IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems
Bachelor: Export-Oriented Management
Course: International Economics
Guest Lecture of H.E. Mr. Jan Koukal, current Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Austria.
Our next meeting on 25th will be integrated with the Guest Lecture of H.E. Mr. Jan Koukal, current Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Austria.
We will discuss about the current situation of international economics and about the meeting of the European Council on 19th and 20th March under the Czech Presidency.
In order to coordinate our international economics meeting with the guest lecture of H.E. Mr. Jan Koukal, current Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Austria we should change our course outline.
Topics scheduled on 20th and 24th March will be explained on 20th March.
Group work presentations scheduled on 25th March will be hold on 24th March from 16:00 to 19:00.
The new times for the 25th March meeting: 8:00 - 9:00 in P.U.02 and 9:30 - 11:00 in P.E.04.
READINGS AND MEDIA:
The lecturer´s power point presentations and sources for individual study are only available for IMC students at IMC Intranet.
World Economy Video Essays
The Battle of Ideas: The Core Debate - Markets vs Government 2:05
Video: Windows Media: low | high QuickTime 5:low | high RealVideo: low | high
First Era of Globalization 2:08
Video: Windows Media: low | high QuickTime 5:low | high RealVideo: low | high
The Austrian School 1:50
Video: Windows Media: low | high QuickTime 5:low | high RealVideo:low | high
Keynes' General Theory 3:44
Video: Windows Media:low | high QuickTime 5:low | high RealVideo:low | high
The Bretton Woods Conference 1:53
Video: Windows Media:low | high QuickTime 5:low | high RealVideo:low | high
Hayek's Mt Pélerin Conference 3:43
Video: Windows Media:low | high QuickTime 5:low | high RealVideo:low | high
Chicago's School of Economics 3:49
Video: Windows Media:low | high QuickTime 5:low | high RealVideo:low | high
Dependency Theory 2:03
Video: Windows Media:low | high QuickTime 5:low | high RealVideo:low | high
NAFTA Part 1 5:28
Video: Windows Media:low | high QuickTime 5:low | high RealVideo:low | high
NAFTA Part 2 3:30
Video: Windows Media:low | high QuickTime 5:low | high RealVideo:low | high
The Global Market 8:49
Video: Windows Media:low | high QuickTime 5:low | high RealVideo:low | high
The Global Village 4:12
Video: Windows Media:low | high QuickTime 5:low | high RealVideo:low | high
The World Bank 1:48
Video: Windows Media:low | high QuickTime 5:low | high RealVideo:low | high
The Global Divide 2:33
Video: Windows Media:low | high QuickTime 5:low | high RealVideo:low | high
Two minutes video explaining how works the market-oriented economy and the magic invisible hand that self-regulate markets worldwide
SWOT analysis report essay about the European Union !
If you send to the lecturer your one or two pages SWOT analysis report essay about the European Union, you could improve your grade from 1 to 3 points. This is a voluntary homework you could do or not. It is not mandatory. If you decide to do this homework you could obtain 1, 2 or 3 extra points only in the case you really need this points to achieve a better number grade. For instance if your final grade is 57 points and you have done a good SWOT analysis you could obtain 3 extra points and you could improve from "5 Fail" to "4 Sufficient". But if you have 62 points, this SWOT analysis will not be taken into consideration because even if you improve from 62 to 63, 64 or 65, you will always have a "4 Sufficient".
Use the attached template
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How to lead a discussion seminar-style !
Don´t worry if you have no experience in this domain, that´s why I proposed this academic activity. This kind of knowledge could only be improved by practicing and learning by doing !
Leading a discussion seminar-style involves to chair the debate, to manage the group answers, and to summarize the most important ideas.
After your PowerPoint presentation your colleagues are supposed to want to know more by placing some questions or ideas about the presentation's topic. The speaker shall invite debating on it. This often (but not always) works. So if a debate is not automatically opened, prepare a slide with written questions to motivate your colleagues to start the discussion.
One of the best methods to start this discussion is to formulate an open question and ask one row of students to communicate their idea about it. (Example: What is the core activity of a professor for you? 1.- Teaching 2.- Leading 3.- Mentoring 4.- Etc.) Give your audience some time to think before answering, so you could formulate your question, inform them that you will request their answers and for a short while explain why talking about this topic is important, after that start with the brainstorming answers to your question.
During the discussion you will obtain a couple of your colleagues' answers, hence you should gather their best answers in different bullets to obtain a final conclusion about the class mainstream ideas and perspectives.
Syllabus
IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems
Bachelor: Export-Oriented Management
Course: International Economics
Full-time program Accademic year 2008-2009
Second semester
1.5 ECTS
Contact details: Lecturer: Alberto Romero Ania
E-mail: [email protected]
Office: 2.15 International Campus, Piaristengasse 1, 3500 Krems, Austria.
IMC University of Applied Sciences.
LEARNING OUTCOMES AND TOPICS COVERED DURING THE COURSE
This course is designed to provide basic insights into selected concepts of international economics. The most important learning outcomes are hereby depicted:
The lectures will deal with the fundamentals of international economics and will help students to understand the history of international economics, the role of institutions on the international economy, the nowadays world economy, theories of international growth, the role of population on the international economics, the role of natural resources on the international trade, the measuring of Nation´s income, the gains from international trade, how to do business worldwide, the most important European Union Economy Area issues and will learn about a successful case of company internationalization.
Students will be able to use the basic tools and concepts of international economics to think critically about news in media or be able to develop economic arguments on their own.
After completion of this course, the student will acquire an international economic knowledge for recognizing and analyzing common worldwide business problems within the framework of international economics. Specifically, the following topics will be explained:
- History of international economics.
- The role of institutions on the international economy.
- Theories of international growth.
- The role of population on the international economics.
- The role of natural resources on the international trade.
- The measuring of Nation´s income.
- The gains from international trade.
- Howto do business worldwide.
- The most important European Union Economy Area issues.
- Case study of a successful company internationalization.
COURSE OBJECTIVES & COMPETENCES
In this course, we will explore how international economics work and learn about the international economy theoretical framework. We will learn the most important issues related to the history of international economics, the role of institutions on the international economy, the nowadays world economy, theories of international growth, the role of population on the international economics, the role of natural resources on the international trade, the measuring of Nation´s income, the gains from international trade, how to do business worldwide, the most important European Union Economy Area issues and will learn about a successful case of company internationalization.
To do that, the study of all these concepts will be accompanied by the next general objectives:
Generic competences
- The student will be able to improve his/her analysis and summarize competence.
- The student will be able to improve his/her organization and planning competences.
- The student will be able to improve his/her ability to communicate both orally and in writing.
- The student will be able to improve his/her ability to manage the information.
- The student will be able to improve his/her ability to work in a group.
- The student will be able to work in a group and reason analytically.
- The student will improve his/her ability to make a decision.
- The student will know about quality topics.
- The student will be able to apply his/her theory knowledge to practical work.
Specifically, we embark on this intellectual journey so that by the end of the semester you will acquire the following competences:
Specific competences
- The student will be able to analyze outstanding information about international economics.
- The student will understand the main topics about international economics.
- The student will know the different theories of international growth.
- The student will understand the role of natural resources on the international trade.
- The student will understand the dynamic character of international economics.
- The student will know about the main history of international economy.
- The student will be able to analyze outstanding information about the nowadays world economy.
- The student will understand the gains from international trade.
- The student will understand the most important European Union Economy Area issues.
- The student will understand role of population on the international economics.
- The student will understand the role of institutions on the international economy.
- The student will know how measuring of Nation´s income.
- The student will know how to do business worldwide.
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OVERVIEW:
The course is divided in two parts. The first part studies and gives to the students the theoretical knowledge needed to understand the most important international economic issues. This part is learned throughout attending the lecturer´s explanation of the economy theories and by studying at home these theoretical explanations. The second part studies different topics related with international economics throughout watching video essays and having a discussion group (seminar style) about these topics. This part is learned by watching the video essays and attending the colleagues’ explanation of their group work presentation and having into consideration your colleagues’ opinion about the topic of discussion.
COURSE FORMAT / TEACHING METHODOLOGY
It will be mainly used the lecture style teaching methodology.
Lecturer will explain the core theoretical knowledge of the course. Interactive lectures will consist of group works and group presentations. The groups must study, make a presentation and lead a class discussion about one topic. After the presentation of their topic of research, students must open and lead a short class discussion in order to improve learning efficiency and student motivation as well as to foster a practical approach to the theoretical framework.
Class. The main method used will be lecture style. Lecturer will explain the theoretical knowledge of the course. Lecture material will be presented using power point software and videos. Students are requested to take notes of the most important ideas explained during the lectures. After every lecture the power point presentation will be uploaded to the IMC Intranet, so students could download and complete it with their own notes. The theoretical knowledge explained during the classes will be evaluated in the final exam, which will grade 60 % of the final grade.
Participation. Students´ participation in the fourth meeting, after their colleague´s presentations, wil l be positive evaluated. This class participation will grade 10 % of students’ final grade.
Group work. Group work is intended to provide an opportunity to improve your communication skills and to communicate theoretical knowledge to an audience, as well as to improve your team working skills and self-study abilities. The objective of this course is to understand and be able to explain the basic concepts learned during the course. So there will be a group work that consists on choosing one topic from the “group work topics list” and make a 10 minutes class presentation about this topic, addressing the most important points of this international economy issue.
The group work topics list consist on the following topics, which could be found in this webpage:
http://imckrems.weebly.com/international-economics.html : 1. The Battle of Ideas: The Core Debate - Markets vs Government 2. First Era of Globalization 3. The Austrian School 4. Keynes' General Theory 5. The Bretton Woods Conference 6. Chicago's School of Economics 7. NAFTA 8. The Global Market 9. The Global Village 10.The World Bank 11.The Global Divide
Students should work in a team of six members to write together a 5-6 pages report about their topic (according to IMC Manual for academic research), and create a 10 minutes power point presentation, which must include a short video. After the students presentation students must open and lead a 5 minutes class discussion (seminar style) about their topic of research. A hard copy and a digital version of both the paper and the power point presentation must be handed in. In their 5-6 page report must be included one multiple choice question about their topic of study.
The paper must include at least five references. Your sources may include books, journals, newspapers, Internet sites or interviews. Grading will be based on the ability to communicate the student´s knowledge during the group presentation, their ability to open and lead a class discussion (seminar style) about their topic of research, and on the paper content and style (spelling, grammar, clarity and paper layout). You should use an academic or business-like style of writing rather than a conversational tone. This group work will grade 30 % of your final grade.
Exam. There will be one final exam the last day of the course. The exam will include multiple choice questions about the material learned during the classes. Most of the exam questions will cover the lecturer’s power point presentations, but some of the exam questions will cover as well what was explained and discussed during your colleagues´ power point presentations.
STUDENT’S WORKLOADAND DIRECTED LEARNING TIME
Student’s workload will be divided in two parts. The first part consists of in-depth studies of the theory explained during the lectures. The second part will be a self-study (report writing) and presentation to their colleagues of one of the group work topics list.
Students shall repeat the contents discussed during the lectures through studying individually the theoretical knowledge of the course explained by the lecturer. They can use their own notes taken during the course, the power point presentations and deepen their knowledge by using the textbooks. In total an average of two hours of self-directed learning is sufficient per lecture. This estimation excludes specific preparation for the exam.
READINGS AND MEDIA: Sources for Individual Study and Group Work
For individual learning of the contents of the lectures it must be studied the students´ notes taken during the lectures and the power point presentations uploaded in the E-learning platform by the lecturer.
The main sources for Individual study and group work, as well as for additional in-depth information about the topics covered during the course, are the following textbooks and website:
- N. Gregory Mankiw, (2006): Principles of economics, Thomson.
(There are two copies of this book in Piaristengasse and two copies in Campus)
- N. Gregory Mankiw, (2004): Principles of economics, 3rd Edition, Thomson.
(There is one copie of this book in Piaristengasse and another one in Campus)
- Stephen P. Robbins and David A. DeCenzo, (2005): Fundamentals of Management, 5th Edition, Pearson. - Paul A. Samuelson, William D Nordhaus (2001): Economics, 17th Edition, McGraw-Hill.
- http://imckrems.weebly.com/international-economics.html
E-LEARNING
The power point slides will be available on the e-learning platform after each class.
COURSE OUTLINE
In the following table it is explained when and where lectures are going to take place, the topics covered in every meeting, as well as the teaching/learning methodology applied in each class.
MEETING 1:
18th March, 2009
9:00-11:00
P.E.04
Topics covered during the 2 hours meeting:
- Presentation and Introduction
- History of international economics.
Lecturer’s explanation of the topics covered during the meeting.
MEETING 2:
20th March, 2009
14:00-18:00
P.E.04
Topics covered during the 4 hours meeting:
- Most important international economics concepts
-The role of institutions on the international economy.
-Theories of international growth.The role of population on the international economics.
-The role of natural resources on the international trade.
-The measuring of Nation´s income.
-The gains from international trade.
Lecturer’s explanation of the topics covered during the meeting.
MEETING 3:
24th March, 2009
16:00-19:00
P.U.02
Topics covered during the 3 hours meeting:
-How to do business worldwide.
-The most important European Union Economy Area issues.
-Case study of successful company internationalization.
Lecturer’s explanation of the topics covered during the meeting.
MEETING 4:
25th March, 2009
8:00-11:00
P.E.04
Topics covered during the 3 hours meeting:
- Markets vs. Government
- First Era of Globalization
- The Austrian School
- Keynes' General Theory
- The Bretton Woods Conference
- Chicago's School of Economics
- NAFTA
- The Global Market
- The Global Village
- The World Bank
- The Global Divide
Group works presentation and discussion (seminar style).
MEETING 5:
3rd April, 2009
14:00-16:00
P.U.02
Exam & Feedback
Multiple choice questions exam
Lecturer’s feedback to every student (Individually)
Appendix course outline:
- Meeting 1 please note that students should select their group work topic.
- Meeting 3 please note that students should hand in their paper and power point.
- Meeting 4 please note that students should make their 10 minutes presentation plus lead a 5 minutes class discussion seminar style.
COURSE GRADING: Methods of Evaluation / Assessment method
Assessment methods include class participation and both examination and group work.
There will not be extra examinations at the end of the course to improve a certain grade
Grading elements:
Paper (Group Work): 10 %
Power point and 10 min. explanation in class (Group Work): 10 %
Leading a 5 minutes class discussion seminar style (Group Work): 10 %
Class participation during the fourth meeting: 10 %
Final multiple choice questions exam: 60%
Late Submittal Policy. Late work will be assessed with a 10% penalty for each late day.
Exam and presentations must take place at the scheduled time and date unless a medical emergency occurs.
Most of the exam questions will cover the lecturer’s power point presentations, but some of the exam questions will cover as well what was explained and discussed during your colleagues´ power point presentations.
Group work is intended to provide an opportunity to improve your communication skills and to communicate theoretical knowledge to an audience, as well as to improve your team working skills and self-study abilities. The group work is compulsory and values the thirty percent of the final grade.
Number grades will be assigned using the following scale:
1 = (91% - 100%) = Excellent / Very good
2 = (81% - 90% ) = Good
3 = (71% - 80%) = Satisfactory
4 = (60% - 70%) = Sufficient
5 = (less than 60 points) = Fail
If a student misses a final examination and can therefore not be assessed for this particular course, s/he will automatically receive a “fail” for the course. A re-sit examination is non-permissible before the end of the semester.
ATTENDANCE: If a student does not fulfil his obligation of attendance, an assessment of the course is not possible and s/he will automatically receive a “fail” for the course. In principle a student may miss a third of the number of weekly lessons per term in one course.
RE-SITS: The re-sits covers the complete subject matter of the semester. This evaluation will be 100% throughout a written exam.
GENERAL CLASS POLICY:
Academic Integrity Code:
No form of cheating, plagiarism or other inappropriate assistance in work presented by a student will be tolerated. Incidence of violation will result in a failing grade, dismissal of the student from the course, and may lead to additional actions.
Violations of the principle of academic integrity include, but are not limited to:
a) CHEATING: Intentionally using or attempting to use unauthorized materials, information, notes, study aids or other devices in any academic exercise. This definition includes unauthorized communication of information during an academic exercise.
b) MULTIPLE SUBMISSIONS: The submission of substantial portions of the same academic work (including oral reports) more than once without authorization.
c) PLAGIARISM: Intentionally or knowingly presenting the work of another as one's own (i.e., without proper acknowledgment of the source). The sole exception to the requirement of acknowledging sources is when the ideas, information, etc. are common knowledge.
d) ABUSE OF ACADEMIC MATERIALS: Intentionally or knowingly destroying, stealing, or making inaccessible library or other academic resources material.
e) COMPLICITY IN ACADEMIC DISHONESTY: Intentionally or knowingly helping, or attempting to help another to commit an act of academic dishonesty.
Classroom Manners:
· Discourteous or disruptive behavior will not be tolerated. Such behavior includes chatting with others during the lecture or the discussion, checking emails, and playing computer games during the lecture, arriving late or leaving early.
· You may not use cellular phones during the proceeding of the class. If you must keep a device active due to an emergency, you have to set it to vibrate and notify to the lecturer before the class.
· Food and beverage: it is not permitted to take food into the seminar rooms. Soft drinks in lockable bottles may, however, bring in but should no account be put on the tables.
· Mobiles and laptops: During the classes mobiles have to be switched off. It is not permitted to make or answer any calls, to receive and to text while the class is still on. Laptops can only be used with the explicit permission of the lecturer.
· Dress code: Professional clothing is expected from all students of IMC FH Krems. However, it is not intended to constrain students in their individuality, but to encourage them to make a professional appearance when interacting with lectures, guests and colleagues.