SEMINAR IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

E 296
Evening MBA program
Summer Semester 2001 (Latin America)

Course Objectives, Structure and Organization

This course is designed to introduce the participants to the culture, history and business environment in various countries. The 2001 edition (Latin America), outlined below, focuses on Panama, Venezuela and Cuba. For the 2001 Africa/Europe Program, the 2000 Africa/Europe program or the 1999 Japan/Vietnam program please go to their respective links.

Participation in this course is restricted to students enrolled in the Evening MBA Program at Haas.

Classroom schedule

Classes will meet from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM unless indicated otherwise.

Travel schedule

Time Zone Converter

Logistics and Formalities

PASSPORT and VISAS (source: United States Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs FOREIGN ENTRY REQUIREMENTS)

You must have a passport with a validity extending to January 31, 2002 or beyond. Apply now for a new passport if you do not meet this requirement.

Panama

Venezuela

Cuba

Assignments

Classroom Presentations

Three teams of 5 students will select a topic from a list to be provided. The teams will each research and prepare a presentation which will be delivered to the entire class. A total of three teams will present.

Research Paper

The main assignment for this course will consist of a research paper on a topic to be decided in consultation with the instructor. The topic should encompass some aspect(s) of doing business in Central or South America. It could compare and contrast an industry in the countries, it could review market potential for some product or service in each market or follow a similar theme. Ideally, the paper should be related to the particular company or industry in which the student is employed.

The format of the paper should be decided in consultation with the instructor. For example, if a Powerpoint presentation might prove more useful to the student than a research document, this would be perfectly acceptable.

Briefings

Briefings are designed to assist the group's understanding of the companies and organizations that we will visit and/or the cultures that we will experience. Each student is to select one of the organizations on our itinerary and prepare a briefing on that entity. This briefing will be delivered to the group prior to our visit to that particular entity. Following the visit, the same student will lead a de-briefing to summarize what we learned from the visit.

Evaluation

Evaluation for a grade will be based on three components - the research paper, the briefings and class participation. Participation throughout the classroom sessions and during the study tour will be considered. The breakdown for grading purposes will be as follows:

Health & Safety Issues

Travel overseas, especially to developing countries and emerging markets, may expose participants to health and other risks different from those that they face at home. Although we will do our best to make participants aware of such risks and will make efforts to minimize risks, the ultimate responsibility lies with the participant. Participation in the program explicitly implies acceptance of all responsibility for loss, injury and/or death by the applicant. Participants are advised to check with the Centers for Disease Control and with the US State Department for information on health and safety issues respectively. See also the useful international web sites page for further research on countries and their respective health and safety record.

Each participant must obtain, at their own expense, any vaccinations, inoculations or other medications considered appropriate for a prudent traveler to the destination(s) to which they are assigned.

Each participant must obtain, at their own expense, suitable health insurance for the duration of the in-country portion of the program. The insurance must cover medical evacuation to the USA. Evidence of such insurance must be provided to the course instructor. Without endorsement or recommendation, the following possible providers are listed for your convenience:

MEDEX and the AAA+ membership (if you have been an AAA member for one year) of the CSAA are two possible sources for such insurance.

The Centers for Disease Control Travel Section provides a wealth of information on traveler's health. They also make specific recommendations regarding travel to Central America, South America and the Caribbean.

Please see the CDC's comprehensive information on Yellow Fever before getting this vaccination.

Also please see the Panama, Venezuela and Cuba pages of travel Health On Line.

Please research potential side effects before taking  anti-malaria drugs. Before deciding to take Larium as prophylaxis for malaria, please check out this Berkeley based web site and discuss with your physician.

Country information

PANAMA

U.S. State Department Consular Information Sheet and Background Notes.
CIA Fact book on Panama.
U.S. State department Commercial Guide (.pdf format.)
Panamanian Embassy in Washington D.C.
American Embassy in Panama City

VENEZUELA

U.S. State Department Consular Information Sheet and Background Notes
CIA Fact book on Venezuela.
U.S. State Department Commercial Guide (.pdf format)
Venezuelan Embassy in Washington D.C.
American Embassy in Caracas, Venezuela

CUBA

U.S. State Department Consular Information Sheet and Background Notes.
CIA Fact book on Cuba
U.S. State Department Commercial Guide (.pdf format.)
World Bank Report
Official Cuban Government Web Site (Spanish only)
University of Texas Cuba LANIC a great list of Cuba web sites

Miscellaneous

Computer, modem, telephone questions?
Travel Health Online
More Useful Web Sites (Some sites above are duplicated on this list, but there are many other useful ones.)

Last Updated July 5, 2001