BA207B Syllabus
Sections 1 and 2
Walter A. Haas School of BusinessCourse Outline
University of California, BerkeleyFall 1998
BA207B: Business and Public Policy
Instructor:Professor Rui J. de Figueiredo
Office: Haas School, Faculty Wing F545
Phone: (510) 642 6452
Fax: (510) 643 1412
email: ;
(To reach me, please try email first)
Office Hours: Thurs., 9:30 – 11:00 AM, Haas School F545
Course Schedule:Section 1:Class: Tu/Th 8 – 9:30 AM,Cheit C220
Section 2:Class: Tu/Th 11AM –12:30 PM,Cheit C210
Course Requirements:Class attendance and participation25%
Group case write-up15%
5+ page research paper25%
Final35%
Textbook: Readings in Business and Public Policy, 1998
On reserve: David P. Baron, Business and Its Environment, 2nd
Edition (optional chapters)
Communication:Outside of class, I will communicate primarily by email. Please make certain you are on the list-serve.
Also, this syllabus and all lecture notes will be available on the
course website:
BA207: Business and Public Policy
Course Requirements
Class attendance and participation. This part of the grade will be awarded for regular class attendance and participation in classroom discussions. If you must miss a class, please let me know in advance, if possible. While the quality of participation is more important than sheer quantity, a minimum level of participation is clearly essential.
Group case. Working in groups of four or five, students will write-up a case (listed below as GC#). You should specify the role you are playing, the context of the case, the issue(s) that needs to be addressed and your recommendation based on analysis of options and supporting evidence. The written presentation is due at the beginning of class, and should be no more than 10 pages long. The content can be a mix of text and slides (e.g. figures, graphs, tables, etc.). Grading will be on a group basis.
You should form the groups yourselves by the end of the second class, October 1.
Research papers. You should prepare a 5 page (no less then 1.5 space, normal margins) executive brief along with up to 5 pages of supporting slides, frameworks, tables, charts or figures, on some non-market issue facing a particular company.
The guidelines for the paper are as follows:
- You are employed in the office of the Executive VP of a company facing a non-market threat or opportunity.
2.Your CEO has just become aware of this recent or impending change to the company’s non-market environment that has important implications for your firm’s current or future business activities. Your CEO, however, knows relatively little about how to manage the non-market environment. Your CEO has decided to directly address the problem in the next few weeks. In preparation you have been assigned to prepare a brief to suggest a strategy.
3.Your brief should:
a) Describe a specific non-market threat or opportunity and state how and why it is important to your firm.
b) Provide some background on this non-market threat or opportunity. Why has it emerged? In what institutional forums has it or will it be decided? Which business and non-business constituencies have or are likely to favor it or oppose it?
c) Identify the market and or non-market strategies your firm should adopt to take advantage of this opportunity or respond to this threat. What factors will determine how successful you are likely to be? Who are your firm’s likely allies and or adversaries?
4.Choose a particular non-market problem or opportunity that your company is facing. Focus on a specific problem or opportunity, not one that is very broad. For example, a problem relating to "environmental policy" is much too broad. One relating to "air quality" is also too broad. Nitrous oxide emissions is about the right size. In your brief, discuss the nature of the non-market problem (or opportunity); its importance to your firm, and possible ways of dealing with it. Tell the CEO only the aspects of (1) the company’s position and (2) the company’s technology that are directly relevant to your assessment; the CEO does not want excessive background she already knows.
5.In conducting your research and writing the brief, please keep in mind the following objectives of the assignment:
- Develop and demonstrate your understanding of the course readings, lecture content and class discussions as relevant to the topic of your report.
- Develop and demonstrate your understanding of the foreign and/or US political process and institutions.
- Develop and demonstrate your ability to deal with public policy issues from a strategic managerial perspective.
6.Your report will be evaluated in terms of how well you play your role, the extent and quality of your research and analysis and arguments and how well you communicate and support your position on the issue. The assignment is due at the beginning of class on November 5. No late papers will be accepted.
Final exam. The exam will consist of an in-class analysis of one or more cases.
BA207B: Business and Public Policy
Tentative Schedule for Readings and Discussions
PART I: NON-MARKET ISSUES AND ACTIVITY
CLASS 1: September 29: Introduction to Non-Market Strategy
CLASS 2: October 1: Integrating Market and Non-Market Strategies
.Baron, “Integrating Market and Non-Market Strategies,’ CMR, Winter 1995.
Optional: Baron, Chapters 1 and 2.
PART II: NON-MARKET STRATEGIES AND POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS
CLASS 3: October 6: United States: Political Institutions
.Case: “Business’s Push for Daylight Savings,” Fortune, Nov. 14, 1984
.Baron, “Political Analysis for Business,” Chapter 6.
CLASS 4:October 8: United States: Political Strategies
.Case: “CAFE,” Baron, pp. 221-227.
Optional: “Implementing Political Strategies,” Chapter 8.
CLASS 5: October 13:United States: Integrated Strategies in the United States
.GC#1: “Echelon and the Home Automation Standard.”
CLASS 6: October 15:United States: The Media, Public Interest Groups and the Politics of Risk
.“How a PR Firm Executed the Alar Scare,” WSJ, Oct. 3, 1992.
.GC#2: “Alar,” Baron, pp. 77-78.
Optional:Baron, Chapter3.
CLASS 7: October 20: The European Union: Business Lobbying and Political Institutions
.Baron, “The European Union,” Chapter 15.
.GC#3: “The European Auto Industry,” Baron, pp. 445-451.
CLASS 8: October 22: The European Union: Business Lobbying and Political Institutions
.Case: “Toys R’ Us in Germany,” Baron, pp. 454-456.
.Case: “Toys R’ Us in Sweden.”
CLASS 9: October 27: The European Union: Business Lobbying and Political Institutions
.GC#4: “Echelon in Europe.”
CLASS 10: October 29: Japan: Business Lobbying and Political Institutions
.Baron, “The Political Economy of Japan,” Chapter 13.
.Case: “Toys R’ Us in Japan,” Baron, pp. 416-419.
CLASS 11: November 3: Japan: Business Lobbying and Political Institutions
.GC#5: “Syntex,” Baron, pp. 412-416.
Optional: Baron, “Non-Market Strategy in the Japanese Political Economy,” Chapter 14.
PART III: REGULATION
CLASS 12: November 5: Economic Regulation
PAPERS DUE AT BEGINNING OF CLASS
.GC#6: “RBOC Politics,” Baron, pp. 192-194.
Optional: Baron, “Regulation, Law, Economics and Politics,” Baron, Chapter 10.
CLASS 13: November 10: Antitrust
.“Antitrust, Economics, Law, Policy and Markets,” Baron, Chapter 9.
.GC#7: “The Staples-Office Depot Merger?”
CLASS 14: November 12: Antitrust
.Case: “Microsoft and the DOJ.” (materials to be distributed before class).
CLASS 15: November 17: Environmental Policy
.GC#8: “Duales System Deutschland,” HBS Case 9-795-074.
CLASS 16: November 19: Environmental Policy
.GC#9: “Responsible Care,” HBS Case 9-391-135.
PART IV: INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS AND NON-MARKET ISSUES
CLASS 17: November 24: International Trade: Institutions, Policies, and Global Business Strategy
GUEST LECTURER: PROFESSOR VINOD K. AGGARWAL
.Baron, “Trade Policy, Politics, and Negotiations,” Chapter 17.
.Case: “Anti-dumping Policy,” Baron, pp. 477-479.
CLASS 18: December 1: International Trade: Institutions, Policies, and Global Business Strategy
.GC#10: “The Kodak-Fujifilm Trade Dispute”.
CLASS 19: December 3: International Trade: Institutions, Policies, and Global Business Strategy
.GC#11: “Nike in China”
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