experiencing international business and management: exercises, projects, and cases betty jane...

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Book Reviews Recensions de livre Experiencing international business and management: Exercises, projects, and cases Betty Jane Punnett (2005). Armonk, NY M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 160 pp. ISBN (paper) 0-7656-1515-0 Readers of CJAS will find this a departure from most of the books reviewed in this space. This is a teach- ing practitioner’s book, a book for those for whom the teaching of International Business and Management is a passion and a journey; it is a great companion on that journey. The preface introduces the reader to the concept of experiential learning (learning that comes from experi- ence). For many of us this is not a new concept as we have incorporated cases and exercises into our courses, but for some the use of a living case or project can be a new (and daunting) experience. The most helpful part of this section is its discussion of “what students should expect; student participation and learning”. As noted by Punnett, for any exercise, case, or project to work it is vital to ensure that the students are fully engaged and aware of their roles and responsibilities. Without that you are doomed to “classroom” failure. Punnett then provides an overview of international business management as a primer for the rest of the book. This is, in a way, a brief summary of concepts covered in her book International perspectives on orga- nizutional behavior und human resource management. She does recommend this book as its companion. So if you are following her recommendation, you (and your students) will likely find the overview redundant. How- ever, if you are using Experiencing inlernational buui- ness und management as either a supplementary text or as a reference book, then the overview could be quite beneficial. This would be particularly true for those who are attempting to internationalize a business or manage- Reviewed by Carolan McLamey, Associate Professor in the School of Business at Dalhousie University. 0 ASAC 2005 343 ment course; the overview would provide you with suf- ficient background to try one of the exercises in your classroom. The overview is exactly that, a broad overview of international businesdmanagement. It briefly covers the historical roots of international business and then pro- gresses to the motivations for firms to move from domes- tic operations to more international ones. Next it dis- cusses entry and ownership options for overseas ventures and ends with a look at general managerial and structur- al issues facing international firms. Be cautioned, how- ever, as this whirlwind chapter gives only a survey of international business/management and you will want to heed the old adage “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing” and research this topic more deeply if you are planning on using more than one of the excrcises in this book. Most of the book is devoted to 24 exercises, six projects, and five case studies. The 24 exercises range from defining international business activities to con- ducting country risk assessments. Three-quarters of the exercises have been developed to be completed entirely during a regular class period, while the remaining quar- ter require some time to be spent outside of class. The time required for the exercises range from a few minutes (Exercise 8) to a full 90 minutes (Exercises 2 dt 18). For 22 of the exercises, an accompanying worksheet has been provided. These are particularly helpful to focus de-briefing discussions. While I have not clwcrooni tested all 24 exercises, the 16 that I have tried have per- formed as expected given the instructions for each exer- cise. 1 will caution you, however, to make sure you have thoroughly read the exercise and the instructions prior to delivering your class. There is nothing worse than an experiential exercise gone wrong. It can make for a very long class. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences Revue canadienne des sciences de I’administration m,343-344

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Page 1: Experiencing international business and management: Exercises, projects, and cases Betty Jane Punnett (2005)

Book Reviews Recensions de livre

Experiencing international business and management: Exercises, projects, and cases Betty Jane Punnett (2005). Armonk, NY M.E. Sharpe, Inc., 160 pp. ISBN (paper) 0-7656-1515-0

Readers of CJAS will find this a departure from most of the books reviewed in this space. This is a teach- ing practitioner’s book, a book for those for whom the teaching of International Business and Management is a passion and a journey; it is a great companion on that journey.

The preface introduces the reader to the concept of experiential learning (learning that comes from experi- ence). For many of us this is not a new concept as we have incorporated cases and exercises into our courses, but for some the use of a living case or project can be a new (and daunting) experience. The most helpful part of this section is its discussion of “what students should expect; student participation and learning”. As noted by Punnett, for any exercise, case, or project to work it is vital to ensure that the students are fully engaged and aware of their roles and responsibilities. Without that you are doomed to “classroom” failure.

Punnett then provides an overview of international business management as a primer for the rest of the book. This is, in a way, a brief summary of concepts covered in her book International perspectives on orga- nizutional behavior und human resource management. She does recommend this book as its companion. So if you are following her recommendation, you (and your students) will likely find the overview redundant. How- ever, if you are using Experiencing inlernational buui- ness und management as either a supplementary text or as a reference book, then the overview could be quite beneficial. This would be particularly true for those who are attempting to internationalize a business or manage-

Reviewed by Carolan McLamey, Associate Professor in the School of Business at Dalhousie University.

0 ASAC 2005 343

ment course; the overview would provide you with suf- ficient background to try one of the exercises in your classroom.

The overview is exactly that, a broad overview of international businesdmanagement. It briefly covers the historical roots of international business and then pro- gresses to the motivations for firms to move from domes- tic operations to more international ones. Next it dis- cusses entry and ownership options for overseas ventures and ends with a look at general managerial and structur- al issues facing international firms. Be cautioned, how- ever, as this whirlwind chapter gives only a survey of international business/management and you will want to heed the old adage “a little knowledge is a dangerous thing” and research this topic more deeply if you are planning on using more than one of the excrcises in this book.

Most of the book is devoted to 24 exercises, six projects, and five case studies. The 24 exercises range from defining international business activities to con- ducting country risk assessments. Three-quarters of the exercises have been developed to be completed entirely during a regular class period, while the remaining quar- ter require some time to be spent outside of class. The time required for the exercises range from a few minutes (Exercise 8) to a full 90 minutes (Exercises 2 dt 18). For 22 of the exercises, an accompanying worksheet has been provided. These are particularly helpful to focus de-briefing discussions. While I have not clwcrooni tested all 24 exercises, the 16 that I have tried have per- formed as expected given the instructions for each exer- cise. 1 will caution you, however, to make sure you have thoroughly read the exercise and the instructions prior to delivering your class. There is nothing worse than an experiential exercise gone wrong. It can make for a very long class.

Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences Revue canadienne des sciences de I’administration

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Page 2: Experiencing international business and management: Exercises, projects, and cases Betty Jane Punnett (2005)

The six projects described in the book require a much larger investment from instructors as well as their students. Two of the projects would require a few hours of external research and then a 90-minute in-class dis- cussion. The other four are really semester-long projects. They require a great deal of research and preparation. All of the project descriptions outline what the instructor could expect from the project, but do not provide a great dcal of detail. It is recommended that each project end with some sort of in-class presentation.

The five case studies are really mini-caqes or caselets.

344

Punnett describes them as summary descriptions. While these two-page caselets are interesting, 1 know I would have benefited from a more robust dcscription of the com- panies examined. They are wonderful “teasers” for cases, but are limited in terms of classroom applicability. The students are required to make too many assumptions to answer the questions posed for the case studies.

In sum, this book is a great resource for those who teach a full course on international businesdmanage- ment, or for those who want to add international flavour to their courses.

Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences Revue canadienne des sciences de I’administration

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