Doing Business in Emerging Markets

OVERVIEW:

Emerging economies account for about 120 of a total of 160 countries recognised by the United Nations. In today’s global environment, as companies seek sustainable competitive advantage, they need to develop effective strategies to deal with emerging markets. This course is centred on the challenges and opportunities associated with organizational management and business strategy in emerging economies. Business cases in emerging economies from diverse geographical regions such as Asia, Latin America, Middle East and Eastern Europe will be discussed. Major learning objectives include:

     - Identify and understand the main differences and similarities that characterise emerging economies.

     - Understand and analyse the challenges and opportunities presented by emerging economies.

     - Identify the institutions of emerging economies that are relevant to managers and understand how they work.

     - Comprehend how cultural idiosyncrasies affect business operations in emerging economies.

     - Get acquainted with distinct strategy options for emerging economies.

     - Get familiarised with negotiation practices for dealing with business partners in emerging markets.

     - Analyse the additional ethical challenges and issues of social responsibility common in emerging markets.

 

REQUIREMENTS:

     - Fluent in English

 

CONTENTS:

Classes will be conducted in seminar format promoting student’s participation. Attendance is not compulsory, but it is crucial to attain a satisfactory grade. It is important to remark that most of the theoretical material is needed to undertake the case studies and the final exam. Fundamental theoretical notions and special issues regarding management in emerging markets will be discussed in class and applied on case studies. Although there is a theoretical base, the class is mainly case study based.

The outline of the course follows:

1. Understanding emerging economies:

     - What are emerging economies?

     - Why are emerging economies important?

     - Why are they still emerging?

     - Perspectives for evaluating emerging market potential.

2. Managing challenges in emerging economies:

     - Identifying risks in emerging economies.

     - Economic, institutional and political frameworks.

     - Privatization and market liberalization.

     - Culture management and development.

3. Doing business in emerging economies:

     - Strategies for emerging markets.

     - Market entry strategies.

     - Marketing and sourcing.

     - Managing joint-ventures and partnerships.

     - International negotiations.

     - Growing emerging economies companies. 

     - Corporate social responsibility in emerging economies.