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Course Manual
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
2nd Year Bachelor
2013/2014
Third trimester: week 14 – week 25
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
Summary of important rules and regulations for BScIBA and MSc students
General Information
Summary of Workshop/Team/Mid-term Registration dates
Student Advisers
Master Event
Third Year Elective Choices
Article 3.4 – Fraud
Corporate Finance (BAB24)
Cross Cultural Management (BAB23)
International Marketing Research (BAB 11)
Marketing Management (BAB25)
Technology Management (BAB20)
IBA curriculum 2013-2014
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Course Manuals give more detailed information about courses within a trimester. They contain
the following information per course:
course title, course code, number of credits;
name of coordinator;
teaching staff;
contact person, secretariat, room numbers, phone numbers, visiting hours;
educational form;
examination form;
examination regulation;
examples for examinations;
aims and objectives of the course;
extended description of the course content;
subjects per lecture/workshop;
required literature: books, syllabus, reader, sheets;
literature and course content to be examined;
recommended further reading.
Course Manuals will be available at the beginning of each trimester, for each year of the
programme.
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Summary of important rules and regulations for BScIBA and MSc students
The following rules and regulations, depending on your situation, may have an effect on your
studies. For more information and a detailed explanation of all of these rules please consult
the BSc IBA Examination Regulations.
RSM rules
The Bachelor-before-Master rule
Admission to all RSM Master programmes is only possible if students have completed the
entire Bachelor programme, without a single course left open.
Period of validity of grades
Final course grades (published in Osiris) for the bachelor programme are valid for six years.
The final course grades (published in Osiris) for the master programmes are valid for 3 years.
(Consult Examination Regulations for detailed information)
Compensation rule for 1st year courses
The compensation rule means you can compensate one insufficient grade (between 4.5 and
5.4) with at least two rounded 7s or one rounded 8 or higher, provided that you have passed
all your other courses of Bachelor 1 in your first year of enrolment. The grade for the compensated course will remain on your grade list and counts in the grade point average for the total
bachelor programme. (Consult Examination Regulations for detailed information)
Compensation rule for 2nd and 3rd year courses
Students (excluding Pre-Master students) may graduate from the BSc IBA programme with a
4.5 or higher for one examination part of the course year B2 or B3 (with the exception of the
minor, internship, and the Research Training & Bachelor Thesis), provided that the calculated
grade point average for the total bachelor programme (including the course to be compensated) mentioned in Article 6.2 paragraph 2 of the Rules and Guidelines is at least 7.0. This
compensation rule will only be applied by the Examination Board upon request. The grade for
the compensated course will remain on your grade list and counts in the grade point average
for the total bachelor programme. (Consult Examination Regulations for detailed information)
Last-Result Rule
Students have a free choice in the number of times that they wish to take a written examination. The result is the last grade obtained. If the material to be studied for an examination has
changed, the new material must be studied.
General Information
You can download the Bachelor 2 Trimester 3 course manual, schedule, and book list via the
RSM IBA Current Students page (www.rsm.nl/current-students/iba). Also be sure to subscribe to all of your trimester 3 courses via SIN. If any changes to the schedule, registration dates, etc. should occur, these updates can be found in the respective SIN course channels.
Tip: Take the time to peruse the message archive of your courses once a week to make sure
you are aware of all relevant registration dates, schedule changes, etc.
Registration for the final exams takes place via OSIRIS-Online. The registration dates are
always 35 to 7 days before the date of the exam. Mark your calendar!
An online course evaluation will be mailed to you at the end of each trimester 3 course. This
evaluation will remain open until the course’s exam date. The day of the final examination
you will receive a separate evaluation about the exam. Please take the time to fill in both of
these evaluations; your comments and feedback are greatly appreciated by members of the
IBA teaching staff and programme management.
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We also recommend that you subscribe to the following SIN channels:
RSM Bachelor 2 International Business Administration - IBA B2 general information
channel with messages from programme management
RSM Examination Board - The RSM Examination Board’s own channel
Tentamenlocaties (Dutch for Examination Locations) – seating assignments for exams in the
M-hall are announced via this channel
IBA Notice Board - where all non-programme related messages for IBA students are posted
Summary of workshop/team registration dates (per course) –Register via SIN!
Corporate Finance (BAB24)
You do not need to register for the BAB24 plenary workshops.
Cross Cultural Management (BAB23)
You have been assigned to one of the 6 workshop groups and notified via Blackboard. You can match your group number to the room assignments in your schedule
(also available via the CCM course channel under ‘timetable Workshops’). You can
find the CCM country/workshop group assignment file on Blackboard.
International Marketing Research (BAB 11)
Case group registration (4-6 students) - 3 March - 3 April 2014
Marketing Management (BAB25)
Case group registration (4-5 students) - 3 March - 3 April 2014
Technology Management (BAB20)
Company & team registration already closed 16 February (course begin in 2nd trimester).
Student Advisers
The student advisers’ key task is to support students with their IBA studies. Students may
contact one of the student advisers for information, advice and/or guidance. The student
advisers are familiar with all aspects of the course programmes and can assist students in
making decisions in the fields of study planning, study choices, internships, exchange,
a second study, mediation with regard to examination board issues, etc.
Students who are not able to continue their studies or experience delays, for instance because
of personal circumstances such as illness, handicap, family circumstances etc., may also turn
to the student advisers for personal advice and guidance. For more information and contact
details please consult the following site: http://www.rsm.nl/study-advice/bachelor-iba/
Master Event
The next Master Event will be held on 15 April, 2014. This event will allow you to visit lectures, workshops and a general information market about the RSM master programmes. Staff
and Master student ambassadors will be present to answer your questions. To learn more
about the RSM Master programmes please visit www.rsm.nl/master
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3 year Elective choices (Exchange or Internship/Minor + 5 ECTS elective)
Exchange: The application process for the fall 2014 exchange already took place.
Minor: You have the option to take a minor at the EUR or at another university.
Minors on offer at the EUR: www.eur.nl/minor
Registration period: 7 May – 28 May 2014
Please note: You may only do a minor if you have obtained at least 60 ECTS
from the IBA curriculum.
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Internship: Another option to consider is to conduct an internship which involves the research
of a practical problem that is carried out for an international organization abroad or in the
Netherlands (for non-Dutch students). To be used for credit, the internship must last at least
10 weeks full-time (the equivalent of 420 working hours). For information about finding an
internship, meeting the specific requirements for receiving credit, and much more, please
consult the ‘Bachelor Internship Manual’ and the ‘Bachelor Internship – Steps to Follow’ found
on the IBA Current Students page (http://www.rsm.nl/information-for/currentstudents/bachelor-iba/bachelor-3/internships/ ) .
There is no specific deadline for arranging your internship, however it is recommended that
you request approval from an academic coach for your internship proposal before the summer
months.
Please note: You may not do an internship for credits if you have not successfully
passed all of your B1 courses.
5 ECTS Options: There are a number of different options available to students who choose to
do a minor or an internship and who still need 5 ECTS in order to graduate. For detailed
explanations about these options, please consult the following Current Students page:
http://www.rsm.nl/information-for/current-students/bachelor-iba/bachelor-3/elective-options/
Questions? Contact Raechel Torner ([email protected])
Interim Project – held in weeks 46-50 (after the Minor exams)
Elective course from another faculty / university
Language Elective - after successful completion of 2 modules of the same language. See IBA Current Students – Language Electives for more information.
Article 3.4 – fraud
1. If in the matter of taking an examination, fraud – within the meaning of Article 1.2, paragraph 2 – is detected or suspected, this is set down in writing as soon as possible by the
invigilator or the examiner whom he/she must call in. The invigilator or the examiner may ask
the student to make available any items of evidence. A refusal to do this is recorded in the
written report. The student is given the opportunity to add written comments to the written
report of the invigilator or examiner. The written report and any written comments are handed
over to the Examination Board as soon as possible.
2. The Examination Board or the examiner may exclude a student who has cheated from
further participation in the examination during which the irregularity was detected, and/or take
other appropriate measures. The exclusion has the consequence that no result will be established for the examination concerned. Before the Examination Board decides to make the
exclusion, it gives the student the opportunity to give his/her account.
3. The other appropriate measures as referred to in paragraph 2 may consist of, among others, the following sanctions:
a. reprimand; b. invalidation of the examination concerned; c. exclusion from the examination
concerned for at most one year; d. exclusion from one or more rounds of examinations; e. a
combination of the above measures with a maximum of one year. f. in a serious case of fraud
the Examination Board may advise the Executive Board to end the enrolment for the programme of the person concerned once and for all.
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Corporate Finance
Course name:
Course code:
Course load:
Trimester:
Teaching staff:
Course structure:
Course schedule:
Examination:
(BAB24)
Corporate Finance
BAB24
5 ECTS
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Dr. Anjana Rajamani (co-ordinator)
Mr. Jan Wallner & Ms. Lotte de Vos (workshop)
Plenary lectures, workshops
PL Monday afternoons (with the exception of weeks 17, 19, and
21), WS Wednesday mornings (except weeks 17 & 19)
closed-book MC exam (100%) + maximum of 1.0 bonus point
(see below)
Office Hours
Wednesdays, 14:00-15:00 hrs (office T08.34) between 2 April 2014 and 4 June
2014
Course Overview
This course is an extensive introduction to the basic tools, techniques and theories
that are necessary to understand the financial decision-making in the modern corporation. The themes we deal with in this course are particularly relevant for business decision-making in areas as whether or not to invest in a project, how to finance an investment, and how to deal with uncertainty.
Corporate finance can be seen as supportive to other fields such as strategy or
marketing; often in these fields the business decisions are formulated (e.g., in what
markets or products should we invest), whereas in corporate finance we evaluate
these choices and analyse how to fund them best.
This course is offered to you by the Finance Department (www.rsm.nl/finance)
Learning Goals
Following this course, you should be able to:

Valuate assets by means of both the net present value and real options.

Relate capital budgeting decisions to capital structure decisions.

Design a capital structure of a corporation that maximises the value of that
company.

Hedge financial risks using derivatives.
In order to achieve these goals, we deal with the following main topics:

Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) and the static trade-off theory of capital
structure.
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Modigliani-Miller propositions.
Financial derivatives (forwards, futures, financial options).
Real options.
Financial risk management using derivatives.
International finance.
In addition to these main topics we deal with some specific topics.
Literature
Hillier, D., Ross, S.A., R.W. Westerfield, J. Jaffe, and B.D. Jordan (2013) Corporate
Finance: 2nd European Edition, Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill. ISBN-13:
9780077154592.
Note: Outside campus, this book is also sold with ISBN 13 9780077139148. That
TM
book comes with the standard, sewed-in login card for the Connect electronic
homework manager that lasts for a few months only. I have arranged a special deal
for my students (no additional cost) to include an additional 4-year login card. This
offer only applies to the campus stores (StudyStore and RSM-STAR).
Course Information
You are strongly advised to finish the introductory course BAP69 (‘Foundations of
Finance and Accounting’) prior to starting with this course.
The course load of this BAB24 course has been set at 5 ECTS, representing a time
budget of 140 hrs. For this course, you will spend most of the time reading and
preparing exercises. The teaching adds up to 20 hrs of plenary lectures, plus 20 hrs
of workshops. This leaves you with some 100 hrs of studying, implying ten weeks of
10 hrs of studying. Beware you will need these 10 hrs per week of studying in
order to pass with a satisfactory grade. Bear in mind that postponing effort is a poor
recipe for success, so please start studying in the first week.
You are strongly advised to participate in all lectures and workshops.
Examination Dates
Final Examination: Thursday, 12 June 2014, 9:30-12:30 hrs.
Re-sit Examination: Wednesday, 16 July 2014, 09:30-12:30 hrs.
Registration via Osiris required. You can register from 35 to 7 days before the
examination.
Assessment and Examinations
There will be a 100% MC closed book exam consisting of 40 MC questions and
covering chapters 12 till 30 of the textbook, EXCEPT FOR chapters 13, 21, 26, 27,
and 28.
No graphical or programmable calculators are allowed at the exam.
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Bonus System
For the current academic year, I offer a bonus system through which a maximum of
1.0 bonus point can be obtained. The following restrictions apply in regard to the
bonus system:




Participation in the bonus system requires your online availability on Thursdays
from 18:30 to 20:30 hrs during the entire course. You must use your Erasmus
student e-mail address (e.g., [email protected]) to register at the
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TM
online homework manager Connect . If you register at Connect with another email address (Gmail, Yahoo, GMX or such) I cannot and will not
process your bonus credits.
By participating in the weekly assignments you earn the right to answer two
bonus questions on the final exam (and/or resit exam). With these two bonus
questions (Questions 41 and 42 on the exam or resit exam) you can earn a
maximum of 1.0 bonus point. Your final grade for the course, however, is
capped at 10.
If you earn the right to answer the two extra bonus questions during the course,
they will be applied to the regular examination and also to the July resit in the
current academic year (2013-2014).
Your score from answering the bonus questions on the exam (and/or resit
exam) will be added to your final grade only if: (i) you score 4.5 or more (excluding the bonus questions) on the exam or re-sit (based on question 1
through 40 of the respective exam), and (ii) you have scored a minimum of
60% in at least 6 out of the 10 weekly bonus assignments (see details below).
TM
Details: Every week I offer a bonus assignment via Connect , which allows you to
achieve a maximum of 5 points. If you score 60% or more on a bonus assignment
(so at least 3.00 out of 5 points), you will get a score of “1” for that week on the
Blackboard Grade Centre (not participating or scoring lower than 60% on the bonus
assignment results in a score of “0” for that week). I offer 10 such weekly bonus
assignments. If you score 60% or more in at least six of the ten weekly bonus assignments (so at least six times a "1" on BlackBoard GradeCentre), you earn the
right to answer two additional bonus questions (questions 41 and 42 on the exam
and /or re-sit). These two bonus questions will almost literally be drawn from the
set of assigned exercises (see below). With these two bonus questions you can
earn a maximum of 1.0 bonus point (so 0.5 points per question).
Students Retaking the Course
Students retaking the course must complete the assignments and exams as they
are required for the current academic year. The examination for re-takers is thus
based on the content and conditions that apply to the current academic year (20132014). Bonus credits obtained in previous years will not be valid this academic year.
Any bonus credits obtained during the current academic year expire after the resit
exam of the current academic year.
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Examination Perusal
The date, time and place of the perusal will be announced when the grades are
published. I will only organise a plenary perusal for the June exam.
RSM Student Representation
If you as a student have any comment about the quality of your courses, be it positive or negative, please send an e-mail to the corresponding representative or approach him or her personally after the lecture. For the Corporate Finance course, email: [email protected]
Recording/Taping of Lectures
Any recording or taping of lectures, workshops and other events at RSM (by students or others) requires the consent of the lecturer/organiser in advance, otherwise
it represents illegal action.
More information
Course updates and documents are posted on BlackBoard:
http://bblp.eur.nl/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwe
bapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_57
95_1%26url%3D
Preliminary exam grades and programme management messages may be posted
on SIN-online:
http://rsm.sin-online.nl/channel/pub/channel.html?chid=16846
Official exam grades are posted on Osiris:
http://osirisstudent.eur.nl/
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Lecture Schedule
The plenary lectures take place on Mondays (with a few exceptions). In essence all
lectures will be on Mondays in the weeks between 31 March and 2 June from
13:00-14:45 hrs in M1-12, with a couple of exceptions:

On Mondays 21 April and 5 May the university is closed (public holidays).
These lectures are delivered on the subsequent Wednesdays (23 April, 7
May) from 9:00-10:45 hrs in CB-1 (see below scheme). Since that timeslot is
reserved for the workshops, the workshops for these two weeks will shift one
day as well (see below scheme). The lecture originally scheduled for 19 May
will take place on 20 May from 13:00-14:45 hrs in CB-5.
Date
Room
Lecture topic
31 March
M1-12
Cost of capital and long-term financing
Chapters
covered
12, 14
7 April
M1-12
Capital structure
15
14 April
M1-12
Limits to the use of debt
16
23 April
CB-1
Dividend policy
18
28 April
M1-12
Long-term financing: Issuing securities & long-term debt
19, 20
Valuation for levered firms
17
7 May
CB-1
Introduction to options and other derivatives
22
12 May
M1-12
Options: Pricing of financial options
22
20 May
CB-5
Options: Applications to real options
23, 24
26 May
M1-12
Financial risk management using derivatives
25
2 June
M1-12
International finance
30
Note: As you may see in the above lecturing schedule, I cannot cover all topics you
are required to study for your exam. Nevertheless, the exam is on the entire range
of topics indicated under section ‘Assessment and Examinations’.
Workshops
In addition to the plenary lectures, you may attend the workshops. The workshops
are not mandatory, but I strongly recommend you to participate in them. Enrolment
is NOT necessary. All workshops take place on Wednesday mornings (09:0010:45 hrs), except for two sessions (see schedule below). We discuss a selection of
the end-of-chapter exercises that are suggested for that particular week. Note
that for the current year, the workshops take place before the bonus test of that
week, which may help you to improve your odds at that week’s bonus test. Each
week, I will make the worked-out solutions for all relevant exercises available on
TM
Connect once the bonus assignment for that week is over.
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Workshop schedule
For the Wednesday morning workshops (09:00-10:45 hrs) the following scheme
applies (note that two sessions have been moved to a Thursday morning: 24 April
and 8 May):
Date
Room
Exercises to prepare
2 April
CB-5
Chapter 12: questions 12.32, 12.35, and 12.36
Chapter 14: questions 14.9, and 14.17
Chapter 15: questions 15.12, 15.13, 15.22, and 15.30
9 April
CB-1
Chapter 15: questions 15.23, 15.31, 15.32, 15.33, and 15.34
16 April
CB-1
Chapter 16: questions 16.17, 16.19, 16.22, 16.23, and 16.25
24 April
CB-1
Chapter 18: questions 18.18, 18.22, 18.30, 18.31, and 18.34
30 April
CB-1
Chapter 20: questions 20.27, 20.28, 20.30, 20.31, and 20.32
8 May
CB-1
Chapter 17: questions 17.8, 17.11, 17.13, 17.14, and 17.25
14 May
CB-1
Chapter 22: questions 22.13, 22.15, 22.17, 22.19, and 22.23
21 May
CB-1
Chapter 23: questions 23.14, 23.15, 23.17, 23.18, and 23.19
28 May
CB-1
Chapter 25: questions 25.23, 25.24, 25.27, 25.36, and 25.37
4 June
CB-1
Chapter 30: questions 30.30, 30.32, 30.36, 30.37, and 30.38
Notes:
1.
2.
3.
The answers to all end-of-chapter exercises of the book are available on ConTM
nect . First do the exercises yourself, then check with the solutions. Beware
that sometimes it is possible to arrive at the same answer by means of a simpler or briefer solution.
For some end-of-chapter exercises, the book suggests you might use a
spreadsheet to find the solution. Most often, however, no spreadsheet is necessary so please calculate using a simple pocket calculator.
Per workshop we will discuss approx. 3 exercises in detail. I will indicate on
BlackBoard which exercises are selected for discussion. If you have a question
regarding any of the other exercises (or if you are still puzzled after a workshop), I kindly invite you to post your question at the respective BlackBoard
discussion board (‘Workshop exercises’).
Webcast
Dr. Arjen Mulder the previous instructor of this course has set up a series of short
Webcast videos in which he zooms in on some themes that you may find difficult.
All themes are also dealt with in class, but for some of you the explanation may be
too brief or fast. If you want to re-visit any of the themes dealt with in class, you can
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watch the webcast videos. These videos typically last between 10-30 minutes, and
are meant to help you preparing even better for the exam. All the webcast videos
are available in stream, WMV, and Podcast formats. With kind permission from Dr.
Mulder these videos will be made available under the webcast page for this course:
http://webcast.rsm.nl/RSM/BAB0024
If you have any comments, suggestions for improvements, or suggestions for other
themes to be explained in a new video, please drop your notes on the BlackBoard
discussion board.
Communication
In the event you have a question with respect to the course materials, please use
the following methods of communication for my BAB24 course:

In class, feel free to raise an issue during the lecture (if of interest to the whole
group);

In class, approach me during the break (if not of interest to the whole group);

Ask me after class;

Visit my weekly office hours;

Make use of one of the BlackBoard discussion boards that I use for this course;

E-mail (not preferred).
I strongly favour the use of the BlackBoard discussion boards since a wellformulated question is not only likely to get high-quality feedback (which is good for
the original poster), but also because once an issue has been resolved others have
the option to read the discussion and get informed. Though I cannot guarantee to
be involved in each and every discussion, I will do my best during the first nine
weeks of the course to participate in the discussions about twice per week. In the
last week of my teaching, however, I am probably too busy preparing the exam and
I cannot guarantee my BlackBoard participation anymore. After my last lecture I
stop participating in the BlackBoard discussions, but I give you the opportunity to
continue discussing amongst yourselves.
For those of you who wish to send an e-mail, please use the following email address: [email protected]. Please beware that e-mails sent from domains other than
“@student.eur.nl” will probably not pass my junk e-mail filter. Use Erasmus student
e-mail when e-mailing me. Though I will do my best to read the non-filtered student
e-mails, I cannot guarantee that I will answer every individual e-mail. Impolite or
inappropriate e-mails will not be answered but forwarded to programme management instead.
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Cross Cultural Management
Course name:
Course code:
Course load:
Term:
Coordinator:
Teaching staff:
Course structure:
Course schedule:
Examination:
Course email:
Office hours:
(BAB23)
Cross Cultural Management
BAB23
5 ECTS
Trimester 2 & Trimester 3
Dr. M. Flory (main coordinator) & drs. G. Touburg (assistant
coordinator)
Prof. dr. S.J. Magala, dr. J. Essers, dr. M. Flory, dr. S. Mor, drs.
G. Touburg, and drs. A. Genc.
In the first part of the course (trimester 2) you will have plenary
lectures and guest lecturers. The second part of the course (trimester 3) consists of interactive seminars as well as case workshops. In addition you will be engaging in a work-intensive project called “Living Diversity” and an individual assignment
“Cross-Cultural Competence”
Plenary lectures (Trimester 2): January 8th - March 5th
Living Diversity Workshops (Trimester 3): April 1st - June 3rd
Case Discussion Workshops (Trimester 3): immediately following the living diversity workshop
Mid-term exam, team assignment, and individual assignment
[email protected]
By appointment
1. General Information
1.1 Course Overview
This course aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the issues involved
in cross-cultural and diversity management. While culture became one of the “buzz
words” for explaining complex business practices across national divides, less
attention has been devoted to an in-depth understanding of cultural diversity
inside organizations, institutions and associations and its impact on
organizations – their structure, their climate, their performance and their
sustainability. This course goes beyond the superficial application of cultural
dimensions to the analysis of intra- and inter-organizational processes. Students
learn how to balance the emic and etic approaches to organizational and
managerial studies and how to design intercultural icebreakers and bridges for a
more creative collaboration. The overall purpose of the course is to provide
students with means to cope with diversity and complex realities of multicultural
collectives, associations, companies, institutions and societies, in which
cultural identities can rarely be taken for granted. Having completed the course,
students should be able to identify cross-cultural differences, detect value clusters
and successfully conduct diagnostic research and managerial/consulting activities
across cultural boundaries. They will be offered major theoretical insights into the
new and dynamic body of knowledge, and a choice of methodological instruments
employed in cross-cultural studies. They will learn how to approach cases, detect
managerial implications of cross-cultural differences and conduct in-depth analysis
of multiple dimensions and layers of cultural diversity. Finally, they will reflect on
their own cultural assumptions and ways in which these assumptions impact their
cross-cultural interactions.
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1.2 Learning objectives
•Understanding the impact of diversity (national, ethnic, gender, etc.) on
management practices and interpersonal collaboration in modern organizations
•Getting to know the major theoretical perspectives and frameworks in the field of
cross-cultural management and intercultural communication
•Understanding one’s own cultural identity and its impact on values, beliefs and
behavior (how can one become aware of one’s own biases and start using
stereotypes in a non-discriminatory way?)
•Improving intercultural communication and cross-cultural management skills
•Decoding the (hidden) stereotypes in mass-media messages in order to identify
biases and prejudices we are exposed to
2. Course Overview
In the first part of the course (trimester 2) you will study the basics in plenary
lectures (Magala) and participate in their continuous reinterpretation through guest
lecturers involved in the cutting edge developments in the discipline (Minkov,
McSweeney, De Waal, Jemielniak). The second part of the course (trimester 3)
consists of interactive seminars as well as case workshops. In addition you will be
engaging in a work-intensive project called “Living Diversity” and you will be writing
an individual assignment to help you develop true “Cross-Cultural Competence”.
2.1 Trimester 2
Managers, consultants and researchers will share their ideas and provide insights
for your team work in the second trimester. Therefore attendance is strongly
recommended for the first trimester of the course.
2.1.1 Mid-term exam (50% of the final grade)
The mid-term exam will consist of 30 multiple-choice questions and 20 “fill-in the
blank questions”. It is a closed-book exam. Dictionaries are not allowed. The exam
is based on the lectures and prescribed readings.
2.2 Trimester 3
During the second trimester of the course you will participate in workshops every
second week of the trimester (5 sessions in total). These sessions are held in
smaller groups of approximately 60 people each (you will be assigned to groups
during the 2nd trimester). Your presence at the first part of these 5 sessions – in
which the teams will present their “Living Diversity” assignment – is mandatory. For
the “Living Diversity” assignment you will be working in teams of five, which you will
be creating yourselves.
2.2.1 Team Formation
You should create a diverse team and submit your team composition via an online
form by 16:00 on January 22nd. The link to the form will be provided via
Blackboard. The exact team distribution will be announced in the beginning of
March. You might want to think about the team formation already at the start of the
course. But before you do, please see the Guide to Team Formation for additional
information.
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2.2.2 Living Diversity Team Assignment (25% of the final grade; team task)
For the “Living Diversity” assignment you and your team will gain insight into the
cultural aspects that might be encountered when working in a certain country. The
findings are presented in a 20-minute training session for your colleagues during
the first part of the workshops in trimester 3. Please see the
Guide for the Living Diversity Team Assignment for additional information.
2.2.3 Cross-Cultural Competence Assignment (25%; individual task)
In order to enhance your awareness of the role that culture plays in organizations,
you will write a short essay on the application of cultural models and frameworks in
organizational settings. Please see the Guide for the Cultural-Competence
Assignment for additional information.
2.2.4 Case Discussion (max. 0.5 Bonus Points)
After each Living Diversity session in trimester 3 a case discussion is held. A week
before the class you will receive a small case or exercise, which we are going to
analyze together in the second part of each workshop. The discussions will follow a
structured approach where each step of the analysis is first prepared in groups of
three after which a plenary discussion follows.
Case analysis process is not about finding the “right answer”. Rather an analysis of
multiple solutions and context-sensitive approaches is what we are searching for.
Consequently, the quality of the analysis and how much you will learn in the classes
will greatly depend on your preparation!
Your participation assessment will be based on the quality rather than quantity of
your input. Consequently, make sure you do not monopolize the discussion. A
thorough preparation will allow you to add depth to our understanding of the case.
Appropriate reference to theories and models should be included in your response.
Moreover, you will be judged on the way you structure your response and ability to
include your comments at relevant points in time. Take into consideration the flow of
the discussion and bring in your points logically, building upon proceeding
comments. At all times remain respectful towards the opinions presented by your
colleagues.
In order to help us to identify you (and note your inputs), it is necessary that you
bring a name card to each of the 5 sessions and place it in front of you on the desk.
It needs to be acknowledged that grading of in-class participation is a subjective
process. However, the guidelines above will help you to structure your responses in
line of what we are searching for. Please bear in mind, however, that the actual
grading of the in-class participation also depends on the dynamics of the discussion
as it unfolds.
In total (i.e. for bonus points awarded to individuals and groups), a maximum of 0.5
bonus points can be attained across sessions per individual. The bonus point will
be added to your final grade and will only be awarded if the final grade for the
entire course is 5.5 or higher. See section 3.1 for an overview of the assessment
and an example.
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Trimester 3
Session/Time
Place
Content
Session 10
April 1, 2014
T3-24
Work
group
(BAB23-13/1)
Dr J. Essers
1
South America
T3-02
Work
group
(BAB23-13/2)
Dr.S. Mor
2
Case will be announced via Blackboard
T3-39
Work
group
(BAB23-13/3)
Drs. G. Touburg
3
Session 10
April 8, 2014
T3-02
Work
group
(BAB23-13/4)
Dr J. Essers
4
09:00-11:45
T3-24
Work
group
(BAB23-13/5)
Dr. S. Mor
5
T3-17
Work
group
(BAB23-12/6)
Drs. G. Touburg
6
G3-26
Work group 2
Dr. S. Mor
09:00-11:45
Session 11
April 11, 2014
09:00-11:45
Session 11
April 22, 2014
09:00-11:45
Session 12
April 29, 2014
09:00-11:45
Africa and Middle East
Case will be announced via Blackboard
11:00-13:45
Session 11
April 15, 2014
Preparation Guide
T3-24
Work group 1
Dr. J. Essers
T3-39
Work group 3
Drs. G. Touburg
T3-02
Work group 4
Dr. J. Essers
T3-24
Work group 5
Dr. S. Mor
T3-31
Work group 6
Drs. G. Touburg
T3-24
Work group 1
Dr. J. Essers
Asia
T3-31
Work group 2
Dr. S. Mor
Case will be announced via Blackboard
T3-39
Work group 3
Drs. G. Touburg
15
16
Session/Time
Place
Content
Session 12
May 6, 2014
T3-02
Work group 4
Dr J. Essers
T3-24
Work group 5
Dr. S. Mor
T3-31
Work group 6
Drs. G. Touburg
T3-24
Work group 1
Dr J. Essers
Europe
T3-31
Work group 2
Dr. S. Mor
Case will be announced via Blackboard
T3-39
Work group 3
Drs. G. Touburg
T3-02
Work group 4
Dr J. Essers
T3-24
Work group 5
Dr. S. Mor
T3-31
Work group 6
Drs. G. Touburg
Session 14
Tuesday
th
May 27
2014
T3-24
Work group 1
Dr. J. Essers
North America/Oceania
T3-31
Work group 2
Dr. S. Mor
Case will be announced via Blackboard
09:00-11:45
T3-39
Work group 3
Drs. G. Touburg
Session 14
Tuesday
rd
June 3
2014
T3-39
Work group 1
Dr J. Essers
DEADLINE Cross-Cultural
Competence Assignment (via link
provided on Blackboard):
th
May 30 , 16:00
T3-24
Work group 2
Dr. S. Mor
09:00-11:45
T3-31
Work group 3
Drs. G. Touburg
09:00-11:45
Session 13
Tuesday
th
May 13 2014
09:00-11:45
Session 13
Tuesday
th
May 20 2014
09:00-11:45
16
Asia
Case will be announced via Blackboard
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3. Examination and Assessment
3.1 Grading
Your final grade for this course will be composed of the following:
Subcomponent
Mid-term exam
Teamwork assignment “Living Diversity”
Individual assignment “Cross-Cultural Competence”
Weight
50%
25%
25%
•Points will be subtracted from any work that has been handed in too late (one
minute or more past the deadline).
•No final grade will be calculated in the event that your exam score (including the
re-sit) is lower than 4.5.
•A bonus of up to 0.5 point (to be added to your final grade) can be earned through
in-class participation during the second trimester of the course.
•The bonus point will only be awarded if the final grade for the entire course is 5.5
or higher.
Example:
If a student were to attain an 8 on the exam (+4.0), an 8 for the Living Diversity
assignment (+2.0), and a 6 for the Cross-Cultural Competence assignment (+1.5)
the student would have a final grade of 7.5 (4.0+2.0+1.5). If that student would also
have been awarded .4 bonus points, then he or she would attain a final grade of 7.9
(7.5 +.4).
3.2 Examination
The exam will consist of 30 multiple-choice questions and 20 “fill-in the blank
questions”. It is a closed-book exam. Dictionaries are not allowed. The exam is
based on the plenary lectures and the following readings:
Readings (mandatory):
•Steers, R.M., Nardon, L., Sanchez-Runde, C.J., 2013. Management Across
Cultures: Developing Global Competencies, second ed. Cambridge University
Press, Cambridge. ISBN: 9781107645912 (you may also use the first edition of
this book, but please note that the numbering of the chapters is slightly
different)
•Magala, S.J., 2005. Cross-Cultural Competence. Routledge, Oxon/New York.
ISBN: 9780415349666
•Handouts will be posted on Blackboard throughout the course or distributed in hard
copies during the plenary lectures.
3.2.1 Examination dates:
Examination:
March 20, 2014, 9:30-12:30
Re-sit:
July 1, 2014, 9:30 – 12:30
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Registration via Osiris required. You can register from 35 to 7 days before the
examination.
The date, time and place of the perusal will be announced when the grades are
published.
3.2 Attendance
Attendance is strongly recommended for the first trimester of the course. Managers,
consultants and researchers will share their ideas and provide insights for your
team work in the second trimester. During the second trimester, attendance during
the presentations of the “Living Diversity” assignment is compulsory. If for some
reason you will be absent during more than one class, please send an e-mail to
[email protected] (please include the phrase “Absent_date_your_name” in
the title of your message (e.g. “Absent_jan10_John_Doe”)).
3.3 Transferring old grades
•If you received a grade of 4.5 or higher for last year’s (2013) exam, you
may transfer the grade. Please note that this grade will now count for 50%
of the total grade for the course; this used to be 60%.
•You may also transfer last year’s (2013) grade for the Living Diversity
assignment. Please note that this grade will now count for 25% of the total
grade for the course; this used to be 30%.
•Because the Cross-Cultural Competence assignment has been changed
significantly, it is not possible to transfer your grade for this part of the
course.
You need to inform us about your desire to transfer one or more grades before the
8th of January 2014. Only requests sent to [email protected] before that
date will be taken into consideration (please include the phrase
“Transfer_your_name” in the title of your message (e.g. “Transfer_Jane_Doe”)).
Please specify whether the grade you want to transfer is from a regular exam or a
re-sit exam.
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19
Guide to CCM Team Formation
Throughout the course you are going to work on the Living Diversity Assignment.
You are required to form teams of five, which are going to remain unchanged
throughout the course duration. Teams of six and more are not allowed! Please, try
to compose diverse teams in terms of gender, nationality and/or ethnicity. To
facilitate the process a discussion thread is available for you on Blackboard
(“Composing your team” section).
You can register your team composition, team name, and your preferences for
certain countries via an online form (see URL below). Please keep in mind that you
can only choose a country if at least one of your team members is a native of that
country. This is to ensure presence of emic knowledge about this particular country
in your team. You can only submit your preferences once, so take care to have the
following at hand when you browse to the form:

Team composition (student names + numbers)

Your team’s unique name

A list of at least 3 countries in which at least one of your team members
has lived for at least two years (this is to increase the likelihood that
you will be able to provide an in-depth analysis of the assigned
country), in order of preference
Based on this list, the instructors, in order to ensure an even distribution, will make
the final choice and decide which of the proposed countries will be yours for the
remainder of the course.
Once you finalize your team composition, please submit one entry per team through
the online form.
Please note that registering a team will be on a first-come, first-serve basis: the
sooner you register, the bigger the likelihood that your first-choice country will be
assigned to you.
DEADLINE for submitting the composition of your team and country choices
nd
via the online form: January 22 , 2014, 16:00
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Guide for the Living Diversity Team Assignment
Imagine you are a team of consultants asked to prepare a training session for a
multinational company, which is about to open a new subsidiary in country X. Your
audience is about 40 employees who are going to be relocated to this country or will
work in virtual teams with the nationals of the given country. You know that much of
the information can be found online, but the client specifically asks for unique and
emic insights for their staff and that is the added value they want you to provide.
Your job is thus to describe 2-3 most insightful emic, culture specific insights (the
concept of emic insights will be discussed in class). Your analysis should go beyond
the narrowly defined cultural dimensions. Try to explore the paradoxes of the
culture you are investigating and include examples to illustrate your points.
Your presentation should be structured in the following way:

Intro and overview of the country (including a brief summary of the crosscultural dimension research on that country)

Overview of the methodology and data collection

2-3 selected, most relevant emic insights (include business examples that
illustrate your arguments)

Learning points (please, avoid the does and don’ts, which can be listed in
a simple handout and focus on more sophisticated and careful
considerations). Think about insights that that will help your viewers in their
day-to-day interactions (what should I do when confronted with…)

Mention 2 key readings that you would recommend to your colleagues
(with the explanation why these, rather than other readings best reflect the
culture of the country). At least one of the readings should be an
academic article
You are required to interview at least 3 representatives of the country: one is a
native team member, the other two could be fellow students (no team members),
expatriates or people living in the given country, preferably with a background in
business. Be creative in selecting and finding your respondents. Please make sure
you approach and treat your potential respondents respectfully. Include a full name
and an e-mail address or telephone number of your interviewees. We will randomly
contact some of them to check if they have participated in your research (this is to
prevent students from “creating” some of the respondents). For your endeavors, be
sure to take notice of the code of integrity:
http://www.eur.nl/fileadmin/ASSETS/abd/Integriteitscode/Erasmus_University_Rotte
rdam_Code.pdf
Consider multiple media: short podcasts or videos. Include interactive elements, to
make sure your training participants are also involved throughout your presentation,
but do not go overboard. While the presentation of the results of your teamwork
rd
takes place in the 3 trimester, we advise you to start working on your assignments
straight away. Our experience shows that teams, which do not put sufficient efforts
throughout the trimester, have great difficulties with delivering high quality work.
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21
The presentation will be graded on:

Meeting the objectives of the assignment

Depth of the analysis

Quality of the research

Sophistication of your analysis and presentation

Structure

Relevance of included material

Quality of the presentation (are you able to keep your audience’s
attention?)

Creativity and uniqueness (what innovative tools, methods, resources and
approaches did you include?)
Make sure that your presentation is interesting, lively and attention grabbing – but
above all: informative – for the audience.
Checklist Deliverables:
 Last slide of your presentation should include names and contact details of
your respondents (this slide you do not need to show during the
presentation – it is only visible to the CCM team)
 Maximum presentation time is 20 minutes
 Presentation should consist of Power Point Slides (and if applicable
additional files that can be run with Windows Media Player)
 Include your team name and student numbers on the cover page of the
Power Point slides.
 Use the following file name for the presentation “Living Diversity-[insert
your team name here]” (e.g. “Living Diversity-Culture Consultancy”)
 If you have embedded other media directly in your presentation, make
sure these will run on another computer. Additional media files should be
compatible with Windows Media Player.
 If you have multiple files, put these files in a zip folder along with your
presentation.
 Use wetransfer.com to transfer your files to [email protected]. Use a
registered email address from one of the team members (preferably an
Erasmus student mail address) to send the file. In the message section
include the name of your team, your country, names and student numbers
of all the team members.
st
DEADLINE for submitting the presentation via wetransfer.com: March 31 ,
1
16:00
1
st
Make sure you submit a very last version of your presentation on the 31 . No
additional corrections or additions will be allowed!
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22
Guide for the Cultural-Competence Assignment
Create a summary of and reflection on the 2002 exchange between McSweeney
and Hofstede in Human Relations.
Guidelines
 The assignment should be between 1500-2000 words long (title page,
abstract and references excluded).
 Use Harvard Style referencing. For further information, review your notes
from the Academic Writing course, consult websites
(e.g. http://www.eur.nl/ub_informatievaardigheden/ul_instruction/verwijzen
_en_citeren/, http://owl.english.purdue.edu/) or use the this online guide
with examples:
http://guides.is.uwa.edu.au/content.php?pid=43218&sid=318559.
 Submit the essay in Microsoft Word format (.doc or .docx) through Lawweb
 Ideally, your paper should have the following structure:
o A short introduction/setting the stage
o A summary of the ideas and argumentations of both McSweeney
and Hofstede;
o In what ways and to what extent both scholars agree/disagree;
o Your own critical reading of the entire discussion, based on the
required readings (this includes the handouts and slides of the
lectures), also paying attention to the ways in which your own
cross-cultural competencies have been influenced by the course;
o A short conclusion.
Readings
McSweeney, B., 2002. Hofstede's Model of National Cultural Differences and Their
Consequences: A Triumph of Faith – A Failure of Analysis. Human Relations, 55,
89-118.
Hofstede, G. H., 2002. Dimensions Do Not Exist: A Reply to
Brendan McSweeney. Human Relations, 55, 1355-1362.
McSweeney, B., 2002. The Essentials of Scholarship: A Reply to Geert
Hofstede. Human Relations, 55, 1363-1372.
You will be submitting the assignment via a link to the assignment on Blackboard.
DEADLINE for submitting the assignment via Blackboard: May 30th, 2014,
16:00.
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23
International Marketing Research
Course name:
Course code:
Course load:
Term:
Coordinator:
Contact:
Office hours:
Course structure:
Course schedule:
Examination:
Student Representation:
(BAB 11)
International Marketing Research
BAB11
3 ECTS
Trimester 3
G. Paolacci
[email protected]
by email appointment, [email protected]
Combination of Plenary Lectures and assignments
Plenary Lectures on Thursday
Examination (55%), assignments (45%)
[email protected]
Course Overview
Organizations base their strategies on information about consumers, industrial
buyers, distributors, employees, competitors, and suppliers. The International Marketing Research course deals with how to collect and analyze this information. The
course applies the knowledge acquired during previous methodology courses to the
marketing domain, and integrates it with the most advanced developments in marketing research, such as crowdsourcing.
Learning Goals
This course aims at enabling you to approach managerial problems scientifically:
understand the kind of research that problems require, conduct such research, and
use research findings to make informed decisions. To do this, classes integrate
marketing applications of previously studied research methods with insights into the
opportunities offered by the most advanced techniques in marketing and other
managerial fields.
Altogether, the course aims at developing the following abilities:
•
•
•
•
Mastering basic and advanced research methods in marketing;
Choosing the best research method to inform a marketing problem;
Collecting and analyzing qualitative and quantitative data;
Deriving recommendations for your marketing problem.
Recommended prior knowledge
The course builds on knowledge acquired in the first-year courses Skills 1, 2, and 3
(BAP65, BAP66, BAP67), Quantitative Methods & Techniques: Statistics (BAP58),
and Methodology (BAP73), along with the second-year course Applied Business
Methods (BAB08). It is assumed that you are familiar with the content of these
courses.
How the workload is divided
The course has three credits (ECTS) and has been designed with the aim of a total
workload of 84 hours. Of course, the actual workload varies across individuals, but
the following estimates are informative of the effort that you should expect to put
into the course: Attend seven lectures (14 hours); Complete assignments (28
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24
hours); Studying the course materials (39 hours); Take the final exam (3 hours).
Required Study Material

Customized version (selected chapters) of "Marketing Research" by
McDaniel and Gates (ninth edition). ISBN: 9781119927150.

Readings posted on Blackboard

Lecture slides posted on Blackboard shortly after each class
Course Schedule
Notes: The schedule is subject to changes. Students are solely responsible to stay
up to date by checking SIN-Online and Blackboard. Chapter numbers correspond to
those of the customized edition of the book (not of the original version).
1. April 3 (Thursday) 13.00-14.45, Room CB-1
The Marketing Research process
Readings: Book Chapters 1-2
2. April 10 (Thursday) 13.00-14.45, Room CB-1
Techniques in Qualitative Research
Readings: Book Chapter 3
3. April 17 (Thursday) 13.00-14.45, Room CB-1
Survey Research: Issues in Design and Measurement
Readings: Book Chapters 4-6-7-8-9
4. April 24 (Thursday) 13.00-14.45, Room CB-1
Experimental Research
Readings: Book Chapter 5, articles on Blackboard
5. May 1 (Thursday) 13.00-14.45, Room CB-1
Data Analysis in Marketing Research
You are expected to be familiar with basic statistical tests in hypothesis testing
6. May 8 (Thursday) 13.00-14.45, Room CB-1
Crowdsourcing Marketing Research
Readings: articles on Blackboard
7. May 15 (Thursday) 13.00-14.45, Room M2-03
Wrapping up, Q&A
Examination Dates (Make sure you register on time on Osiris!)
Final Examination: Friday June 20, 2014 – 9:30-12:30
Re-sit Examination: Monday July 14, 2014 – 9:30-12:30
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25
Final Exam
55% of your final grade depends on the final exam. The exam will be composed of
multiple-choice questions. You need to score at least 4.5 on the final exam in order
to obtain a grade for the course.
Assignments
45% of your final grade on the course depends on three group assignments. Assignments are meant to develop your abilities in fundamental marketing research
activities, such as qualitative and survey research. The output of each assignment
will be a completed Report Form to be handed in hard copy and posted on Blackboard Safe Assignment. A companion document called “Assignments General Information” will be posted on Blackboard before the beginning of the course including more details.
Enrolment in Study Groups
You are responsible for forming your own group. Groups can have 4, 5, or 6 students. If you are having troubles forming the group, you can use the forum “Group
Formation” on the Blackboard Discussion Board. Once the group is formed, it needs
to enroll on SIN-Online. You can enroll at any time between Monday, March 3 and
Thursday, April 3 at 23:59. SIN-Online sends an email-confirmation to your student email address. If you have not received a confirmation within 24 hours after the
moment of enrolment, please notify Raechel Torner ([email protected]) in order to
check your enrolment. The final group composition, together with group numbers,
will be announced on Blackboard.
Students retaking the course
Students who are retaking the course are allowed to keep partial grades from previous years, upon request. In particular, two cases apply:
1) Students who received a grade of ≥5.5 or above on the final exam in a
previous year may request to have their exam grade carried over to this year. This
request should be made to [email protected] before April 11. If you
are planning to carry over your exam grade, please note that you still must register
for this year’s final exam via Osiris in order to receive a final grade for the course.
2) Students who received a passing grade (≥5.5) for the assignment in a
previous year may request to have their original assignment grade combined with
this year’s final exam grade. This request should be made to [email protected] before April 11. The examination for re-takers is based
on the content and conditions of the current academic year (2013-2014).
Bonus points for research participation
RSM Erasmus University is a worldwide leader in management research, through
the work of the members of the Erasmus Research Institute of Management
(ERIM). ERIM is the joint research institute of RSM and the Erasmus School of
Economics. Practically all the teachers that you meet in class are members of the
institute and they are active in research two days per week on average.
During this term, you will be offered the opportunity to participate in research studies in return for bonus points towards the final grade of this course. Participation is
entirely voluntary.
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26
Participation in these studies will provide you with additional learning opportunities,
as a complement to the content of the lectures. Through participation in research
studies, you will become aware of the nature and insights of management research
and learn about a variety of research areas and methods in an engaging manner.
During the lectures of this course, reference will be made to the critical role of empirical research and research methods in producing the business knowledge that is
taught in this course.
You will be able to earn a maximum of 0.4 points contributing towards your final
grade for this course. This means that during this term you can participate for
course credits in a maximum of two sessions of approximately 30 minutes. Note
that bonus points will only be awarded if the final grade for the course (without bonus) is at least 5.5.
You will be able to participate in research studies to earn bonus points for this
course between the following dates: 24/03/2014 and 06/06/2014. Additional information about registration procedures will be announced in class and on Blackboard
at the beginning of the course. Reminders and deadlines will be communicated
during the term via email. Check your student email regularly.
All studies will take place at the Erasmus Behavioral Lab (EBL), which is located on
th
the 12 floor of the T building. To access the lab, you will need to use the elevators
located towards the back of the T building. The bonus points are only valid for the
current academic year (in other words, the bonus points expire after the re-sit exam). You are responsible for checking that your credits have been attributed to the
correct course after each experiment. If a mistake occurred or if you want to
reassign your credits to a different subject, please contact the system administrator before the deadline: 06/06/2014. Note that credits earned in past terms
cannot be reassigned to this course.
You can sign up for a research session via the Erasmus Research Participation
System (ERPS). To register, log in at www.rsm.nl/lab. On the platform you will also
find FAQs that should answer most of your practical concerns. If you have problems logging in, or if you have any remaining questions regarding the course credits
or your profile information, please contact the ERPS administrator, not the teacher(s) of this course. The name of the administrator is Elisa Maira; you can contact
her at the following email address: [email protected].
Examination Perusal
The date, time and place of the perusal will be announced when the grades are
published.
RSM Student Representation
If you have any comment about the course, be it positive or negative, please email
the corresponding representative ([email protected]) or approach him or her
personally after the lecture.
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27
Marketing Management
Course name:
Course number:
Course load:
Term:
Teaching staff:
Course structure:
Course schedule:
Examination:
Student Rep:
BlackBoard:
(BAB25)
Marketing Management
BAB25
5 ECTS
3rd
Dr. Nicole Mead
Combination of plenary lectures and plenary case discussions
Plenary lectures and cases Wednesday and Thursdays (3-5pm)
Examination (60%) and assignments (40%). See below.
[email protected]
www.myeur.nl
Coordinates
Name:
Office:
Phone:
E-mail:
Office hours:
Dr. Nicole Mead
T10-23
010-408-9583
[email protected]
Wednesdays after class (5-6 pm)
Course Description
Marketing strategy is a complex business function that requires a balance of analytic and synthetic skills. This course introduces a series of frameworks and tools
which may be used to solve general business problems as well as to develop specific marketing strategies and programs.
The analytic part of the course moves from the general to the specific. The course
is oriented around understanding the three Cs (customers, company and competitors), developing a strategy for the chosen product/market(s), and translating this
strategy into more specific plans through the elements of the marketing mix, the
four Ps (product offering, pricing, promotion and physical distribution).
The synthesis of all these elements is achieved through case analysis. In addition to
bringing together the different theoretical elements in the context of concrete business problems, active participation in case analyses and their discussion in class
will (1) allow students to enhance their problem-solving and decision-making abilities in various areas of marketing and (2) provide an opportunity (both written and
oral) to develop, present, and defend their own recommendations, and to examine
and discuss the recommendations of others critically.
Class Meetings
Day and time:
Wednesdays and Thursdays 3-5pm
Room:
See SIN for the most accurate location
Course Materials

Business articles that can be obtained through the library; see reading list
below for a link to access those articles

Readings and handouts provided via BlackBoard

Course packet with copyrighted cases and readings available from the
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28

StudyStore
There is no required textbook for this course, but I recommend the following text for optional background reading: Kotler, Philip and Kevin Lane Keller, Marketing Management, 14th Edition, Pearson Prentice Hall.
Course Format
Lectures and Class Discussion
About three-fourths of the time will be spent on the presentation and discussion of
theories, concepts, tools, and empirical findings through lecture and class discussion. Lectures/class discussions are often accompanied by assigned articles and
notes. The lecture/discussion will be used to consolidate and extend the concepts
developed in the assigned materials. Thus, it is important that you read and study
materials prior to class.
It is important to note, however, that what I discuss in class is not just a summary of
what’s in the readings. (You can read, so why would I merely tell you what you
should already know from doing the readings). The lectures contain a lot of information (and provide structure) that is not in the readings and vice versa. Both are
important so you need to know both what’s in the readings and what’s in the lectures. All the readings can be found on BlackBoard, through the library, or in the
course packet.
Case Discussion
The remaining fourth of the time will be devoted to analysis and discussion of assigned case studies. Cases put you in the seat of a marketing manager and force
you to put the skills and tools you learn in class into practice. Thus, cases are an
integral part of your learning in this course.
For each case, I will post preparation questions on BlackBoard. These are designed
to get you thinking about the important issues in the case but discussion and analysis should never be limited to the posted questions. At the beginning of a case discussion, I will typically start by asking one or more students to answer a specific
question or series of questions. Anyone who has thoroughly prepared the case
should be able to do a good job on this lead-off assignment. After this initial analysis, the discussion will be open to the rest of the class.
In these sessions, I will act to facilitate discussion: first to obtain all views and then
help pull together the prevailing views of the discussion. Note that the direction and
quality of the discussion is the collective responsibility of the group, not the sole
responsibility of the instructor. Make a commitment to be fully engaged in the case
learning process. This means devoting time and energy to prepare before class, to
listen to others, and engage verbally and thoughtfully in class discussions.
You may find it uncomfortable to make decisions – even after you have a thorough
analysis. This is normal. Often you may feel as though key pieces of information will
be missing. Despite this, you will have to 1) make reasonable assumptions to arrive
at a decision 2) defend these assumptions and 3) clearly define the logic of your
analysis and subsequent marketing strategy. All of this will increase your comfort
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with making decisions under uncertainty and with limited information, a reality all
managers face.
A typical request at the end of a case discussion is for me to provide "the answer"?
In general, the case method of learning does not provide the answer. In most (but
not all) case discussions, several viable answers will be developed and supported
by various students within the total group. What is important is that you know what
you would have done in that specific marketing situation, and that you begin to
construct your own framework for approaching marketing problems in general.
Evaluation
Evaluation of performance will be based on:
Final exam
60%
Group case write-ups
40%
Note: You need to score at least 4.5 on the final exam in order to pass the course
and obtain a grade.
Bonus possibilities
A bonus of up to 4% can be earned through class participation. If you don't want to
talk, an alternative would be to participate in two qualifying experiments at the
Erasmus Behavioral Lab (if experiments are available during the term--availability of
experiments is not guaranteed). Participation in class or in the experiments is entirely voluntary. The experiments are managed through the Erasmus Research
Participation System (ERPS) and administered by Ms. Elisa Maira ([email protected]).
More detailed information will be provided via BlackBoard. Note that bonus points
will only be awarded if the final grade for the course based on cases and final exam
is at least 5.5.
Groups
This course relies on group work for case preparation and groups are also useful to
discuss lecture topics before or after class. A well-functioning discussion group can
be a very valuable resource to develop your understanding of the issues and topics
raised in the course. The discussion group is a useful and informal forum to generate and test ideas. Group work should also help you develop the critical social skills
you need to function in almost any organization. You are responsible for selecting
your own group and for managing the division of labor within your group.
Group size: Experience indicates that optimum group size is 4-6 persons. Groups
of fewer than 4 or more than 6 cannot be allowed.
Group composition: The more diverse a group is, the more it provides an groups
provide more opportunity to learn, because people from different backgrounds provide more different knowledge, views, and ideas. However, try to minimize diversity
in terms of ambition and willingness to work. Find group members who share your
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level of effort and ambition. Also make sure your group members’ schedules are
compatible, so you can actually find a time to meet with the whole group.
Enrollment in study groups: You should put together your own case group of between 4 and 6 persons and enroll using SIN Online (http://rsm.sinonline.nl/channel/). If there are less than 4 people in your group and you can't find
one or more additional group members, you can use the temporary discussion
board in BlackBoard for students still looking for group members. I will not monitor
this discussion board. Please note that SIN Online can only process enrollments
that are filled in completely and correctly. Enrolment starts Monday, March 3. You
should register no later than Thursday, April 3. SIN Online sends an email confirmation to your student email address. If you haven’t received a confirmation by SIN
Online within 24 hours after the moment of enrolment, please notify Ms. Raechel
Torner ([email protected]) in order to check your enrolment. The system can overload
if everybody signs up during the last few days, so try to enrol well before April 3.
Note that you need to sign up separately for Marketing Management and International Marketing Research.
Peer evaluations (to be submitted only in case of free-riding problems): At the end
of the course, each group member can submit a peer evaluation form. This evaluation is used to avoid free-riding on your peers’ efforts. Each group member submits
an evaluation of each other member’s contribution, with 100% implying that a group
member did a fair share of the work. 90%, for example, would indicate that a group
member did only 90% of what a fair share of the work would have been. The average rating across all members will be taken as the final peer evaluation rating for a
group member. A 90% rating implies that the group member will get 90% of the
group grade. If no rating is turned in, a default rating of 100% will be used.
Talk to me before things get out of hand: Working in groups is often not easy, and
every year some groups fail miserably at maximizing the potential benefits from
working in a group. Group problems are part of the learning experience that you
have to try to sort out yourselves. If your group experiences group trouble and has
tried but failed to work things out, come talk to me. Although I cannot solve your
group's problems for you, I may in some cases be able to facilitate the process. It is
important that you talk to me before the damage is irreparable.
Class Participation
How much you learn from this course will depend on your and others' class participation. Each student is expected to be present and prepared to participate (i.e.,
talk) in each session. Of course, the benefits from class participation depend mostly on its quality, not just its quantity. Grading class participation is necessarily subjective, especially when there are over 300 students, but let me give some idea of
what I am looking for when grading class participation bonus points:
1. Analysis: Are you prepared? Do your comments show an in-depth analysis of
case or other materials that adds to our understanding of the situation? Do your
comments show an understanding of the issue or material at hand? Do you go
beyond a mere restatement of data or information in the materials?
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2. Continuity: Are your comments relevant to the discussion? Do they build on
previous speakers' contributions and do they evoke follow-up contributions by
others? Are you willing to listen and maintain the continuity of the discussion?
Are you willing to wait until the discussion reaches the issue you want to comment on?
3. Clarity: Are your comments clear and concise and communicated in a convincing way?
4. Civility: Do you make sure not to monopolize a discussion? How do you deal
with people who disagree with you in a heated discussion? Is your criticism
constructive or destructive?
5. Identification: I need to be able to identify (and remember) who you are. The
remembering part will eventually work out if you participate regularly, but for
identification, I need you to put a name card on the desk in front of you.
6. Quality over quantity. Speaking often merely to be heard is not an optimal strategy for making your comments and contribution memorable. Please prepare and
bear in mind that there are many students in the class. Do participate, but be
conscientious about your contribution.
Preparing for Case Discussion
When preparing a case, I recommend that you read the case three times. The first
time, you quickly read through the text of the case to get a feel for what the case is
about and the type of data it contains.
The second time, you should carefully work through the exhibits. They're usually
there for a reason and will help you in analyzing the situation. You'll often find that
you need to do some calculations or reasoning and combining with other data to
benefit from the information in the raw data. After the second pass, you should have
a good idea of the fundamentals of the case.
The third time you search to understand the specific situation and try to get at the
root causes of problems. You gather data from the case that will allow you to make
specific action recommendations and answers to the assignment questions. You
probably want to take a good look at the assignment questions between the second
and third reading.
Cases often don't have all the data you would like. Nevertheless, you have to come
up with recommendations and answers based on the data you have. Cases are
different from reality. To highlight specific issues, facts may be distorted and important situational factors might be omitted. Therefore, you should not try to rely on
information about the case from outside sources (unless I or the preparation questions suggest you do so). You should also not try to find out what really happened
to the company or business as a basis for making your decision. You should not
use papers or notes from previous or concurrent marketing courses.
For more information, consult the “Working with Cases” document posted on
BlackBoard.
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Written Case Analyses
Four cases will be assigned for detailed analysis and write-up. The four write-ups
are:
1. Cialis (due April 17)
2.
Renova (due April 30)
3.
Virgin Mobile USA (due May 8)
4.
Nike Football (due May 28)
All case write-ups are based on a group effort and only one write-up is expected per
group. Written case analyses are due at the beginning of class on the day the case
is discussed. No late write-ups can be accepted because we discuss the case in
class (and it would be unfair to the other students if you could hand in an assignment after we have started analyzing it in class). Note that this means that you give
your whole group a zero for a case write-up if you, for example, miss a train or have
printer problems and hand in the exam late. Plan for such unforeseen circumstances by building some slack into your time schedule when coming to class on case
days. Please identify all written work with all the student ID numbers or names of
the group members. The text part of case write-ups cannot exceed two typewritten
pages (formatting requirements: double-spaced, 11 point font or higher, Times New
Roman font, margins > 2 cm on all sides). Additional material may be included in exhibits (not to exceed two additional pages). To level the playing field, these limits will be
strictly enforced.
The format for a written case analysis is:
1. A brief opening paragraph which states the problems you're asked to solve.
2. Analysis of the problems. By drawing implications from case facts, data and
exhibits you analyze the problems. (Often, the underlying problems are more than
the problems explicitly stated by the proponent in the case.) This analysis should
lead to strategic recommendations about how to solve the problems (STP; make
sure you show how the recommendations follow from your analysis.) Next, give a
brief indication of specific (4P) actions you recommend to implement the general
strategic recommendations.
3. Exhibits as needed to support your analysis.
Some general guidelines for preparing your case write-up:

Recommendations should be explained. They should be derived from the
data and/or theory in a logical way.

Make sure your analysis is coherent and has a clear structure. Make sure
sections written by different people make up a coherent whole. Redraft and
proofread the report.

Be concise. Try not to rephrase the details of the case. Don't unnecessarily
restate case facts.

Recommendations should be practical, realistic, and feasible.

Tie your exhibits to the text of the report. Each exhibit should be sufficiently
described in the text so that the reader can easily link its information to your
analysis and conclusions. Exhibits should be used to clarify, not to provide
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




important information that you couldn't fit into the text pages. It should be
perfectly possible to read the text and get all the important information without looking at the exhibits. For example, you would use an exhibit to show
your calculations but the conclusions of those calculations should be in the
text.
The preparation questions should be a guide to what's important in the case.
Attempt to integrate your answers to the preparation questions into your
overall analysis and recommendation, rather than treat them in piecemeal
fashion.
Be specific in your recommendations and action plans.
Be clear: Avoid jargon and abbreviations. Make sure readers understand
your tables, figures, and measures in the exhibits.
Don’t dwell on minor issues.
Be balanced. Do not use your analysis to push a specific course of action.
Don’t ignore information that goes against your recommended course of action.
Final Exam
The final exam takes place on Wednesday, June 18, 13:30 – 16:30 pm. The re-sit
exam takes place on Thursday, July 17, 13:30 – 16:30. The exam (regular as well as
re-sit) consists of a mix of multiple choice and open-ended questions. It will be a
closed-book exam. The goal of the exam is to test your knowledge of the basic principles, strategies, and tools developed in the course. The goal is not to test your memory
for small facts that are memorized the day before the exam. Hence, the best predictor
of performance on the exam is conscientious preparation for all the classes through
coverage of the reading material, class attendance, and active participation in case
discussion and write-ups. Everything discussed during the lectures, everything we
talked about in class including case discussions, and all the readings (excluding Kotler)
is fair game for the exam. Use of dictionaries is not allowed. Detailed guidelines for
the exam will be provided via BlackBoard toward the end of the course. Review of
exams is only possible on specific dates and times which are to be determined. Registration via Osiris is required. You can register from 35 to 7 days before the exam.
Honesty
Honesty and integrity in this course require, among other things, that you adhere to
the following rules: You can discuss group assignments only within your study
group and with no other person. At no point should you talk with previous students
of this or similar courses at this or other universities about the assignments. Do not
look for outside information about the cases, unless I or the preparation questions
suggest you do so. Nobody in the group can attend a class case discussion session before handing in the group assignment for that case. Do not look at other
students' examination materials and do not communicate to anybody during the
exam.
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Re-Grading Policy
Human errors in grading are rare but can occur from time to time. The re-grading
policy is designed to rectify grave and obvious errors and not to allow “whiny”
students to bump their grade upwards. Differences in the interpretation of exam
questions and answers are an inherent part of asking open-ended questions about
complex business issues and are not sufficient grounds for a re-grading request.
Thus, please consider your re-grading requests carefully before submitting them
and only do so if a clear and serious mistake was made. The request must be
submitted in writing with a detailed explanation of why you think the request is
legitimate. For case papers, requests should be submitted within seven days of the
day I start handing back the case. For the exam and re-sit, review times and regrading request deadlines will be posted on BlackBoard. Answers will not be posted
on BlackBoard.
Emergencies
If you encounter an emergency that prevents you from handing in an assignment or
studying for/attending the exam, please let the IBA office or me know immediately.
Do not wait until after the assignment deadline or exam to notify us.
Deadlines
The important deadlines for the course are listed for your convenience in the course
schedule. Deadline violations disrupt the progress of the remaining students and
are unfair to the class as a whole. Please ensure that you meet the deadlines.
Submit things early if you anticipate a problem close to the deadline.
Office Hours, etc.
The best source of answers to many questions is your study group. However, if
they can't help you, you should never hesitate to contact me. The best way to
contact me is by email ([email protected]). My office hours are after class on
Wednesdays from 5 to 6 pm. I do not use the Discussion Forum on BlackBoard.
Repeating the Course
General: You can transfer either your case grades or an exam grade from last year
(2013). Bonus points and grades from earlier years cannot be transferred. Please
see more specific rules below.
Cases: If you took BAB25 with Dr. Nicole Mead in the Spring trimester of 2013, you
can transfer your case grades to this year's course. This means you do not have to
write the case assignments this year. However, this year's case questions on the
exam will of course be about this year's, new, cases. Thus, even if you transfer the
grades from previous years, it would still help to attend class when we discuss the
new cases and study the new cases for the exam. This should not be a lot of work.
You have to make a decision as to whether you want to transfer your case
grades before the first case is due (on April 16). You cannot do this year's cases
and then make the highest of this year's and last year's cases count. This rule exists because allowing people to participate in group work that may not fully can lead
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to tremendous group trouble. What can happen is that one person will start doing
this year's cases with a group, but then find out that s/he is really busy and so decides not to put in as much work because s/he still has last year's grades anyway.
This scenario is extremely unfair to the other students in the group. I'm not saying
this slacking-off problem occurs for everybody or even most, but it might happen to
some.
If you would like to transfer your case grades from a previous year, you
need to (1) make absolutely sure your name or student ID number does not appear
on any case analyses I receive this year. If I receive any group case analysis this
year that has your name or student ID number on it (even if you don't hand in all
four), I'll count all of this year's cases and none of last year's. (2) You also need to
let Ms. Annette Bartels ([email protected]) know by email that you want to transfer
your case grades from last year (please put “BAB 25 transfer grades” in the subject
line of your email). You can do this anytime before June 17. If you are transferring
case grades, you should not enroll in a study group.
I do not allow transfer of case grades from earlier years (pre-2013) for
three reasons. First, I think unlimited transfers provide an incentive to waste students’ own, and graders’, time and resources on many attempts to do well enough
on the exam. Second, I feel that redoing only a part of the course over and over
again makes the course a little bit too easy to pass. We don’t want people to pass
the course because they got lucky on the fourth or fifth attempt to take the exam.
Third, I have found that the rules and administration of unlimited transfers get so
complex that the risk of errors increases dramatically.
Exam: It is possible to use your exam grade from last year (regular exam or re-sit).
In that case, you need to let Ms. Annette Bartels ([email protected]) know by email
before June 17 and tell her which exam you want to transfer the grade from (regular
exam or re-sit; please put “BAB25 transfer grades” in the subject line of your email).
Using last year’s exam is only possible if you don’t take an exam (regular or re-sit)
this year. Please note that you still need to register for this year’s examination in
order to receive a grade for the course.
Bonus Points: Bonus points cannot be transferred. You can also not do only the
bonus points this year. To receive bonus points, you need to take this year’s exam
and/or write this year’s cases. The reason for this is that this would give an incentive for some students to only obtain bonus points if they would have made a difference to their grade in the previous year. This, in turn, might lead to a reduction in
the quality of class participation.
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Course Schedule and Reading List
Marketing Management 2014
The weekly class schedule is outlined below. The schedule may be modified by the
instructor depending on contingencies. Students are solely responsible for staying
in touch with the progress of the course and for obtaining additional materials
handed out in class or posted on BlackBoard. Additional materials may include
short assignments that need to be prepared before class.
The reading list is below. To find each reading:
R = Reader
BB = BlackBoard
Articles that are hyperlinked can be accessed through the Erasmus Online Library.
Note that, because of copyrights, some articles cannot be accessed with a
persistent link. As such, the hyperlink will direct you to the Erasmus Library online
full-text access page for that particular article. Simply click on Article and you will
be directed to the article. Let me know if you have trouble accessing the readings.
Week, Classroom
Date
Topic, Cases, and Readings
Due
April 2
Introduction
Readings: Marketing Strategy - An Overview (R)
Marketing Myopia
Strategic Insight in Three Circles
Beating the Market with Customer
Satisfaction
April 3
Segmentation
Readings: Note on Consumer Segmentation (R)
Segmenting the Base of the Pyramid
April 3
Due: Group enrollment via SIN-Online
April 9
Targeting
Reading: Customer Value Propositions in Business
Markets
April 10
Positioning
Reading:
Analyzing Consumer Perceptions (R)
April 16 Company & Competitive Analysis
Readings: The Coherence Premium
Are You Ignoring Trends That Could
Shake Up Your Business?
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Strategies to Fight Low-Cost Rivals
Should You Launch a Fighter Brand?
April 17
Case 1: Cialis
Readings: The Case Method of Instruction (BB)
Working with Cases (Dolansky; BB)
Note on Low-Tech Marketing Math (R)
Case: Cialis (R)
Due:
Case write-up (Cialis)
April 23
Channel Strategy
Readings:
Strategic Channel Design
The Future of Shopping
April 24
Product and Branding Strategy
Readings: Principles of Product Policy (R)
Customer-Based Brand Equity (BB)
Strategic Brand Valuation
April 30
Case 2 Renova
Reading: Renova Case (R)
Due:
Case Write-Up (Renova)
May 1
No Class
May 7
Pricing Strategy
Readings:
How Do You Know When the Price is
Right?
How to Stop Customers from Fixating
on Price
Pricing to Create Shared Value
When Should You Nickle-and-Dime
Your Customers?
(R)
Case:
Prentice Machine Tools (BB). Do not
prepare in advance; bring a hard or ecopy with you to class.
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May 8
Pricing Strategy Case: Virgin
Reading:
Virgin Mobile USA (R)
Due:
Case write-up (Virgin Mobile USA)
May 14
No Class
May 15
Guest Lecture: Dr. Carlos Lourenço
May 21
Promotion Strategy 1
Reading:
If Brands Are Built over Years, Why Are They
Managed over Quarters?
May 22
Promotion Strategy 2
Readings:
Let the Response Fit the Scandal
The One Thing You Must Get Right When
Building a Brand
Behold the Extreme Consumers…and Learn to
Embrace Them
Branding in the Digital Age
For Mobile Devices, Think Apps, Not Ads
May 28
Capstone Case and Exam Preparation: Nike
Football
Case:
Nike Football: World Cup 2010 South
Africa (R)
Due: Case write-up (Nike Football)
May 29
Ascension Day
June 4
No class
June 5
No class
June 18
Final Exam
July 17
Re-sit
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Technology Management
Course name:
Course code:
Course load:
Term:
Coordinator:
Teaching staff:
Course structure:
Course schedule:
Examination:
(BAB20)
Technology Management
BAB20
4 ECTS
2nd & 3rd Trimester
Prof. dr. ir. J. Dul (RSM)
Dr. C.W. Hagen (TU Delft)
Sandra Langeveld MSc.
Mandatory: Kick off session (4 April), two feedback sessions
(25 April and 16 May) and a final presentation (6 June).
Voluntary but strongly recommended: introduction lecture (21
Feb.) and in-between-meetings
Fridays in weeks 8, 14, 17, 20 and 23 at Erasmus University
Rotterdam and TU Delft
Assignment 0 (20%), Assignment 1 (20%), Assignment 2 (20%),
Assignment 3 (30%), Presentation (10%)
Course Overview
1.1 Subject
This course is about the management of a company’s “high-tech”- technology that
is embedded in one of the company’s core business or consumer products. The
technology is an essential part of the product, but it may become outdated because
of the rise of alternative technologies. These emerging technologies have the same
functionality as the current technology, but may (in the future) add more value to the
company’s core products and its customers. Therefore the new technological developments need to be considered for sustainable competitiveness.
It is not evident that a company should always shift to the (technologically better)
alternative. Introducing an emerging technology may have serious effects on the
product, the production processes, the company at large, and the business environment. Therefore managers should carefully evaluate and compare existing and
emerging technologies and their effects. Therefore the main question in this course
is: should the company shift to an emerging technology, and if so to which one?
The aim of this course is to write a strategic plan for an existing company with hightech products that could apply an alternative technology in one of its core products.
In order to reach that goal you have to analyse the company’s current technology
and characteristics (Assignment 0), compare the current technology with the emerging ones (Assignment 1), study the effects of emerging technologies on the company and its environment (Assignment 2), and combine this information into a proposal for a technology strategy (Assignment 3), which has to be summarized and
presented during an executive presentation (Presentation).
1.2 Relevance
For centuries, technology has been one of the most important pillars of the economy. Both in production-oriented sectors and in service companies, technology plays
an important role. Without technological progress, companies will lose their competitive advantage. Managers have to face the question of how to make the most of
technology. What technology is available and which technological innovations are
developing? What might be the consequences of a technology for a company, a
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particular sector or society? What is the role of technology in the strategy of a company regarding its product/services, the production process and the core competencies? In short, how can managers recognize relevant technologies and properly
implement them in a company? In this course you will develop a technology strategy for one crucial high-tech technology embedded in a core product of a case company by combining technological and business criteria.
1.3 Focus of the course
This course describes how technology can be used in companies. It does not focus
on the question of how to meet a short-term demand in the market by means of
technology (market pull), but the focus will be on how an upcoming technology can
be used in the longer run for redesigning products/services, production processes
or core competencies of a company (technology push). Student teams will write
strategic recommendations for companies that could apply an emerging high-tech
technology.
1.4 Place and function of the course
The course builds upon the courses Introduction to International Business (BAP64,
trimester 1) and Strategic Business Plan (BAP59, Trimester 2 and 3), is related to
Operations Management (BAP57, trimester 2), and uses Skills. The course prepares you for later Bachelor courses with a technology component, like Supply
Chain Management (BAD13, Trimester 3) and Innovation Management (BAD01,
trimester 3).
1.5 The department
The course is offered by the department “Technology and Operation Management”.
This department deals with management questions in the field of production, logistics, innovation, product development, quality management, standardisation, and
technology and human factors. The department provides the Masters “Innovation
management”, Business Information Management and “Supply Chain Management”.
1.6 Cooperation with Delft University of Technology
This course is a cooperative effort between RSM and Delft University of Technology
(TUD). Approximately 200 students from TUD and approximately 325 RSM students together will follow the course. The students from TUD are first year students
that study Applied Physics. The majority of the group of RSM students consist of
second year International Business Administration students. English is the working
language during this course. The students will cooperate in multidisciplinary teams
(4 RSM students and 1-2 TUD students). Before the RSM students and the TUD
students start working in their team, the RSM students will first describe the current
situation in the company using their management knowledge, and the TUD students
will first describe the current and emerging technologies using their engineering
knowledge. Afterwards this information will be combined and all members of the
team collaborate to make further analyses and formulate a technology strategy.
Some team sessions will take place in Rotterdam and some in Delft.
The students will be guided by coaches from both universities. The RSM coaches
are third year students. The TUD coaches are PhD students or senior students from
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Applied Physics. They will work together in pairs. (More information about coach
guidance in paragraph 3.7)
1.7 Cooperation with case companies
Each team of students writes a technology strategy for a real company: your case.
Each team is connected to a specific company with a specific current technology.
The teams must collect publicly available information about the company and its
environment. There is no possibility for students to visit the company. On Blackboard there is an interview with the contact person of the company with more details about the company. We have asked the contact persons to attend the last
session with final presentations. During this session the students will present their
recommendations to the company and the coaches.
Learning Goals
2.1 Objectives
The objective of this course is to give you an insight into specific high-tech technologies that can offer great value to the case company. In this course you learn to
analyse a technology and discover how a company can exploit this technology by
combining engineering knowledge with management knowledge.
After successful completion of this course you should be able to:

Cooperate with students with an engineering background;

Use a technology driven method as an alternative way to develop competitive
products/services and production processes;

Judge the impact of a technology on an organisation and its environment;

Write a strategic recommendation for the case company regarding their future
use of technology.
Course Information
3.1 Recommended prior knowledge
It is assumed that you have taken the courses Introduction to International Business
(BAP64, trimester 1) and Strategic Business Plan (BAP59, Trimester 2 and 3)
3.2 Composition and registration of teams
In this course you work in a team of 5-6 students (4 from RSM and 1-2 from TUD).
You enrol in a team via SIN-Online (via My Registrations). Every 9-10 teams will get
their own coach duo with the same case company and its technology. Each team
for the case company has its own team number. Remember your team number well
and mention this on each assignment you hand in!
You can register for a team via SIN-Online 27 January 2014-16 February 2014.
Before you register please decide which case company/technology you would like
to study and on which timeslots you prefer to have the mandatory sessions. Information about the case company and the technology can be found on blackboard.
By choosing a specific team number you choose your case company/technology
and your timetable (4.2). Team numbers are available on a ‘first come, first serve’
basis.
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You will receive a confirmation of your registration on SIN-Online in your student email account.
3.3 Structuring study time
Prepare and attend team-coach meetings (kick off, feedback
sessions, in-between-meetings, final presentation seminar)
Complete assignment 0
Complete assignment 1
Complete assignment 2
Complete assignment 3
Total
20
hours
20
20
20
32
112
hours
hours
hours
hours
hours
3.4 Teaching and learning methods
The course consists of the following components:

One introduction lecture (highly recommended)

Four assignments

One kick off session (mandatory attendance)

Two feedback sessions (mandatory attendance)

In-between-meetings of team with coach

Team meetings without coach

One final presentation seminar (mandatory attendance)
Introduction lecture (21 February)
For RSM and TUD students there will be a specific introduction lecture about the
course. It is strongly recommended that you attend this lecture because you will get
an introduction on the role of technology in businesses and the content of the
course will be explained. After this lecture you need to work on Assignment 0.
Assignments
In the first assignment (Assignment 0) you will carefully describe the current situation of your case company, including the current technology that is embedded in the
high-tech product. For your next assignment (Assignment 1) you will meet the engineers (during the “kick off”). In this assignment you compare the current technology
with the emerging ones using technological criteria only. Assignment 2 deals with
the company in three potential future situations: the company keeps its current
technology, the company selects the first emerging technology and the company
selects the second emerging technology (and more options if there are more
emerging technologies). Now the team compares the three business situations (with
three different technologies) using business criteria. In the final assignment (Assignment 3) the team integrates the technological aspects and the business aspects
and formulates a well-founded technology strategy for your case company.
Kick off (4 April)
This is a mandatory session because you will meet your coaches and TUD team
members for the first time. They can answer questions that you may have about the
current technology. They will inform you about the emerging technologies. Use this
session also to get to know your team members and exchange contact details.
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Make sure you all have the same expectation of the teamwork. We will facilitate this
process by asking each team to fill in a contract, in order to align the ambitions and
strengths and weakness within the team.
Feedback sessions (25 April& 16 May)
During the feedback sessions the assignments which you hand in are assessed by
the coaches. They do this in a conversation of an hour with the whole team. Both
the team result and the individual contributions are assessed. Therefore, make sure
you learned enough about the technology, the company and the theories you used
during the assignment. The feedback sessions are mandatory and are to be seen
as partial exams for the course.
In-between- meetings of teams and coaches
Between sessions, the teams can meet with the coaches to give the coaches insight into the team process and the progress of the assignment, and to receive
feedback from the coaches. The teams have to make appointments for these meetings with their own coaches. The place and date have to be agreed upon by both
parties. These meetings are on a voluntary basis. We strongly recommend you to
have an in-between meeting for every assignment.
Team meetings without coach
In addition to the team meetings as described above, it is advised that teams meet
regularly, without coaches, while working on the assignments. Please keep in mind
that the TUD team members have tight schedules (they need to work at the university from 9.00-18.00hrs every day). They have time on Fridays blocked in their
agendas for this course.
Final presentation seminar (6 June)
In the final presentation seminar, student teams will present their recommendations
to the company, and will listen to the presentations of other teams.
3.5 Literature
On Blackboard you will find articles that will be useful for making the assignments.
By way of introduction to the technology, the TUD students have prepared two
documents; one describes the current technology and the other one gives you an
insight in emerging technologies. You will also need to find further information by
yourself. The literature that you use must be of good quality. For example for orientation you may want to use general sources like Wikipedia, but your analyses and
recommendations must be based on scientific articles or other reliable information.
3.6 Presence
Your presence at the following sessions is mandatory: kick off (4 April), feedback
sessions (25 April & 16 May) and the final presentation seminar (6 June). Only
personal circumstances that are clearly beyond your control (such as illness, urgent
family circumstances, etc.) that have been validated are legitimate reasons for absence. If you are going to miss, or have missed a session because of special circumstances that are beyond one’s control, contact the course coordinators. Make
sure you have documents to support your case, like a doctor’s statement. Your
coaches will receive a notification when your absence is valid. If you miss a session
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for a reason that is not, according to these rules, deemed valid, your absence will
lead to exclusion from the course. Please note that study trips, holidays, job interviews, seminars, business courses, and so on are not valid reasons for being absent from one of the four mandatory sessions.
Since this is a learning-by-doing course, the sessions are very valuable. Therefore,
we made them mandatory. We don’t have an exam in this course but we do want to
make sure that you reach the learning goals. This will be monitored during the sessions. Besides this, you will need the interaction with your team members in order
to successfully complete the assignments. The same goes for the feedback you will
receive from your coaches.
3.7 Guidance
There are two coaches for every 9-10 teams. Each coach duo exists of a PhD candidate or senior students (TUD) and a third year student (RSM). They are both
trained for the job. Their task is to guide teams to accomplish the assignments.
Note that they are not teachers who provide you with knowledge. They are coaches
who will supervise you and help you in the process. The coaches will attend every
session and in-between-meetings. In addition, the teams can meet without the
presence of coaches. After every deadline the coaches judge the assignments.
During the feedback session and physical meeting they will also judge your participation. You can email your coaches for more guidance.
The course is organisationally accompanied by a Student Assistant and a Teaching
Assistant (Sandra Langeveld). The final responsibility of the course lies with the
professors of RSM (Prof. dr. J. Dul) and TUD (Dr. C.W. Hagen).
3.8 Questions?
Questions about ...
You ask...
Organisation of the course
Look in the Course manual or on the discussion board on
Blackboard. If you cannot find your answer there, ask
Sandra Langeveld via email ([email protected]) or via
the discussion board on Blackboard.
via ...
Assignments
Your coaches
email see BB
3.9 Assessment
This course does not have an exam. The following components will be assessed:
A. the assignments;
B. the presentation; and
C. individual participation.
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Component
% Final
grade
20%
Assessment of individual participation
Assignment 0: Company and
Not assessed
current technology
Assignment 1: Emerging
20%
Exceptional, good, or poor
technologies
Assignment 2: Effects of
20%
Exceptional, good, or poor
emerging technologies on the
company
Assignment 3: Technology
30%
Exceptional, good, or poor
strategy
Presentation
10%
Not assessed
Note: For each assignment your mark will be rounded to one digit after the decimal
point. Your final grade will be calculated from these rounded marks.
The assignments will be graded with a team grade on the regular Dutch 1-10 scale.
In addition to each assignment you must also hand in a process description (max. 1
A4) signed by every team member. This description gives the coaches an insight of
your individual participation because it indicates which person worked on which
part. In this description you will also reflect on the team contract (3.4 Kick off). Although each of you may have been working on specific parts, we still expect that
you critically read and comment on the parts of your team members and you understand what is handed in. During the feedback sessions you must be able to answer
questions about all parts. Each assignment must form one uniform whole with regard to layout and writing-style. Everyone is therefore responsible for the quality
of the complete assignment as submitted! This also means that in the event that
plagiarism is detected, the entire team will be held responsible.
Your coaches will judge your participation based on the feedback sessions, the inbetween-meetings, and the process description. We expect that most students will
be judged “good” if the planned time is spent for the course. In that case your contribution to the assignment is good and you can show that you possess sufficient
knowledge about the subject during the feedback session. When the coach recognizes that you have put in exceptionally more effort and quality than others, you
earn a plus; when your participation was clearly below the average you receive a
minus. For every plus you will receive a half point bonus on your final grade and for
every minus your final grade will be reduced with half a point. You cannot receive
more than 1 bonus point in total.
3.10 Students Retaking the Course
Grades which you have gained for the separate components are only valid in the
academic year 2013/2014. There are no minimum grade requirements for the individual components.
3.11 Evaluation
To monitor the quality of education all courses are evaluated after each trimester.
This is done by means of an online survey, administered by an independent office.
The evaluation is related to the contents and organisation of the course. Students
are informed about this evaluation through SIN-Online by email. RSM Erasmus
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University values the opinions of students concerning the quality of education. The
outcomes are discussed by the executive board with the professors and partially
given as feedback to the students.
3.12 RSM Student Representation
If you as a student have any comment about the quality of your courses, be it positive or negative, please send an email to the corresponding representative, fill in the
feedback form on the website (www.rsmsr.nl), or approach him or her personally
after the lecture. RSM SR email:
[email protected]
Schedule
4.1 Important dates
Week
7
Date
Sunday 16 February
14
16
16
16-17
18
18
Friday February 21
Friday March 7 11.00h
Friday April 4
18-19
20
20
20-21
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22
Friday April 19 11.00h
Friday April 25
Friday May 9 11.00h
Friday May 16
Friday May 30 11.00h
Friday June 6
Activity
Deadline registration for a
team
Introduction lecture
Deadline assignment 0
Kick off
In-between-meetings
Deadline assignment 1
Feedback session 1
In-between-meetings
Deadline assignment 2
Feedback session 2
In-between-meetings
Deadline assignment 3
End presentation
Location
(Sin Online)
RSM Erasmus University
(Blackboard)
RSM Erasmus University
(Blackboard)
Delft University of
Technology
(Blackboard)
RSM Erasmus University
(Blackboard)
Delft University of
Technology
Schedule
The detailed schedule and overview of companies is available via Blackboard.
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International Business Administration (BSc IBA) – Academic Year 2013-2014
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Sustainable RSM Student Committee
M AKING SUSTAINABILITY P ERSONAL
Sustainable RSM Student Committee is a group of motivated students actively working
towards a more sustainable campus.
Our mission is to create awareness and action among RSM’s students and faculty staff
about environmental and social issues in and related to our business school.
This year 27 students from over 13 different nationalities are active within our five
project groups. We are a flat organisation that encourages members of the different
project groups to share ideas and experiences, and to discuss important changes in the
student committee with all members. We thrive on our member’s motivation to have a
personal impact, and to inspire others to do likewise. Members engage in their projects’ work as well as monthly active member events and general meetings.
CURRENT PROJECT GROUPS ARE:
• Flyer Initiative: aims at discourage the use of flyers on campus.
• Marketing: supports our promotional and communicational efforts of sustainability
on campus.
• Events: organises guest lectures, field trips to sustainable business operations, and
events such as Earth Day and Sustainability Day.
• Sustainable Consulting: offers advice to organisations on how to behave in a more
ethical, responsible and sustainable way and on research or promotional matters.
• Reducing Plastic/Paper Cups: encourages all the on-campus restaurants and cafés
to reduce their usage of plastic or paper cups and promotes re-usable thermo mugs
and water bottles.
JOIN US, MAKE AN IMPACT.
• meet students with similar interest in sustainability and business.
• interact directly with other students and all other RSM stakeholders such as professors and guest lecturers.
• practice your business skills.
• help RSM set the example for other business schools in terms of sustainability.
UPCOMING: Recruitment for next year’s board in May 2014!
Contact us at [email protected]
Website: sustainable.rsm.nl (the student committee tab)
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Satisfied or Dissatisfied with your courses?
Speak your mind and contact us with your complaints or suggestions at
[email protected]
We are always looking for motivated students interested in improving courses of the International Business Administration program. If you want to become a part of the Student Representation, please contact us.
Website: www.rsmsr.nl
Email: [email protected].
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