...“Critically evaluate how international and geo-political risk to business might impact upon a person’s overall lifestyle”. Introduction My lifestyle keeps me busy but I enjoy the ability to catch up with friends and relax at a café or the beach. I am able to do the things I enjoy through working two jobs, on a regular roster. I enjoy cultural activities with friends in Sydney and regularly getting to the beach for a swim. Australia is a beautiful country which allows me to enjoy the sun and beach on a regular basis. A combination of flexibility and structure allows me to financially support myself while studying full-time; work is enjoyable and adds to my social and physical well-being. The flexibility in university and work allows me to catch up with friends regularly, while maintaining my financial independence. The political environment enhances my wellbeing by provide an avenue to defer my university fees until I graduate and get a job. Risk is considered the probability of a specific loss of worth, against the prospect of gaining value through the intentional interaction with uncertainty (Slovic, 2000). Risk is associated with a given action and/or inaction, of a foreseen/unforeseen nature that can result in a loss or gain in regards to financial wealth or physical health. Slovic (2000) expresses that all human interactions carry some risk, but the degree of risk depends on the situation and the perception of its severity. ...
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... ABOUT US 3 Oldstone & Green Limited (“O & G”) is a Nigeria based independent Geopolitical Risk Consultancy, Research and Advisory firm, servicing an international client base and providing ¨ ¨ ¨ ¨ Our Ethos ¨ Insight ¨ Fact ¨ Investigation ¨ Discretion ¨ Intelligence Why Us? Our strong industry expertise, research knowhow and keen local knowledge of business, politics and markets makes us the preferred firm for organisations seeking to understand, compete and grow in Sub-Saharan Africa, with particular focus on Nigeria. O & G maximizes its exclusive relationship with well-placed, high profile political, diplomatic, business and economic contacts to deliver intelligent, informed and reliable facts, faster and better using our robust sources in major corporate establishments and government ministries, agencies, commissions and parestatals in Nigeria. www.oldstoneandgreen.com Geopolitical Risk Analysis Due Diligence Influence and Relationship Mapping Market Entry and Intelligence We are subcontractors to major London and US based risk consultancies and our clients include, global financial institutions, law firms, oil, gas and extractive companies, manufacturers, power and energy providers, retail and professional service firms and high-net-worth individuals. AFRICA FOCUSED 4 LocalKnowledge www.oldstoneandgreen.com WHAT WE DO 5 Our Solution Geopolitical Risk Analysis • Scenario Mapping • Security Analysis and Threat Assessment...
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...quality global operations * Very strong brand name | Weaknesses * Cost of environmental hazards * Decline in crude oil and natural gas production * Reaching maturity * Controversies and criticisms * Negative perception | Opportunities * Increasing fuel/oil prices * Increasing natural gas market * More oil discoveries * Expand export market * Investment in the alternative energy business | Threats * Government regulation * High competition * Environment regulation * Increasing cost of operations | Environmental Analysis Macro environmental factors For the macro environment analysis we have chosen PESTLE analysis, which will give us details about the Political, Economical, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental analysis. 1. Political – Due to global warming issues and greater climate destabilization governments are creating a strong barrier on oil excavations; besides encouraging such industries into find out more sustainable forms of energy. Also on whole the energy market is becoming more volatile due to the treat of geopolitical instability. The global energy market is becoming more elastic due to continued oil demand from the thirds world countries. 2. Economical – Economy is supported by the energy reserves in that country. As well due substantial increase in the alternative energy sources supply are expected to grow in the next few decades rapidly. 3. Social – The amount of environmental damages destroyed BP’s brand...
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...produces and sells petrochemicals such as polyethylene, aromatics, olefins, polypropylene plastics and other products. It has interests in thirty seven refineries world wide. It also markets its products through more than thirty two thousand retail stations worldwide (ExxonMobil, 2011). Types of market and legal systems that exist in countries that Exxon Mobil operates: Exxon Mobil has operations spanning several countries in the United States, Europe, Australia/Oceania, Asia, Africa, and Canada/South America. Market systems that exist in these countries range according to various policies that regulate the market place operations. In countries such as the US, Australia, Canada, countries in South America, Western Europe and some parts of Africa and Asia, the kind of market systems that exist are basically mixed market economy systems. In these systems, a bigger part of the market is controlled by the prices, demand and supply of commodities with few government regulations. In other regions such as major parts of Asia, some parts of Europe (Eastern), and Africa where Exxon has operations, the market systems are market socialists systems where though most of the factors of production and industry are state owned, prices in the economy are controlled by a free system of demand and supply. This system is especially prevalent in areas such as China (Campbell and Stanley 2005). The...
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...1A 1 JIT2 (Risk Management): Task 1A It has been stated that, "Denial is a common tactic that substitutes deliberate ignorance for thoughtful planning," Charles Tremper (n.d.) who authored various risk management books. We have been hired, as a consultant in our first task is to create and present to management of business contingency plan combined with risk management to our new client. There has been some concern from both the IT department and legal departments about personal identifiable information sensitive information, client records, and other sensitive information regarding the ethical use and protection of this information. Our goal is to have client confidence along with some sense of job satisfaction; therefore, our boss has informed us that we get to choose our very first client. Our selection can be the place we actually work, any local business, or even a Fortune 500 company. One requirement is that our client must operate globally throughout its business. We will exclude any proprietary information, confidential information, or anything that can be considered sensitive. No names of real people involved with the business, any suppliers, or anything else that could be identifiable will be used. Instead we will only use made-up or fictional names for this task. No actual financial data will be used but rather be addressed using vague or generic terms when appropriate. Due to concerns in the global marketplace our client has insisted upon the ...
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...taken the form of a new Great Game, one in which Western energy companies (encouraged and assisted by their governments) compete with state owned Russian and Chinese firms for the right to exploit Central Asian resources. The implementation of the Turkmenistan-China Gas Pipeline, which began to pump gas to China in 2010, has been the most significant development of the past five years and signals, more than any other event, the primacy of Chinese influence in the region. Turkmenistan now possesses the proven reserves and a partnership with China that could help it achieve sustainable development, although there are many domestic factors impeding this. As China increases its presence in the region, it seems that Russia and the West are being left behind in the race for Central Asian hydrocarbons. Executive Summary In the complex geopolitical environment of the Caspian region, all the players involved must carefully balance political and economic objectives. Each actor brings its own set of goals for the region, and in the case of the external actors these interests are generally in conflict. While Russia seeks to preserve its hegemony over export routes of Caspian hydrocarbons, Western governments overtly seek to undermine precisely this element of Russian influence. To the East, China has been continuing its resource-based form of checkbook diplomacy in Central Asia in much the same way as it has been aggressively acquiring assets in Africa and other parts of the developing...
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...breakup of the Soviet Union under Mikhail Gorbachev in 1991 due to his policies of glasnost and perestroika, or opening and restructuring. Since that period Russia has been defined by a kind of political turmoil that has seen every sort of leader from a, it is said, Vodka imbibing progressive in Boris Yeltsin to a former intelligence officer in the KGB with a black belt in Judo, in Vladimir Putin (Russia). While the political turmoil has unfolded publicly, the business and professional climate has deteriorated from the heady days of the Soviet breakup when foreign enterprises believed the region was ripe for investment and, to some degree, exploitation. The level of corruption has largely dissuaded the full development of foreign investment and is an international concern, not just local to Russia: “the prevalence of corruption and crime in business affairs has been generally recognized as a major cause of concern...”(Taylor, Kazakhov & Thompson par.1). Until Russia is able to solve this unregulated chaos, business in Russia will remain an exercise in risk rather than revenue. Political Many researchers relate Russia’s economic and commercial enterprise concerns to its political problems that arose following the breakup of the Soviet Union. The period that followed, although romanticized in the West, was essentially a political vacuum that fostered an anything goes mentality with the political establishment awarding itself flush perks and being given perks by the freewheeling...
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...Issues in Risk Analysis Risk refers to a situation in which possible future events can be defined and probabilities assigned (Keat & Young, 2009). It is the chance that an investment's actual return will be different than expected (Risk, 2013). With risk comes the possibility of losing some or all investments (Risk, 2013). Uncertainty refers to situations in which there is no viable method of assigning probabilities to future random events (Keat & Young, 2009). In order to understand the relationship between uncertainty and risk, first I would like to define risk. First, in technology and economics, risk is expressed as an expected value that an event will be accompanied by undesirable consequences (The Difference Between Risk and Uncertainty, 2013). Here it is measured by both the probability of the event and the seriousness of the consequences (The Difference Between Risk and Uncertainty, 2013). For example, the probability that a bearing will fail in five years is .001 percent (The Difference Between Risk and Uncertainty, 2013). In the second area of planning, risk is what can happen that will cause the project to fall behind schedule or go over cost. During planning, the known-unknowns are risk (The Difference Between Risk and Uncertainty, 2013). The final area is in management; risk is the possibility that outcomes will be different from what we expect. It is the effort to manage both the known-unknowns and unknown-unknowns (The Difference Between Risk and Uncertainty...
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...Apple Inc. is a world renowned brand known from the youngest till the oldest generation nowadays. This American international company produces computer software, cell, phones, personal computer and many more. The company was developed on 1st April, 1976 by the co-founders Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in Cupertino, California. Over the years, Apple created many inventions which revolved the world and opened the window to new markets. Competitors such as Samsung as always had a tough time in coping up with the advancement done by Apple. Being the first to implement biometrics scan to a mobile device, Apple had opened up many new opportunities. Organizational culture can be described as the shared values, principles, traditions, and ways of doing thing that impacts the way organization members act and that sets apart them from others. At Apple, they are focused on the team orientation and outcome orientation. Steve Jobs way of doing work had influence Apple overall culture. Being the pioneer of “Work Hard Play Hard” they emphasize and ensure their employees are not too stressed about work. Even though, with a concept as such, Apple’s employees are trained and it is their nature to submit things by the deadline. A team oriented culture, they are passionate in producing new innovations and products as well working together as a team no matter what challenges they face to archive the goal given. Although, having a good team oriented environments not all the employees are keen into...
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...Critical Success Factors in Enhancing Managers Success in Managing International Business Dzulfakar Bin Abdullah (Student no: 20131241445) UiTM Programme Code : BM 995 (Doctor of Philosophy in Business Management) Course Code : MGT 950 (Global Strategic Sustainable Management) Assignment 3: Theoretical Paper Lecturer : AP Dr Roshidi Hassan ABSTRACT Business life in the new millennium is becoming increasingly global. The concepts of globalization apply to both large multi-national corporations as well as to local organizations. Knowledge of local culture and politics has become critical success factors (CFSs) for multi-national corporations in their effort for global expansion. Thus in enhancing the success of managing international business (IB) managers must have knowledge of local cultures and political situations. Research on the impact of local culture and political stability on successful management of international business has become of interest only recently due to globalization process. The paper reviews several literatures that try to prove that knowledge of culture and political situation as CFSs for the success of managing international business. Keywords: Critical Success Factors (CFSs), Knowledge, Culture, Politics, International Business, Success. Knowledge of Cultures and Politics as Critical Success Factors in Enhancing Managers Success in Managing International Business Introduction Globalization and international market development...
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...Apple Manufacturing: Should More Apple Products Say “Assembled in the USA”? Production and Operations Management, BUS 5461 Abstract Apple, Inc. is a $170B global corporation that designs, markets and sells consumer electronic products such as the iPhone, iPad, and the Mac computer. Apple has structured their manufacturing and supply chain processes to take advantage of China’s cheap and plentiful labor. However, Apple has made an innovative decision to have the new ultra high-end Mac Pro partially manufactured and assembled in the US. This report includes research and analysis on the benefits available to Apple by expanding production in the US. Recommendations are presented that will help ensure apple succeeds in moving production to the US, and help reduce the risks Apple faces as a global corporation. Tables of Contents Chapter I – An Introductory Look at Apple, Inc………………………………………. 5-6 Chapter II – The Issues Facing Apple…………………………………. ……………… 6-8 Chapter III – Analysis: A Closer Look into Apple..…………………………………… 8-15 Chapter IV – Recommendations..……………………………………………………… 15-20 Chapter V – Summary ……………………….………………………………………… 20-22 References……………………………………………………………………………… 23-26 List of Figures Figure 1:Average Hourly Compensation Costs in Manufacturing, U.S. Dollars, 2002-2009….....9 Figure 2: Average Hourly Compensation Costs in Manufacturing, U.S. Dollars, 2002-2009……9 ...
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...Global risks: Economic Risks Risks in the economic category include fiscal and liquidity crises, failure of a major financial mechanism or institution, oil-price shocks, chronic unemployment and failure of physical infrastructure on which economic activity depends. Environmental Risks Risks in the environmental category include both natural disasters, such as earthquakes and geomagnetic storms, and man-made risks such as collapsing ecosystems, freshwater shortages, nuclear accidents and failure to mitigate or adapt to climate change. Geopolitical Risks The geopolitical category covers the areas of politics, diplomacy, conflict, crime and global governance. These risks range from terrorism, disputes over resources and war to governance being undermined by corruption, organized crime and illicit trade. Societal Risks The societal category captures risks related to social stability – such as severe income disparities, food crises and dysfunctional cities – and public health, such as pandemics, antibiotic-resistant bacteria and the rising burden of chronic disease. Technological Risks The technological category covers major risks related to the growing centrality of information and communication technologies to individuals, businesses and governments. These include cyber attacks, infrastructure disruptions and data loss. Ten Global Risks of Highest Concern in 2014 1 Fiscal crises in key economies 2 Structurally high unemployment/underemployment ...
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...Chapter 1 -The global manager’s environment Sources of Risk for International Managers -Exogenous- General environmental factors, industry-related uncertainties and some firm-specific uncertainties. -Endogenous- Uncertainties that arise from within the firm, and include managerial perceptions, attitudes and organizational perspectives. -Top two exogenous risks facing business leaders and policy makers for 2012 and the next decade would be severe income disparity (The unequal distribution of household or individual income across the various participants in the economy) and chronic fiscal imbalances (situation where all of the future debt obligations of a government are different from the future income streams) -Other issues: natural disasters such as 2011 earthquake in Japan, flood in Thailand, Political uncertainty in China and Middle East -Globalization has compounded the types and level of business risks. *Typical challenges that managers face involve politics, cultural differences, global competition, Terrorism and Technology. Managers in companies are struggling to find ways to balance their social responsibilities, their images, and their competitive strategies. -PESTEL- An analytical tool to develop and understanding of exogenous risk -Pestel analysis- Political, Ethical, Social, Technological, Environmental and legal understanding or environmental scanning that is CRITICAL if we are to strategically plan and develop our value proposition. -> Exogenous creates...
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...Global Business Today 6e by Charles W.L. Hill McGraw-Hill/Irwin Copyright © 2009 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Chapter 2 National Differences in Political Economy Introduction Question: What is the political economy of a country? A country’s political economy refers to its political, economic, and legal systems These systems are interdependent, and interact and influence each other A country’s political system has major implications for the practice of international business 2-3 Political Systems A political system is the system of government in a nation Political systems can be assessed in terms of the degree to which they emphasize collectivism as opposed to individualism in terms of the degree to which they are democratic or totalitarian 2-4 Classroom Performance System The political, economic and legal systems of a country are called a) Political systems b) Economic systems c) Legal systems d) Political economy 2-5 Collectivism and Individualism Collectivism refers to a system that stresses the primacy of collective goals over individual goals Collectivism can be traced to the ancient Greek philosopher Plato Today, socialists support collectivism When collectivism is emphasized, the needs of the society as whole are generally viewed as being more important than individual freedoms 2-6 Collectivism and Individualism Socialism Modern socialists trace their roots to Karl Marx who advocated state...
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...186). Globalization has four major qualities such as creation of new social networks, stretching of social relations, intensification of social exchanges, and consciousness across the world (14-15). Globalization can be beneficial in terms of communication and economic trade but also can be very harmful when it comes to sex marketing, trafficking and prostitution. Prostitution is a very controversial topic and is widely debated in different countries. Globally, people are divided into proponents and opponents of legalization of prostitution. This paper is going to research and critically analyze the conflict regarding legalization of prostitution as well as provide a comparative perspective on illegal prostitution in the United States and legal prostitution in Germany. Prostitution is often named as the oldest profession in the world. Even in the times of Bible, prostitution was one of the most common ways for women to earn money. According to American Bible Society, Proverbs 23:27-28 says “for a prostitute is a deep pit; an adulteress is a narrow well.” Ancient Greece and Rome were first countries to incorporate prostitutes in the society (Ringdal 21). According to the Encyclopedia Britannica Online, prostitution is “the practice of engaging in relatively indiscriminate sexual activity, in general with someone who is not a spouse or a friend, in exchange for immediate payment in money or...
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