Workshop And Reading Guide

WORKSHOP AND READING GUIDE   Workshops begin in Week 2 and cover the previous week’s lecture topics. Lecture 1    INTRODUCTION  

• Why should business students understand government?
• What are some key differences between the market and the state?
• How should politics be defined?

Required Reading  

• Curran, G. and van Acker, E. 2018. ‘The Challenges of Government Business Relations in a Global Economy’, in The Challenges of Government Business Relations in a Global Economy,

Lecture 2      POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS  

• What purpose do constitutions serve?
• Why was the Constitutional referendum on Indigenous recognition proposed?
• What is federalism and how does it impact on business?
• Is the modern executive too powerful?
• What are the key differences between presidential and parliamentary systems?

Required Reading:  

• Eccleston, R. 2018. ‘The Constitutional Foundations of Government’ in The Challenges of Government Business Relations in a Global Economy, Chapter 1.
• Hollander, R. 2018. ‘Federalism and the Strucdture of Government’ in The Challenges of Government Business Relations in a Global Economy, Chapter
• Williams, P. 2018. ‘Parliament and the Executive’ in The Challenges of Government Business Relations in a Global Economy, Chapter 3.

    Lecture 3    POLITICAL ACTORS

• Why do people join interest groups?
• Which interest groups are most effective? Why?
• Why did Indigenous peoples see the need for regional lands councils?
• What roles do political parties play in a democratic system?
• How have political parties changed over time?
• Why do different party systems exist?

  Required Reading

• van Acker E. 2018. ‘Political Parties and Party Systems’ in The Challenges of Government Business Relations in a Global Economy, Chapter 4.

 

• van Acker E. 2018. ‘Interest Groups and Business Strategies’ in The Challenges of Government Business Relations in a Global Economy, Chapter 5.

    Lecture 4                                     THE EMERGENCE OF NEOLIBERALISM  

• What were some of the characteristics of GBR during the long boom?
• What have been some of the characteristics of GBR during the neoliberal era?
• Why did neoliberalism become the dominant approach to GBR?

Required Reading:  

• Halvorson, D. 2013. ‘Political Economy: Historical Overview,’ in The Challenges of Government Business Relations in a Global Economy, Chapter 6.

 

• Harvey, D. 2003. ‘Freedom’s Just Another Word…”, in A Brief History of Neoliberalism. New York: Oxford University Press, chapter 1, available at L@G.

  Lecture 4 continued                              GLOBALISATION  

• What is globalisation?
• What are some the consequences for GBR arising from globalisation?
• Are governments still useful to business in an era of globalisation?

  Required Reading:  

• Halvorson, D. 2018. ‘Political Economy: Historical Overview’ in The Challenges of Government Business Relations in a Global Economy, Chapter 6.

 

• Hirst, P. and Thompson, G. 2003. ‘Globalization – A Necessary Myth’, in The Global Transformations Reader: An Introduction to the Globalization Debate. Held, D. and A. McGrew (eds). Cambridge: Polity Press. Ch. 7, available at L@G.

Lecture 5   GBR CASE STUDIES 1:   GOVERNMENT BUSINESS RELATIONS IN AUSTRALIA  

• How does business influence government in Australia
• Which model of GBR best describes the Australian case?
• Why is the Australian economy considered to be vulnerable?

    Required Reading:  

• Conley, T. 2013. ‘The Great Transformation? The Political Economy of Structural Change in Australia’ inThe Challenges of Government Business Relations in a Global Economy, Chapter

      Lecture 6                               GBR CASE STUDIES 2:  

• GOVERNMENT BUSINESS RELATIONS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

 

• In what different ways have politics and business been historically conducted in Europe?
• How have the changing economic demands impacted on different European countries and their social democratic systems?
• How has the grand experiment of the European Union been called into question by different countries over the past few years?

 

• Lavelle, A. 2018. ‘Europe in the Age of Austerity: Neo-Liberalism, Revolt and Reaction’ inThe Challenges of Government Business Relations in a Global Economy, Chapter 8.

 

• GOVERNMENT BUSINESS RELATIONS IN THE USA

   

• What are some of the distinguishing characteristics of GBR in the USA?
• How much did the US model of GBR contribute to the global financial crisis?
• How will the US model be affected now that the global financial crisis has passed?

  Required Reading:  

• Kane J. 2018. ‘The Role of the United States in the Global Financial Crisis’ in The Challenges of Government Business Relations in a Global Economy, Chapter 7.
• Wilson, G. 2003. ‘Business and Politics in the United States’, in Business and Politics: A Comparative Introduction, 3rd edition. New York: Chatham House, chapter 2, available at L@G.

  Lecture 7 (NO CLASSES ON EITHER CAMPUS, PUBLIC HOLIDAY)   Lecture 8   GBR CASE STUDIES 3:   (A) GOVERNMENT BUSINESS RELATIONS IN JAPAN   (B) GOVERNMENT BUSINESS RELATIONS IN CHINA  

• How would you describe government business relations in China?
• What role does the state play in the Japanese model?
• What are the main differences between the Japanese and the Chinese models?
• What lessons might the rest of the world learn from Japan’s responses to its ‘lost decades’?

  Required Reading:  

• Heazle, M. and Kane, J. 2018. ‘Managing Crises: Lessons from Post-Bubble Japan’ in The Challenges of Government Business Relations in a Global Economy, Chapter
• Smith, D. 2018. ‘The Debate over China’s Economic Reform: Bears and Bulls’ inThe Challenges of Government Business Relations in a Global Economy, Chapter 11.

    Lecture 9   GOVERNMENT, BUSINESS AND REGULATION  

• Why is government regulation needed?
• What is market failure?
• Is regulation a positive or a negative for business?

  Required Reading:  

• Hollander, R. 2018. ‘Rethinking Regulation after the Crash’ inThe Challenges of Government Business Relations in a Global Economy, Chapter 12.

    Lecture 10   BUSINESS, GOVERNMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY 1: CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY  

• What is understood by the term ‘corporate social responsibility’ or CSR?
• Which factors underlie the increased importance of CSR in the business world?
• How can business best manage issues of CSR and Indigenous values?
• Do states still have a role to play in the maintenance of the ‘common good’?

  Required Reading:  

• O’Faircheallaigh, C. 2018. ‘Corporate Social Responsibility and Globalisation,’ in The Challenges of Government Business Relations in a Global Economy, Chapter 13.

    Lecture 11    GOVERNMENT, BUSINESS AND SUSTAINABILITY 2:  

• How does climate change impact on business?
• Is there a trade-off between environmental sustainability and business interests?
• How can business best manage issues of sustainability and Indigenous values?

Required Reading:  

• Henderson, R. et al. 2017. ‘Climate Change in 2017: Implications for Business’. Harvard Business School, June 27. Available: http://www.hbs.edu/environment/Documents/Climate_Change_2017.pdf