CMGT 531 Communication and the International Economy Fall 2008

CMGT 531 Communication and the International Economy Fall 2008 Instructor: Jonathan Aronson aronson@usc.edu Office KER 2nd floor (213-743-1943) 1-2, 5-6:30 Office hours: Monday Course description: This course looks at how changes in the technological and political-economic environment have transformed the terms of competition in the communication and information technology (ICT) industries on a global scale It focuses on the strategies of companies across a variety of ICT sectors: broadcasting, film, telecommunications, the Internet, video games, social networks, and the music industry The course begins with a discussion of the emergence of a global information economy and the role of ICTs in global markets Leadership and governance issues are introduced In the second part, we focus on specific ICT sectors and look at real-world examples though a series of case studies Career relevance: As the revolution in communication technologies creates global markets, the ability to understand the international dimension of the commercial decisions with which organizations are confronted has become a critical managerial skill Whether you pursue a career in Hollywood, an Internet start-up, advertising, government, or the non-profit sectors you will be faced with decisions that cut across political, economic, and cultural borders How should you expand internationally? How important is having locally produced content? What are the regulatory and cultural barriers that need to be considered in your strategy? This course is designed to provide students the analytical tools to address these types of questions by focusing on the global forces shaping communication markets (understood broadly) and the global economy and how firms are adapting their international strategies to these changes Class structure: The course will follow a seminar teaching style, which implies keeping lectures to a minimum and stressing class discussions around the case studies, since they represent the kind of real-world situation you are likely to face in your career Each meeting will be divided in two parts (with a 10-minute break in between) The first part will be more lecture-oriented, while the second will be dedicated to the case studies and will be often led by the students (see below) Course requirements: There are four requirements for the course: Class participation Students are expected to make informed contributions to class discussions and in-class activities What does it take -1- to make informed contributions? First, the readings before class Second, students should follow the ICT industry news Take-home mid-term There will be a short take-home mid-term It will be handed out on October 15 and will be due the next class (October 20) Case study presentation Student will work in groups to present and lead discussion on the weekly case studies (the size of the groups will depend on the number of students in the class) Each group will be assigned one case study Cases will be assigned on a first-come first-served basis Please let me know your first, second, and third preferences for the case study by September 15 Class project Students will work individually or in groups on a project to develop a case study related to the topics covered in class A one-page synopsis of the project should be submitted by October Students will present their projects to the class in the last two weeks of classes Presentations must be business-like (30 minutes suggested), and include visual aids and a written report (20 double-spaced pages suggested) Grading: Requirements will be weighed as follows: Class participation 20% Take-home mid-term 20% Case study presentation 20% Class project 40% Course reading material Books You May Wish to Order on Amazon.com: (I not order through the USC bookstore – Too expensive.) Aoki, Keith James Boyle, and Jennifer Jenkins Tales From the Public Domain: Bound by Law? Durham, NC: Duke Law School, 2006 (A Comic Book) ($5.95) Carr, Nicholas (2007) The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google ($25.95/$15.77 Amazon) Chandler, Alfred (2001) Inventing the Electronic Century New York: Free Press (Not Critical, used on Amazon under $5) Hamilton, James T (2004) All the News That’s Fit to Print Princeton: Princeton University Press (Less Critical) ($22.95/used on Amazon from $13.66) -2- Jenkins, Henry (2006) Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide New York: NYU Press ($29.95/$19.77 on Amazon) Shapiro, Carl & Varian, Hal (1999) Information Rules Boston: Harvard Business School Press (Not required but good to have on your shelf) ($38/used from $3 on Amazon) Shirky, Clay (2008) Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Communications New York: Penguin ($25.95/$17.13 on Amazon) Zittrain, Jonathan (2008) The Future of the Internet And How to Stop It New Haven: Yale University Press ($30.00/$19.80 on Amazon) Books for Which There are Free Online Versions Benkler, Yochai (2006) The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom Yale Available at: http://www.benkler.org Cowhey, Peter Jonathan Aronson, & John Richards (2009) Transforming Global Information and Communication Markets: The Political Economy of Innovation Cambridge: MIT Press (will be provided online) Lessig, Lawrence (2004) Free culture New York: Penguin Press Available at http://www.free-culture.cc/freeculture.pdf Von Hippel, Eric (2006) Democratization of Innovation Cambridge: MIT Press Available at: http://web.mit.edu/evhippel/www/democ1.htm There is a course reader and readings you will download from the Internet Important dates: Assignment Case study preferences One-page project synopsis Take-home mid-term due Bill Gates’ Birthday -3- Due by September 15 September 29 October 20 October 28 Class project presentation Final project report due December December Academic Integrity: The Annenberg School for Communication is committed to upholding the University's Academic Integrity code as detailed in the SCampus Guide It is the policy of the School of Communication to report all violations of the code Any serious violation or pattern of violations of the Academic Integrity Code will result in the student's expulsion from the Annenberg Communication School Disability Accommodation: A brief announcement from the Office of Civil Rights: Students requesting academic accommodations based on a disability are required to register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester A letter of verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from the DSP when adequate documentation is filed Please be sure the letter is delivered to me as early in the semester as possible DPS is open MondayFriday, 8:30 5:00 The office is in Student Union 301 and their phone number is (213) 740-0776 -4- CMGT531: Class Schedule Part I: The New World Information Economy Week (August 25): Introduction to the class: Is the World Flat? Tom Friedman and His Critics Friedman, Thomas L (any edition), The World Is Flat Review Chapters and Week (September 1): No Class: Labor Day Week (September 8): Globalization, Leadership, and Innovation: Winning in the 21st Century Shapiro, Carl & Varian, Hal (1999) Information rules Boston: Harvard Business School Press Chapter 1: The information economy pp 118 and skim the rest Von Hippel, Eric (2006) Democratization of Innovation Cambridge: MIT Press pp 1-17 and skim the rest Available at: http://web.mit.edu/evhippel/www/democ1.htm Anderson, Chris “The Long Tail,” Wired 12:2 Available at: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.10/tail_pr.html Week (September 15): The Building Blocks of the New Information Economy: Hardware and Software (Necessary for the Delivery of Content) Benkler, Yochai (2000) “From Consumers to Users: Shifting the Deeper Structures of Regulation Toward Sustainable Commons and User Access,” Available at: http://www.law.indiana.edu/fclj/pubs/v52/no3/benkler1.pdf Look through Benkler’s The Wealth of Networks, Intro and Part -5- Available at: http://www.benkler.org/ wealth_of_networks/index.php/Main_Page Chandler, Alfred, (2001) Inventing the Electronic Century Chapters 3-4, pp 50-131 Part II: Drivers of Change Week (September 22) The beginnings of New Media: The telecommunications industry Carr, Nicholas (2007) The Big Switch: Rewiring the World, from Edison to Google Week (September 29): The Emerging New Information Economy: Incremental or Revolutionary Change? Cowhey, Peter Jonathan Aronson, and John Richards, (CAR), Transforming Global Information and Communication Markets Introduction, Chapters thru Week (October 6) Political Economy of Communication and Trade Cowhey, Peter Jonathan Aronson, and John Richards, (CAR), Transforming Global Information and Communication Markets Chapters thru Week (October 13) Drivers of Change: Wireless, Mobile, and the Internet Cowhey, Peter Jonathan Aronson, and John Richards, (CAR), Transforming Global Information and Communication Markets Chapters -6- Kohiyama, Kenji “A Decade in the Development of Mobile Communications in Japan (1993-2002), in Ito, Okabe, and Matsuda (eds.) (2006), Personal, Portable, Pedestrian pp 61-74 Cambridge: MIT Press David, Paul (2002) The evolving accidental information superhighway Oxford Review of Economic Policy 17(2): 159-187 Available at: http://oxrep.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/17/2/159 Week (October 20) The Future of the Internet (I) Zittrain, Jonathan (2008) The Future of the Internet And How to Stop It New Haven: Yale University Press Week 10 (October 27) The Future of the Internet, Globalization, and Governance Cowhey, Peter Jonathan Aronson, and John Richards, (CAR), Transforming Global Information and Communication Markets Chapters and 10 Case study: Internet in China or India Part III: Sectoral Examinations Week 11 (November 3) The Broadcast and global Film industry Jenkins, Henry (2006) Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide New York: NYU Press Case study: Broadcast/Film Industry Week 12 (November 10): The Music Industry and Intellectual Property Lessig, Lawrence (2004) Free culture New York: Penguin Press (chapter 5: 62-79, the rest is optional) Available at http://www.freeculture.cc/freeculture.pdf Boyle, James “The Second Enclosure Movement and the Construction of the Public Domain,” Available at: -7- http://www.law.duke.edu/pd/papers/boyle.pdf Keith Aoki, James Boyle, and Jennifer Jenkins, Tales From the Public Domain: Bound by Law? Durham, NC: Duke Law School, 2006 (A Comic Book) Case study: Finding the Balance: Intellectual Property in the Digital Age Week 13: (November 17): The Video Games, Virtual Worlds, Web 2.0 and Social Networking Ito, Joichi Online Video: Available at: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5160442894955175707&q=joi+ito&total=66&start=0&num=10&so=0&ty pe=search&plindex=0 Shirky, Clay (2008) Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Communications New York: Penguin ($25.95/$17.13 on Amazon) Rheingold, Howard Smart Mobs Ch pp 157-182 Case Study: Second Life and Public Diplomacy Week 14 (November 24) Back to the Future: The Radio, Book, and Newspaper Industry Girard, B (2003) Radio and the Internet: Mixing media to bridge the divide Available at http://www.comunica.org/1-2-watch/pdf/chapter1.pdf Hamilton, James T (2004) All the News That’s Fit to Print Chapter 79 pp 190-263 Case Study: The Future of the Book Week 15 (December 1) Project presentations -8- ... 301 and their phone number is (213) 740-0776 -4- CMGT5 31: Class Schedule Part I: The New World Information Economy Week (August 25): Introduction to the class: Is the World Flat? Tom Friedman and. .. (October 20) The Future of the Internet (I) Zittrain, Jonathan (2008) The Future of the Internet And How to Stop It New Haven: Yale University Press Week 10 (October 27) The Future of the Internet,... Shirky, Clay (2008) Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Communications New York: Penguin ($25.95/$17.13 on Amazon) Zittrain, Jonathan (2008) The Future of the Internet And How to