Hi – here are the guidelines for your Global Actors projects. I’ve also pasted it all in below, apart from the last page of the document, as there are some active links that are useful for you.
Let me/us know if you need any advice/feedback at any time!
Kris (& Samantha)
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The Global Actors Project is an individual research project leading to your one and only paper during the summer course. Here are some guidelines.
Key Deadlines
6 June @ 10:00 pm CST
- Submit Global Actors Project Proposal
21 June @ 10:00 pm CST
- Submit Final Global Actors Project
The Main Objective
The main objective of this project is to learn how public, private or non-governmental actors with ‘global reach’ frame and implement strategy in a distant world region. In doing so, you should acquire an understanding of (a) how the world and regions are effectively ‘mapped’ by a global actor, and then (b) how this actor tangibly and practically works in a selected region. This project is designed to complement the course text material so you learn about world regions by applying the lens of a specific actor to making sense of a region (e.g., the EU’s perspective on Africa). This is a very different lens in comparison to that applied by the course text authors who are trying to be broad, general, integrative, and unbiased.
What is a Global Actor?
For the purposes of Geog 140, a global actor is an organization that is based/headquartered in one world region and is clearly active (hence the term actor) in one or more other world regions. Global actors can be in the public, private or non-governmental/non-profit sectors. Some examples (of thousands!) include:
|
PUBLIC |
PRIVATE |
NGO/NON-PROFIT |
| European Union | Citibank | Amnesty International |
| US State Department | Moody’s | Médecins Sans Frontières |
| World Bank | Thomson Reuters | Gates Foundation |
| ASEAN | Ford | Ford Foundation |
| Asian Development Bank | Greenpeace | |
| IMF | News Corp | European University Association |
The term ‘global’ simply implies it is active outside of its main/origin base and in one or more world regions. Please note, though, that the list above includes actors that are relatively large. In this paper you could also focus on a small firm or NGO, or even a government agency (e.g., a department of commerce inside a state government in charge of export relations with another world region).
Step 1: Choose You Global Actor and World Region
The first step requires basic research. You will need to conduct enough research to choose your global actor and world region. You could do this by going with your instinct (e.g., I’m curious what Facebook is up to in Sub-Saharan Africa) or else dig around on some databases or websites and select an actor you’ve never heard of before.
Choosing a Global Actor
As noted above, you need to identify a global actor in the public, private or non-governmental/non-profit sectors. This actor could be either very small (e.g., a small NGO or charity) or else one that is huge (e.g., the UN, UNICEF, World Bank, the EU).
If the actor is very small:
- You do need to ensure it was formed or is registered in one part of the world, but is active in another. You cannot work on an NGO, for example, that is 100% Kenyan that works in sub-Saharan Africa.
- You need to ensure you can find out enough information on it, including information regarding how it operates in another world region. Contacts work, obviously, but you might end up having to ask for quite a bit of information, reports, etc., so be wary about being too demanding on the small actor. And be wary about being biased in favor or against the actor IF you have had previous engagement with it (e.g., as an intern).
For very large actors like the EU or the UN it might make more sense to identify a part (or unit) of these organizations. An example would be the UNDP or UNICEF versus the UN as a whole.
Choosing a World Region
You are welcome to focus on the world region of your choice. Please note, however, that the actor cannot come from or be headquartered in the region you have selected. For example, it is not permitted to focus on how a US-based global actor implements its strategy in the US. A focus on North America is permitted, though it should be on how a non-US actor (e.g., the EU or Samsung) frames and deals with North America.
The Proposal
Recall that the first deadline is:
6 June @ 10:00 pm CST
- Submit Global Actors Project Proposal
In terms of this step please fill in the sections in the last page of this handout and ensure you do not add more than one full page of content. When you are done, please load it up via the drop-box (do NOT email it to us) by 6 June.
Please cut out this front explanatory/background material, and save your file using this format:
LASTNAMEFirstnameGlobalActors140.doc
Step 2: Learning More about your Global Actor and World Region
In tandem with Step 1, or else after your proposal has been approved, you need to conduct more systematic research about both the global actor and the region.
With respect to the global actor, there are a number of things to think about.
First, you should not only rely on Google for information about your prospective global actor. Take advantage of the truly excellent library system (and librarians) we have on campus. The most appropriate librarians are those working in the Geography Library, the Business School Library, and Memorial Library.
Second, explore the amazing databases we have access to at the tips of our fingers! Dig around and search by keyword (the name of the actor you are thinking about, or even better the name of the actor in association with the region you might focus on).
Third, please note what the Business School librarian suggested regarding the Geog 140 projects:
Hi, the best database for company information is OneSource. Factiva has the most international newspapers and magazines. It can be accessed from anywhere but only 3 people can be in it at one time. Other article databases with company news would be ABI/Inform and Business Source Premier. Business Monitor International may also be useful – it has excellent quarterly reports on certain industries in all countries. And my International Business research guide is organized by country and has links to many other resources: http://researchguides.library.wisc.edu/intbusines
Fourth, a very good newspaper database is LexisNexis, which the Library subscribes to.
Fifth, two excellent social sciences/sciences data base are the Web of Knowledge/Science, and Proquest Research Library.
All of these resources should help you learn more about the global actor you are thinking about. In addition, there are numerous other databases, lists of companies/NGOs, etc in the library, and on the web. The key thing is to choose an actor you are interested in, and ensure that it is active in one or more world regions beyond its home base/HQ.
With respect to the world region element of your paper, there are a number of things to think about.
First, use your course text to learn more about the region you have selected. It has a lot of very relevant material in it.
Second, use some of the data bases noted above, especially the Web of Knowledge/Science, and Proquest Research Library. Speak to the librarians in Geography and over at Memorial as well. You need to know enough about your region to be able to understand why your selected global actor is doing what it is doing to implement its strategy.
Step 3: Structuring your Paper
In terms of structure, here is what you need to do.
First, develop an introduction that outlines your objectives in writing the paper, and your selected global actor. Tell us what you are going to do before you do it.
Second, allocate 2-4 paragraphs educating us about the global actor you are looking at, its origins, where its headquarters are located, and its key objectives or mission. Don’t get carried away on this section, though and develop a long history of the actor. The main focus of this paper is really about understanding how the global actor you have selected engages with, in a practical sense, the world region you are focusing
Third, focus on the global ‘geographical imagination’ of the actor. What does the “global ‘geographical imagination’ of the actor” really mean? By this I simply mean how and why does your actor carve up the world into component parts. So, for example, some actors generate a country-by-country map of the world and then they focus on select countries. Other actors generate a country-by-country map of the world but then bunch the countries into world regions. See UNESCO, for example, which has defined a number of world regions. Or see the case of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), which carves up the world this way – they focus on “catastrophic events — such as armed conflict, epidemics, malnutrition, or natural disasters” that overwhelm local health systems, and generate a map like this one:
In other words, explain how and why your adopted actor frames the globe and its component world regions the way it does. For example, some global actors are constituted by nation-states, so each region is viewed as a collection of regionally specific nation-states. In contrast, other global actors only focus on ‘emerging regions’ that are associated with the potential of rapid economic growth, or else they focus on ‘less developed’ regions like South Asia. Or perhaps they focus on countries with infrastructure challenges, or key disease outbreaks.
Fourth, focus on how your adopted global actor attempts to implement its strategy in a single world region. So, for example, you could focus on the EU’s Africa strategy, or Google or Facebook’s attempt to develop profitable activities in East Asia, or else how Médecins Sans Frontières deals with crises in Africa. The key thing is to do enough research so you know how the actor operates in your selected world region. For example, some actors will establish a regional headquarter in select world regions and use this as a ‘basing point’ for their operations in the region. Other actors use joint ventures with regional actors – they work through a regional actor that has the connections, knowledge, etc., to be effective in the region. There are many approaches to implementing strategy in a world region – your task is to sort this out and see how the ‘rubber hits the road’, so to speak, and the actor really operates in a world region beyond their region of origin.
Some options for fleshing this issue out include case studies of specific projects, events, etc., so things are a little more tangible when you write up the paper. Case studies will enable you to get your ‘hands dirty’ (using a gardening analogy) and really see how the global actor tangible gets things done on the ground in the world region you are focusing on. This means being aware of why and where, for example, Coca Cola produces its product in select parts of Africa, or why Google places its R&D units in Zurich and its key lobbying unit in Brussels.
1-2 case studies at the most, though, OK!
Practical Details
The research paper should be approximately 8-10 double-spaced pages in length (not including references or full page graphics).
Please follow the MLA documentation style:
http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/DocMLA.html
That’s it for now…hope this helps!! And feel free to email us or visit us if you need more advice or are confused about any aspect of this document.
Kris (& Samantha)
