PartI-SupplementalTeachingAids

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PARTI

SUPPLEMENTALTeachingAIDS

ContentsPart

A.UsefulInternetLinks ………………...1

B.CourseOrganizationPlans…………..4

C.SampleSyllabusfora15-WeekSemesterMeetingTwoDaysperWeek…………..5

D.ClassroomProjects…………………..7

E.StudentProjects………………….…..8

F.NotesontheCountryNotebook—AGuideforDevelopingaMarketingPlan….…20

G.Simulations…………………….…...29

H.ExpandingtheScopeofTextCasesandOtherCaseMaterials……………….…33

I.InformationSources…………….…...33

J.TheNationalTradeDataBank(NTDB)…………….39

K.InternationalBusinessCenter……………………….39

L.GrameenFoundation…..……………39

M.FilmsandVideos…………………...40

A.USEFULINTERNETLINKS

ThefollowingInternetLinksshouldbeincludedinyourInternetBookmarks.Therearemanyothers,buttheseseemtobeespeciallyuseful.

IndianaUniversityCiber'sweblink

IUCIBER'spedagogylinksgroupstogetherseveralWebsites,whichshouldproveusefulforteachinginternationalbusinessorinternationalizingyourbusinesscourses.Thispagecanbeaccessedat:

/ciber

2.GlobalEdgeMSU:

/ibrd/ibrd.asp

.ThissitelinkstogetherinternationalbusinessandcountryinformationWebsitesinaneasytouseandlogicalformat.Thesitealsoprovidesasearchengineaswell.Don'tmissthissite!

3.VanderbiltUniversity:

.Thissiteprovidesanarchiveoftelevisionnewsbroadcasts.Youcanputtogetheracustomvideoonvirtuallyanyinternationalbusinesstopic.

4.TheCaseCentre(formerlytheEuropeanCaseClearingHouse(ECCH):

/educators/

5.HarvardBusinessSchoolCases:Awell-knownsourceforinternationalcasesandvideosisfoundat:

--selectHarvardBusinessSchoolCases.

6.CIBERTexasA&MUniversityprovideslinkstoalltheCibersaroundtheU.S.:

–select“InternationalWebResources.”.TheCenterforInternationalBusinessStudieshascompiledalistofwebsitelinksthataddressinternationalbusinesstopics.TherearelinksalsototheCenterforInternationalBusinessEducationandResearch(CIBERs),curriculumresources,andnumeroustradelinksincludinglinkstoalistofvideos.

7.Lanic-LatinAmericanNetworkInformationCenter:

.

ThissiteofTheUniversityofTexasprovidesanextensivesourceofinformationonLatinAmericaandlistsitselfasthemostcompletelibraryofLatinAmericanStudiesontheWeb.

ThereisaCountryDirectoryandSubjectDirectory.SomeofthesubjectsincludeStatistics;Trade;Newspapers;Reference;Economy;History,Librariesandmanymore.

8.UNESCO(UnitedNatinonsEducational,ScienfiticandCulturalOrganization.)

UNESCOprovidesinformationthatastudentcanuseinprojects,classassignments,andotherresearchefforts.Includestopicson:Publications;Statistics;UNESCOpartners;Informationservices;and,Currentevents.

B.COURSEORGANIZATIONPLANS

InternationalMarketingisdesignedforanintroductorycourseininternationalmarketing.Theauthorssuggestthefollowingassignmentschedulefor10-weekor15-weekperiods.Thetopicaldescriptionmaybeusedwithaninstructor'sclassoutline.Whencases,termprojects,orotherinstructionalmaterialareused,theycaneasilybeincludedintheproposedassignmentschedules.

AssignmentSchedule

For15Weeks

AssignmentSchedule

For10Weeks

Week

Chapter(s)

Week

Chapter(s)

1

1,2

1

1,2

2

3

2

3

3

4

3

4,5

4

5

4

6,7

5

6

5

8,9

6

7,8

6

10,11

7

9,10

7

12,13

8

11

8

14,15

9

12

9

16,17

10

13

10

18

11

14,15

19

12

16

13

17

14

18

15

19

C.SAMPLESYLLABUSFORA15-WEEKSEMESTERMEETINGTWODAYSPERWEEK

Thissyllabusincludesboththecountrynotebookproject.(See“TheCountryNotebook—AGuideforDevelopingaMarketingPlan,”-PartVI,textp.584)andthe“CurrentReadingsandClassReports,”describedinsection(F)“StudentProjects”foundbelowintheInstructor’sManual.

Mk4100

SPRING20___

T.TH.1100–1215

DATE

TOPIC

CHAPTER

Th. Th

Introduction

1

T

GlobalMarketing

2

Th

Geography/History

3

Country/TeamSelection**

T

Culture

4

Th

TradeWithChina/CurrentProspects*

4

T Feb.

Noclass–TeamMeetings

Th

BusinessCustoms

5

T

PoliticalVulnerability

6

Th

LegalSystems

7

T

IntellectualPropertyRights

7

Th

CulturePaperDue&Oralreports

T

HourExam–Chapters.1–7

Th

MarketingResearch

8

T March

ExpansionOfNAFTA*

Th

EconomicDevelopment,theAmericas

9

T

Europe,Africa,andtheMiddleEast

10

Th

TheAsiaPacificRegion

11

T

StrategicMarketing

12

T

DevelopingConsumerProducts

13

SPRINGBREAK

Th

IndustrialProducts

14

T. April

HourExamChapters.8–14

T

DistributionSystems

15

Th

MarkettotheBottomofthePyramid*

Th

IntegratedMarketingCommunications

16

T

EconomicPaperDue&OralReports

Th

GlobalAdvertising

16

T

InternationalSalesManagement

17

Th

Pricing

18

T

Negotiations

19

Th

LastClassDay–ALLPAPERSDUE

T May

FinalExam

*SpecialLectures

TEXT:Cateora,Philip,Graham,John,andGilley,Mary,InternationalMarketing,15thEdition,McGrawHill-Irwin,2011

NOTE:

ANEXAMINATIONWILLBEGIVENEACHFRIDAY.Nomake-upexamwillbegiven.Ifanexamismissedforareasonacceptabletotheprofessor,thefinalexamvaluewillbeincreasedtoincludevalueofmissedexam.Permissiontomissanexamwillrarelybegivenandthenonlyforthemostunusualcases.

Datesforexaminations,classpresentations,andassignmentswillnotbechanged.Pleasescheduleyourpersonalabsencessoasnottoconflictwithyouractiveparticipation.

Classparticipationincludesattendance,assignedtopics,participationinclassdiscussions,andallpapersassigned.Regularattendanceisexpected.

Allpapersaredueondateassigned.Alatepenaltywillbeassessedforunexcusedlatepapers.

Fourweeklyexams100pts.;Fiveweeklyassignments50pts.;classparticipation15pts.;finalexam35pts.;Total200pts.PLUSANDMINUSGRADEWILLBEGIVEN.

NOTE:WeeklytopicassignmentswillbegradedasPASS/FAIL.AllpapersmustbesubmittedandreceiveagradeofPasstoearnthe50pointsforthisassignment.AllpapersgradedFAILcanberesubmitteduntilagradeofPASSisreceived.Inotherwords,doyourassignmentandreceive50pointstowardyourfinalgrade.

SuggestedBusinessJournals

AdvertisingAgeInternational

FinancialTimes

BusinessAmerica

Forbes

BusinessAsia

Fortune

BusinessChina

HarvardBusinessReview

BusinessEasternEurope

InternationalManagement

BusinessEurope

JournalofInt’lBusinessStudies

BusinessHorizons

JournalofInternationalMarketing

BusinessInternational

WallStreetJournal

BusinessLatinAmerica

Trade&Culture

BloombergBusinessWeek

InternationalBusiness

Europe

andothers.

GRADES:

Two-hourexams300pts.;termproject350pts.;classparticipation100pts.;fivebriefsofcurrentarticles50pts.;finalexam200pts.;Total1000pts.PLUSANDMINUSGRADESWILLBEGIVEN.

TermProjectGradeAllocation(350pts.Total)

CulturePaper75pts.

EconomicPaper75pts.

MarketingPlan200pts.

D. CLASSROOMPROJECTS

Afewgeneralcommentsaboutvarioustypesofclassroomactivities,whichmaybeappliedtothecourseasawhole,orwhichmayrelatetoanyorallofthechaptersmaybeuseful.Thesuggestionsbelowaremerelyindicativeofthetypesofthings,whichaninstructormaydo,togainheightenedstudentinvolvementandimpartmaximuminteresttohiscourse.

Outsidespeakers,judiciouslyused,oftencanaddspiceandrealismtoaninternationalcourse.Itissuggestedthatexcessivereliancenotbeplacedonoutsidespeakersbecause,ingeneral,thecontentoftheirremarkscannotbecontrolledandintegratedasfullyasmostinstructorsdesire.However,asmanyasfourtosixspeakerscanbesuccessfullyintegratedintoacourse.Itissuggestedthatseveraldifferenttypesofspeakersbeutilized.Twomajorcategoriesofspeakerswouldbeforeignpersonsandbusinessmenorgovernmentofficialswithforeigninvolvements.

Foreignstudentsaddastrongculturalnoteandcanalsoprovidespecificinformationabouttheircountryanditsbusinessinvolvements.Anambassadororotherdiplomaticrepresentativeofaforeigncountrycanoftenbecountedonforavisit.Ifforeignstudentsareenrolledintheclass,theymayactinasenseas“expertsinresidence”andprovidecontinuinginformationfortheclass,iftheyaredrawnout.Businessmenorgovernmentofficialsrepresentinglargeandsmallfirmsorexportorforeignoperationscanaddseveralotherkindsofviewpoints.Veryoften,U.S.DepartmentofCommerceofficialsarecooperativenotonlyinspeakingthemselves,butinprovidingnamesoflocalbusinessmenwithforeigninvolvements.Manycitieshaveexporttradeclubsorotherassociationscomposedofpeoplewithinternationalbusiness.Suchgroupsareusuallywillingtoprovidespeakersordevelopentireprogramsforinternationalclasses.

Studentparticipation.Reportsandothertypesofstudentcontributionsintheclassroomcanincreaseinvolvementsignificantlyandcanprovidediscussioninformationandmaterialstosupplementthosegivenbytheinstructor.Wehavehadconsiderablesuccessinusingstudentsasspecialistsineitherfunctionalorgeographicareas.Eachstudentmaybeassignedadifferenttopicandmakeithisresponsibilitytoreadandotherwiselearnasmuchaboutthattopicaspossible.He/Shecanthenparticipatewiththeinstructorinpresentingthefunctionalareamaterialswithinthesubjectareasconsideredinthecourse.Suchfunctionalareaspecialistscanalsoprovideinformationthroughoutthecourse,whichwillgiveastrongerinterrelationship.Asanexample,onestudentmayspecializeonthelegalaspectsofmarketingandbeabletocontributelegalinformationwhendiscussionsareunderwayconcerningadvertising,importrestrictions,pricing,oranyoftheothermarketingareas.

Countryspecializationcallsforthestudenttoabsorballthematerialhe/shecanaboutagivenassignedcountry.Variousstudentswillthenbeinapositiontoprovideinformationrelativetomarketingindifferentpartsoftheworld.Thus,whenadiscussionofadvertising,say,isinprogress,onestudentcantellwhatheknowsaboutadvertisinginAustralia;another,advertisinginEgypt;another,advertisinginGermany;andsoon.Studentsenjoybothtypesofparticipation,anditgivesthemaheightenedsenseofawarenessoftheproblemsassociatedeitherfunctionallyorgeographicallyininternationalmarketing.

Anothertechniquethatissometimesusefulistoattempttogainadepthexposuretoaspecificcountry.Insuchaninstance,everyoneintheclassstudiesthesamecountryorthesametwoorthreecountries.Theinstructorshouldmakeaspecialefforttohaveadequatelibrarymaterialsonhandaboutthecountryorcountriesandlineupspeakersfromthosecountriesorwhohavehadexperienceinthosecountries.Withaninformationbaseofthissort,theclasscanintelligentlyventureintosuchareasasnationalpolicy,culturalbarriers,andcanevendevelopin-depthstudiesorientedaroundmarketingproductsintothatcountry.Sometimesan

interestingvariationcanbefoundbyassigningdifferentstudentsorgroupsofstudentstodifferenttypesofproductswhichmightencounterdifferentproblemsevenwithinagivencountry.

E. STUDENTPROJECTS

Inordertobuildinvolvementandexpertiseamongstudents,anumberofactivitiescanbeundertaken.Allhavebeenusedbytheauthorsandfoundbeneficialinvaryingdegrees.

CurrentReadingandClassReports

Animportantobjectivewhenweteachabasiccourseistointroduceandencouragestudentstoreadcurrentbusinessperiodicalsandjournals.Theirinterestinthecourseincreaseswhentheyreadcurrentarticles,whichrelatetoclassmaterialaboutwhatishappeninginthebusinessworld.Inordertoachievethisobjective,wehavedevelopedaclassprojectthatisrelativelypainlessforthestudents,getsthemreadingcurrentbusinessjournals,andkeepsusupdatedoncurrenthappeningsaswell.Thisprojectworkssowellweadaptedittointernationaltopicswhenweinternationalizedthebasiccourse.

Wehavefoundthistobeoneofthemostsuccessfulprojectswehaveeverusedinthebasiccourseandfurther,studentreactionhasbeenverypositive.Itisarelativelypainlesswaytogetthestudentstoreadmoreaboutmarketingandespeciallyinternationalmarketing.

TheAssignment

Theassignmentissimpletodo.Eachstudentisaskedtofindanarticleinacurrentperiodical(describedasnomorethanone-yearold)onanassignedtopicwithinternationalapplication.Theyaretoreadthearticleandsummarizeitintheequivalentofonedouble-spacedtypewrittenpage.Theyarealsoaskedtoincludethetitleofthearticle,nameoftheperiodical,dateandpagenumber.Theyaretoldtheymaybeaskedtogiveabriefreportonthearticleduringclass.Eachstudent'sassignmentisdueatthebeginningofclassperiodonthedaythetopicisassigned.

FrequencyofAssignment

Tomaketheassignmentsworthwhilewebelieveeachstudentshouldreadnofewerthansixarticles.Wealsobelievethearticlesshouldbespreadthroughoutthesemester.Tofacilitatethis,wedividetheclassintogroups(thirds,quarters,orfifthsdependingonthenumberofdaysduringthetermtheclassmeets.)Eachgroupisassignedasequentialletter.Whenaletterappearsontheclasssyllabuseachstudentwiththatletterknowsheorshehasasummarizedinternationalarticledue.Thiswayonesegmentoftheclasseachperiodisturninginanassignmentand,dependingonthestartingandendingoftheassignments,eachstudentwilldofrom6to9articles.

TopicAssignment

Thetopicsassignedtoeachgroupparallelthetopicsofthetextreadingassignmentandlecture.Wepickverybroadtopicstogivethestudentsomeleewayinarticleselection.Forexample,whendiscussingproduct,oneassignmentmightbeproductlifecycle,thenext,productdevelopment,thenbrandnames,etc.Ineachcase,thetopicisdiscussedintheassignedchapterandthestudentsareexpectedtofindaninternationalarticlethataddressesthetopicassigned,e.g.,productlifecycle.Wearenotveryrigidontheprecisenessofthearticletopicselectedsincethegoalisforstudentstofindsomethingwithaninternationaltopicandsometimesitisdifficultforthemtofindanarticlethatfitsexactly.Studentsareawareoftheirassignmentsfortheentireterm.

Thisisimportantsincetheyneedtimetofindtheappropriatearticlesand,asdiscussedlater,thereisaddedbenefitstohavingthembeginsearchingforarticlesatthebeginningoftheterm.

SourceofArticles

Thestudentsarepermittedtofindarticlestosummarizeinanycurrentperiodicalbutnotinabook.Textbooksorotherbooksareexcludedbecausethereareoneortwobooksfromwhichtheycouldgetalltheirassignments.Further,ifallowedtoconsultbooks,oneofthemajorpurposesoftheassignments,i.e.,gettingthemtoreadbusinessperiodicals,wouldbelost.Newspapersandpopularmagazinesareallowed;however,mostusebusinessperiodicals.SuggestedsourcesincludeTheWallStreetJournal,Forbes,BusinessWeek,Fortune,BusinessHorizons,JournalofMarketing,AdvertisingAgeInternational,JournalofRetailing,Dun'sReviewandotherperiodicalsavailableinthelibrary.TheyarealsourgedtoconsulttheIndextoBusinessPeriodicalsasanothersourceofarticles.Articleswithinternationalsubjectsappearinalmosteverythingpublished.

Grading

Theseassignmentsarenotgraded.Instead,theassignmentisarequirementofthecourse,i.e.,theymustcompleteitwhenassignedinordertofulfilltherequirementsofthecourse.Gradingtheseassignmentsisdifficulttodo;theassignmentiseithercorrectlydoneoritisnot,soitiseitheracceptedorrejected.Iftheassignmentisnotdoneproperly,wesimplywrite"Redo”acrossthetopandexpectanotheronethenextclassperiod.Atthebeginningofthetermthereareabouttenpercent“redos”becausethestudentsdonotunderstandtheassignment.Afterthefirstfew,mostarecorrectwithveryfew“redos.”Thestudentsmustresubmitthe“redos”inordertogetcreditforthem.Theassignmentismadeaspainlessaspossibletoincreasetheirenthusiasm.

UsingtheAssignmentsinClass

Itishelpfultousethepapersinclass.Thisisdoneintwoways.Studentsareinvitedtovolunteerinternationaltopicsrelevanttothecurrentclassdiscussion.Theyarealsoaskedtogiveabriefsummaryofthearticleduringclasswhichisthenincorporatedintothetopicofthelecture.

Oncetwo-orthree-days’assignmentshavebeenpresented,wefindwehaveseveralgoodexamplesthatanbeusedinclasstoillustratepoints.Thisisanimportantbenefitofusingthisassignment,i.e.,itprovidestheprofessorwithanabundanceofcurrentexamplestouseinlectureswhereappropriate.Itisfrequentlynecessarytogototheoriginalsourcetoreadfurthersoitisessentialtostresstheimportanceofincludingthearticle,title,source,andsoonwhengivingtheassignment.Sometimespapersarereturnedwhentheydonotgivethepropercitationandaredoisrequiredinordertogetcreditfortheassignment.

AdvantagesofAssignment

Theseveraladvantagesofthisassignmentare:

Studentsbecomefamiliarwithbusinessjournalsandperiodicals.

Usingtheinternetasasearchtool.

Theybeginthinkingaboutmarketinginaninternationalcontext.

Thereisalwaysasegmentoftheclassreadywithtopicsfordiscussions.

Interestinthecourseandinternationaltopicsisenhancedsincetheassignmenthasrelevancytowhatishappeninginbusinesstoday,i.e.,realexamples.

Itprovidestheprofessorwithanabundanceofinterestingandcurrentexamplestouseinfutureclasses.

Ahiddenbenefitisthatthestudentsreadoratleastscanmanymoretopicsthanjustthesixorsotheywilluseinclass.Byassigningthetopicsatthebeginningoftheterm,manywillbeginlookingforarticlesfortheirassignmentsand,astheydo,theybecomeawareofmanydifferenttopicsandareunconsciouslyexpandingtheirexposuretocurrentbusinesstopics.

SeePARTIII,C,SampleSyllabus(for15weeks)forsuggestionsonintegratingthisprojectintothedailyschedule.

StudentOrganizationsandFieldTrips

Beforetheestablishmentofourinternationalbusinessorinternationalmarketingclub,weinterjectedinternationalelementsintothestudentmarketingclubprogram.Thesewerewellreceivedandcreatedconsiderableinterestintheinternationalprogramandprovidedthebasisforformingtheinternationalclub.Iftheinternationalbusinessorinternationalmarketingprogramiswelldevelopedandhasasignificantnumberofstudents,suchaclubmaybebeneficial.

Fieldtripscanbeentertainingandinformativeiftheyareusedinmoderation.Wehavefoundthatoneoratmosttwofieldtripspertermareasmanyascanbebeneficiallyabsorbed.Thebestuseofafieldtripisgenerallyaninspectionofinternationalfacilitiesorareviewofaninternationaldepartment.Thismaybesupplementedbyaspeechbyanexecutiveofthecompanyorfacilitybeinginspected.

DevelopingCulturalAwareness

Thefollowingstudentproject,developedbyJamesMcCullough,isaneffectivewayofgettingstudentstoexamineothercultures.

EXAMININGCULTURALDIFFERENCESTHROUGHFOREIGNSTUDENTINVOLVEMENTININTERNATIONALMARKETINGPROJECTS

JamesMcCullough,DepartmentofMarketing,WashingtonStateUniversity

OneofthemoredifficultproblemsinteachingAmericanstudentsaboutInternationalMarketingistheirlackofexposuretodifferingculturalenvironments.Asaresult,theylackthesensitivitynecessarytoeffectivelydevelopmarketingplansforuseinforeignmarketsandareunabletoanticipatetheproblemslikelytoariseinconductingmarketingresearchinaforeigncountry.Ideally,thisethnocentricperspectiveistemperedbyforeigntravelandstudyataforeignuniversity.Formoststudentstheseoptionsareneithereconomicallynoracademicallyfeasible.SincemanycampusesintheUnitedStateshaveforeignstudentpopulationsrepresentingdiverseethnicbackgrounds,itwasfeltthatthesestudentscouldbeusedtoteachAmericanstudentsaboutthedifficultiesposedbyculturaldifference.ThispaperexamineshowforeignstudentswereusedasavehicleforprovidingstudentsofInternationalMarketingwithincreasedculturalsensitivity.

ResearchconductedattheUniversityofArizonaindicatedthatunbiasedandreliableconsumerinformationaboutforeignmarketscouldbeobtainedfromforeignstudentsiftheywerewellinformedontheproductsormarketactivitiesbeingstudiedandifthequestionscouldbeclearlyexplainedtotherespondents.

DesignoftheProject

Afterdiscussionofpreviousresearchandconsiderationofproblems,aresearchprojectusinginternationalstudentswasincorporatedintotheinternationalmarketingcourse.TheprojectwasdesignedtoprovideinformationaboutthedifferencesthatforeignstudentsobservedwhileshoppingintheUnitedStates.Studentswereencouragedtodevelopthestudyalongthelinestheyfeltmostappropriateasitwasfeltthiswasimportantinordertoemphasizetheproblemsofculturaldifferences.

ConductoftheStudy

Inordertoobtainasmuchinformationaspossibleandtoidentifyproblemsandconstraintsindividualpersonalinterviewswereconducted.StudentsfromabusinessclassattheCenterforEnglishasaSecondLanguage(CESL)werechosenassubjectsandeachstudentintheInternationalMarketingclasswasassignedtoconductaninterview.CESLstudentshadpreviouslybeenexposedtomaterialonmarketingintheUnitedStatesandwereprovidedatwooutlineofkeymarketingconcepts.

Whileinterviewersconductedthesurvey,otherAmericanstudentsobservedtheprocessandmadenotesforlaterclassdiscussion.Theinterviewtookabout15-20minutestocomplete,followingwhicheachrespondent-interviewerpairwasinterviewedtogettheirfeedbackontheactivities.

LearningResultsandConclusions

Americanstudentsconductingtheinterviewsweresurprisedatthehighlevelofcooperationsincetheybelievedthatforeignerswouldbeapprehensiveaboutansweringquestionsregardingtheirpersonalpurchasepatterns.Thiswasnotso,andtheanswersappearedtobesincereandhonest.Althoughstudentswereverycooperative,therewereseveralproblemsencounteredinconductingthesurvey.Thereseemedtobeaproblemwiththewordingofthequestions,andsomerespondentshaddifficultyunderstandingtherealmeaningofthequestions.Thecircumstancessurroundingtheinterviewsdidnotparallelactualbuyingsituationscausingsomeproblemswithunderstanding.Duetothesmallsamplesizesignificantconclusionscouldnotbedrawn.Somecommonalityofresponsewasnoted,however(Rodriguezetal.,1982).

Thismethodofinformationgatheringwaseducational,andstudentslearnedrapidlythattheuseofforeignstudentsassourcesofinformationisnotaseasyasitappears.Theytendedtoattributethistotheirownfailings,nottotheforeignstudents,andrapidlyrecognizedtheneedforimprovedplanningandincreasedculturalunderstanding.

Thevalueoftheexerciseliesinexposuretostudentsoftheproblemsinherentincross-culturedresearch,withouttheneedtotraveltoaforeignenvironment.Studentslearntodealwiththeproblemofoperationalizingthestatedobjectives.Theygenerallybelievethisisaneasytaskbutfoundthatwasnottrue.Althoughtheyhaddefinitegoalsandobjectives,theyfounditextremelydifficulttoexecutetheirideas.

CaseDevelopment

Anotherbeneficialactivity,whichwehaveemployed,isrequiringthestudentstovisitfirmswithinternationalbusinessconnectionsandwrite“Harvardstyle”cases.Ingeneral,wehavefoundthatitispreferabletohavestudentswriteonlyonecasepertermsothattheycangainadequatedepthandinformation.Ifthesecasesareduebythemiddleoftheterm,theinstructorcanthenreviewthemandthebestofthemcanbeusedforclassroomdiscussion.Thefollowingpagesarefromthestudenthandoutwhichweuseinintroducingthecase-writingproject.

SomeNotesonCaseDevelopmentasan

EducationalMethod

PURPOSE

Caseanalysisandpresentationhasbecomeanalmoststandardtoolofbusinesseducation.Itisusedinnearlyeverytypeofbusinesscourseandateverylevelofbusinesseducation.Someschoolsandsomeprofessorsusecasesonlyinfrequentlywhileothersuseitasaprimarypedagogicaldevice.Onecanhardlyassailtheeffectivenessofbusinesscasesandbusinesseducationwithoutimmediateaccusativesofacademicheresy.Itisnottheintentofthisitemto

debatetheconventionaluseofcases;butrathertosuggestanextensionoftheconventionaltechniquetoincludethedevelopmentofcasesbyundergraduatestudents.

Thewrittencasehasseveraldisadvantages.Nomatterhowwellwritten,thecaselackspartofthedynamism,vitality,andimmediacyoftheactualbusinesssituation.Acaseofreasonablelengthinevitablymustpresenttheproblemathandinaratherstraightforwardmanner—thusthestudentneedsonlytomarshalthefacts(oftenprovidedforhim)andfollowthemtoalogicaldecision(itselfadifficultchoreforsome).Asanybusinessmanorconsultantknows,thetaskofputtingone'sfingerontheproblemisoftenmorecrucial,oratleastmoredifficult,thandrawingconclusionsoncetheproblemandfactsareknown.

Someofthedepthandimpactofthebusinesssituationcanbeimpressedonstudentsbyrequiringthemtodevelopbusinesscasesaspartoftheircoursework.Caseswrittenbyundergraduatestendtobeunsatisfactoryforclassroomusewhenthewriterisnolongerpresent.Nevertheless,theyimpartnumerousadvantagestothecasewriterhimselfandtotheclassforwhichthecaseiswritten.Student-developedcasescanbeimprovedgreatlybyprovidingproceduralinstructionsintheclassroom.Tellstudentshowtodevelopandwriteabusinesscase.Individualclassmembersnotonlywritethecases,butalsopresentthemtotheclassandserveassourcepersonnelintheclassdiscussion.In