1. Percy is investigating several tools to help him make his decision as to which country he should expand into first. He thinks that these tools may also guide him in deciding which specific factors he should use to evaluate the three countries, United Kingdom, Germany, and Finland. Percy is reviewing both the 2016 Global Competitiveness Report and the 2016 World Competitiveness Yearbook. Clearly, in both documents the three countries are rated significantly different. Obviously, this is a critical decision for the future of Pittman€™s Fireplace. As a businessperson what is your opinion regarding which of the two references Percy should use? Explain your answer.

2. Percy has decided that he will not have more than five factors as part of his weighted factor model. Currently, he is thinking of four factors €“ labor costs, weather, environmental laws and trade agreements with the U.S. However, when he was originally pondering the situation he thought along these lines €“ labor-skill set, labor-wages, material sourcing, and environmental laws. Based on the case, do you believe the final four are the absolute best four for Percy to select, or should he go with his original four, or some different ones? Explain why you agree or disagree with him. Justify your views either way. In addition, what should be the fifth factor?

3. Assume that Percy has selected Finland as the best location to begin his international expansion. Now, Percy begins to put costs together. He forecasted 7,000 fireplaces per year. Calculate the breakeven points for the three countries. Should Percy still go with Finland, or should he select another country? If the forecast was 5,000 should Percy ignore the weighted factor model? Explain why or why not?

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Annual Fixed cost Unit variable Cost Location (S) (S) Finland (A) Germany (B) United Kingdom (C) $550,000.00 $180.00 $450,000.00 $200.00 $400,000.00 $220.00