Open Access Case Study Materials for International Business Students

Purpose: to help other instructors teaching the same course

Common Course ID: BUS 4150 Contemporary Issues in Global Business
CSU Instructor Open Textbook Adoption Portrait

Abstract: This open textbook is being utilized in an International Business course for undergraduate students by Yuanyuan Li, Ph.D. at California State University, Los Angeles. The open access case study materials provide rich and up-to-date information about contemporary global events. The main motivation to adopt an open textbook was to give students equal access to study materials. Most student access the open material in a digital format.

Course Title and Number: BUS 4150 Contemporary Issues in Global Business
Brief Description of course highlights:  This course provides an integrated approach to business issues in a globalized environment considering different political, legal, economic and socio-cultural conditions at the national-level.  The course also discusses firm-level strategies to tackle the national-level differences and emphasizes the role of various global events and phenomena such as the burgeoning emerging market multinationals. 

https://ecatalog.calstatela.edu/preview_program.php?catoid=66&poid=29919

Student population: Students attending this course are mainly from management and accounting majors, typical with low-to-medium incoming knowledge on International Economics. More than half of the student population consists of first-gen students.

Learning or student outcomes:  At the end of the semester, students exhibit significant improvement in understanding basic International Business concepts and how geo-political events might affect global business operation. Students also turn in good quality writing on selected company’s International Business Plan.

Syllabus and/or Sample assignment from the course or the adoption [optional]: Case Discussion. Each student is assigned to a 2-4 people group (depending on class size) as a case leader. We have one case bundle each week focusing on a specific topic. Although everyone in the class needs to read each case, the case leader group of the week is responsible to come up with thought-provoking questions and co-lead the discussion with the course instructor, for about 45-60 minutes during an 3-hour session each week.

Key challenges faced and how resolved: Due to the low-to-medium level prerequisite knowledge in International Economics, students usually had hard-time at the beginning digesting International Trade theories and constructs. I usually resolve this issue by having students read short articles from trade journals (e.g., Economists), view short video clips (e.g., from Forbes, Business Insider, or Bloomberg) and encourage them to use their life experience to interpret real-world macroeconomics data from the World Bank and the World Investment Reports.

Textbook or OER/Low cost Title: ISE International Business: Competing in the Global Marketplace

Brief Description: The textbook is designed to have main text and cases discussing International Business environment and firm strategies. It covers 16 different modules, with each module having basic concepts and mini cases. Students are expected to read the main text first to gain familiarity with basic concepts, then use the cases for concept application and scenario analyses.

Please provide a link to the resource
https://ebin.pub/qdownload/ise-international-business-competing-in-the-global-marketplace-13nbsped-1260575861-9781260575866.html

Authors:  Professor Charles W.L. Hill

Student access:  Students gain access of the case materials from Cal State LA learning management system, canvas. Instructor select and upload organized case bundle to each of the learning module.

Supplemental resources: Assignments and quizzes are created by the instructor. Students perform the tasks each module/week.

Provide the cost savings from that of a traditional textbook.  Each student save $55-$238 depending where they used to acquire the material from. Rental could be around $55 and the full purchase price is over $200.

License: Open licensed

OER/Low Cost Adoption Process

Provide an explanation or what motivated you to use this textbook or OER/Low Cost option. I want to choose cost-effective or free, but also high-quality learning materials for my student to improve the equality in learning material access. I want everyone to have the same version of the learning material instead of students using different years/editions.

How did you find and select the open textbook for this course? I was searching for open access materials online, also consulted Cal State LA business librarian to confirm the quality of the open access materials.

Sharing Best Practices: Image you are a student, where would you want to locate your study materials within a certain budget? We then use our instructor eye to assess the quality and the fit of the material. Maybe begin with the textbook you were already using and see whether they have an affordable PDF version available.

Describe any key challenges you experienced, how they were resolved  and lessons learned. The availability and fit combined together can be a challenge. You might need to combine different sources to fit your course. Also, the content presented might not be in the order you want. I address this issue by carefully sorting the materials and group them into topics. I also wrote some of the materials and published in an open access journal so I can combine my publication with other open access materials found as my teaching case bundle. 

Instructor Name:  Yuanyuan Li 
I am an International Business professor at California State University, Los Angeles. I teach Contemporary Issues in Global Business, and Global Business Environment. https://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/yuanyuan-li  

Please provide a link to your university page.
https://www.calstatela.edu/faculty/yuanyuan-li

 
Please describe the courses you teach.
The courses I teach provides an integrated approach to business issues in a globalized environment under different political, legal, economic and socio-cultural conditions with a focus on national-level differences in PESTLE factors, international trade, foreign direct investment (FDI), regional economic integration, foreign exchange market, and the significance of emerging market economies. My courses deliver inclusivity concepts throughout by informing students that “All types of firms, small or large, contribute to International Business” and “Our world is bigger than just the continental U.S.”

Describe your teaching philosophy and any research interests related to your discipline or teaching.  I strongly believe, as an educator, building ethical mindset is equally important as delivering knowledge, especially in a business school. Deeply influenced by economics (a field that holds the assumption of profit maximization and economic man), business practices have been challenged for centuries about the unethical behavior of business practitioners. I start with strict enforcement of academic integrity and plagiarism check, then infuse the concept of ethical leadership and corporate social responsibility in case studies and class discussion. Quoted from Michael Porter in one of his TED talk: “enterprises are established to address social needs rather than creating society problems including those environmental and humanity problems.” I encourage students to value ethical business practice no matter where your business is operated. Multinational enterprises often suffer more controversies owing to offshoring and the shift of unethical practices abroad to a host country such as child labor, arbitrary pollution and bribing host country government. I urge students to move on from the mindset of prioritizing business profits, hoping everyone coming out of my class can become the next generation of ethical business leaders.