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QUESTION 5: You are the CEO of a company that has to choose between making a $100 million investment in Russia or the Czech Republic. Both investments promise the same long-run return, so your choice is driven by risk considerations. Assess the various risks of doing business in each of these nations. Which investment would you favor and why?

ANSWER 5: When assessing the risks of investment, one should consider the political, economic, and legal risks of doing business in both Russia and the Czech Republic. The political risk in Russia is still high but it is undergoing continual governmental changes under Putin’s leadership, and courting foreign investment. Relatively, the Czech Republic is more stable, but it may have less potential. On the economic front, both countries have inflation and high economic turmoil as unproductive factories are still struggling. From the legal perspective, the Czech Republic is making clear progress, while the situation in Russia is unclear. Thus at this time, the risk in Russia would clearly be higher. (For discussion or to modify this question, you might want to substitute other countries into this question depending on current events and the countries with which your students will be most familiar.)

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QUESTION 4: You are the international manager of a US business that has just invented a revolutionary new personal computer that can perform the same functions as existing PCs but costs only half as much to manufacture. Several patents protect the unique design of this computer. Your CEO has asked you to formulate a recommendation for how to expand into Western Europe. Your options are (a) to export from the US, (b) to license a European firm to manufacture and market the computer in Europe, and (c) to set up a wholly owned subsidiary in Europe. Evaluate the pros and cons of each alternative and suggest a course of