Master Course:
Microeconomics of Competitiveness (MOC)
Spring Semester 2012
Monday 12.15 – 15.00h.
Microeconomics of Competitiveness: Firms, Clusters, and Economic Development (MOC) is a university-wide graduate course offered to students from the Harvard University as well as to student from affiliated foreign university such as the Center for Competitiveness of the University of Fribourg (www.unifr.ch/competitiveness). The course has been created in a multiyear development effort by Professor Michael E. Porter and the staff and affiliates of the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness at Harvard Business School.
The MOC course explores the determinants of competitiveness and successful economic development viewed from a bottom-up, microeconomic perspective. While sound macroeconomic policies, stable legal and political institutions, and improving social conditions create the potential for competitiveness, wealth is actually created at the microeconomic level. The sophistication and productivity of firms, the vitality of clusters, and the quality of the business environment in which competition takes place, are the ultimate determinants of a nation's or region's productivity.
The course platform consists of case studies and other written materials plus an extensive library of video content that can be used in class including lectures by Prof. Porter for all sessions and videotapes of case protagonists including heads of state, senior ministers, governors, and others. Finally, a course website for students is available and offer networking opportunities with foreign students including Harvard students.
MOC course at the University of Fribourg:
Next Course: Spring Semester 2012 starting next February 20, 2012.
Registration:
Each student needs to be registered. Once registered, each student will have access to the course material via the Harvard electronic platform. Each student will get a password. Each student will get a course support which comprises inter alia the case studies as well as other publications.
Registration deadline: February 10, 2012 (Ms. Denise Converso, Office G402, Monday-Friday 08:30-11:00).
Registration costs: 70 CHF (to pay to Ms. Denise Converso, Office G402, Monday-Friday 08:30-11:00, includes the course support, copyrights, electronic access and individual password to Harvard Business School).
Text Book: Michael Porter, On competition, Harvard, 2008.
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Course Schedule:
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Date |
Session Topic |
Case study |
Reading |
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February 20th |
Chapter 1: Competitiveness: overall framework |
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On Competition 2008: Introduction and Chapters 6 and 7 |
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February 27th |
Chapter 2:Firms' strategies and operations |
Finland and Nokia : Creating the World's Most Competitive Economy |
On Competition 2008 : Chapters 1 and 8 |
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March 5th |
Chapter 3:Quality of the business environment: the Diamond Model |
Car Navigation Systems: Sustaining Japan's Competitiveness |
On Competition 2008: Chapter 6 |
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March 12th |
Team Project mid-term review |
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March 19th |
Chapter 4: Clusters and clusters development |
The Californian Wine Cluster and the Australian Wine Cluster The Dutch Flower cluster |
On Competition 2008 ; Chapter 7 |
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March 26th |
Chapter 4: Clusters and clusters development |
Building a cluster: Electronic and Information Technology in Costa Rica |
On Competition 2008 : Chapter 7 |
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April 2nd |
Chapter 5:Economic Strategies |
Singapore Economic Strategy |
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April 16th |
Chapter 6: Attracting Foreign Direct Investment |
Indonesia: Attracting Foreign Direct Investment |
On Competition 2008 : Chapter 8 |
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April 23rd |
Chapter 7:Competitiveness of nations and regions: the Swiss case |
New York City: Bloomberg's Strategy for Economic Development |
Michael Porter, The Economic Performance of Regions, Regional Studies, 37(6-7), pp. 549-578. |
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April 30th |
Chapter 8:Competitiveness and creation of shared value |
The Nestlé Concept of Corporate Social Responsibility |
On Competition 2008 : Chapter 14 Michael Porter and Mark Kramer, Creating Shared Value, Harvard Business Review, January 2011. |
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May 7th |
Team Project Presentation |
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Team Project PP Presentations |
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May 14th |
Team Project Presentations Conclusion of the course |
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Team Project PP Presentations |
*no course on Monday 21st: will be compensated (suppression of one break of 15 minutes during the whole semester)
Course organization :
Sessions will run every Monday from 12.15h until 15.00h.
Session will run for three hours. Each session will comprise:·
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A typical case discussion (45 minutes)·
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A typical lecture (90 minutes)·
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Every week, students may have an individual internet access to the lecture given by Prof. Michael Porter on the same issue within his own MOC course at Harvard.
Students will be asked to apply their learning in a group project that analyzes the competitiveness of a selected country (or region in a large country) and one of its clusters. Groups include around 4 students.
Language:
The course is taught in English. However, the language shouldn’t be an obstacle to attend the course. It is expected that most students may have a mitigate level of English.
Grading :
There won’t be an exam (oral or written) at the end of the Spring term. The grading will be based on the average of the two following assessments:
• Assessment 1: Class participation mainly during the case studies discussions.
• Assessment 2: Group project report and presentation.
Please note that students have to register for the exam during the Spring term according to the faculty regulations, even though there won’t be an actual exam at the end of the term. Students who don’t register for the exam lose the right to validate the course.
For students who may fail at the Spring term assessment, a written exam – 90 minutes - will be organized at the fall exam session (end of August – beginning of September).
Course Assistant : Michael Keller (michael.keller@unifr.ch)
