Global strategy, entry modes, foreign direct investment, production operations management.
Article assignment must discuss concepts such as global strategy, entry modes, foreign direct investment, production operations management, and marketing (i.e., topics addressed in Chapters 8 and 13-18).
Assignment Description:
The purpose of these assignments is to demonstrate links between current events in the business world and the course material. Your goal is to demonstrate how specific course terms and concepts can be applied using the article’s content. In your article assignment, provide in your own words: 1) a one paragraph executive summary of the article’s content; and 2) a discussion and analysis of the specific course concepts illustrated in the article content. Your objective in the discussion and analysis section is to illustrate how the article’s content is related to ideas and concepts discussed in class and in the textbook. Your analysis of key concepts should demonstrate your mastery of advanced course concepts. Avoid merely defining a list of terms or providing simplistic and obvious applications that do not illustrate your understanding of relevant course concepts. Write your paper using an essay format and do not use lists of terms or highlight key terms in bold or italics. The maximum length for each article assignment is three double-spaced pages. The majority of your content should be in the discussion and analysis section rather than in your executive summary, which should only be approximately 100 words long.
Article Parameters:
Wall Street Journal articles that are comprehensive in scope and allow for broad-based applications of the course topics are most appropriate for these assignments. Generally, articles less than 550 words long do not have enough depth-of-coverage to be appropriate article selections for these assignments. Articles used for these assignments must have been published in the Wall Street Journal on or after August 21, 2014. The article you use for these assignments cannot be an article used for in-class discussion. It is your responsibility to verify before an assignment is due that the Wall Street Journal article you are considering reviewing has not been
used for in-class discussion.
The article you use for these assignments cannot be a blog post or a commentary piece, such as a letter to the editor, a book review, a remembrance, or an opinion piece. Commentary pieces are often written in the first person and contain opinion statements (e.g., I believe). In the print edition of the Wall Street Journal, articles published on the last page of the “C” section or on the last few pages of the “A” section, typically from page A17 onward, are usually commentary pieces. An easy way to determine if an article is an opinion piece is to read the print edition of the paper or to read the paper using your wsj.com account under the “Today’s Paper” section. If an article appears on a page or in a section with the heading “Opinion” or “Heard on the Street,” it should not be used for these assignments. You should also not use an article from the “Blogs” section of the wsj.com website. Blog posts are clearly indicated by the web address from the wsj.com site (i.e., “blogs” is the first word in the web address). Students who read the print edition of the Wall Street Journal on a regular basis have a much easier time finding relevant articles to use for these assignments. The reason for restricting the use of commentary pieces and blog articles is that they are not subject to the same fact-finding standards as articles published in the paper, which are editorially reviewed for accuracy. The video “Introduction to the Wall Street Journal” available in Blackboard in the “Wall Street Journal Items” folder under “Course Documents” provides valuable insights on how to find appropriate articles to use for these assignments.
You will receive a score of zero points: 1) if the article you analyze was published prior to August 21, 2014; 2) if the article you review is from a publication other than the Wall Street Journal; or 3) if the article you review has already been the basis for in-class discussion.