...Talisman’s Decision to Enter Iraq Robert A. Neufeld Athabasca University Executive Summary The board of directors of Talisman Energy Inc., a Canadian publicly-traded oil and gas company, has been presented with a request from management that the company jointly purchase a 40 percent interest in Block 44 in the Kurdistan region of Iraq with another Canadian firm called WesternZagros, The investment is potentially very profitable and fits well into Talisman’s growth strategy however it is also very risky. Within its recent past Talisman suffered reputational damage and was forced to sell off its operational investment in Sudan after underestimating the risks involved in operating in a politically unstable region and specifically the efforts of non-governmental organizations and resulting pressures from stakeholders. The board needs to decide if it should enter Iraq and if Talisman can successfully operate there in a corporately responsible and profitable manner while managing many apparent risks. The main risk is the political and legal relationship between the Kurdistan and the Iraqi Central Government is transitory if not non-existent, and there is higher international support for Iraq unity than Kurdistan independence. The risks are great enough that Talisman should wait to enter Iraq. Problem Statement Can Talisman enter and operate as a joint venture in the Kurdistan region of Iraq in a profitable and corporately responsible manner that avoids the issues faced...
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...Personal Values, Organizational values, and Ethical Decision Making Steven R. Oldham MGT/521 September 17, 2012 Thane Messinger Personal Values, Organizational values, and Ethical Decision Making Based on the results of my Williams Institute of Ethics Awareness Inventory Assessment, my own values, ethics and many years of experience in management it is my belief that all organizations should uphold the maximum standards of ethics. Business integrity should have zero tolerance for any form of corruption, extortion, or embezzlement. The highest standards of integrity are expected in all business dealings. Any form of unethical conduct has no place in a respectable and honorable organization. Any member of an organization should be instantaneously dismissed from the organization and legal action should be ajudiacated. However, I discovered this is not always the case, as I researched some unethical business dealings. In the case against KBR on human trafficking charges, K KBR: Corruption Within America’s Biggest Construction Company Formerly known as Kellogg Brown & Root, KBR is the largest non-union construction company in the United States with a history that can be found from over a century ago. Many companies are viewed as being corrupt, with greed being one of the major preceding issues resulting in this corruption; KBR is not an exception. One would think that with so many major politicians being connected to the companies, KBR would try to refrain from scandals...
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...competitors over the years have made opportunities for companies like Egycel scarcer than before. The company's Chairman, Fathy Mahgoub has called for an urgent meeting with the Board of Directors to review the company's performance and decide on a relevant course of action to boost profits once again. ------------------------------------------------- The meeting started early one morning with a presentation of the company's recent performance records in terms of market share and profitability over the last few months. Following that was an announcement of the major events in the world of business and more specifically in the field of telecommunications, both locally and globally. The board also discussed several political and social developments in different parts of the world that could be of interest to the company. One development that Fathy Mahgoub found quite appealing to his business was a recent announcement by the Cuban president Raul Castro stating that the ban on cell phones has been lifted. After a brief moment of contemplation, the chairman stood up and addressed the board: "Gentlemen, I want you to examine all the prospects of opening up and operating in Cuba. The country is just starting to liberalize and this could be a good time for us to enter. You have 48 hours to get back to me on this subject and present your findings." -------------------------------------------------...
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...lives, the operation of these laws being impervious to our preferences. Realism, believing as it does in the objectivity of the laws of politics, must also believe in the possibility of developing a rational theory that reflects, however imperfectly and one-sidedly, these objective laws. It believes also in the possibility of distinguishing in politics between truth and opinion – between what is true objectively and rationally, supported by evidence and illuminated by reason, and what is only a subjective judgment. Realism is a theory within international relations which predicts states will act in their own national interest in defiance of moral consideration. In general, this belief results from an observation of human nature and the perception of people as selfish and fiercely competitive. Realism regards the international arena as anarchic, governed by no authority overriding sovereign states. International institutions such as the United Nations are not afforded significant credibility from a realist perspective. Rather, influence is perceived to be held predominately by major powers such as the United States, whose dominance is a product of military and economic strength. Realists hold the primary interest of a state is survival, toward that goal states compete for available resources (Bacevich, 2005). Realism is a perspective dominated by cynicism, perhaps best exemplified in the tenants of pragmatism and amorality. Realists place each state in...
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...MBA5101 DynCorp Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats Analysis DynCorp International Inc. is a global services provider supporting national security and foreign policy objectives around the world. It started out as an aviation maintenance business but now offers flight operations support and training, international development, intelligence training and support, contingency operations, security, and ground vehicle operations and maintenance support to foreign governments and commercial industries all over the world. DynCorp believes that because of its wide-ranging capabilities and ability to develop services to suit its customers, that it has unlimited potential to develop and energize its business prospects (DynCorp Investor Relations Code of Ethics and Business conduct, 2012). The majority of its annual earnings comes from the United States Federal Government (Atoro, 2014). DynCorp is committed to practicing honest, ethical business in accordance with best practices and all applicable laws of those nations in which they operate. They strive to practice the highest standards of integrity when dealing with customers and employees (Chuter, 2014). DynCorp strives to foster a work environment where employees are encouraged to ask questions, raise concerns or report violations where it is appropriate without fear of retaliation. This is driven by their “Code of Ethics and Business Conduct” which is a guide for making the right decisions in all facets of the work environment...
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...The Tourism Industry in Iraq Development. It was prepared by the joint venture partnership of The Louis Berger Group / The Services Group under Contract # 267-C-00-04-00435-00 The Tourism Industry in Iraq IZDIHAR— USAID Contract #267-C-00-04-00435-00 International Economic Consulting April 17, 2006 The Tourism Industry in Iraq DISCLAIMER The author’s views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government. The IRAQ IZDIHAR project is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by the joint venture partnership of: THE Louis Berger Group, INC. Engineers Planners Scientists Economists THE SERVICES GROUP The Tourism Industry in Iraq IZDIHAR— USAID Contract #267-C-00-04-00435-00 Table of Contents i TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Executive Summary...........................................................................1 II. Tourism: A Global and Regional Perspective...................................3 A. Profile of the Global Tourism Industry................................................................................3 1. Key Trends in Tourism...........................................................................................3 a. Long haul trips on the rise.........................................................................4 b. Safety and security: a growing concern..........
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...weaponry, which eventually led to selling their Sudan asset. Now, they’re debating whether or not they should enter into the Kurdistan region of Iraq, potentially knowing that the same thing could happen. KRG is asking for $220 million in exchange for allowing Talisman to search for oil reserves. The main question here is; will the KRG use the money on economic development or on weapons in order to force their independence from Iraq? With the experience on the board of directors, proper due diligence, and constant re-evaluation of the situation, Talisman should find it easier in discovering potential risks in Iraq, hence being pro-active in finding and solving issues before they arise. With this said, I feel that Talisman should enter Iraq. Problem statement Talisman Energy Inc. has had problems in the past when entering into politically unstable markets. They are now faced with a dilemma on whether they should or shouldn’t enter into the oil-rich Kurdistan region of Iraq. If they do decide to enter into this market, can they do it without facing the same problems they faced when they entered into Sudan? Analysis Talisman Energy Inc. is a company that has gone through a lot of scrutiny and has had a lot of experience doing business in countries with high political risk. In order to find out whether Talisman should enter Iraq or not, a few questions have to be answered, and information has to be analyzed and clarified. In retrospect, should Talisman have gone into Sudan...
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...Challenges Old (Harvard Business School Case # 9-303-056) NMI 1. How did the French become the dominant competitors in the increasingly global wine industry for centuries? What sources of competitive advantage were they able to develop to support their exports? Where were they vulnerable? French wine makers also face challenges that are not internal to the industry. For instance, France lost market share in the United States due to informal boycotts in the wake of the Iraq war. The rise of the euro against other currencies, such as the 30% increase relative to the dollar in the last few years, has put French wines at a comparative cost disadvantage. But consensus among experts is that the primary threat to the French export market is internal to the industry: the inability of the appellation system to appeal to what is becoming a global way of understanding wines (Business Report, 2004). France is the largest overall producer of wine, at 5.3 billion liters of wine in 2001, 20% of world production. France has traditionally set the standard for quality wine as well as defining these standards. French viticulture laws mandates four levels of quality as 1) Appellation d’Origine Contrôlee (AOC) 2) vins délimite qualité supérieure (VDQS) 3) vins du pays and 4) vins du table. French wine makers also face challenges that are not internal to the industry. For instance, France lost market share in the United States due to informal boycotts in the wake of the Iraq war. The rise of the...
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...[pic] ConocoPhillips – Final Report MBA 808 – Moscow May 1, 2008 Scott Legler Erin Osborn Greg Whitehorn Introduction The ConocoPhillips and LUKOIL joint venture provides great insight into doing business in Russia. The Russian economy continues to grow as companies domestically and internationally find success in an emerging market once filled with corruption and instability. Through an analysis of the ConocoPhillips and LUKOIL joint venture one can see the opportunities available for those companies who are able to enter this market. ConocoPhillips provides lessons learned and a six-step approach for a successful joint venture business in Russia. ConocoPhillips also provides insight into many of the challenges still facing those who desire to do business in Russia. They prove that with a will to confront and determination to overcome these challenges, business in Russia can prove to be quite profitable. Background ConocoPhillips ConocoPhillips is the third largest energy company in the U.S. Based on market capitalization; it is surpassed in size only by U.S. oil giants Exxon Mobile and Chevron. ConocoPhillips is headquartered in Houston, TX and employees over 32,000 people worldwide in forty countries. According to its website “ConocoPhillips is known worldwide for its technological expertise in reservoir management and exploration...
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...International Expansion Strategy for Lenovo Company Table 1. Introduction 2 2. Motives of international expansion strategy of Lenovo 2 3. Determination of target market 4 3.1 Macro environment factor 4 3.2 Characteristic of Lenovo Company 6 4. Market entry mode 7 4.1 Exporting mode 7 4.2 Licensing and franchising mode 8 4.3 Joint Venture 9 4.4 Wholly owned subsidiary 10 5. International competitive strategy 10 5.1 Strategy clock model 11 5.2 Center identification 13 6. Challenges and suggestions 15 6.1 Challenges 15 6.2 Suggestions 16 7. Conclusion 17 1. Introduction In the current commercial economy, the global economy has changed rapidly in the near decades. Barrier of trade between the different borders has been not a headache for many multinational companies any more. What is more, in accordance with the data from WTO, the increase of multinational trade is becoming more and more dramatically in comparison with the global output. (Liu, 2005) As a result, it is suggested that current economic system is transferred to be more globalised, integrated and interdependent. Thus for many enterprises or just like your company Lenovo, to have a plan on the international expansion strategies is of the essence. 2. Motives of international expansion strategy of Lenovo Lenovo, which was found in 1984 with 11 engineers gathered in a boardroom in China, has achieved unbelievable success since its foundation. However...
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...of Utah for three years then he dropped out university and served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for two years. He made his beginning in establishing own business by renting out condominiums in Hawaii. Then he established his own travel agency and began chartering flights from Salt Lake City to the islands. He was co-founder with June Morris of charter airline Morris Air, a low-fare airline. From 1984 to 1988, he was an Executive Vice President of Morris Air. From 1988 to 1994, he was the President of Morris Air Corporation. In 1993, Morris Air was then acquired by Southwest Airlines for $129 million. For 5 years, he worked on the Executive Planning Committee at Southwest Airlines. By 1994, he left Southwest Airlines after signing a five year noncompeting agreement. With his experience of aviation, he established a company named Open Skies which a touch screen airline reservation and check-in systems company that acquired by Hewlett Packard in 1999. At the same time, acted as a consultant to another start-up airline, WestJet. The BlueJet was founded by entrepreneur David Neeleman in August 1998 in Delaware under the name of “Newair”. JetBlue is David Neeleman’s third successful launch in the aviation business. As an ex-Southwest executive, he established JetBlue as a low cost airline company. His main goal was to bring people back to air travel by offering high quality service with low...
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...International Business (MAGT 306) Semester: - Fall 2013 The Topic: - International Business Activities In Ooredoo Submission Date: - Monday 23/12/2013 Instructor Name: - Dr. Yasir Yasin *Group Members 1. Khalifa Elbeltagi 200911802 2. Abdulrahman Al Fayhani 200809233 3. Ahmed Shafi 200902883 4. Abdulla Al yahri 200903162 5. Beshr Al-Hallack 200702653 About the Organization Introduction History Qatar telecommunication started providing its services in 1949, but it was officially announced in 1987 under the Qatari law number 13. The type of services that was offered and provided to the customers that time was the land line telephones with a capacity of fifty lines, but in the year of 1953 the telephone lines get extended to one hundred and fifty lines which showed an interest towards telephone landlines at the time. In 1970, the development of the national telephone services began and it became under Qatar National Telephone services by cable and wireless as well. Qatar telecommunication was the monopoly at those days until on November 2006 the monopolization stopped and the Emir issued the law number 34 of 2006 to restructure the administration, whereby ICT Qatar has announced a new telecom in the country Qatar by the name of Qtel. Moreover, Qtel became the only representative of the telecommunication sector in Qatar...
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...Chabros International Group: A World Of Wood As many other companies Chabros International Group faced a financial crisis after the global economic crisis in 2009. The decision from Chami of investing $ 11 million in his Serbian sawmill was taking right before the beginning of the crisis and may have been crucial. Why did Chabros operate internationally? In order to understand Chami’s decision we have to take into account which reasons he argued for expanding his business outside of Lebanon. First of all, Lebanon was a very unstable country and when Chabros received by occasion the first orders from Lebanese customers in Dubai he did not think twice to expand into this country. In 1998 they opened their first branch outside of Lebanon, which led automatically to a share of risk in their operations. From this point on Chabros did not depend anymore on one single market. Another important reason for the expansion was that they could significantly increase their sales numbers. Change in expansion motivations Through this first very positive experience Chami was convinced about his internationalisation plans and his next country on the list was Saudi Arabia. The market entry was not as easy and successful as the one in Dubai. This was partially due to a different strategy with Italian partners as a joint venture which caused problems through cultural differences (Both Italian partners left the market between the first and second year). Shortly after this Chabros faced supply...
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...1. The modes of international trade that car markers use are export and Joint venture. Export is the most common mode used by car markers. This mode is been carefully approached by users. Using this exporting approach it causes low risk as automobile companies, they do not put any of their capital in jeopardy. This help to protect against any losses or prevent the loss to be devastating. If a company is undergoing a decrease in its exporting, it can typically diminish the exporting or end the exporting business at a minimal cost. The second mode is joint ventures. Joint venture is a step that is mutually possessed and worked by two or more firms. Numerous firms enter the foreign market by taking part in a joint venture with firms that dwell in those business sectors. During the process of joint venture it allows two firms to utilize their individual near points of interest. Here is one example of joint venture between 2 automobile companies ArcelorMittal and Valin Steel. Their new name calls Valin ArcelorMittal Steel Co., Ltd. (VAMA) (Eurasia, 2013). In the world of automobile market, they are the top supplier of flat carbon steel and other high technology machine (Eurasia, 2013). 2(a) Exchange rate for EUR/USD from the year of 2003 to 2012 The figure shows that the lowest exchange rates occur on 8 of January 2003 which is around 1.0798. While the highest exchange rate occur on 4 of September 2008 which is around 1.5990. 2(b). One of many main factors...
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...Great Britain has long been at the forefront of international business, whether it was the leading country in the First Industrial Revolution or finding new ways of exploiting untapped markets and resources. The company currently known as BP is one of those exemplary firms in this discussion. Throughout its history, BP has had many names, originally formed as Anglo- Persian Oil (1909-1935), political developments led to “The Company” being renamed Anglo- Iranian Oil (1935-1954), British Petroleum (1954-2000), and currently, simply BP with the tagline “beyond petroleum.” The numerous name changes highlight one of the most significant aspects of the Company’s existence, the relationship between it and different governments. It also highlights one of BP’s core competencies, which is its constant re-branding and reinvention of itself as the latest “bp: beyond petroleum” is an effort to appear more environmentally friendly. Contracts tied the Company to Persian authorities as the Shah granted William Knox D’Arcy a concession to explore for oil. Their relationship with the UK was necessary for financing, as the British government would partially nationalize Anglo-Persian Oil. A chief contributor to the development of Second Industrial Revolution (1840’s-1950’s), the BP company began with an investment by William Knox D’Arcy, a man who was more of a financier than an entrepreneur. During the Second Industrial Revolution, in a range...
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