You will then travel to the heart of the EU - Brussels, Belgium - where you will meet with the German students and learn through on-site interactive visits, cultural immersion, discussion and reflection. This adventure includes meetings with executives from multi-national companies, government officials and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and will address business, legal, business ethics and corporate social responsibility issues as well as economic, socioeconomic, political and cultural issues within the European Union and their impact on conducting business in a global economy. The course ends in Trier, Germany, where you will attend classes and finalize your contracts.  

The University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business (UST-OCB) and the Center for Ethical Business Cultures (CEBC) jointly offer this 3-credit MBA course.

Course: BLAW 615

Prerequisites: BLAW 600

Credits: 3

Brussels

Students and Instructors

About Your Instructors

Susan Marsnik, J.D. is an associate professor and chair of the Department of Legal Studies in Business at the University of St. Thomas Opus College of Business. She teaches undergraduate and graduate courses. Prior to her academic career, Professor Marsnik practiced law with a boutique law firm where her practice included resolving business disputes and assisting clients on a variety of legal issues. In addition to practicing law, Professor Marsnik worked for ten years as a professional in the book publishing industry and she has experience marketing legal services and consulting law firms on management issues. Her research includes comparative analysis of U.S. and European Union law in a number of areas impacting international business including data privacy, copyright, and sales law. 

She has published in law journals and an encyclopedia of international law, and authored corporate compliance training programs in European Union legal issues used by Fortune 100 companies. Professor Marsnik has lectured, delivered papers, or taught in MBA programs and law schools in the United Kingdom, France, Hungary, Germany and Russia. 

Michael Hakenberg, Ph.D., J.D., LL.M. is a German national living in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. He is a professor for German and International Business Law at the Business Department of the University of Applied Sciences (Fachhochschule) Trier, Germany. Dr. Hakenberg received his juris doctor degree (1981) and a Ph.D. in public international law (1987) from the University of Würzburg in Germany. He also holds a master of laws degree from the University of Michigan Law School in Ann Arbor (1983). Dr. Hakenberg is a member of the New York Bar and worked as a lawyer in Seattle, Munich, Stuttgart (Rechtsanwalt) and with an Italian Bank in Luxembourg.

In his work he dealt extensively with mergers & acquisitions, corporate and banking law, and international transactional work.

In October 1992 Dr. Hakenberg joined the University of Applied Sciences (Fachhochschule; http://www.fh-trier.de) in Trier. His main areas of teaching and research are German, EU and international business law, banking and financial law, and he publishes regularly in these areas. During the spring semester 2003 he was a visiting professor at the University of St. Thomas. Dr. Hakenberg also teaches at the Luxemburg European Campus of Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.

Douglas Jondle, Ph.D., MBA received his academic training (M.S. and Ph.D.) in Plant Genetics at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, MBA at the University of St. Thomas and B.S. in Bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. As a research station manager for Cargill he was involved in numerous agronomic trait technology projects including transgenic modifications. He is knowledgeable of U.S. and European issues on genetically modified organisms. He works at the Center for Ethical Business Cultures as Director of Research. Dr. Jondle teaches Business Ethics at the University of St. Thomas, has guest lectured at the University of St. Thomas and the University of Minnesota on the subject of business ethics and corporate social responsibility. 

As a manager with Cargill, Inc., Dr. Jondle has traveled throughout Europe including Germany, France, Netherlands, Austria, Russia and Ukraine. With CEBC, he developed and facilitated graduate level study abroad programs to Belgium, Germany, Luxemburg and the United Kingdom for the University of St. Thomas and the University of Minnesota.

The University of St. Thomas (UST) Opus College of Business and CEBC welcomes your interest in our study abroad course in Business, Law and Ethics during the 2009 spring term. The course will include:

• Three classroom sessions prior to your departure for Europe. (Minneapolis).

o        Session 1: 3 hours (9:00 AM – 12:00 PM) February 14, 2009

o        Session 2: 6 hours (9:00 AM – 12:00 PM/1:00 PM – 4:00 PM) March 14, 2009

o        Session 3: 6 hours (9:00 AM – 12:00 PM/1:00 – 4:00 PM) April 18, 2009

• May 25 – June 6, 2009 - Study in Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany.

Brussels

Saturday Market

Course curriculum is designed to introduce students to the complexities of globalization as seen through the eyes of a business “going global” through exporting and licensing. The classroom component of the course is augmented by site visits and guest lectures designed to expose students to business, legal, regulatory, and cultural realities of doing business within the European Union.

The academic centerpiece of this study abroad course is the contract negotiation exercise. The exercise is based on a successful problem that has been used in business programs on both sides of the Atlantic. The exercise requires buyers and sellers based in different countries to negotiate a contract for the sale of goods. For purposes of this course, the problem has been expanded to encompass more complex business problems that implicate cultural and ethical issues. 

University of St. Thomas students will act as the sellers.  Students at the University of Applied Sciences – Fachhochschule Trier will act as the buyers. 

The product that is the subject of the contract will most likely be a value added food product with the possibility of including genetically modified organisms (GMOs). 

Ethics Business Case

Simulation

Importing products containing GMOs into the EU raises business, legal, ethical and cultural issues that will be explored as part of the course. The American and German MBA students will conduct preliminary negotiations via e-mail and complete the exercise through face-to-face negotiations in Germany. In doing so, each team will be required to make business decisions based on how they approach the cultural, ethical, business, and legal issues in the problem. The instructors will provide students with the content and pedagogical tools necessary to conduct negotiations incorporating the interplay between business, legal, and ethical considerations impacting the business decisions each team makes. 

Site visits in the EU have been selected to expose students to current and relevant experiences in differential legal and ethical business philosophies and cultural environments within the European community. Given tensions in U.S./EU trade relations over the past decade, and recent World Trade Organization rulings, special emphasis will be directed toward business and cultural issues emerging as patterns. These experiences are designed to enhance student perception of legal and ethical issues faced by U.S. companies conducting business within the European Union. They will, hopefully, challenge students’ legal and ethical decision–making capacities when situations are not so black and white, but are in the gray areas where all decisions seem right. The goal is to have students begin to see value in reaching for the higher standard and in understanding that certain aspects of that standard may be culturally influenced.

Brussels

Grand Place City Center

Session 1 - Saturday, 14 February 2009

Time:

9 a.m. - 12 (noon)

Location:

University of St. Thomas ~ Minneapolis Campus ~ TBD

Session 2 - Saturday, 14 March 2009

Time:

9 a.m. – 12 (noon) / 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.

Location:

University of St. Thomas ~ Minneapolis Campus ~ TBD

Session 3 - Saturday, 18 April 2009

Time:

9 a.m. – 12 (noon) / 1 p.m. - 4 p.m.

Location:

University of St. Thomas ~ Minneapolis Campus ~ TBD

Porta Nigra

Roman Built City Gate

Students may begin submitting applications on September 1, 2008. Please note that considerable interest in this opportunity to study in two leading European business centers is expected and enrollment will be limited to 20 students. 

If you are interested in joining us for this exciting learning experience, please be advised to complete and return your application materials to International Education as soon as possible!

Home of Riesling Wine

Every course participant must be a University of St. Thomas graduate student. 

• Current UST Degree Students

The Associate Dean of the UST School of Law has approved this course for law school credit within the 6 credit hour limit for courses from other UST schools or departments.

Please note that upon acceptance into the course, International Education will enroll you in the course. Important: You cannot apply or enroll for BLAW 615 Business, Law and Ethics in the European Union via Murphy online registration. 

Luxembourg City

In addition to the two passport-quality photos submitted with your application, you will require two (2) more photos to process your passport (if you do not already have one). Make sure your passport is current.

If the course is cancelled there will be no monetary refunds for the required passport/ID photos. Students may retrieve unused photos from International Educational upon request.

For information regarding the course please contact:

Dr. Douglas Jondle

Center for Ethical Business Cultures

1000 LaSalle Avenue, TMH 331

Minneapolis, MN 55403-2006

USA

Phone: 651-962-4117

Email: djjondle@cebcglobal.org  

Professor Susan Marsnik

Opus College of Business

University of St. Thomas

1000 LaSalle Avenue, TMH 443

Minneapolis, MN 55403-2006

USA

Phone: 651-962-4147

Email: sjmarsnik@stthomas.edu

For questions regarding course application, registration and billing, please contact:

Ms. Christina Larson

International Education

University of St. Thomas

2115 Summit Avenue, Mail #44C-109

St. Paul, MN 55105-1096

USA

Phone: 651-962-6448

Email: cllarson@stthomas.edu

For questions regarding travel and any special travel arrangements please contact: 

Ms. Heather Groh

Seminars International, Inc.

27 East Monroe Street, Suite 800

Chicago, IL 60657-5600

USA

Phone: 800-541-7506

Email: heather@semint.com