Course 2019-2020 a.y.

Setting the stage:

• Principles of geopolitics.
• Multinational companies: theories and impact.
• Geopolitics and international business.

Geopolitics and international business within the frameworks of globalization and de-globalization:

• The First Global Economy.
• The First De-Globalization.
• Towards a Second Global Economy.
• The Second Globalization (and the Second De-Globalization?).

Doing Business in...

• Doing Business in Africa.
• Doing Business in America.
• Doing Business in Asia.
• Doing Business in Europe.
• Doing Business in Oceania.

• Know relevant global political and economic historical facts which have substantially contributed to shaping the present context.
• Contextualize the variety of entrepreneurial and corporate forms which emerged in the long run in response to changing geopolitical dynamics, institutions and technology.

• Identify the “macro” phenomena (globalization, economic growth and development, leadership of the advanced countries, and so on) which influence “micro” behaviors (companies’ strategies, organizational forms, and so on).

• Face-to-face lectures
• Online lectures
• Guest speaker's talks (in class or in distance)
• Case studies /Incidents (traditional, online)
• Individual assignments
• Group assignments
• Interactive class activities (role playing, business game, simulation, online forum, instant polls)

This course is structured as a blended learning format. Times and modes of learning integrate the systematic use of face-to-face and online resources and tools.

• The usual course schedule is flipped by assigning lectures and online videos to be viewed at home, and by tackling engaging problems in face-to-face classroom situations. Online resources are the main point of reference for study materials. These include video lectures recorded by the instructor to deliver the core content of the course, video pills recorded by Bocconi’s professors to remind students of some basic concepts of economic theory; recorded guest talks and interviews to give students interesting insights from experts from the field in different parts of the world.
• Two individual assignments test students' knowledge especially focusing on information of value in allowing students to work effectively on their team assignment.
• In-class lessons, on the other hand, are done through the discussion of case studies and role playings (in the first part of the course) and through the use of group assignment presentations (in the second part of the course) on the topic “Doing business in… (a specific nation)”.

Assessment is composed of both online (at home) and on campus activities.

At home:

• Two individual assignments to test students' progress in knowledge and understanding

On campus:

• Teamwork to make students apply what they learn in the first part of the course to a specific region.
• The final exam to test students' knowledge and analytical skills as a whole.

The final grade is the sum of the following partial grades:

• Exam: up to 21 points, divided as follows:
  • 3 T/F questions (with motivation) up to 6 points.
  • 4 multiple choice questions up to 4 points.
  • 1 text analysis (choose the correct option) up to 3 points.
  • 1 open question up to 4 points.
  • 1 article/table/graph to comment on up to 4 points.
• Individual assignments: up to 2 points (max 1 point each homework).
• Teamwork: up to 8 points.

Assessment is composed of both online (at home) and on campus activities.

At home:

• 20 page-paper on a country chosen by the instructor to make students apply what they learn in the first part of the course to a specific region;

On campus: 

• 20 minutes PowerPoint-based presentation to be discussed on the same date as the written exam on a company case that fits closely with the country discussed in the paper, to make students apply what they learn in the first part of the course to a specific company case.
• The final exam to test students' knowledge and analytical skills as a whole.

The final grade is the sum of the following partial grades:

• Exam: up to 21 points, divided as follows:
  • 3 T/F questions (with motivation) up to 6 points.
  • 4 multiple choice questions up to 4 points.
  • 1 text analysis (choose the correct option) up to 3 points.
  • 1 open question up to 4 points.
  • 1 article/table/graph to comment on up to 4 points.
• 20 page-paper: up to 6 points.
• 20 minutes PowerPoint-based presentation: up to 4 points.

Cases and articles available at Course Reserve: 

• T.J. WATSON, IBM and Nazi Germany (by G.G. JONES, A. BROWN)(HBS case, 9-807-133).
• M. WILKINS, US Business in Europe: An American Perspective, in H. BONIN, F. DE GOEY eds., American Firms in Europe, 1880-1980: Strategy, Identity, Perception and Performance, Geneva: Librairie Droz, Chap. 2, pp. 35-67 (2009).

Cases and class material available on Bboard, including:

• Video lectures: videos of the module, “The First Global Economy”,  “A focus on the interwar years”, “From the Golden Age to the Economic Crisis”, “The New Global Economy”.
• Video pills: Colantone, Williams, Altomonte, Colli.
• Interviews and guests’ talks: Wolf, Dávila, Friedman, Galambos, Lluch, Bozzo, Lai, Park, Kurosawa, Piramal, Carbonato, Shanahan, Pezzotta, Decker, Verhoef, Agostoni, Amatori, Fava, Özlale, Fumagalli, Jones.
• Case studies and role playings (“Processing risks”, “A mine of gold?”, “A dangerous tango”).
• Slides.

More information on additional materials are given at the beginning of the course