Asian Business Environment

1 Name of Course/Module: Asian Business Environment

2 Course Code: MGT502

3 Name(s) of academic staff:

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Rationale for the inclusion of the course/module in the programme In examining Japan’s long-term (one to two centuries), middle-term (since World War II), and short-term (a decade) economic development and income distribution, analyse (1) U.S.- Japanese productivity growth differentials, (2) Japan’s industrial, services, and agricultural sectors, (3) Japanese economic institutions, (4) the role of government in Japanese development, (5) foreign trade and investment in Japan, especially its bilateral economic relationships with the United States, and (6) the applicability of Japan's strategies to other economies.

5 Semester and Year offered: Semester 3. Year 1

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Total Student Learning Time (SLT) Face to Face Total Guided and Independent Learning

L = LectureT = TutorialP = PracticalO= Others

L40

T20

P20

O80 160

7 Credit Value: 4

8 Prerequisite (if any)

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ObjectivesThe main goal of the course is to understand Japan’s rapid economic growth since 1868 and from World War II to the 1990s; the collapse in Japan’s economic growth during the 1990s; the potential revival of growth during the early 21st century; and strategies for economic reform. The module emphasizes the reasons for Japan’s earlier economic development success never the less stresses that the protectionism and industrial policies that contributed to success during catch-up from 1945 to 1990 no longer worked in the 1990s when Japan was a mature economy. Students will argue that, although these policies increased the gap between Japan and the United States in 2000, Japan will successfully reform during the early years of the 21st century; hence forth the turn of the economy will remain in the hands of monetary planning.

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Learning outcomesThe goal of the course is to provide an overview of Japan’s primary business institutions and practices, with a focus on high tech industries. It covers basic business institutions such as the banking system, industrial groups, corporate governance systems, and government - business relations, showing how they differ from that of other countries.

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Transferable Skills:Technical Project ManagementCommunicationResearch

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Teaching - learning and assessment strategyCoursework ProjectLectureTutorialsResearchDissertation

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SynopsisBusiness in the modern sense of the word was introduced into Japan in the second half of the nineteenth century. However, by the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Japanese thinkers had already developed a variety of interesting approaches to issues such as the causes of inflation, the value of trade, and the role of the state in economic activity. Later, Western economic ideas were grafted onto these roots to provide the basis of debate between Marxist and neoclassical economists in early twentieth - century Japan.

14 Mode of DeliveryLecture, Tutorial, Workshop and Seminar.

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Assessment Methods and TypesComponents Marks

One Assignment 50Final 50Total 100

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Mapping of the course/module to the Programme Aims Develop a basic knowledge of modern Japanese history Understand contemporary Japanese political economy Understand the main sources of Japanese economic success and weakness Compare Japanese capitalism to that of other nations Develop a rudimentary appreciation of Japanese language and culture

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Mapping of the course/module to the Programme Learning Outcomes The course introduces basic technology concepts such as network externalities, dominant standards, and increasing returns to help explain Japanese corporations’ ability to compete in some industries better than in others. The course aims to help the student understand how Japan changed from a nation with relatively high growth rates and many internationally competitive industries up through the 1980s to one with low growth rates and lacklustre competitiveness since the 1990s. The broadest objective of the course is to provide the student with important background on the business system of the world’s second largest economy and to encourage critical writing and thinking skills developed through lectures, discussions, a paper, and examinations.

18 Content outline of the course/module and the SLT per topicRefer to the Lecture Plan

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Main references supporting the course Japanese Investment in the World Economy: A Study of Strategic Themes in the Internationalisation of Japanese Industry (New Horizons in International Business) by Roger Farrell (2008). Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

Globalizing Japan: Ethnography of the Japanese Presence in Asia, Europe, and America by Sylvie Guichard - Anguis (2007). Publisher: Taylor & Francis

20 Other additional informationStudents will be given notes.

Lecture Plan

On Campus Independent Student LearningNo Subject Description Lecture Tutorials Practical Practical Tutorials Total

1

Introduction to the CourseHistory: Japan’s Economic Bumpy Road to Revival The Incredible Shrinking JapanOvercoming the Dual Economy

Principles of MarketingThis provides an introduction to the theory and practice of marketing. Students are familiarised with key concepts and issues of marketing, giving them a thorough grasp of marketing decisions and what factors affect them.

4 2 2 0 8 16

2

The Incredible Shrinking JapanOvercoming the Dual EconomyWhat are the chief elements of what de Vries calls "the age of crisis"?What evidence points to a decline or consolidation of the peasant agricultural economy?

4 2 2 0 8 16

3

Japanese comparative data Monetary Magic Bullets Are BlankJapan Cannot Export Its Way Out Understanding the Japanese Economy What is 'proto-industry' and did it create a new class?

4 2 2 0 8 16

4The Linchpin of Reform Imports: Not Enough Competitors Foreign Direct Investment1. The Firms costsFactors of production; cost curves; short run versus long run; economies of scale

4 2 2 0 8 16

2. Production and the competitive equilibriumCompetitive supply; entry, exit and market supply; extending the model; factor demand; General equilibrium model; competitive equilibrium and further reflections on economic efficiency.

5

The Labours of SisyphusGrowth Superstar to Economic Laggard The Banking Crisis

4 2 2 0 8 16

6

Does de Vries think that mercantilism played an important role in the success of particular national economies?The budget constraint; indifference curves; utility; deriving demand curves from individual behaviour.Labour supply and savings: a further application of consumer theoryThe work decision; the savings decision; human capital; wage differentials; more on the indifference curve.

4 2 2 0 8 16

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1. Exchange and the case for the free marketPareto optimality; the invisible hand; markets as generators of the common good; Exchange and the Edgeworth Box; more on indifference curves

2. The Economic case for governmentMarket failure: externalities; public goods; missing markets. Government FailureIncentives and the efficiency of government; public choice; politicians as economic agents; democracy, bureaucracy and the voting paradox.

4 2 2 0 8 16

8

Sushi as a BusinessFinancial Integration: The Iceberg CracksWhat is Structural Reform?Japan’s Agricultural EconomyWhy trade and urbanization dynamic economic forces and what are is the relationship between European and international trade?

4 2 2 0 8 16

9

The United States is Not JapanHow the United States Can Help? Japanese Currency and EconomyWhy did Britain rather than the Dutch Republic have the first industrial revolution?

4 2 2 0 8 16

10Deregulation and State Enterprises: The Momentum Is Clear, the Destination is Not Managing 2Household and business managerHuman resource managementChanging role of managementMonitoring the business

Financial Reform: “Big Bang” Versus Financial SocialismReform: No Competitiveness

4 2 2 0 8 16

Not Enough CompetitionEven Less Policy