APPLIES TO ACADEMIC YEAR 2013/2014

GRA 6336 Emerging Economies - China

Responsible for the course
Rolv Petter Amdam

Department
Department of Strategy and Logistics

Term
According to study plan

ECTS Credits
6

Language of instruction
English

Introduction
Emerging economies is a central topic within international management. These economies provide both firms embedded in “old” economies and international and domestic entrepreneurial businesses with a set of new business opportunities through opening up new markets and providing favourable resources. More and more firms from emerging economies are also becomming global players. China, India,Russia and Brazil are examples of emerging economies that may be defined as middle or low income economies with growth potential, making them attractive to foreign investors. The dynamic role of these economies raises a range of important topics in international management.

This course discusses some key issues related to International management and emerging economies, and it includes a one-week mandatory study trip to Shanghai with intensive company visits and lectures.

Acquired knowledge
Knowledge about key theories and debates on the role of the emerging economies both on macro-economic and organizational level
General knowledge about China’s position in the global economy

Acquired skills
Skills in applying core theories and concepts relate to the emerging economy to practical situations.

Reflections
Ability to reflect critically on the global consequence of the development of the emerging economies
Ability to reflect on new knowledge and information from established theoretical perspectives on emerging economies
Ability to see how the development within emerging economies can create new business opportunities in the organization the students will be employed after graduation

Prerequisites
A bachelors degree qualifying for admission to the Master programme

Compulsory reading
Books:
Lam, N. Mark and John L. Graham. 2006. China now : doing business in the world's most dynamic market. McGraw-Hill. 385
Pelle, Stefano. 2007. Understanding emerging markets : building business BRIC by brick. Response Books. 247

Articles:
Selection of articles

Other:
During the course there may be hand-outs and other material on additional topics relevant for the course and the examination.


Recommended reading

Course outline
The course is organized in two parts. The first part is organized as seven seminars where experts are invited to present topics related to the emerging economies.
- The emerging economies in the global economy – the development so far (1)
- The emerging economies – new strategic opportunities for MNEs (2)
- The emerging markets – state control vs. privatization (3)
- Organizing and managing business operations in emerging economies – specific challenges (4)
- Doing business in China/The Chinese Political System (5)
- Chinese business culture (6)
- Organizing business in China; Different structures (7)

The second part is a mandatory one-week intesive study tour to Shanghai with lectures from professors at Fudan University and visits to European and Chinese firms. The cost for the study tour is covered by the students themselves and not by BI Norwegian Business School.

Computer-based tools
It's learning

Learning process and workload
A course of 6 ECTS credits corresponds to a workload of 160-180 hours.

The first part of the course will be given as 21 hours of intensive lecturing, case-discussions and other class activities at BI. The rest of the course will be organized as a study trip to Shanghai with Chinese lecturers and visits to Chinese and Norwegian companies in Shanghai.

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 that is not included on the course homepage/It's learning or text book.

Examination
Class activities including assignments and group presentations (40%) and individual term paper (60 %).

Specific information regarding student evaluation beyond the information given in the course description will be provided in class. This information may be relevant for requirements for term papers or other hand-ins, and/or where class participation can be one of several elements of the overall evaluation.

This is a course with continuous assessment (several exam elements) and one final exam code. Each exam element will be graded using points on a scale (e.g. 0-100). The elements will be weighted together according to the information in the course description in order to calculate the final letter grade for the course. You will find detailed information.

Examination code(s)
GRA 63361 continuous assessment accounts for 100 % of the final grade in the course GRA 6336.

Examination support materials
Bilingual dictionary
Exam aids at written examiniations are explained under exam information in the student portal @bi. Please note use of calculator and dictionary in the section on examaids

Re-sit examination
It is only possible to retake an examination when the course is next taught.
The assessment in some courses is based on more than one exam code.
Where this is the case, you may retake only the assessed components of one of these exam codes.
Where this is not the case, all of the assessed components of the course must be retaken.
All retaken examinations will incur an additional fee.

Additional information
Honor Code
Academic honesty and trust are important to all of us as individuals, and represent values that are encouraged and promoted by the honor code system. This is a most significant university tradition. Students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the ideals of the honor code system, to which the faculty are also deeply committed.

Any violation of the honor code will be dealt with in accordance with BI’s procedures for cheating. These issues are a serious matter to everyone associated with the programs at BI and are at the heart of the honor code and academic integrity. If you have any questions about your responsibilities under the honor code, please ask.