Politics of Energy (graduate level): The goal of this course is to use social science to analyze the history and politics of energy. We focus on three debates that are central to understanding how energy affects our world. In the first section we examine the politics of energy dependence on oil imports (“energy security”). In the second section we think about the effects of natural resource endowments on governance in producer states (“resource curse”). In the third section of the class we will examine how best to understand the politics of climate change.
Enhancing Financial Access for the Poor (graduate level): This course has been enhanced by the development and incorporation of a business case on mergers-and-acquisitions opportunities in microfinance. The case discusses various operational, financial, and strategic issues facing two Mexican microfinance institutions.
Managing in Developing Countries (graduate level): This course was designed to fill the gap that often exists between Western business education and managerial practice in developing countries, where institutions are often informal, weakly formalized, in transition, or even non-existent. The first part of the course focuses on defining institutions and legacy issues. After that the roles played in society by the public, private, and third sectors in developing country institutions are discussed. Next, the course deals with the managerial challenges posed by the institutional environments of developing countries. Also addressed is the question of how the institutional environment impacts multinational enterprises and local firms in similar and different ways.
International Marketing (graduate level): This course is designed to arm students with the tools necessary to perform the duties of an international marketer. The course discusses the implications of the global arena on competitive strategy, market research, segmentation, targeting, positioning, foreign market entry, and marketing mix activities. It also explores the differences between mature-, new-growth, and developing-market environments. In the latter part of the course, the focus is also on how organizational structure and human resource strategies can be used to facilitate – and sometimes constrain – the international marketing process.
Advanced Topics in International Trade (graduate level): The objective of the course is to introduce students to the frontier of international trade research and help identify a potential dissertation topic. Topics covered are firms’ export, investment, and outsourcing decisions, economic determinants of preferential trade agreements, political economy of trade policy, and economic geography.
International Business Finance (undergraduate level): The course covers issues related to both international financial markets and the financial operations of a firm within the international environment. Following an overview of the key issues in the international financial environment, the first part of the course focuses on the different types of transactions in the foreign exchange market. The second part of the course focuses more on the individual firm looking at issues related to raising capital abroad, firm’s cost of capital for international projects and international capital budgeting. The third part of the course focuses on risk management and hedging of foreign exchanging exposure. CIBER-sponsored research on property rights was incorporated into class readings on the international financial environment.
Labor and Globalization (graduate level): The course examines the impact of economic globalization on organized labor and the strength of labor-based parties in OECD and developing countries.
International Business Strategy (graduate level): Globalization and technological advances have created exciting opportunities for managers to pursue strategies in markets around the world. These developments also present managers with enormous complexity in terms of understanding diverse economic, political and social environments, managing the organizational tension inherent in coordinating activities worldwide, fostering innovation and cross-national learning, and interacting with employees and partners from diverse cultures. This course explores topics such as firms’ foreign expansion strategies, the challenges of operating in different cultures, and the difficulties of designing effective organizational structures for multinational operations. In class, case studies and in-class simulation activities will be used to explore and evaluate the strategies of firms attempting to launch overseas operations, leverage technology and knowledge for their strategic advantage, and coordinate the activities of their geographically-dispersed affiliates. The course is of value to students who expect to work in organizations that seek to create value by having operations in or working with partners across national borders. Through the course of the semester, students will learn frameworks and approaches that will help them: 1) Apply economic concepts and strategy frameworks to the study of international business; 2) Manage operations across culturally diverse environments; 3) Formulate strategies to create value in international markets; 4) Manage the organizational tension inherent in coordinating activities worldwide.
Migration and Development (graduate level): The objective of the course is to understand how immigration from the developing world is impacting the livelihood strategies and development processes of millions of migrants in particular locales. The readings in this course draw from research by geographers, anthropologists, sociologists, economists, and international business scholars; they focus on immigration theory, remittances, diasporic entrepreneurship, transnationalism, and immigration policy trends that relate to development.
