Macquarie University

Asian Business Environment - BBA320

This unit is an introduction to the economies of East and South-East Asia, and especially their key commercial and economic institutions. It covers the entire region but focuses on the People's Republic of China, South Korea, and Japan as exemplars of the economic characteristics and commercial practices in the region. Students will study institutions such as the Korean chaebol and Chinese gufen and TVEs, as well as management styles and practices, marketing strategies, and key cultural mores such as guanxi. Students will be given a working knowledge of the path to economic development taken by the Asian economies as a means of understanding their economic and business behaviour today. The unit also explores the causes of the economic problems that have faced the region in the last two decades, and the problems and opportunities likely to be encountered in decades to come. The unit requires no prior knowledge; any economic theory or other concepts will be taught within the curriculum. It will be useful to business and marketing students, and also fits well into the set of development economics units offered by the Faculty.