COIL PROJECT SPRING 2024

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (USA) – Universidad Politecnica de Victoria (MEXICO)

Profesores - Docentes

Maria Leonard, MBA Jesus Garcia, PhD

versity of Texas Rio Grande Valley Oneida Marine, PhD Universidad Politecnica de Vict
Department of Management Universidad Politécnica de Victoria Licenciatura en Comercio Internacional
kar College of Business & Entrepreneurship Licenciatura en Comercio Internacional y Aduanas BIS Phone (834) 311-1539
Phone: (956) 665-4068 Phone: (834) 111-3711 Email: jgarciaa@[Link].m
mail: [Link]@[Link] Email: olopezm@[Link]

Project description
It is an initiative that promotes and supports international online collaboration in Latin America and the world.
It is a model in which a teacher, together with an international partner designs a project for a course that includes
learning outcomes, activities, tools or technology platforms and an evaluation for the purpose of exchanging
disciplinary and cultural content in a specific course.
For the development of this work, three professors will be supported: Professor María Leonard, MBA (University
of Texas Rio Grande Valley) and the Universidad Politecnica de Victoria from Victoria, Mexico
The project has a value of 20% of your overall grade for the semester.

Objectives
1. Build the meaning of what sustainability is in organizations and compare the differences and similarities
between U.S. and Colombian business practices for sustainable development.
2. Articulate mechanisms to propose ways to align organizational objectives with sustainable development
objectives and corporate social responsibility practices.
3. Use critical reflection to demonstrate what sustainability and CSR practices are and how they help
organizations achieve long-term development.

Project-related activities and Deliverables

This project is a group assignment (including Texas and Mexico students in each group), which will consist of an
analysis of a certain pre-assigned topic related to The groups will analyze the issue and its impact on
economic/social/environmental conditions and how businesses may be affecting it (positively or negatively). A
PEST analysis will discover the technological-political-social-economic trends that may impact the problem/issue.

The groups are expected to cite at least one examples of specific companies or nonprofit organizations for the
USA and one for Mexico who face this challenge and how their leadership has dealt with it (positively or
negatively). This report will analyze the practices of these companies in relation to sustainability, environmental,
social, legal and/or ethical issues, as well as their effects on today's society.
Each group will offer, at the end of the project, a 15-minute video covering the most relevant points in their
report and assignment requirements. All team members are expected to participate in the presentation. An
example will be provided.

Language Survey
Every student will submit an individual language survey to be placed in a group that matches his/her
Spanish/English Proficiency

Icebreaker Activity

The ice-breaking activity aims to know themselves and achieve a more fluid communication between the
project's work team, it is important that each student performs and shares with his group the result of the
activity.

Tourist guide:

Post a photograph of something you really like about your community and tell us what you like most about
living there and if you were a tourist guide, where you would take us and why.

Team Charter
Each group will submit a charter to ensure that all members understand the project.

Report’s Outline
An outline will be submitted to ensure that groups are organizing the work ahead and have a “roadmap” for
completion.

Draft/Partial Work submitted for review.

Written Report
Students will work in teams of no more than 5 people each. A language survey will be provided to form the
groups according to their language proficiency. Texas students will focus on the Mexican practices and students
from Mexico will focus on researching the U.S. practices related to the issue that the team has chosen to
research. The team will come to the final recommendations as a whole.

Topics:
Each team shall work on one of the following issues or topics:

• The impact of different leadership styles on employee engagement and productivity and organizational
culture

• Effective leadership strategies for fostering innovation and creativity in organizations.

• Change management, how to lead and manage organizational change from planning to
implementation and managing resistance to change.
• Cross-cultural leadership challenges and opportunities in today’s globalized business environment.

• The role of leadership practices in adapting to emerging technologies and their impact on company’s
performance

• The importance of ethical leadership and its impact on company’s performance

• Comparison and contrast of the view of leadership authority and its impact in both the US and Mexican
cultures

• The role of business leadership in facing 21st century’s environmental and social challenges

General Instructions:

1. Each team will be responsible for completing, in a team setting, a group written report (8 – 10 pages,
APA Guidelines, typed, and double spaced) and a video presentation that will cover relevant
information regarding a specific leadership topic. The topics of this research will be handed out to
each team once the teams are set up.

2. The group will clearly identify at least two examples of leaders and/or companies that illustrate the
concepts that are being analyzed in the paper (At least one from USA and one from Mexico). PLEASE
NOTE THAT THE COMPANIES THAT YOU CHOOSE NEED TO BE APPROVED BY THE PROFESSORS, TO
AVOID DUPLICATION. Examples of these concepts are “Leading through Change Effectively”,
“Leadership and Ethics”, etc. These examples will highlight positive and negative
management/leadership practices and the impact they have had on the specific companies or company
leaders cited in the paper.
3. Through your paper, your team will research information related to the topic to which you were
assigned. The analysis must include information regarding:
a) How do senior management and company directors handle this topic within the company?
b) Have the companies chosen shown their commitment to positive leadership, ethical behavior, and
Corporate Social Responsibility (or lack thereof)?
c) Do certain leadership styles/practices have a positive or negative effect on the financial performance of
the company? Why or why not?
4. What is the biggest contrast this group found in the research of the American and Mexican companies’
overall practices with regards to the topic being analyzed?
5. What are the similarities your group found in the research of the American and Mexican companies’
practices with regards to this topic?

6. The group MUST present recommendations of best leadership practices (specific to their research
topic) that could foster positive changes in the workplace and make an organization more effective,
regardless of country. These recommendations are an important part of this assignment, as they will
reflect the critical thinking skills of the team.
7. Students must properly reference the textbook and additional sources from which information is cited.
APA guidelines must be followed.

8. Each group will deliver a 15-minute power-point video presentation outlining the most relevant points
of their report. Every member of the team is expected to participate in the video presentation.

Group’s Video
A video (not longer than 15 minutes) covering all important aspects of the assignment will be submitted. Every
student in the group will participate in the video.

Individual Reflection
Each student will submit an individual reflection of the project.
The individual reflection will not carry a grade, but the student must turn it in to receive a grade for the
project.

Activities Timeline

Activity Date

Language survey Feb. 19

Feb. 19(UPV)
Kick off meeting
Feb. 20 (UTRGV)
Groups are Formed Feb. 20

Icebreaker Feb 26
Team charter due March 4
SPRING BREAK (UTRGV) March 11-15

Outline/abstract due March 18

SEMANA SANTA (HOLY WEEK) BREAK (UNAB) March 25-29

Draft / Partial work is submitted April 1

Final written report due April 8

Video due April 10

Individual Reflection Delivery (requirement) April 15

Grades delivery APRIL 19

Communication Mode

1. Zoom, TEAMS or MEETS for virtual meetings.

2. Google for discussions and assignments
3. WhatsApp and Emails for casual communication within groups
 COIL ASSIGNMENT RUBRIC

CRITERIA UNACCEPTABLE ACCEPTABLE GOOD EXCELLENT

0%-59% 60%-69% 70%-89% 90%-100%
Research paper must be free of spelling More than 5 More than 3 More than 1 No spelling /
and grammatical errors grammar/spelling grammar/spelling grammar/spelling error grammatical errors
(5%) errors were found in errors were found in was found in this report were found in this
this report this report report
Report must be well written, and Information is not Report does not flow. Report is generally well Report is well written,
information should be presented in an organized. Report is Information is written, but it still has a and the information is
organized and articulate manner. hard to read and included, but hard to few deficiencies on its presented in an
Sources must be properly cited. understand, sources find organization and organized manner.
(5%) are not properly information flow Sources are properly
identified and cited identified and cited
Research paper must demonstrate the Students do not Students do not Students do not offer Students demonstrate
student’s knowledge on the selected demonstrate any demonstrate sufficient complete information excellent knowledge of
companies history, current financial knowledge of knowledge of related to company’s company’s current
performance, major stakeholders, and company’s current company’s current current operations, operations, financial
operations in general and articulate operations, financial operations, financial financial performance, performance, and
why these companies were selected as performance, nor performance, or major or major stakeholders major stakeholders
examples regarding the issue being major stakeholders stakeholders
analyzed
(10%)
Based on course readings and Students do not show Students show Students have good Students demonstrate
assignments, the students must be able any knowledge of the deficiencies on his/her insights in the excellent knowledge of
to analyze this how this issue affects specific concepts knowledge of critical application of critical concepts of
sustainability values, social required to analyze concepts, and their concepts to this sustainability, CSR, and
performance, and senior this company’s application to this company’s practices, the triple bottom line,
management’s application of the triple sustainability position, specific company’s but his/her analysis is and is able to apply
bottom line concept to their strategic CSR practices, or practices not complete them to his/her
decisions. application of Triple research on this
(20%) Bottom Line norms company
Based on their research, the students No recommendations Recommendations, are Recommendations are Recommendations are
must be able to compare and contrast were given short, vague, and/or fairly complete, but complete, clear, and
practices in both countries related to not applicable to don’t reflect a thorough accurate.
this issue and create a list of company’s current analysis of company’s Recommendations are
recommendations that can guide senior practices current practices based on an in-depth
management to establish socially analysis and clear
responsible practices and foster understanding of
sustainable growth. company’s current
(25%) practices
Video presentations must be no longer No video was Video did not cover all Video covered Video was complete,
than 15 minutes, and every person provided highlights of the important aspects of clear and covered all
must speak. The presentations will report. Not all the report, but is was important aspects
cover the highlights of the written students participated unorganized and hard required in the
report. as speakers and the to follow, or it went assignment. All
(25%) information was not beyond the allocated students participated
clear or accurate. time. and it was done within
the 15 minutes
allocated for it.
The group submits each deliverable on There was no More than half of the 75% of the deliverables All tasks were
time as assigned by the syllabus evidence that the deliverables required required by the syllabus submitted on time in
(10%) students in the group were submitted in the were submitted in the the assigned folders
added any of the folder when due folder when due
deliverables in their
folders when due