GRA 6838 Doing Business in China - CANCELLED AUTUMN 2021

GRA 6838 Doing Business in China - CANCELLED AUTUMN 2021

Course code: 
GRA 6838
Department: 
Strategy and Entrepreneurship
Credits: 
6
Course coordinator: 
Heidi Wiig
Course name in Norwegian: 
Doing Business in China - CANCELLED AUTUMN 2021
Product category: 
Master
Portfolio: 
MSc in Business - Elective course
Semester: 
2021 Autumn
Active status: 
Hold - temporarily
Level of study: 
Master
Deactivate term: 
2021 Autumn
Teaching language: 
English
Course type: 
One semester
Introduction

(Max 45 students).

Due to the Covid-19 situation, travelling abroad might be difficult fall 2021. If this still is the case, guest lectures and cases from professionals working in Shanghai and from professors at Fudan University will be arranged.

This course focuses on the topic of globalization and the longer-term underlying processes of global economic change in which currents events can be better understood especially the rise of China and its role in the global economy.

One aim of the course is to demonstrate the fundamentally relational nature of globalization processes by focusing explicitly on global production networks (GPN) and global innovation networks (GIN) and to emphasize the power-laden dynamics of the interactions between companies, political and legal systems, culture and society. This will highlight both the institutional and spatial context of globalization with a special focus on China. Another aim will be to focus explicitly on the perceived company considered opportunities and challenges in such a context.

Following this, there will be two main thematic areas covered in the course:
I: Globalisation and contextual factors for doing business in China.
II: Company considered opportunities and challenges

Ad I: Globalisation and contextual factors for doing business in China
1) Geographies of the global economy and the shift towards Asia
2) Global production and innovation networks – evolution and global dynamics. The role of Transnational corporations. Case examples of inward and outward TNCs.
3) Political and legal influences:
a. The relationship between macro economic development, market development and decision making
b. Rule- and relationships-based governance: Conditions for rule of law and network influences in China and East Asia.

Ad II: Company considered opportunities and challenges
1) Chinese philosophy and its influence on the strategy and leadership styles of East Asian businesspeople.
2) Assessing the market – the consumer and the trade zones
3) Human resources and talent

Learning outcomes - Knowledge

The objective is two-fold.

  • The students should get better knowledge of how the institutional and spatial context affect business activities in general and in China especially. Further, the student should have acquired knowledge of opportunities and challenges from the perspectives of an executive.
  • The students shall conduct a research investigation and write a scientific paper to see how business activity is carried out and problems are solved in a Norwegian transnational company doing business in China.

Acquired knowledge
On completion of the course, the students shall have:

  • Developed insights into technological, economic, political discourses that concern doing business in or with China
  • Acquired knowledge of how institutional context affect business activity
  • Acquired knowledge of opportunities and challenges from the perspectives of an executive on how to develop cooperative processes, thus explore and learn from experimenting with strategic decisions
  • Acquired knowledge of some perceived risks and opportunities that an executive can encounter
Learning outcomes - Skills

On completion of the course, the students shall be able to:

  • Identify specific challenges perceived by a Norwegian executive in China and of international collaboration
  • Identify historical and contemporary development trends in China
  • Identify and discuss how political, economic, social and cultural factors affect production and business activity in China
General Competence

On completion of the course, the students should be able to reflect critically on how the institutional and spatial context affect manangement issues and business activities.

Course content

The course covers two main topics;
I: Globalisation and contextual factors for doing business in China.
II: Company considered opportunities and challenges

Teaching and learning activities

The course will consist of lectures, cases, group work, supervision and discussions. The content of the course is practice and theory-based. 

During the course there will be an intensive 3-4 day study trip to Shanghai with lectures at Fudan University and company visits in the area. Students must be aware that costs for and connected with the trip to China is not covered by BI Norwegian Business School and students are expected to cover this costs themselves. 

The students will in the first period of the course engage with MBA students from FUDAN University Shanghai (MBA 2416 ) comming to Oslo -  in a 2-3 day interactive session working together in the class room on a simulation game in management in order to explore challenges in cooperation between Europeans and Chinese within a global company in the maritime industry. Student teams will make decisions on how to develop these cooperative processes, thus explore and learn from experimenting with strategic decisions. Students will engage in analysis, group presentations and discussions and write a reflection note on the outcomes of this process.

Software tools
No specified computer-based tools are required.
Additional information

Please note that while attendance is not compulsory in all courses, it is the student’s own responsibility to obtain any information provided in class.

This is a course with continuous assessment (several exam components) and one final exam code. Each exam component is graded by using points on a scale from 0-100. The components will be weighted together according to the information in the course description in order to calculate the final letter grade for the examination code (course). Students who fail to participate in one/some/all exam elements will get a lower grade or may fail the course. You will find detailed information about the point system and the cut off points with reference to the letter grades when the course starts.

At resit, all exam components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course.

Qualifications

All courses in the Masters programme will assume that students have fulfilled the admission requirements for the programme. In addition, courses in second, third and/or fourth semester can have spesific prerequisites and will assume that students have followed normal study progression. For double degree and exchange students, please note that equivalent courses are accepted.

Covid-19 

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there may be deviations in teaching and learning activities as well as exams, compared with what is described in this course description.

Teaching 

Information about what is taught on campus and other digital forms will be presented with the lecture plan before the start of the course each semester.

Exam categoryWeightInvigilationDurationGroupingComment exam
Exam category:
Submission
Form of assessment:
Written submission
Exam code:
GRA68381
Grading scale:
Point scale
Grading rules:
Internal examiner
Resit:
All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course
25No4 Week(s)Group/Individual ( 1 - 3)Assignment
Exam category:
Submission
Form of assessment:
Written submission
Exam code:
GRA68381
Grading scale:
Point scale
Grading rules:
Internal examiner
Resit:
All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course
25No3 Day(s)Individual Reflection note
Exam category:
Submission
Form of assessment:
Written submission
Exam code:
GRA68381
Grading scale:
Point scale
Grading rules:
Internal and external examiner
Resit:
All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course
50No1 Semester(s)Group/Individual (1 - 3) Term paper
Exams:
Exam category:Submission
Form of assessment:Written submission
Weight:25
Invigilation:No
Grouping (size):Group/Individual (1-3)
Duration:4 Week(s)
Comment:Assignment
Exam code: GRA68381
Grading scale:Point scale
Resit:All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course
Exam category:Submission
Form of assessment:Written submission
Weight:25
Invigilation:No
Grouping (size):Individual
Duration:3 Day(s)
Comment:Reflection note
Exam code: GRA68381
Grading scale:Point scale
Resit:All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course
Exam category:Submission
Form of assessment:Written submission
Weight:50
Invigilation:No
Grouping (size):Group/Individual (1-3)
Duration:1 Semester(s)
Comment: Term paper
Exam code: GRA68381
Grading scale:Point scale
Resit:All components must, as a main rule, be retaken during next scheduled course
Type of Assessment: 
Continuous assessment
Grading scale: 
ECTS
Total weight: 
100
Sum workload: 
0

A course of 1 ECTS credit corresponds to a workload of 26-30 hours. Therefore a course of 6 ECTS credits corresponds to a workload of at least 160 hours.