The topics provided are designed to give students an in-depth understanding and appreciation of the characteristics of East Asia (here: China, South Korea, Japan). This course delivers research-led, contemporary discussions and analyses of these markets and their actors.

Students will get an understanding of the peculiarities of East Asia: economic history and markets, culture, business groups and leadership and HRM profiles.

Students will be be trained on:

• The ability to research material related to firm and country contexts, to structure ideas and presentations, and to work in groups.
• The ability to read and understand theoretical/empirical academic literature.
• The ability to transfer learnings from one context to others.

Attendance requirement is met if students are present for at least 80% of the scheduled sessions, otherwise students are de-registered from the course.

The course format is interactive. Students will be trained on a theoretical and practical level by engaging in in-class discussions, solving cases and presenting their analyses. The course design comprises the following teaching methods: lectures, in-class discussions, discussions of academic papers and case analyses/presentations. Students are asked to be prepared for each class which should act as a basis. Thus, they are expected to do required readings which are specified for each session.

The assessment of students' grades are based on the following criteria:

• Individual participation (40%): Participation is assessed based on the attendance, quality of preparation and active contribution in class.
• Individual peer rating (10%): Due to counter free-riding problems, every group member evaluates contributions of the other group members.
• Individual paper (10%): Students are required to hand in a 1,500 words long essay three weeks after the last session. The essay should be about a particular field of interest covered in class. Students should both integrate their learnings from the course and substantiate their line of argumentation with 3-4 academic papers.

• Group presentations (30%): Groups of max. 5 people are pre-assigned. They are required to do two presentations regarding market assessment and a real-life case study guided by pre-assigned case questions.
• Commentary by groups (10%): Each group has to comment on another group’s presentations.

ute.heinrichs@wu.ac.at