This course deals with issues companies face today when doing business in the economies of Central Europe. Frameworks and methods will be presented that help managers designing an appropriate market entry and marketing strategy for CE markets. Furthermore, competitive strategies are analyzed from a foreign and local company perspective. Special attention is also paid to the management and organizational structures in CE.

This is a block course. Presence is mandatory the whole week - especially for the pre-course reading exam (Monday), the case work/discussion and the presentation of the first draft of the research paper (Saturday), as they are subjects of grading (see the final version of syllabus). To pass the course you are not allowed to miss more than 20% of total class time.

Criteria for successful completion of the course: pre-course reading exam, active individual in-class participation (case discussions), group project “Strategy of a successful Central European firm”. To pass the course the individual score has to exceed 50% - participation in the pre-course reading exam is mandatory.

The individual course grade will be determined as follows:

20% - Test of pre-course reading

20% - In-class case analyses

50% - Group project

o 15% First draft presentation (on Saturday)

o 35% Final report

10% - Peer rating of group work

Grading scheme: 0-50=5 (fail) / 51-65=4 (sufficient) / 66-75=3 (satisfactory) / 76-85=2 (good) / 86-100=1 (excellent)