work, thus, hindering their success in
their own businesses or promotions along the corporate ladders. Therefore,
this course is specially developed to offer students the opportunity to learn
how classroom business behavior theories are being applied in the real world.
The course aims to explore in great depth the three most current and
influential international business behavior or management styles: the Japanese
management behavior; the German management behavior and the Chinese
management behavior. The goal is to provide students with hands-on
experience of the real world international business behavior and management
applications.
Cultural influences fostering or hindering our working relationships with our
major foreign partners or employers will be explored. Students will be
required to research different business behaviors and management styles
around the world and learn to apply such knowledge in the real world of
international business.
GOALS/OBJECTIVES:
Each student who has successfully completed this class will be able to
perform the following tasks:
1.
To understand the most current and influential international business
and management behavior systems practiced in the real world.
2.
To apply the knowledge effectively in the work place, whether the
students are self employed or hired by other corporations. When doing
business with foreign companies, students should learn to develop a model of
approach that is strategically appropriate within their own circumstances.
Students will also learn the important skills to negotiate successfully with
these foreign partners or employers.
3.
To explore the worldwide business opportunities and identify regions
of students' choice, and develop models of approach to successfully tap into
the trade and career possibilities of their own target regions.

Student Learning Outcomes and Assessments

Professional Preparation
a. Interpersonal Skills
b. Field Specific Knowledge and
Experience
c. Ethical and Professional Judgment
Liberal Learning
a. Written Communication Skills
b. Oral Communication Skills
c. Information Literacy
d. Critical Thinking
Character and Leadership Development
a. Principled Leadership
b. Grow in Identity and Values
c. Appreciate Diversity

Case studies
Class Discussion exercises

Research Papers
Oral presentations
Written country report
Group projects
Group chapter analysis
Group country report

GRADING CRITERIA:
Final grade will be determined as follows:
Individual Work (60%)
Mid-term exam (take-home):
Final exam (in class):
Participation and attendance:

20% points
30%
10%

Both individual and group work (20%)

Homework Assignment:

20%

Group Work (20%)

Country Report
Oral presentation
Written report
Total points:
Grading Computation:

10%
10%
------------------100%

((Your Midterm score X 0.20)+(Your Final score X 0.30)+(Your Oral

presentation score X 0.10)+(Your Written report score X 0.10)+(Your Class
participation and attendance score X 0.10)+(Your Class assignments and
research score X 0.20)= Your Total score of course

Final Grades will be determined from the table below:

90 and above = A (88-89 = A-)
80 87 = B (78-79 = B-)
70 77 = C (68-69 = C-)
60 67 = D
Below 60 = F
ADEP DROP DATES
Monday, September 12, 2011-Last day to add; last day to drop (without a W)
Last day to drop without financial penalty
(100% tuition charge for classes dropped after this
date)
Monday, October 10, 2011- Last day to withdraw without academic penalty

COURSE POLICIES
Course Evaluations Statement:
All course evaluations are now conducted online. Your feedback is
important to us. You will receive an email message reminding you when the
website is open for your feedback. The link is:
http://courseval.callutheran.edu
Blackboard Information:
For assistance with Blackboard, email, or Web Advisor, please contact the
help desk at (805) 493-3698 or helpdesk@callutheran.edu. For Blackboard
tutorials, please go to the following link:
http://ondemand.blackboard.com/students.htm. For personal assistance with
Blackboard only, please contact Eileen Leese at (805) 493-3927 or
eleese@callutheran.edu.
Disability Statement:
California Lutheran University is committed to providing reasonable
accommodations in compliance with ADA of 1990 and Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 to students with documented disabilities. If you
are a student requesting accommodations for this course, please contact your
professor at the beginning of the semester and register with the Accessibility
Resource Coordinator for the facilitation and verification of need. The
Accessibility Resource Coordinator is located in the Center for Academic
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and Accessibility Resources (CAAR) Office in Pederson Administration

Building, and can be contacted by calling (805) 493.3260 or emailing
ecenten@callutheran.edu.
Statement on Academic Honesty:
The educational programs of California Lutheran University are designed
and dedicated to achieve academic excellence, honesty and integrity at every
level of student life. Part of CLUs dedication to academic excellence is our
commitment to academic honesty. Students, faculty, staff and administration
share the responsibility for maintaining high levels of scholarship on
campus. Any behavior or act which might be defined as deceitful or
dishonest will meet with appropriate disciplinary sanctions, including
dismissal from the University, suspension, grade F in a course or various
forms of academic probation. Policies and procedures regarding academic
honesty are contained in the faculty and student handbooks.
Plagiarism, cheating, unethical computer use and facilitation of academic
dishonest are examples of behavior which will result in disciplinary
sanctions. Plagiarism includes, but is not limited to:
word for word copying without using quotation marks or
presenting the work as yours
using the ideas or work of others without acknowledgement
not citing quoted material. Students must cite sources for any
information that is not either the result of original research or
common knowledge.
Pearson Library:
At Cal Lutheran we won't tell you what to think we'll teach you how to
think. You'll learn how to gather information, analyze and synthesize. Don't
worry about the "gathering"... that's the easy part. We have technicians,
information specialists, and trainers to help you find the information you
need. Pearson Library provides access to scholarly books, journals, ebooks,
and databases of full text articles from scholarly journals. To begin using
these materials, visit the library web page
http://www.callutheran.edu/iss/research/. Librarians are available to assist
you at the Thousand Oaks campus or via Meebo chat on the Librarys home
page or emailing CLUlibrary@callutheran.edu. You may contact the library
at (805) 493.3250. If you attend classes at one of CLUs satellite locations,

see http://www.callutheran.edu/iss/research/satellite.php for the full range

of services provided.
CLU Writing Center:
Experienced Writing Center tutors help CLU's undergraduate and graduate
students with their writing projects: reading free writes to find the best ideas;
refining thesis statements; showing students how to structure paragraphs;
and using specific exercises to improve sentence syntax. They work with
whole classes as well as with individual students on the style guidelines
required for papers in the various disciplines.
All enrolled CLU students are invited to make use of our services. For
additional information, please visit
http://www.callutheran.edu/writing_center/ , call (805) 493-3257, book
online at GenBook, or stop by the Writing Center (The Darling
Collaboration Suite in the library) to schedule an appointment.
Standards of Student Conduct Statements:
The following are excerpts from the CLUs student handbook, which can be
found on the following link:
http://www.callutheran.edu/student_life/student_handbook/
University Harassment Policy:
For information on the Universitys student harassment policy and rights,
please go to the following link:
http://www.callutheran.edu/student_employment/student_handbook.php.
Number of Hours Outside of Class:
It is expected that students will spend a minimum of six hours per week
outside of class, which will be reading and completing required assignments
ATTENDANCE
Regular attendance is mandatory for this course. During class, students are
expected to participate productively in all learning process and discussions. A
course that studies world events more often than not must include
controversial topics. Therefore, I find it a necessity to emphasize that
participation must be appropriate, on-the-topic, courteous toward peers,
instructor or guests and ALWAYS be respectful of others opinions. Your

different opinion is always welcome and is a critical part of the university

learning process. However, no disruptions, disrespectful personal criticisms
or outright rudeness will be tolerated. Independent conversations, whispering,
note passing or any other behavior interpreted by the instructor as
disrespectful will be dealt with accordingly. If you have to miss a class, you
may request the class material in the following week in class.
DEADLINE
All assignments submitted after deadline, if accepted at all, will suffer at least
a 10% penalty. If you have any question regarding any of the assignments
and class requirements please feel free to bring it up during class or meet me
before or after class time. All written papers must be typed and submitted in
the format discussed in class. Details of the projects will be provided.
EMAIL COMMUNICATION
Email communication will serve as our core communication channel
throughout the quarter. In case of emergency, when class needs to be
cancelled or re-scheduled, students will be notified via email messages.
Therefore, it is very important that you provide me with the email address
that you routinely check at least once between class times.
Students may email me in between classes for any urgent questions regarding
the course or the lectures presented, or any other communications that are
deem necessary. No late homework, midterm, or project will be accepted
via email or fax without justified excuses pre-approved by your
instructor. A hard copy should be submitted in-class by due date to avoid
penalty.
For all urgent messages please use annawkwong@cox.net.
GROUP PROJECTS/ACTIVITIES (20%)
All students will work, as a group, to research and develop a foreign country
report of their choice (with my approval). More details of this assignment
will be provided in class.
ORAL PRESENTATION (10%)
One week prior to the final examination, all students will present their group
projects orally in class. Time allowed for each group will be maximum 20 25 minutes, depending on class size. Usage of power point presentation
format is highly recommended. Each group must provide me with a copy of

all the slides in the format of 6 slides per page before starting the
presentation. More details of this assignment will be provided in class.

WRITTEN GROUP COUNTRY REPORT (10%)

The final group written reports will be due on the final examination date.
Please see recommended outline attached. Further details of this assignment
will be provided in class.
FINAL EXAMINATION (30%)
The final examination will be held in class. Actual topics that are chosen for
the final examination will be announced on the 9th week. The exam will
consist of no more than 8 short essay questions of my choice. All lectures
covered in class, textbook material and additional reading provided will be
fair game for final examination topics. To be adequately prepared for this
examination, student should not wait till the release of the topics. Instead,
students are strongly advised to review all lecture material periodically, ask
questions when necessary, and keep up with all your reading assignments
throughout the quarter. The purpose of providing students with the topics
allows them to have a higher quality and more focused review of the class
material. This is a test on how well students understand what was shared in
class and all assigned reading materials. No outside research will be
required.
For further information on course assignments and other requirements
please refer to the student handout package that will be distributed on
first night of class. Please email me at akwong@clunet.edu or
annawkwong@cox.net any time on other questions regarding the
course. See you all!!!
Disclaimer:
This syllabus may change from time to time to accommodate changing
circumstances. Every effort will be made to alert students to changes that
occur in a timely manner. The class schedule is tentatively presented below.
While the material mentioned will be covered, the actual timing may change
from week to week as the course progresses. And I reserve all rights to
make the necessary changes in order to enhance the learning experience of
the students.
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Anna Kwong

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Tentative Class Schedule (Fall 2011) (Thursdays) (IBB) International Management by

Ahlstrom / Bruton, 2010 edition.
1.

Introduction to the syllabus, discuss expectations of the course.

The New World Trading Order: How it Changes Business Behavior
around the World? (September 1) (Groups formation 3 to 4 students per
group, email confirmations, chapter allocations and topics of country reports
approval.)

2.

Asia Financial Crisis & Recovery: Are We Riding on the Opportunities?

The Latest Changes on their Business Behavior. (September 8)

3.

Japan & Its Business Behavior: What We Should & Shouldnt Learn from
Them? (September 15)

4.

European Union: The Progresses & Difficulties. How It Slowly Changes

the European Business Behavior? (Introducing Mid-term individual
research paper) ((1st Group HW presentation due) (Chapter 1 & 2)
(September 22)

5.

International Negotiation Midterm Examination (September 29)

6.

Germany & Its Business & Management Behavior: Their Strengths &
Weaknesses. (October 6) (Mid-termresearch paper due)

7.

Chinese Business Behavior: Building Guanxi (October 13) (2nd Group

HW presentation due) (Chapter 4 & 5)

8.

Mexico and NAFTA; Mexican Business Behavior & our Opportunities

with them. (October 20) (3rd Group HW presentation due) (Chapter 7
& 8)

9.

Global Economic Geography & How to Develop your Own Strategic

Business Behavior? (October 27) (4th Group HW presentation due) (or
read Chapter 9 & 10) Final Examination Review

10.

Group Project Oral Presentations (November 3) Economist HW Due

11.

Final Examination
(All Group Written Projects Due)
(November 10) End of Quarter

End of Syllabus --

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