Founded 1905

THE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

of SINGAPORE

BUSINESSSCHOOL

BMA5112. ASIA PACIFIC BUSINESS & SOCIETY

FALL 2009.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

The objective of the course is to develop an understanding of the business environment

in the Asia-Pacific region.The economic, political and social institutions that evolve in this process are emphasized.The first part of the course will focus on the principles of international trade, foreign direct investment and foreign exchange regimes.Our goal is to develop an understanding of the socio-cultural, economic, and political underpinnings of growth and development in the Asia-Pacific region. The second part of the course entails country studies, which includes student presentations.Students are expected to apply theories and frameworks learnt in the first two parts of the course to assess the economic, social, political, trade and foreign direct investment environments of Asian countries.

The first part of the class will developthe necessary theory and framework toexplore how various economic, social andpolitical institutions shape the business environment. The second part will cover firm level strategy including global expansion, international alliance and international mergers and acquisitions. The thirdpart will focus on specificcountries.The course is expected to be interactive and student participation will be an integralpart of the class.

EVALUATION:

Your grade for the course will be determined based on the following criteria

  • Class Participation 10%
  • Class activities40%
  • Group Project 30%
  • End of term EXAM20%
GENERAL GUIDELINES:

The course will be taught with a mix of seminars, discussions and case studies. The case method requires extensive advance preparation for each class, and a significant part of the course grade will be based on class participation.The course also involves a major team project involving the competitive assessment of a particular industry within the Asian region.

For the group projects, students will form groups of 3 to 4 students, with each comprising no more than 2 student of any single nationality. Details of the group projects will be made known in class.The content of the projects will be determined on the basis of proposals to be submitted by week 6 of the course.Students will be given wide latitude in selecting their projects. The following are examples of projects that can be considered:

Country

  • Singapore is making a big effort to emerge as a Biotechnology hub.Evaluate the prospects of this effort.
  • What explains India’s competitiveness in IT? Why India is lagging behind China in manufacturing by a big margin?
  • Does the concept of a hub make sense in a global and mobile world? Identify and evaluate any industrial or service hub in Asia.
  • The “Death of Hong Kong” has been predicted many times. Its moribund economy provides some support for the view that it is being eclipsed by China, especiallyShanghai.Discuss the competitiveness of Hong Kong.
  • Malaysia is unique in its abundant natural resources and a major Islam country in the region. What do you see the future of Malaysia in light of its current power struggle?
  • Taiwan has recently gone through a presidential election recently and the result mayjust change the cross-straight relationship between China and Taiwan in all major aspects including economic, political, and social dimensions. Please evaluate the future of Taiwan.
  • Taiwan’s status as the premier global electronics manufacturing hub is being challenged by the shift of many firms to China.Evaluate the competitiveness of China as a location for Taiwan’s electronics sector.
  • Vietnam has been proclaimed as “little China” recently by many commentators. However, doubts start to emerge in view of the steep decline of the stock marketand many economic woes including inflation etc. What is your view of the future competitiveness of Vietnam?
  • Choose a specific industry for a country and discuss how it can take advantage of outsourcing and what are the risks involved.
  • Choose a specific industry for a country and discuss how globalization affects this industry.

COURSE SCHEDULE AND READINGS

Aug 17 / 1. Introduction to course
Video: Management in Chinese Cultures
Class activities: Forming Group / 1. “Asia's Reemergence”,Steven Radelet, Jeffrey Sachs, Foreign Affairs, New York, Nov/Dec, 1997, Vol. 76, Iss. 6.
2. “The Myth of Asia’s Miracle”, Paul Krugman ( )
3.“The challengers” (Emerging market multinationals), The Economist, January 12, 2008.
Aug 24 / 2. FDI, Outsourcing and globalization
Case discussion: Infosys Consulting in 2006: Leading the Next Generation of Business and Information Technology Consulting, Stanford, SM-151, 05/16/06
Case Preparation Questions:
  1. How well is Infosys Technologies doing? What is the company’s strategic position in the IT industry and what are its distinctive competencies?
  2. How would you characterize and evaluate the most important strategic options confronting Infosys Technologies?
  3. Does Infosys Technologies’ move into the IT consulting market make strategic sense to you?
4. One of the challenges Steve Pratt faces is: . How can Infosys Consulting stay ahead of
thegame?. Please prepare an action plan for Infosys Consulting . / 1.“Gravity's pull” (Information Technology in India), The Economist, December 15, 2007
Aug 31 / 3. Diversification Strategy in Emerging Asia
Case discussion: Sime Darby Berhad (A), HBS, 9-797-017
Case Preparation Questions:
  1. What are the sources of competitive advantage for a firm that is affiliated with Sime Darby?
  2. Are any of these sources of advantage enhanced/diminished by the environmental changes in Malaysia?
  3. Should Sime Darby acquire UMBC? Should it enter the financial services sector? How does your response depend on your forecast of how capital markets in Malaysia will evolve? Please evaluate options as of 1997 (when the case was written) and as of now.
  4. Compare the role of corporate office of Sime Darby and those of Korean business groups such as Samsung.
  5. Do business groups create value?
  6. What are the potential weakness of business groups such as Sime Darby and Samsung and what to do about them?
/ 1. Khanna,T. and Palepu,K. G. 1997. “Why Focused Strategies May Be Wrong for Emerging Economies”. Harvard Business Review
Sep
07 / 4. International Expansion Strategy 1: Global mindset and capability
Case discussion: Acer Inc.: Taiwan’s Rampaging Dragon, HBS, 9-399-010.
Case Preparation Questions:
  1. What motivated Acer to enter the US market?
  2. Did Acer have a strategic intent (long-term)? What was it? Does it make sense to you?
  3. How do you assess the risk of entering US? (Could Acer bear the losses if it fails?)
  4. Do you think Acer could have successfully integrated Altos at the time?
  5. Should Mr. Shih go for the Aspire project?
  6. How to improve Acer’s strategic move of going global in hindsight?
/ 1. Alexander, M. and Korine, H. 2008. “When You Shouldn’t Go Global”. Harvard Business Review.
Sep14 / 5. International Expansion Strategy 2: Global gamesmanship and market entry
Case discussion: Dell Computer Corp.: Investment in Malaysia as a Global Strategic Tool, IVY, 903M19
Case Preparation Questions:
  1. Why should Dell go global? What is Dell’s strategy in globalization?
  2. How does the global strategy work for the interest of Dell?
  3. Why did Dell choose Malaysia?
/ 1.McMillian, I., Ven Puten, A. and McGrath, R. 2003. “GlobalGamesmanship”. Harvard Business Review.
Sep
21 / 6. Recess Week
Sep
28 / 7.International Alliance
Case discussion: Eli Lilly in India: Rethinking the Joint Venture Strategy,IVY, 904M16
Case Preparation Questions:
  1. Did Eli Lilly pursue the right strategy to enter the Indian market?
  2. How would you assess the overall performance of the JV?
  3. What did the partners learn from the JV?
/ 1. Dyer, J. Kale, P., and Singh, H. 2001. “When to Ally and When to Acquire”. Harvard Business Review.
Oct05 / 8. China and Taiwan / 1. “Survey: China”. The Economist. March 23, 2006.
Oct
12 / 9.Japan / 1. “Survey: Japan”. The Economist. Oct 6, 2005.
Oct
19 / 10. India / 1. “Survey:Business in India”. The Economist. June1, 2006.
2. “Can India Overtake China”, Huang, Y. and Khanna, T.,Foreign Policy, No. 137 (Jul. - Aug., 2003), pp. 74-81.
Oct
26 / 11. Korea / 1. “Survey: South Korea”. The Economist. April 19, 2003
Nov
02 / 12. ASEAN / 1. “Survey: Southeast Asia”. The Economist, February 12, 2000
Nov
09 / 13. Project presentation
Nov
16 / 14. Project presentation