Course Syllabus

Mr. Brian Landis, Consulting Advisor

Brian Landis is the Managing Director of the Butler Business Accelerator. He came to Butler University with 28 years of experience in industry and consulting. Landis joined the global consulting firm Accenture in 1997 and became a partner during his nine years with the firm, specializing in manufacturing and supply-chain improvement, technology implementation and large-scale program management. A strong advocate for the benefits of lifelong learning, he coordinated capability development for Accenture's Chicago-based analysts and participated in several joint programs with universities in Indiana, including his alma mater, Purdue University in West Lafayette, as well as Indiana University in Bloomington. Landis' diverse business background also includes 19 years working for three Fortune 500 companies - Alcoa, Detroit Diesel and IBM - in positions such as production manager, production control manager and project manager of both manufacturing improvement and computer systems initiatives.

Scott Troyer, Executive Advisor

Scott Troyer is currently an Executive Partner with the College of Business at Butler University and has taught and mentored undergraduate and MBA classes in Business Strategy and Teamwork Development. Scott Troyer is a Manufacturing and Supply Chain SME for the Accelerator. He graduated with a B.S.ChE. degree from Oregon State University and a M.S. ChE from the University of Wisconsin. Scott worked with The Dow Chemical Company for 32 years. From 2001 until his retirement in August 2007, Scott led the manufacturing and supply chain functions for several business units in Specialties and Commodity Herbicides segments. He joined Dow in 1976 as a process research engineer and subsequently held numerous positions in R&D, manufacturing and supply chain, and internal consulting (strategy & work process reengineering) with the company in the United States and in Asia.

1. To gain an understanding of fundamental international business theories, concepts, and techniques and to apply them to a comprehensive evaluation of the internationalization process of a specific U.S. company.
2. To develop the skills necessary to identify and evaluate international business opportunities.
3. To learn how to engage in an international consultancy project and to apply these skills within the context of analyzing international business opportunities.
4. To efficiently and effectively engage in an international consultancy project to deliver a high quality and value-added set of recommendations.

The international consultancy project requires students to work in rotating teams throughout the semester. A team-based approach demands the participation of each team member (inside and outside the classroom) to the fullest extend of his/her capacity. This course doesn't allow for inconsistent participation of team members. It is extremely important that students recognize the success of each team requires the active and conscious participation of each team member for the delivery a high quality and value-added set of recommendations to the client company.

Throughout the semester, students will experience multiple opportunities to prepare and deliver oral and written reports. The instructor and the team mentors and facilitators will provide feedback on oral and written communications as needed.

Students will be expected to regularly use computers, software, and international sources of information during the implementation of the international consultancy project. For instance, students will gather macro and micro level data, industry trends, competitive intelligence, and client company information. At the beginning of the semester, the instructor will provide students with a customized web-base system to access critical data sources to be used throughout the semester. Consultation of Internet sites will also be encouraged and suggested throughout the course.

The students enrolled in this course are required and expected to actively participate in the previously illustrated three segments of this course (please see sections on how this course is organized and course outline), which includes a one-week trip to China. The trip activities will take place the week of Oct. 17, 2010. (We will leave Indianapolis on Saturday, Oct. 17, 2010, and will arrive back from China on Sunday, Oct. 24, 2010). Students must attend the trip to China and, at a minimum, 80 percent of the scheduled class meetings.

The student's grade will be based on the assessment of individual (approximately 60 percent) as well as team (approximately 40 percent) performance. Such a grade will take into account, among other, the following aspects:

• Professor assessment of participation.
• Blind peer evaluation of participation.
• Individual China Study Trip reflection paper.
• Harvard case analysis and reports.
• International consultancy project output.

The reward system is as follows:

The structure of this class makes the students' individual and group study and preparation outside class extremely important. The comprehensive evaluation of a U.S. company's international business opportunities in China is the backbone of this course. To accomplish this general goal the course is organized into three segments.

Segment 1, Pre-Trip: (7 weeks - Aug. 30-Oct. 11, 2010)

As previously discussed, in this segment of the course the students will be introduced to fundamental international business theories, concepts, and techniques, to the business strategy, to the business consultancy process, and to the business environment in China. This will be accomplished through a mix of lectures, case discussion, and guest speakers. In this segment, the course will be focused on the following activities:

• Organize teams and project assignments.
• Understand client company background.
• Learn how to undertake a consulting project.
• Learn about project planning and management.
• Refine the scope of each team's role in the client consulting project.
• Prepare and deliver a formal letter of client engagement.
• Gather secondary data for the client's industry and the Chinese market.

Segment 2, China Study Trip: (1 Week - Oct. 17-24, 2010)

As previously discussed, in this segment of the course the students, instructor, and mentor(s) will be in China (Hong Kong & Guangdong Province) for one week. The trip will introduce participants to the culture, history, and business environment in China. In this segment, the course will be focused on the following activities:

• Receive a briefing on doing business in China by U.S. Embassy officials.
• Learn about Chinese society's history, values and culture.
• Learn about economic conditions and trends in China.
• Learn about Chinese business environment and practices.
• Visit relevant Chinese channels of distributions.
• Gather relevant information about client's prospective competitors.
• Visit the client's prospective stakeholders (buyers, suppliers, agents, etc).
• Visit operations of Chinese and U.S. corporations.
• Enjoy Chinese culture and cuisine.

Segment 3, Post-Trip: (7 weeks - Oct. 25 to Dec. 10, 2010)

As previously discussed, in this segment of the course the students will apply international business frameworks to analyze and integrate the knowledge developed and the information generated during Segments 1 & 2 of the class. Specifically, they will comprehensively evaluate the international business opportunities of the U.S.-based client. In this segment, the course will be focused on the following activities:

• Organize information gathered and knowledge learned.
• Identify client's potential international business opportunities in China.
• Evaluate costs/benefits of alternatives and generate recommendations.
• Prepare a pre-report executive summary for discussion with the client.
• Obtain client's feedback on the proposed recommendations.
• Incorporate client's recommendations and write final report.
• Deliver written and oral presentations of the final report.