International Business in the SouthernCone

Abstract

Course Description Our goal is to raise critical questions about the opportunities and challenges that companies and entrepreneurs encounter when doing business with countries from the Southern Cone such as Argentina, Brazil, Chile,Paraguay and Uruguay. We begin by introducing the general context in which international business takes place in the region. Once we have looked at the big picture, we focus on the controllable and uncontrollable forces in the Southern Cone business environment. Our approach is based on a guided, well-informed discussion thatwill help students build understanding on the advantages and disadvantages of doing business in the region. Throughout the course students are expectedto develop basic interdisciplinary skills for business decision-making. By the end of the course, students gain valuable insight on the opportunitiesthat Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay offer and are ready to conductresearch and access first hand information about Southern markets.