Questions and Answers of International business

Why might an international company encounter challenges in trying to establish a linkage between the international human resource approaches it uses and its competitive strategy? How might these
Why might brain drain be beneficial for a country whose skilled people move to other nations? How might a country maximize the benefits from brain drain, while reducing the potential damage from this
1. Should ICs select more women for expatriate assignments? Why or why not?2. Are there circumstances in which you believe female expatriates should be most strongly considered, or in which they
Explain arguments against allowing immigrant labor into nations. Who would benefit most from limiting the number of immigrants into a country? What are the primary arguments associated with allowing
1. What kinds of skills or experience are needed in order to succeed in a foreign assignment? 2. How might a company go about assessing whether or not a candidate has the proper set of such
1. If you were a good friend of Jayden White, what recommendation would you give regarding whether he should accept the international assignment that has been offered to him?2. What issues should he
As people become more educated and living conditions improve, do their product preferences become more similar? Why or why not?
What advantages and disadvantages may result from standardizing the marketing mix worldwide?
1. Research AIESEC, the organization Kissam had her internship with, and comment on whether it would be an appropriate way for you to build your global mindset.2. Kissam stayed abroad when her
1. View the ads online. Did you find them offensive? Some in the Greek community did. Do you think Kraft should have aired these commercials? 2. Do you think such ads help Kraft shed its older,
1. Should foreign marketers quickly gear up for trade with Cuba, or adopt a go-slow approach and wait for the political situation to clarify? Defend your answer.2. Does Cuba present sufficient
Trade missions are political junkets that get the taxpayer to fund a politician’s vacation. Do you agree or disagree, and why?
What are three examples, either real or hypothetical, of political and legal barriers that may eliminate a country from further consideration?
A firm’s export manager examines the UN’s International Trade Statistics Yearbook and finds that the company’s competitors have begun to export. Is there a way the manager can learn to which
What is the logic for the order of the screenings? Can you suggest a time when the order might change?
Select a country and a product that you believe your firm can market there. Make a list of the sources of information you will use for each screening.
How might national culture affect readiness to change? Give an example.
Explain the elements that lead to the increased complexity of globalization.
Given what you have learned in this module, would you say that leaders in the international context are born or made? That is, can we train people to be global leaders?
A co-worker jealous of her friend’s work travel claimed that leadership is just leadership and there is no need to make global leadership a separate category requiring additional training and
Are good managers also good leaders? Why or why not?  
1. What might explain Justin’s failure to perform well in his new leadership role as the head of the Asia-Pacific division?2. What might Compcorp have done to increase prospects for Justin’s
How can a student with no international experience work on global mind-set, and why is it important to do so?  
1. If you were a shareholder in BigSoft, would you support the company’s approach to transfer pricing? Why or why not?2. If you represented the government of Ireland, would you support BigSoft’s
How should the company be organized to handle the new foreign production facilities? How can Connect All reduce the time needed to bring new designs to market?This mini-case provides an opportunity
What measures can be utilized to control subsidiaries that are less than 100 percent owned by the firm, or joint-venture partners in which the firm has no ownership?
Why is organizational structure an important issue for international companies?  
If predictions are difficult to make accurately when there are high levels of uncertainty and change, why would scenario analysis have value? Aren’t scenarios likely to be inaccurate under such
Why don’t companies use the same strategic planning processes for their international business activities as for their domestic operations?  
1. Why has Walmart viewed international expansion as a critical part of its strategy?2. What did Walmart do to enable the company to achieve success in Latin America and China?3. What should Walmart
What is international strategy? Do you think it is useful for companies to take the time and effort to prepare international strategies if they are in rapidly changing competitive situations with
Would you consider making the same decision as Andrew Crane and put your graduation off in order to extend your foreign experience?Andrew Crane describes his beginning international experience and
1. If the SDR were used, would a viable fixed-rate regime be possible or not?2. Given the inclusion of the SDR, outline the pro and con arguments for a fixed-rate regime. The global debate issue
1. Why would the ADB hold SDR instead of dollars or euro?2. What are the currency amounts that make up the SDR?This minicase looks at the lending of the Asian Development Bank and its loan process.
Are people who argue today for a return to the gold system simply nostalgic or do they have a point?
1. With a natural disaster, why would we expect a country’s currency to weaken?2. Why were the G7 so quick to intervene?After the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan, the yen strengthened
In developing economies, what factors are associated with reduced birthrates and what is the logic of these associations?
The staff economist of a large multinational with a Turkish subsidiary has given the firm’s chief financial officer a report on Turkey’s foreign debt situation, as shown in Figure 7.7. What
Why is income distribution important to marketers in international companies? What might be the attraction and concerns associated with relatively even distribution of income, and with highly uneven
What social, political, and economic conditions might signal the existence of a large underground economy, and why should managers pay heed to such signals?
What is the value of using data on GNI per capita and population density when analyzing the attractiveness of an economy? What limitations or potential problems can arise when using these data in an
Why should managers of international companies be concerned about purchasing power parity?
What might the differences between economically developing and developed nations mean to an international company considering entry into a foreign market?  
When might a country’s level of economic development mislead a marketer?  
What impacts do economic forecasts have on a firm’s functional areas? If management learns from the economic analysis of country A that wage rates are expected to increase by 10 percent next year,
1. Describe the two strategies for the CEO.2. Explain how the change in development strategy will affect the firm in many ways.3. What changes in its entry plans will the firm have to make?This
Why would accounting law convergence across nations be a valuable achievement?
Is product liability a legal concept that is standardized across nations?
Why do understandings of appropriate limits tocompetition differ among nations?
You are a human resource manager for a U.S. company working in Saudi Arabia, with Saudi and American employees. All U.S. companies are required to follow U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity law. In
Does national culture influence the meaning of intellectual property? That is, in a culture where community is stressed, rather than the individual,would you expect intellectual property rights to be
Since there is no international police or military force to back up international law, does it have any power? Why or why not?
Does the concept of the rule of law (not the laws themselves) have the same meaning in different countries?
1. Do you think the WTO should be able to prohibit labeling that provides information of potential value to consumers? Why or why not?2. Should the WTO ensure that the science behind local laws and
1. You are the CEO of the California company, and you very much want this large export order. You are pleased with the service your law firm has given, but you know it has no international
How might knowing a country’s type of legal system (civil, common, religious) be helpful?
1. What should be the relationship between IP rights and their enforcement in a virtual world game contextand in the real world?2. With the proliferation of virtual worlds in cyberspace, how can a
Governments assert that their safety standards for food imports are important to ensure that their citizens not be harmed by unsafe foods. Comment on how such a concern may be a nontariff barrier.
Why could carrying cheese as you drive across the border from the United States into Canada be risky behavior?
Why do U.S. consumers tolerate paying at times as much as twice the world sugar price for their sugar supply? How might an economist evaluate the U.S. sugar policy?
If you were responsible for developing your company’s international strategy, what role would country risk assessment play?
When they accept foreign assignments, how can expatriates prepare for such an assignment’s risk?
Why do countries that are committed to open market and capitalism have publicly owned enterprises?
1. Should sugar continue to be a protected commodity? Why or why not?2. Should the U.S. consumer continue to fund protection for U.S. sugar farmers? Why or why not?Sugar is the most trade-distorted
1. Should labor practices in another country be a relevant consideration in international trade? Why or why not?2. Governments can establish trade boycotts and certification requirements. These
1. How can any equity exist, as is required by sustainability, when the scale of corporate operations can be so much larger than their host governments?2. Evaluate the idea of keeping foreign
How does the stakeholder model help support the practice of sustainable business?
“Of course we’ll have to transfer to renewable fuels sooner or later, but why should my company travel that route now? We don’t need to be a first adopter or pay the first-mover price.
The safe guard and care of natural capital should be the responsibility of the government and not be left to private ownership. Agree or disagree with this assertion, explaining your position.
Should we be investing in new technologies to access oil and other fossil fuels, or should all our efforts go toward facing the inevitable decline of the fossil fuels? Explain your reasoning.
Why is it challenging to measure how successfully a business is practicing sustainability?
Drawing on your own consumption patterns, describe the difference between cradle-to-grave and cradle-to-cradle design approaches.
1. How immediate do you think the fossil fuel crisis may be? How much time do you think we have for ourtransition to new energy sources?2. Should our approach to energy be to use up all our fossil
1. Do you think Europe’s approach to toxic substances could work in the United States? Why or why not?2. Drawing on what you know about culture, do you think it helps to explain the EU’s approach
1. Is the BlueGreen Alliance a partnership of convenience, or does it have the potential to build a new way of approaching sustainability, with limits, interdependence, and equity?2. Unions may
How do you evaluate your own global mindset levels?
Choose a nationality of foreign worker that is found in your home environment and suggest what culture-related difficulties such a worker may experience in your culture.
If you were advising a French colleague on her first work assignment to your home culture, and she asked you what aspects of the material culture she should pay attention to, what advice would you
Give a short description of an example of Trompenaars’s achievement ascription dimension.
What does Mallory mean, “Attitude is everything!”?Mallory Wedeking describes her beginning international experience, the challenges she faced, and how she overcame them.
Your company has a policy of no gift giving or accepting. You are representing the company in negotiations in China for design of a multiphased manufacturing facility. Discuss the role of gift giving
1. Are all actions that conform to local customs morally defensible? 2. If the competitive environment includes legally marginal activities, and you can distance yourself from those activities,
1. Drawing on the cultural dimensions that we have reviewed, along with your business knowledge, whom would you recommend for the position? 2. What would be your reasoning for this
What are the possible explanations for the observed decline in the proportion of FDI accounted for by the United States and Japan? What are the implications of such a decline? Do you expect that
“Sending service jobs to low-cost nations, such as India, is good for America.” What are the arguments in support of such an assertion? Under what circumstances might such an assertion be viewed
Describe mercantilism, and explain why some call it a poor approach to promoting economic development and prosperity. Given the criticisms, why do some countries continue to rely on practices based
1. How would you evaluate Lasco’s efforts to prepare for her Ecuadorian experience by studying the language and culture of Ecuador? How can such efforts help her to achieve her objective of
Where do merchandise exports come from, and where do they typically go? How and why has this been changing over time, and do you think these trends are likely to continue? Why or why not? Why might
1. Why might trade and investment affect the social and economic development of a country?2. What actions should a developing country take in order to enhance the potential benefits from
1. Use the theories of international trade and investment in this module to help explain Brazil’s intentions and actions regarding the international information technology sector.2. What
What examples of globalization can you identify within your community? How would you classify each of these examples (as international investment, international trade, other)?
1. What does Holtzman mean, “don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone when you’re abroad”?2. If you were to immerse into a culture that was quite different from your own and which had
1. What challenges might arise as the managers of consumer products such as Listerine attempt to respond to the many differences of consumers from a variety of nations and regions of the world?2. How
What are some of the products and services the World Bank offers to firms doing business in the developing world? (Refer to the Bank’s Business Center, through
You are employed by National Engineering, a firm that designs subways. You are responsible for exploring international possibilities for the company. How will you go about this task?
Q: "What do you call a person who can speak two languages?" A: "Bilingual." Q: How about three?" A: "Trilingual." Q: "Excellent, how about one?" A:
Among all the OECD countries, which one derives the largest share of its GDP from the services sector? From agriculture? From industry? (Refer to www.oecd.org).
To which group of countries are NAFTA members most likely to export? (Use the Inter-American Development Bank’s exports tables, located in the Research and Data section of its web page,
Comment on the observation that "a joint venture may be a combination of Leonardo da Vinci's brain and Carl Lewis's legs; one wants to fly, the other insists on running."
Comment on the stance that "licensing is really not a form of international involvement because it requires no substantial additional effort on the part of the licensor."

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