Starting International Business today!

We begin this week with the definition of international business and describe the benefits that accrue to the parties involved in international business. Furthermore, we consider international trade and foreign direct investment patterns and their implication on management decisions.

We will also study the international trade and foreign direct investment patterns and their implications (both positive and negative) on business and host governments. Assess arguments that balance the benefits of international business with its associated social costs.

Academy Awards tonight!

In 2006 I saw over 100 films in the movie theater. I definitely have a lot to say about this year's nominees...

Will Smith deserves to win the best actor category but he will not. Instead, Forest Whitaker is the heavy favorite. Last year people were shocked when Crash won Best Picture but I was not. There was something in the air that told me this category would have a big unexpected twist and it did. This year the big unexpected twist could be if Peter O'Toole (Venus) wins for Best Actor. He's been around forever, is a great actor, was great in this film and I don't believe he's ever won an Oscar. They may award him the George Clooney benefit-of-the-doubt Oscar this year.

Helen Mirren for The Queen but if anybody could give her a run for her money it is Dame Judi in Notes on a Scandal. Her performance was so carefully crafted and the movie so unexpected. Volver was fun and entertaining but Penelope Cruz isn't on the same plane as Helen and Judi. Of course Meryl Streep is Meryl Streep and she is always brilliant but being in a comedy here will not help her as the Academy Awards like to award people for transforming into dark and ugly people or tormented and inspiring characters. Kate Winslet is always great but Little Children was no In The Bedroom.

Jennifer Hudson and Eddie Murphy for Dreamgirls, though I am not a fan of Eddie Murphy's and am not convinced he should win. As for the Supporting Actress nominees, Adriana Barraza deserves recognition for her portrayal of the illegal babysitter in Babel.

The Best Picture category this year seems to be lacking although Letters from Iwo Jima was a great film. I think Clint Eastwood is a brilliant director. Babel was okay but it didn't knock my socks off and I am not a big fan of Brad Pitt's acting. The Departed was great and entertaining but a little too overrated for my taste, though I do love Jack Nicholson! Little Miss Sunshine was really sweet, smart and entertaining but certainly not the Best Picture of the year. Comedy is overlooked a lot by awards shows and Little Miss Sunshine was hilarious. The Queen was insightful and interesting.

Best Director comes down to Scorsese and Eastwood again. As stated before, I am biased when it comes to Eastwood but would be okay if Scorsese finally won.

Best Screenplay for me is between Little Miss Sunshine and Pan's Labyrinth.

Pan's Labyrinth for Best Foreign Picture, though Water could steal it.

I also thought An Inconvenient Truth was an important documentary.

Class coming to an end, week 7.

It is hard to believe that five weeks have flown by since I last wrote. We just finished week seven of The Ethical and Legal Environment of Business.

I really enjoyed the class, especially the legal aspect.

Here are some of the things we've studied:

antitrust law, ethics in organizations, ethical theories, product liability, product development, business torts and crimes, negligence, implied warranty, property law, intellectual property, trademarks, patents, copyrights, constitutional law, contract law, trade secrets, respondeat superior, agency law, administrative law, environmental law, securities law and labor law.

In our final week we will be discussing consumer protection, illegal vs. legal advertising methods and business organization.

My MBA in 2007

The current class I am taking is called The Ethical & Legal Environment of Business. We will primarily be focusing on The Case Method for the eight week session.

The Case Method
When applying critical thinking skills, the case method of analysis is a useful tool. Cases have a long history as a teaching tool and are valuable because they provide a common specific experience. Cases never include all the information necessary; they are a parallel to life. It is unlikely that, in any business decision, an individual will have all the facts and information he/she would like to have in order to make the best decision possible. Cases, like life, require that assumptions be made and articulated. The first model analyzes the case from the legal perspective, while the second model uses the ethical framework as a form for case analysis.

The outcomes for week 2 were:

• Formulate a working definition of business ethics.
• Identify potential ethical issues in organizations.
• Discriminate among three approaches commonly used in examining ethical issues in business; and identify strengths and limitations of each approach.
• Competently use the concepts and taxonomy associated with theoretical approaches to ethics.
• Formulate and apply an approach to making personal ethical decisions in business.
  

The cases we analyzed in the first two weeks were the Paul Cronan case and the Ann Hopkins case. They were both interesting and I am enjoying working on cases.

The outcomes for week 1 were:

• Demonstrate an understanding of the differences and similarities between law and ethics as guides for behavior in business.
• Identify tension points between law and ethics when applied to business conduct.
• Articulate the benefits of, and demonstrate the value of, critical thinking.
• Discriminate among the characteristics of critical thinking.
• Demonstrate the process of ethical case analysis.
• Use the case method for both ethical and legal analysis.
• Understand the significance of the Rule of Law and the Nature of Man.
• Distinguish between law and justice.
• Distinguish between natural and positive law.
• Explain the operation of the American legal system.
• Explain the assumptions of capitalism affecting the legal system's operation.