The Ways to Ask Technical Questions

Downtime or other things requiring slight changes in plans and assignments. The basic premises of the syllabus will not change but any changes will be a formal part of the syllabus. Important: It is your responsibility to read the daily assignments, all e-mail updates and announcements in iLearn® to stay current should any such changes occur. IBUS 330 CLASS INFORMATION Asking Questions: Your First Source of Information Should Always Be the Syllabus Make the syllabus your first stop for any question you have.

As there are over a hundred students in the course, it’s not possible for us to answer questions more than once, so please help us out by staying up to date with the information provided in the syllabus and elsewhere in iLearn®. Everyone begins the course with 25 “Netiquette Points” as motivation for good online behavior as well as for keeping up with the class. Throughout this short semester you can earn the remaining 25 points (or more) by keeping current with assignments.

Please be careful, however, as you can also lose points for poor online etiquette or for not putting forth the necessary effort. Be polite and civil. Do not be rude or personally attack anyone anywhere online or you will lose netiquette points and not receive an answer to your question. The keys are to be positive, use the syllabus, follow the weekly CAP schedules, and read what is posted by us on iLearn® on a daily basis. If you have a question not clearly covered in the syllabus or on iLearn® send it to us at this email address: 330ibus@mail. sfsu. edu

Announcements and Assignments – Student Cycle Assignment Planner (CAP) You will always be able to refer to the Student Cycle Assignment Planner or “CAP” in iLearn® to know exactly where you should be and what you should be doing at any point in the semester. You will find the weekly CAP schedules in the “Tasks and Objectives” link at the top of each week’s assignments. The assignments listed in the CAP must be completed in the week assigned. Additional announcements will be posted in the assignments and announcements forum at the beginning of the iLearn® page.

Technical Help

For technical questions on how to do things in iLearn®, there are several means to get answers from the technicians who manage iLearn®. The ways to ask technical questions are:

1. Email ilearn@sfsu. edu. They will respond with an initial automatic verification — followed by specific help. The first automatic response will give you a “ticket number” which should be used in all further emails relating to your technical question.
2. Call (415) 405-3536 and select option #2 (for Student Help). They are open from 9 AM to 5 PM, Monday through Friday. After hours, you can leave them messages.Speak clearly and leave your full name and SFSU email address.
3. Use the help function form in iLearn®. It appears on the right hand column, second item from the top labeled E-mail iLearn® support.
4. Another way to get technical help is to post your question in the technical help forum in iLearn®. It is highly recommended to contact iLearn® via one of the three methods listed above first, and then share information, questions and answers on the course technical forum. We appreciate it when students help each other with technical problems. We read everything and take notice of those who are helpful.

There will be many technical questions during the first week. The forum is for technical questions only and NOT for inquiries about grades, policies, etc. Netiquette Points To reinforce positive, civil behavior online (following the policies, procedures and rules outlined in the syllabus) and for staying current with daily assignments in iLearn® including “class attendance” through accessing lectures on the days assigned, we give everyone 25 Netiquette points at the beginning of the semester and the opportunity to earn 25 more by showing us your dedication to the class and sufficiently learning the material.

The professor will take note of exemplary helping behavior and positive contributions when distributing these points. Examples of few ways you can lose some or all of these Netiquette points:

1. Here is one of the most important things for you to do in this class: earn your netiquette points by doing your own work. Don’t work with others on exams in any way, as this will cost you not only all of your netiquette points but also be grounds for failing the course. Be honest and positive.
2. If you share questions from the exams with other students, you will lose all your Netiquette points.
3. If you personally attack anyone online or in e-mails, you will lose significant Netiquette points (amount to be determined by the professor).
4. Each time you ask a question that has already been clearly addressed elsewhere such as in the syllabus, in an announcement or email, or on iLearn® you will lose five Netiquette points. Please don’t be afraid to ask questions. We give you half of these points in advance to encourage you to use the syllabus, the weekly Tasks and Objectives CAP schedules on iLearn® and check the Announcements Forum on a daily basis.
5. If you ask for special treatment (other than DPRC students), you will lose Netiquette points commensurate to the favor you are asking. For example, we do not give make-up exams for any reason. If you ask for a make-up, you will lose Netiquette points.
6. If you are caught lying to us we will deduct all of your Netiquette points.
7. If you do not access and fully watch all lectures assigned you will lose Netiquette points. You can lose up to five points for each individual lecture you do not watch from your iLearn® account by the date assigned. Missing a lecture is like not showing up for class. (These deductions may not show immediately, but may occur at any point in the semester).
8. SGQ assignments must be completed each day on the date assigned. This is important for you to be able to do well on the workbook SGQ assignment and avoid being caught up in a last minute rush, which will always result in a poor quality submission. Also, note carefully that you must bring your workbook with you when you visit us during office hours. We reserve the right to check your workbook to ensure you have been completing assignments and watching lectures. This will enable us to help you as best we can with issues regarding the course. You will lose five netiquette points for each assignment not completed on time, and a minimum of five points each time you fail to bring the workbook with you during office hours. (These deductions may not show immediately, but may occur at any point in the semester).
9. Plagiarizing (directly copying) SGQ assignments from other students, websites, the workbook or the textbook will result in a loss of all Netiquette points in addition to receiving a zero on the SGQ assignments.

Plagiarism of any kind can also result in failing the course. The key is to pay attention to the syllabus, follow the Tasks and Objectives CAP schedules, announcements and daily assignments on a regular basis, do your own work and behave in a civil, adult, responsible manner online and in emails. If you follow these rules, you will earn all 50 Netiquette points.

Course Purpose and Learning Objectives

The purpose of this online course is to introduce you to the fundamental concepts, theories and practices of international business.It provides an overview of relevant international business patterns, with an emphasis on what differentiates international from purely domestic business, and what makes it so much more complex. Central to the course are the concepts of culture and knowledge. The course will build cross-cultural literacy in students, enabling you to understand cultural diversity and the complexities that arise when working across and within cultures – both domestically and internationally. Furthermore, the course will lay the initial foundations for your own global leader development and possible career in international business.

Major learning objectives for this course are to:

1. Understand the basic nature of International Business and what makes it different from and more complex than domestic business.
2. Understand the basic nature of value creation activities via the Value Added Chain (VAC).
3. Appreciate the process of how individual behaviors aggregate in planned fashion to produce group or firm level actions in firm Value Added Chains (VACs).
4. Understand what globalization is, what its causes and processes are; understand what its impact is on various constituencies including the firm, consumers, governments, society, etc.; be able to express the arguments both for and against globalization; appreciate the ever-present forces of global and local pressures on individuals and firms.
5. Understand what culture is: understand its basic nature, causes and consequences and its importance to international and domestic business; appreciate the importance of cultural diversity both within and across cultures; appreciate the interaction of individuals and groups in forming expectations or norms for behavior in particular situations; be knowledgeable as to how these vary across cultures.
6. Understand the nature of the various complex and interrelated environments in which firms operate; appreciate the basic differences in social, political, legal and economic systems as well as levels of economic development of national economies; appreciate their nature, differences and influence on international and domestic business.
7. Understand individual ethics and ethical behavior and their aggregation into corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the firm; appreciate the nature of individual thoughtful action and its aggregation into group or firm level actions reflecting societal desires for sustainability of the world’s resources and environments.
8. Have an appreciation of international trade theory; know its various forms, patterns, history, theories, and affect on international business.
9. Understand the basic dynamics of foreign investment; know the differences between passive foreign portfolio investment (FPI) and active foreign direct investment (FDI); appreciate the significance of FDI for both firms and societies affected by their internationalization.
10. Understand the basic nature and form of government intervention on trade and investment; appreciate the motivations for intervention and understand the methods of government intervention via induced market imperfections; appreciate variations in industrial policy and their affect on firm behavior across nations.
11. Understand the basic rationale for regional economic integration; know the different forms such integration can take; appreciate the impact of regional economic integration on firms and societies they affect.
12. Understand the basic tenets of international monetary and financial environments; appreciate the complexity and impact such systems have on firms and the societies they affect.
13. Understand both domestic and international strategy; appreciate the importance of “fit” between firm competencies, structure, and the environments in which firms operate historically and into the future; know the differences between international, multinational, global and transnational strategies.
14. Understand the basic motivations for and processes of firm internationalization; know the various initial modes of foreign market entry; understand the rationale for FDI and collaborate strategies firms employ as they increase their level of international involvement in the sourcing, production and distribution of products and services; appreciate the process of evolution firms go through as they progressively internationalize.
15. Understand the basic forms of organizational structure firms may take as they internationalize; appreciate the nature and importance of structure as it relates to core competencies, firm strategy, and the various environments in which firms operate.
16. Understand the critical relevance of effectively managing the firm’s international human resources; understand the process of global leader development through expatriation and inpatriation; appreciate the impact on your own potential career and global leader development; learn what to say when you are tapped on the shoulder and asked: “Are you ready for an international assignment?

Required Textbook Reader and Workbook

A special textbook reader and workbook have been designed specifically for this course. Both are required. The 7th edition of the workbook is only available in the SFSU bookstore and cannot be purchased used. Used copies of the second or third edition are fine for the textbook reader – but not the workbook. Any assignments turned in from prior editions of the workbook will not be graded. The Power of Knowledge across Culture: Critical Perspectives on International Business and Multicultural Relations (2011, Third Edition).

Upper Saddle Valley, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. ISBN 1256189200. New or used copies of the third OR second edition are also fine, but if used make sure you have the correct version as the chapters are different from the first edition. [pic] Student Workbook for International Business and Multicultural Relations (2011, Seventh Edition). Nicholson, J. D. (Seventh Edition). Upper Saddle Valley, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. ISBN 1256300144. Each student needs his or her own copy of the workbook. It has changed significantly so used copies will not work. [pic]

The Disabilities Programs and Resources Center (Dprc)

If you have special needs related to learning, you should register them with the Disabilities Programs and Resources Center (DPRC), one of SFSU’s greatest resources. Please notify the professor at the very beginning of the semester if you are registered with the (DPRC) so that reasonable efforts can be made to accommodate you. Benefits and special arrangements cannot be made retroactively to before official DPRC verification has been received. The Disabilities Programs and Resources Center (DPRC) is located in the Student Services Building, Room 110. The direct web link to the DPRC is: http://www. sfsu. edu/~dprc/student. html COURSE STRUCTURE The course will consist of readings, lectures, workbook assignments, optional quizzes, and examinations. Graded portions of the course will include assignments (20%), a midterm examination (30%) and a final examination (50%). Please be aware that failing the midterm, final exam, or SGQ workbook assignment is grounds for failing the course. The following passages explain each item. Text Readings You will be assigned a number of chapters to read in the textbook reader.

Read each textbook chapter and then watch the corresponding lectures. For a complete list of assignments and dates see the CAP (Student Cycle of Assignments Planner) schedules in iLearn® for each week under the Tasks and Objectives link for the week, or the Course Schedule at the end of this syllabus. Lectures For each chapter, there will be two corresponding sets of lectures posted on iLearn®. One set will be from the textbook. These lectures are optional, and available to you if you need more exposure to the subjects covered in each chapter of the textbook reader. The second set will be slides corresponding to the workbook.

The workbook lectures are required and essential to the course. After reading the textbook chapter assigned, watch the workbook lectures while following along, taking notes in your workbook. Ample space has been provided for you to take notes as you watch the workbook lectures, which you can pause and review at any time in iLearn®. The workbook lectures will follow the slides in the workbook, which is where all class notes should be taken. Exams are “open-book” meaning you are only permitted to look at your written notes in the workbook, as well as the physical textbook and physical dictionary (optional).

Lectures will not be available while the exam is available to take; i. e. no notebooks or digital notes can be used. Be prepared and finish your studying before the exam opens. Points for assignments can only be earned if completed on the day they are assigned – lectures, workbook assignments, etc. Downloading the MP3 Lectures In addition to listening to or viewing the lectures online, there is another option for the lectures. For every chapter, students can download the audio portions of the lectures from iLearn®. You can play the MP3 file on your computer, transfer it to a media-playing device (iPods, iPhones, Zunes, etc.), or burn it onto a CD. Remember, you will lose Netiquette points if you do not complete lectures when assigned. Introductory Quiz (REQUIRED) The introductory quiz is to help you comprehend the information in the syllabus and both the textbook and workbook introductions. This quiz is required and is worth ten points. You will have 48 hours to take the quiz, which will CLOSE at exactly 9 PM on Wednesday, June 6. No make-ups are given for any reason, as this window is sufficient to complete a 20-minute quiz.

Personal Profile (REQUIRED)

We ask that all students expand their personal profile in iLearn® as a part of course Netiquette to include the following elements:

• A clear, full-face picture of yourself (must be clearly identifiable, like a passport photo)
• An indication of your cultural affinity (family heritage, nationality or culture with which you identify)
• Languages you speak
• Your major This is to make the class a little more personal, and is a simple way to earn Netiquette points. In the majority of your classes, you sit in a room where everyone is visible to each other; this is our way of adding that face-to-face element to the course.

This is a very simple thing to do and reflects on your willingness to participate in the class, so please complete this right away. Optional Study Quizzes For each chapter there will be an optional study quiz covering the materials assigned. These quizzes are to help you gauge your understanding of the materials and to prepare you for the style and format of questions on the examinations. The ten questions will be in the same format as the questions on the exams. These quizzes will not count for or against your grade – they are optional. These quizzes will be available to take and review up to the opening time of each exam.

Written Workbook Assignments

At the end of each workbook chapter, space is provided for you to write out answers to required Study Guide Questions (SGQs). These handwritten assignments are worth 14 percent of your final grade. They will be submitted together at the end of the semester. HOWEVER, they must each be completed during the week they are assigned – For each SGQ not completed before the corresponding exam, five Netiquette points will be deducted in a fashion similar to the required lectures. Please note that the study guide questions will not be available on iLearn® during the exam.

Please prepare ahead and complete them before the exams open. The SGQs are designed to enhance your appreciation of key concepts as well as to prepare you for examinations. Details on the SGQ process are provided later in the syllabus. Assignment dates are indicated on the weekly CAP schedules in the Tasks and Objectives in iLearn®. Examinations There will be one midterm examination and one final. We do not give make-up examinations for any reason. It is your responsibility to have reliable internet access for all exams and to manage your time.

Information on both midterm and final exams follows below. EXAMINATIONS Midterm Exam The midterm exam is worth 300 points or 30% of your final course grade. It will be 2 hours long and a total of 60 questions. This exam covers all information pertaining to chapters 1 through 5. It will open at 9 PM, June 14 and close June 16 at exactly 9 PM. Final Exam The final exam is worth 500 points or 50% of your final grade. The entire exam will also be 60 questions and 2 hours long, covering chapters 6 through 12. We make no special arrangements to accommodate individual student travel plans.

The final examination will become available at 9 PM on Saturday, June 30 and close promptly at 9 PM on Wednesday, July 4. You will have two hours and one attempt to take the final exam. To be fair to all, we do not give make-up examinations. Students detected cheating (working with others or leaving the exam) will automatically fail the final exam. Failing the final exam will be cause for failing the course. What is Covered in the Exams Content covered in the exams includes everything covered including:

• All assigned textbook introductions and readings;
• All workbook introductions, vocabulary, lecture-related slides, etc.;
• Study guide questions;
• Cultural focus and windows;
• Anything else assigned. In other words, anything that has been covered or assigned is fair game to appear in the examinations. The best study guide to prepare for each exam is the workbook. In particular, the introduction to each set of slides and the answers to each chapter’s study guide questions that you have written in the workbook are of great help to you. Exams will draw questions from a number of different pools including, but not limited to, the textbook, the lectures, key terms, cultural focus, cultural windows and SGQs.

In addition, critical reasoning questions will require you to think through scenarios and situations given, often drawing upon more than one critical concept with partial, limited information. To answer these questions well you will have to have completed all the required assignments, draw upon what you have learned, and “reason” your way to the best answer. These questions will not be of the sort you can simply look up. Open Book – What you can use Remember that while the exams are “open-book” this means that you can use only three things while taking the exams.

ILearn® materials such as the Study Guide Questions, lectures, and cultural materials will not be available while the exam is open. During open-book exams, you may use:

1. The actual, physical textbook
2. The actual, physical workbook
3. Any actual, physical dictionary What You Cannot Use or Do You cannot use any electronic sources of information such as notes in Word or electronic online dictionaries. If you move to an electronic source while taking an exam, iLearn® will show that and you will receive a zero on the exam.

You must not leave the exam window in iLearn® once opened. Do not check any online sources including quizzes, documents or lectures. Only have the exam window open and stay there until you complete the exam once started. Even if you keep the exam open, you are not allowed to look at anything else electronically. For example, if iLearn® access reports indicate you had the exam open but were going to other sections of iLearn® to review forum posts, links – anything but the exam itself – you will be given a zero for that exam with no recourse for a make-up.

Please pay very careful attention to this, as some students will invariably try to look around electronically and will have their scores changed to a zero as a result, arguing that they always had the quiz open. Do not lose your exam score this way. Do Your Own Work on Exams Students must take exams individually and not share any information with others. Do not sit next to other students when taking exams and never show anyone anything to do with your exam. Do not take exams in groups from the same location at the same time or successively. Do not look at anything to do with other students’ exams.

Doing so can result in failure of both the exam and the course. Do your own work. Every semester students are caught working with others on exams – FAILING AN EXAM DUE TO CHEATING IS GROUNDS FOR FAILING THE ENTIRE COURSE. In addition, if you work with others on exams in any way your name will be forwarded to the University Disciplinary Officer for further review. To ensure exams are taken properly, we reserve the right to require ANY student, or group of students, to take ANY exam in person, supervised by a member of the IBUS 330 staff. If you are asked to come in for this purpose and refuse or delay doing so, this is grounds for failing the exam in question and the course.

Do Not Try to Look Everything Up The exams are designed to probe what you have learned, not simply what you can look up. In other words, it will not be possible to just “look up answers” for every question; use that option for the questions about which you are the most unsure. Do the readings, lectures, study guide questions and other assignments on schedule and as required and you should be in a good position to answer questions and use the open-book feature to intelligently confirm answers or resolve questions of which you are most unsure.

What To Do If You Suspect An Error Has Been Made By iLearn® If you suspect iLearn® has made a verifiable error on your exam score (which is extremely rare) you must report the error immediately and simultaneously to us and to iLearn® – we will not consider reports made more than 24 hours after a suspected error. Report the suspected error by sending an email to ilearn@sfsu. edu with a CC to 330ibus@mail. sfsu. edu explaining what happened. Attach a screenshot of your exam summary showing name, time/date started/finished, time taken, and score – and another of the suspected error.

If the IBUS 330 Staff does not receive your email reporting the error within the required 24 hour window, you CANNOT be considered for a second attempt. If the IBUS 330 Staff receives your properly submitted email within 24 hours of it occurring AND the error is subsequently confirmed by iLearn® as being an iLearn® system fault, we will permit a second attempt. The second attempt will only be given in cases of confirmed technical errors on the part of iLearn®. If there is sufficient evidence of an error, we will give you individual instructions on a second attempt.

Be sure you know how to create a print screen from the computer you are using before you start the exam. If an error occurs and you do not submit a print screen, we cannot verify the error. ILearn® errors are extremely rare and usually turn out to be something the student has done such as going up to the time limit, pressing the backspace key, hitting submit twice, etc. Examples of Unacceptable Errors Timing is your responsibility and to be fair to all, we make no exceptions to this rule.

Losing a connection, experiencing a power outage, and timing out (going over or exactly up to the time limit) – these are your responsibilities and not iLearn®’s. If there is insufficient evidence of a technical error on the part of iLearn® on your first attempt we will not grant a second attempt and may deduct Netiquette points from your course grade depending on the nature of the request. How to Create Printscreens To create print screens using a PC computer, simply press the “print screen” button on your keyboard (this will “copy” your entire screen), then paste the image onto a new Word document.

For students using Apple computers, print screens are performed differently. Go to the screen you wish to capture. Hold the Command key [pic] + Shift + 3 and release all. You will see a copy of the picture file saved on your desktop. ADVICE FOR ALL EXAMINATIONS The best overall advice for examinations is to stay current and keep up with your readings, lectures, and assignments – do not fall behind as catching up is twice as hard and half as effective. Follow instructions. Here are some exam tips: ? Finish your studying before the exams open.

ILearn® materials such as lectures, cultural materials, and Study Guide Questions will not be available during time when the exams are open to students. ? Click the “Submit” button only once when submitting your exams. ? Never click “Refresh” or “Back” on your browser while taking exams. ? Save your responses periodically while taking the exam by pressing “save and continue” at the bottom of the exam so you do not lose your work if a computer or internet error occurs on your end. Only errors that are verified as iLearn® server errors will merit a second attempt.

Errors that occur with the internet connection you are using or the computer you are using will not merit a second attempt on an exam. Saving your responses throughout will protect you from losing your work if something unforeseen happens. ? Do not leave an exam window once you have started the exam. This will be considered cheating and is often an indication of students working with others or checking information from sources other than the textbook or workbook. Students detected cheating will automatically fail the exam. Failing the midterm or final exam is grounds for failing the course.

Plan carefully, save your responses, and give yourself a cushion of some extra time in case you encounter problems with either your computer or Internet connection. ? Timing and reliable Internet connections are your responsibilities. Do not rely exclusively on an iLearn® timer. ? Do not push the limit to a few seconds of when exams are scheduled to conclude. Exams conclude (terminate) exactly at the end time indicated – if you are just closing an exam at that moment, your attempt will be invalidated. Many computers or internet connections need several seconds, or even several minutes to process the submission.

If you submit the exam and your computer does not have enough time to process it before the timer runs out, iLearn® will give you a zero on the exam. Finish exams before time runs out. Do not lose your exam by pushing the time limit! ? It is highly recommended that you do not wait until the last hours of the last day to take an exam because if problems arise, no extensions will be available. Students who wait until the last hours of the last day tend to score a full letter grade lower than students who take the exam early in the timeframe. ? Do your own work on exams.

Do not share exam questions or answers with anyone. Do not sit with other students in labs taking exams side-by-side as we have methods of detecting this. Never show anything to do with your exam to anyone else and never let anyone else see your screens. Work alone. ? The best advice to prepare for exams is to follow the required assignments: Read the textbook; follow the lectures while taking notes in your workbook, as assigned; complete the study guide questions when assigned and learn from them. ? We do not give make-ups. To be fair to everyone, we do not make any exceptions to this policy for any reason.

Asking for special treatment will result in an automatic loss of Netiquette points. ? After completing an exam check your gradebook. Be sure to verify that your grades have been recorded properly in the iLearn® grade book. ? Take and keep print screens of all your exam score results clearly showing name, time/date started/completed, time taken, and scores. It is also a good idea to keep track of iLearn® grades. ? While iLearn® errors on exams are extremely rare, if you feel an error has occurred that was due to a problem with iLearn®, you can request a second attempt.

To do this, you must then get written verification from iLearn® (email from them) testifying that the error was theirs before we can issue the second attempt password. Remember, a reliable computer and reliable Internet access is your responsibility. If you report a suspected error and have actually gone up to or over the time limit, you will receive an automatic deduction of Netiquette points, the same as with asking for special treatment such as extensions, make-ups, etc.

Workbook Assignments Chapter Study Guide Questions Written Study Guide Questions (SGQs)

The Study Guide Questions for each chapter are required to be completed during the week assigned, both because they are an essential learning tool designed to improve your performance in the course and because you will be asked to turn in select pages from the workbook at the end of the semester for grading. The questions will not be available on iLearn® during the exams. These pages will count for ten percent of your final grade. For each chapter a Study Guide Question (SGQ) assignment will be given. Answer the question in the space provided at the end of each workbook chapter (one page, use both front