Political & Cultural Aspects
of Asian Business
Instructor: Mikel
G. Edwards, Ph.D.
Course Description and Goals:
This course is a general survey of Asian business with a special focus on how Asian politics & culture influence commerce. It is designed to provide practical examples that illustrate the divergent characteristics of business relations in and with Asia. Students will gain a critical understanding of the great variety of business practices in Asia and how these are directly related to differing histories, politics and cultures. Strategies will be discussed to help you acquire the awareness and expertise needed to better analyze and understand Asian business practices. Class participation, thoughtful communication and effective writing are important skills needed to successfully complete this course.Course Requirements:
All students are required to complete the following. Assignments that are not completed on time will be marked down. E-mail and fax should not be used for final work.Five Media Reviews:
Course Journal Each student registered in the class is required to create a course journal. This journal will include all the important information the student collects during the course. The following are some examples of tab section you may wish to create:
Class Handouts (with hand written or typed comments),
Presentation Documents (both yours and other students with notes on presentation),
Hard Copies of e-mail communications (both yours and the instructor's ),
Collected Research Data (print publications, internet, other media),
Asian Business Proposal, Section on your capital investments in Asian business,
Media Reviews & Class Notes, & Anything else relevant to the subject or of special interest to you. (Course Journal due at the beginning of class, March 2th, 20%)Suggest topic for your Asian Business Proposal This should be a half page or less explanation of what type of proposal you plan to develop with some reference to the special political or cultural elements involved. (Due January 16th).
Asian Business Proposal This proposal should present your business ideas and discuss some of the special historical, political or cultural elements which influence your Asian business plan. On February 17th you will present one copy of your proposal to the instructor as well as each student/investor in the class. Referring to this printed document you will be given five to eight minutes to present your ideas and persuade us to invest our capital in your idea. Remember your presentation should be no more than five to eight minutes long followed by questions from the prospective student/investors. (Written proposal due February 17th at the beginning of class).
Your Capital Investments in Asian business, invest your $100,000 “life's earnings” in five or less Asian Proposals, other than your own, as you deem fit. (To be completed in class on March 2th, The three activities above represent 20% of your grade)
1) Review and critique a internet web site with a focus on Asian Business.Final Examination:
(Due January 14th & discussed thereafter 10%)2) Review and critique of non-U.S. produced radio program on Asian business. A good place to start on the internet is: www.web-radio.com/, www.wrn.org/, or www.radiotower.com/. You will need to work from a computer that has Real Audio software. If you do not personally have a computer that will do this the computer centers in the library and here in the Business School both do. To use SLU machines you are likely to need to get walkman type headphones.
(Due January 22nd & discussed thereafter 10%)3) Review and critique a book of your choice on Asian Business published on or after 1999 include the ISBN with your documentation. (Due January 29th & discussed thereafter 10%)
4) Review a business case study of your personal choice on the Political & Cultural Aspects of Asian Business. Select a case in your area of interest and then have it approved by the instructor.
(Due February 5th & discussed thereafter10%)5) Review and critique a internet web site with a focus on Asain Business.
(Due February 12th & discussed thereafter 10%)Each of the above five media reviews should be submitted on or before the due date by e-mail not using an attachment. The subject line of your e-mail should begin with your name followed by the subject. For example if I were submitting a review the subject line would look like "Mikel Edwards ~ First Media Review." Each review should be limited to one page, begin with a title and your name, followed with your text and then concluding with bibliographic reference. Where appropriate provide the complete internet link addresses. Those reviews that are particularly useful in addressing the subject of the class will be posted in the Managers' Forum section at: http://www.eastwest-global.com/. Keep a "hard" copy of each review in your course journal.
All students will take a closed book/open journal essay examination.Written exams will be accepted ONLY if completed in exam blue books. Exam blue books are available at the St. Louis University Book Store. (10%)Suggested Resources:
Collinwood, Dean W. ed. Japan and the Pacific Rim, Dushkin/McGraw-Hill Co. 1997.Required Listening:
Norton, James H. K. ed. India and South Asia, Dushkin/McGraw-Hill Co. 1997.
Watson, James L. ed. Golden Arches East: McDonalds in East Asia, Stanford University Press, 1997. Other reading materials as assigned in class.
Friday internet broadcast of East Asia Today in Real Audio from the BBC. Please review the other broadcasts for the week for business related stories of interest. Each broadcast is up on the net for about five days therefore you have the entire weekend to listen to this 30 minute program. You may wish to print related information and add it to your course journal. East Asia Today in Real Audio from the BBC can be found at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/eastasiatoday/audio.shtml
