Teaching – Marcelo Bucheli

Teaching Recognitions

2018 MBA Teaching Excellence Award, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

2017 MBA Teaching Excellence Award, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

2017 MBA Best Story Teller Award, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

2015 MBA Teaching Excellence Award, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Included in the University of Illinois campus list of Excellent Teachers based on student evaluations for Executive MBA, full time MBA, business undergraduate and history undergraduate courses.

Teaching Material

Bucheli, Marcelo and Geoffrey Jones (2005, rev. 2016) “The Octopus and the Generals: United Fruit Company in Guatemala,” Harvard Business School Case 9-805-146.

Bucheli, Marcelo and Geoffrey Jones (2005, rev. 2016) Teaching Note of “The Octopus and the Generals: United Fruit Company in Guatemala,” Harvard Business School Case 9-805-146.

Current Courses

Global Strategy (MBA)

Starting in the late 1990s, “globalization” became a buzzword to describe the apparent integration of markets in the world economy. Many authors and pundits claimed that the world was converging towards a market-friendly democratic place, while gurus and consulting firms were not short of formulating and advice on how to make profits out of the global economy. Decades later, new realities show that globalization does not mean political, cultural, and economic convergence and that forces against it are strong.

This course seeks to understand how firms adapt to, react towards, and shape the global economy. Students should be able to evaluate markets and the best strategies firms should follow when operating globally.

Online (Coursera):

Global Strategy I [Link: https://www.coursera.org/learn/global-strategy]

Global Strategy II [Link: https://www.coursera.org/learn/global-strategy-two]

International Business (undergraduate -business)

This is an introductory course in international business. The basic content of the course includes (1) an overview of the means of conducting international business, with an emphasis on what makes international different from domestic; (2) the effects of the social systems within countries on the conduct of international business; (3) the major theories explaining international business transactions and the institutions influencing those activities; (4) the dynamic interface between countries and companies attempting to conduct foreign business activities; and (5) corporate strategy alternatives for global operations.

Past Courses at the University of Illinois

Creating the Global Economy (MBA)

When crossing borders entrepreneurs have to face new challenges created by different political, cultural, and economic environments. Under these circumstances, success depends on the companies’ abilities to adapt themselves to the new realities, or their capability to transform the local economy to their needs. This adaptation demands flexibility in the companies’ managerial organization, creativity at dealing with different legal cultures, and strong emphasis on technological innovation. By studying several cases in different historical moments, this course will explore how the adaptation of different companies to diverse and sometimes hostile environments permitted the creation of the global economy, as we know it.

Capitalism and Global History (undergraduate -history)

Scholars, activists, and politicians have long debated about whether the process of globalization is beneficial or harmful to the world’s population. While some argue globalization only benefits rich countries or large corporations others maintain that this process impoverishes already poor countries or the working classes of both rich and poor countries. One common theme in recent debates are the ideas that globalization and the rise of new economic powers such as India or China are relatively recent phenomena. This course explores economic globalization in a historical perspective focusing on the following themes: (a) the roots of the Western dominance of the global economy; (b) the triumph of capitalism over other economic systems; and, (c) the role multinational corporations have played in the expansion of capitalism around the world.

The Politics of International Business (PhD seminar -business)

Firms operating at the global level have to deal with different political regimes, economic systems, and military conflicts (both international and domestic). This courses analyzes the strategies followed by firms in the ever changing political and economic environment in which they operate. The goal of the course is to familiarize the students with classic and contemporary studies on the political strategies of multinational corporations and develop a research paper that studies particular political challenges faced by multinational firms in different environments.

Latin America and the World Economy (undergraduate -History)

Since their independence in the 19^th century, Latin American countries have participated in the world economy. The countries specialized in the production and export of raw materials to the industrialized world, and opened its doors to foreign investors. This was encouraged and endorsed by the local elites of the newly created countries, who upheld the goals of modernization and «progress» through participation in an emerging global economic system. This process of integration, however, was not smooth. The relationship between foreign markets and local societies generated different kinds of conflicts and movements of resistance that shaped Latin America in the 19^th and 20^th century. This course explores the relationship between Latin America and the world market, attempting to answer the following questions: Was the peculiar insertion of Latin American countries into global capitalist markets to blame for the region’s widespread poverty? To what degree did foreign investors change local societies? How has the relationship between Latin American societies, foreign investors, and the world market evolved in the last two centuries? We will study a body of literature analyzing the political economy of foreign direct investment in Latin America, including studies on oil, agriculture, mining, and manufacturing.

Past courses at other institutions different from the University of Illinois

Foundations (Harvard Business School)

Introductory course to the Harvard Business School MBA program. The course explores the development of capitalism in four countries (United States, Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom) and the evolution of the operations of corporations and entrepreneurs from those four countries from the eighteenth to the twentieth century.

Global Strategy (Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania)

This is the global module of the course “Managing the Established Enterprise”. It covers the unique opportunities and challenges that firms face when doing business across borders, and the strategies that they can deploy based on the country- and firm-specific characteristics. While reinforcing the learning points covered in the previous two parts of the course, the discussions in this part will emphasize the deep and persistent cross-country differences in economic, political and social institutions.

Latin American History Immersion (Lauder Institute, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania)

This course provides a general introduction to Latin American history focused on the elements that determined the region’s economic and political development. The course will take into consideration issues such as Latin America’s long-term persistent poverty and political instability, the continent’s specialization in commodities, and the different attempts for modernization. Although usually analyzed as a whole, the course will consider the enormous diversity of societies within Latin America and the elements determining those differences.

Historical Approaches to Business and Economics (Kyoto University, Japan)

In recent times the idea that globalization is beneficial for all peoples has been under attack. Increased nationalism and nativisim in many countries have put those defending globalization at the defensive. Many characteristics of the current backlash against globalization are different from previous ones, while others resemble previous experiences. In this course we will explore the evolution of international business (and particularly the strategies of multinational corporations) during the last 150 years. We will understand the adaptation strategies developed by multinationals when facing a changing global and domestic political environment. The course will draw lessons useful for scholars and managers to understand the long-term processes behind the current global economy.

International Business (Chinese University of Hong Kong, China)