Course manual BKGM10 General Management 2011-2012

Title Course Coordinator Office Course load Teaching Examination Term Business & Society Ismaela Stoteler MScBA, istoteler@rsm.nl (coordinator) Prof. dr. Rob van Tulder, rtulder@rsm.nl (lecturer) Mrs. Sacha Goudswaard, room T7-26, tel. 408 1923 Ects 4 Lectures, presentations, discussion, and group paper Group paper assignment and presentation Block 3, Week 2-3 (January 9 January 20)

Required literature: - Van Tulder, R. with A. van der Zwart (2006) International Business-Society Management. Linking corporate responsibility and globalization. Routledge, London and New York (IB-SM) - Selected papers on blackboard: case study elaboration: The strategic management of interfaces: trading off risks and responsibilities. (BB) Objectives This course builds on the insights that you have already gained in the course on International Business Strategy. The course on Business & Society adds six general more externally oriented - objectives to the earlier course. It intends to: 1. Give you a systematic introduction in the various interfaces multinational corporations face 2. Consequently helps you in explaining corporate behavior in terms of relationships with stakeholders such as governments, civil society representatives and individual stakeholders; 3. Consider the trade-offs firms face with managing an adequate portfolio of risks and responsibilities across borders 4. Assess the wide range of social issues that impact on corporate operations, and how companies could cope with them in an effective manner. 5. Analyze how regulatory differences across the world impact on international business operations and which dilemmas this generates for companies; this is also referred to as managing distance 6. Put you in the position of a strategic advisor to a multinational: what would your advice be? Structure The course consists of plenary classes and a final plenary event involving competitive paper presentations. In the first class your group chooses one multinational enterprise. This enterprise you will follow throughout the course and write assignments on, on the basis of desk research. Each class session lasts approximately 2.5 hours and consists of two parts: (a) Lecture required literature, thinking and awareness, discussion on progress report and preparation for paper (b) Issue discussion participation and application of ideas in a specific discussion format (if time allows) (a) Lecture required literature and paper preparation Every session starts with a lecture. The most important themes, concepts and examples of (international) business-society management are elaborated by the tutor. This part aims at giving you sufficient analytical tools and conceptual frameworks that firms need to recognise and deal with so called interface issues and develop sound and responsible strategies. The lecture gives you pointers to look at when studying the literature after the session and that can help you in the preparation of your case. The lecture will always include a Q&A on the paper prepared for this session. It can be used to discuss general themes coming out of the paper preparation.

(b) Issue free-format discussion on the contribution of firms interface issues In most of the sessions, a global issue is discussed. An issue is a topic over which expectational gaps exist and which often provide reputational risks for certain firms. The number of issues for which firms have been held accountable since the 1990s has boomed. Whether this is granted or not is part of the discussion of this second part of the session. The extent to which this issue is growing or declining in importance; how various interest groups come to various definitions of the problem; to what extent firms can be considered part of the problem and/or part of the solution; and whether a sustainable corporate story is conceivable or already exists. Chapter 10 of the IB-SM book will present you with a basic framework within which to analyse issues. Each issue discussion will be organised according to the following analytical framework: characteristics consequences firm part of the problem firm part of the solution sustainable corporate story Exam The group presentations and the final written paper (based on the progress reports and a synthesis report) together create the final grade. Grading Corporate progress reports (ass. 1-4) Corporate advice presentation (10 minutes) Company advise (10 pages max; ass.5) Weight 30% 30% 40%

Participation Participation in each session is mandatory. Compensation for not showing up is possible, provided you have informed tutors of your absence beforehand. Quality of participation will be assessed on the grounds of your input during the issue discussions and in the progress registered for the company reports. Progress report For each session you prepare a progress report. This report builds on a background document (on value added, distance, media analysis,etc.) that you should read before the morning session. You are advised to spend the afternoon after the mornings lectures on discussing with your group the assignment. There is limited time to do the assignments and the background material can be quite extensive. So the challenge is to make a summarize your findings in a short background document that you hand-in the next session on the spot. The grading of the paper will be based on the following criteria: 1. Inclusion of relevant background material (book and background paper) 2. Intelligence with which the information is gathered 3. Feasibility of the information gathering: depending on the group size what can be achieved in four hours. 4. At the end of the day (22.00 pm ultimately) you submit the paper via Blackboard using the appropriate link under Assignments Be aware that the next day, you should try to study the material, otherwise you will run out of steam. This is why we want to protect you from overburdening yourself during the course. Company selection list The selection of companies comes from the World Investment Report of UNCTAD (in cooperation with the Scope Expert centre at the Businss-society management department) and represents a selection of the worlds most international Multinational Enterprises from two areas: developed countries and emerging countries. Each of these firms is relevant to study the particular topic of this course. Some exemplary studies of other student groups will be put on the blackboard to inspire you.

Remember that in past years, the topics of the course might have been slightly different, while most years students had more preparation time. Each company has also sufficiently public information (website, codes of conduct, annual reports) to make it possible to get relevant primary data. Besides each company is a focal company, which implies that they can be traced through the public media as well. No interviews or surveys are required. Just your intelligence and disciplined work! Also: spend a maximum of four hours on your progress report. You also have to study the required texts.

No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Firm name (developed country MNE) Walmart (USA) Statoil (Norway) Itochu Corporation (Japan) AkzoNobel (Netherlands) Monsanto (USA) British American Tobacco (UK) ExxonMobil (USA) Bayer (Germany) Nokia (Finland) Carrefour (France) Siemens (Germany)

No. 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

Firm name (emerging Market MNE) Kia Motors (Korea) China National Petroleum Corp. (China) Tata Steel (India) Hutchison Wampoa (HK, china) Petronas (Malaysia) Acer Inc. (Taiwan) Lenovo group (China) Petrobras (Brazil) Mittal (India) Cemex (Mexico)

Date

Time

room

9 Jan.

9-12

T3-02

11 Jan. 13 Jan.

9-12 9-12

T3-39 T3-24

16 Jan.

9-12

T3-02

18 Jan.

9-12

T3-39

20 Jan.

9-12

VB-47; G2-21

Literature (study beforehand) IB-SM: ch. 1-, 2; 6-7 BB:: exemplary papers; BB: measuring value added IB-SM: ch.3-5; BB: distance IB-SM: ch. 9, 11; BB: media analysis IB-SM: ch. 10, 12 BB: codes and window dressing IB-SM: ch. 8, 13; BB: transition management No

lecture

assignment

Technique

issue

General philosophy and positioning decisions

Value added and TNI

Intro movie

Managing distance Managing risk

1. Positioning 2. Distance

Distance measurement Media/issue analysis

Poverty Human rights

Managing responsibilities

3. Risk

Codes of conduct analysis

Fraud

Trading off risk and responsibility: writing an advice No

4. Responsibility Essay and final presentations

International Stakeholder management

Climate Change

Attendance Attendance is mandatory. If you are sick, or you have a personal situation that requires you to be away from class, send an explanatory e-mail in advance to the course coordinator. One excused absence will be accepted. More than one absence results in a failing grade, unless the student counsellor advises otherwise. Communication The blackboard will be used intensively to communicate with you about the course. Please make sure that you either read the email box to which the bb sends messages to, or have those messages forwarded to your private mailbox. The Assignment You are provided with a number of assignments that will help you to write the group paper. The final paper consists of an essay of 10 pages maximum in which you give strategic advice to the company. This advice is based on the research you have done and report on in the annex of the paper. The annex does not have a page limit but should have a relevant number of pages. In the essay you do not have to refer to all your sources on which the annex is based, you merely refer to the annex as being the source of all information unless stated otherwise. In the annex effective references is required.

Assignments: 1 Position, Country Portfolio

2. Distance

3 Risk

4. Responsibili ties

5. Advice

First strategic description of the company as positioning: This assignment aims to give you a first understanding of the sunk cost of a company: in positioning in the value chain and in degrees of internationalisation; you can split up the group in two separate groups to check for the following dimensions; notice explanation in class; this should not take more than 4-5 hours! I. Value chain: Vertical and horizontal positioning of the company (incl. M&A) a. use annual reports II. Internationalization: In which countries is the company represented: a. Sales b. Assets c. Employment Use TNI figures (UNCTAD/SCOPE) III. Longitudinal: developments over the 1995-2011 period? Strategic management challenge: how to manage distance This assignment helps you to identify the most important distance characteristics that the company is facing: 1. Identify the most important countries, your company is operating in: (a) either as markets, (b) as supply sides, or (c) both 2. Specify the distance portfolio of the company along the CAGE framework 3. Write a short note on the net effect of all these distance variables? specific ICR challenge: managing risk I. Develop a time-line: most important institutional developments over the last 15 years in the sector of your company a. General b. Specific for the companys sector c. Relevant Issues that have developed in this period (use lexis/nexis) II. Risks involved? d. Identify risky outlier countries, stakeholders etc. (related to the issues), etc; what kind of risk is involved: currency risk, political risk, etc. e. What international institutions are of importance to your firm; can they mitigate risk? Specific ICR Management challenge [2]: managing responsibilities I. Read/analyse three types of sources over time (1995-2009): a. Corporate CSR reports b. Code of Conduct c. Website II. Identify the most important issues of CSR the company has faced over time (use lexis/nexis/Google News Archive) III. Analyse the code of conduct: inactive; reactive, active, proactive? Strategic Essay create a sustainable corporate story What would your advice for the company be to sustain a sustainable competitive advantage in a diverse environment, for example regarding: a. Corporate, business, international firm strategies b. Stakeholder management c. Issue management: what prime issue to take? d. Opportunities and threats e. Development of core capabilities

Grading criteria - Abides to rules of plagiarism and correct quotation: specify your sources! (See Skill Sheets, E series) - Is well written (good argumentation and writing style): o Good identification of the problem (the issue) o Clear structure o Good conclusions - Has a nice lay-out - Maximum 3 pages per assignment - Page maximum for essay: 10 pages. - Specifies well the draw-backs and limitations of the research plus areas for further research - Nice presentation - Specific criteria on the content of the firm paper: o Good general analysis of the generic business strategy (including internationalization) of the company; understanding of the general strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats related to this strategy (for instance: Risks involved and degree of multinationality); o smart analysis of distance and understanding of the dilemmas for ICR related to that o Good prioritization of relevant issues for that specific company o Detailed analysis of the trade-offs the company is facing o sophisticated analysis of the codes of conduct introduced by the company o Advice built on solid argumentation on where the firm should/could go: generic/CSR specific; what would be your specific advice for the CEO? Language The papers are written in English. Deadline The final papers must be handed in through the Blackboard link under Assignments and handed as hardcopy at the start of the final presentation on December 20th, 09.00hrs. the intermediary assignment have to be put in the dropbox at the same day before 22.00 pm. Take a hardcopy with you to class (just in case the dropbox did not work). Both for hardcopy and digital papers: hand in only 1 per group. Plagiarism Presenting somebody elses text as your own is a serious act of academic misconduct and will not be tolerated. Avoid it at all times; no excuse is good enough!

Please consider the environment

Dont use plastic covers! One staple will do; have double sided print and single-space.