...Cork Institute of Technology Bachelor of Business (Honours) in Information Systems – Award (NFQ – Level 8) Summer 2007 International Business (Time: 3 Hours) Instructions Answer: Section A: Answer all question one on case study Section B: Answer three (3) from five (5) questions. % of marks allocated for this exam: 70 Do not write, draw or underline in red. Examiners: Ms. C. O’Reilly Mr. L. Elwood Section A: Case study - John Higgins Answer all Question 1 Leonard Prescott, vice president and general manager of Weaver-Yamazaki Pharmaceutical of Japan believed that John Higgins, his executive assistant, was loosing effectiveness in representing the U.S parent company because of an extraordinary identification with the Japanese culture. The parent company, Weaver Pharmaceutical, had extensive international operations and was one of the largest U.S. drug firms. Its competitive position depended heavily on research and development (R&D). Sales activity in Japan started in the early 1930s, when Yamazaki Pharmaceutical, a major producer of drugs and chemicals in Japan, began distributing Weaver’s products. World War II disrupted sales, but Weaver resumed exporting to Japan in 1948 and subsequently captured substantial market share. To prepare for increasingly keen competition from Japanese producers, Weaver and Yamazaki established in 1954 a jointly owned and operated manufacturing subsidiary to produce part of Weaver’s product line. Through the combined effort of both parent...
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...Section A: 1) What is international business? What are the primary reasons that companies engage in international business? Answer: International business is a term used to collectively describe all commercial transactions private, governmental, sales, investments, exports and imports in and out of the country to any other country around the world. 1- To diversify sources of sales and supplies. 2- To acquire resources. 3- To minimize competitive risk. 4- To expand sales. 2) In a short essay, identify and explain three competitive factors that influence international businesses. Answer: Consumers know about and want foreign goods and services, governments are removing international business restrictions, Competition has become more global. Section B: 1) What is the difference between a monochronic and polychronic culture? How do such cultural differences affect business practices for international firms? Answer: Monochronic cultures like to do just one thing at a time. They value a certain orderliness and sense of there being an appropriate time and place for everything. They do not value interruptions. They like to concentrate on the job at hand and take time commitments very seriously. Polychronic cultures like to do multiple things at the same time. A manager's office in a polychronic culture typically has an open door, a ringing phone and a meeting all going on at the same time. 2) What is the difference between a polycentric, ethnocentric...
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...------------------------------------------------- Tips For Finding an International Business Internship Posted by Olga at Going Global on September 15, 2009 Choosing an international business degree with the hopes of landing an international career after graduation is no longer a surefire action plan for students. With the current economic climate, being proactive before graduating and doing an international business internship is the best course of action. The only drawback is that a majority of internships abroad fall out of the private sector. No to fear. Business students are armed with all the necessary tools to get a business internship abroad. Here are some tools and tips to add to your search: Photo by geishaboy500; creative commons license. 1. Identify large multi-national corporations that have their headquarters or subsidiaries abroad. Find the companies that are best suited to build your work experience. Use resources like Wikipedia and Google to identify these corporations. Large names like, Sony, L’Oreal, Unilever, Shell, etc all have offices in multiple countries. Start by identifying those larger names and work through their website for internship possibilities. 2. Investigate opportunities with Consulate Offices abroad. The Consulate Office functions just as any other business would with the exception that they are representing a country rather than any business in particular. Start by checking the State Department website. Depending on the country...
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...Syllabus International Business 1 (IB-1) 2012-2013 1-IBMS 1. INTRODUCTION This International Business (IB-1) course is designed to provide students with a basic understanding of the international business environment. In order to be successful, IBMS Students need to familiarize themselves with the basic concepts and definitions of today’s competitive business world. Students must become aware of the major actors and forces that help shape the international business context. The course covers a variety of topics, which include the theoretical foundations of global trade and investment, the political environment, foreign direct investment and market entry, international business strategy and operations. The course is structured around lectures and workshops. Students are expected to attend all lectures and workshops. In the lectures, students will learn about the field of international business. In the workshops, students are expected to present and discuss international business cases. These business cases provide helpful examples and insights towards an understanding of the International Business theory taught in lecture classes. Students are encouraged to contribute to meaningful discussions, develop the ability to defend their position and apply knowledge to “real life” situations based on the cases presented in class. Attendance IB-1 is not a spectator sport. Attendance and contribution accounts for 10%...
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...As mentioned by the International business times that the trade between Us and Egypt has been growing over the years it peaked it 2010 to become 9 billion dollars but in 2011 due to current events in Egypt it dropped a slight drop to be 8.28 billion dollars in goods were being exchanged. Khush Choksy, executive director of the U.S. Egypt-Business Council at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said that businesses did close in the revolution days for a while just to insure safety of the employees, some other companies send away some of its workers whom were of less importance to the organization but not one American company in Egypt faced any harm to their offices or property and all businesses where back on track with not more than two weeks. In 2012 representatives of more than 50 major American companies traveled to Cairo to improve business relations and have a better private sector partnerships, among the companies that made the trip were PepsiCo Inc. , which employed about 12,000 people in Egypt in 2012; Xerox Corporation, whose subsidiary Xerox Egypt has operated a manufacturing facility since 1975; and Apache Corporation, a hydrocarbon firm whose annual investments in Egypt total about $1 billion. These companies were not affected during the revolution as a result of their sizes and scope they had a better chance in surviving unlike small businesses who depend on sales within the country for their cash flow example Vaughan. “The foreign entities that are OK are the ones that...
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...Unit 12 Assignment 1 P1 - Explain the international business environment in which a selected business operates. The business that I have chosen to produce a report on how they could expend their business internationally is my own business, Impossible Project. Impossible Project is a fashion brand based in the UK. We design and produce our own brand of high-end designer clothing and are just selling in the UK at the moment. It is a relatively small business at the moment, however we have the capacity in terms of finance and scale to start looking at trading internationally. The country Impossible Project has targeted to start of their international journey is China. I have chosen to use China for a variety of reasons; one being it is a BRIC country. “BRIC is an acronym for the economies of Brazil, Russia, India and China combined. The general consensus is that the term was first prominently used in a Goldman Sachs report from 2003, which speculated that by 2050 these four economies would be wealthier than most of the current major economic powers.” - http://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/bric.asp Political * Being a communist country means Chinese consumers feel forced into supporting Chinese brands as a pose to UK brands. | Economical * According to the latest government figures, growth picked up to 7.9% in the final three months of 2012, from 7.4% in the previous quarter * China is a BRIC country and will soon be one of the leading economic powers | ...
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...A) The name of the company is Apple. The reasons of choosing this company to explore its experience using the concepts of International Business are as follow: Global pattern of trade * Apple is the global company in the retail industry. 43,000 of Apple employees in the United States to work in the 30,000 Apple stores. Apple retail store employees to do more than the average wage of employees, and provides money for universities, as well as a gym membership, 401K plans, health care plans, product discounts and lower prices for the purchase of shares. * Apple has 453 retail stores (such as in March 2015) in 16 countries and 39 countries in the online store. Each store is designed to meet the requirements of the position and the regulatory authorities. Apple has received numerous architectural awards for its store design, especially its location on Fifth Avenue in midtown Manhattan on. Competitive advantage * Before the company advertised its products are being made, the late 90s of the last century the United States; however, as a result of the outsourcing plan in 2000, almost all of the manufacturing process is now abroad. According to a report the New York Times, Apple insiders "that huge overseas factories, as well as flexible, diligent and industrial skills of foreign workers have to make more than their American counterparts that" Made in USA "is no longer a viable Alternatively, for most Apple products. " * The company's production, procurement and logistics...
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...International Business ( Semester 2, 2014) * Topic 1: Context * Globalization: There is no agreed or consistent definition for globalization but the key features including: * Everything and everyone equal * Intensive and rapid flows cross border flows (eg product, finance) * Not just economic but social, culture also. * Implication for nation states (countries)- a loss on power for the countries on politically as well as economically. * “ Globalization is about growing mobility across frontiers- mobility of goods and commodities, mobility of information and communications products and services, and mobility of people” ( Robins 2000). * Globalization has become a leading concept in doing business during last few decades, there are various aspects of globalization that influencing in doing business such as Competition, exchange of technology, knowledge/information transfer. * Competition: there is increase in competition. It can relate to product, service cost, price, target market, technological adaptation, quick response, quick production by companies. Company needs to focus on production with less cost to sell cheaper in order to increase its market share. On the other hand, customers also have a large multitude of choices in the markets and it affects their behavior: they want to acquire goods and services quickly and in more efficient way than before with high expectation in quality and low prices. * Exchange of...
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...Task 1. International Business is basically covers all commercial transactions (private and governmental, sales, investment, logistics and transportation) and it usually takes place in more than one region, countries and nations that go past political limits. A private company may take part in such transaction for profit or even government undertake them for profit and political reasons. It refers to all activities which involve a cross border transaction of goods, services and resources between two or more nations. There’s also transaction of economic resources and it includes capital, skills, people, etc. for international production of physical goods and even services such as finance, banking, insurance, construction, etc. Examples of companies that operate internationally are Royal Dutch Shell, McDonalds, Subways, General Motors, Ford Motor Company, Samsung, LG, Sony, ExxonMobil and BP. These are all well-known MNCs and it includes fast food companies such as McDonald's and Subways, vehicle manufacturers such as General Motors, Ford Motor Company and Toyota, consumer electronics companies like Samsung, LG and Sony, and energy companies such as ExxonMobil, Shell and BP. Most of the largest corporations operate in multiple national markets. 2. Nike, Inc. is an American multinational corporation and it sells footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories and services. It was founded on January 25th, 1964 as Blue Ribbon Sports by Bill Powerman and Phil Knight and officially...
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...expand and franchise there. With faster communication, transportation and financial flows, the world is rapidly shrinking. International trade is booming. Imports of goods and services now account for 24% of gross domestic product worldwide. However, sometimes corporations fail to understand the culture of countries that they target as marketing opportunities, therefore not being able to market their brand successfully. Culture is defined simply as the learned distinctive way of life of a society. Each country has its own traditions, cultural norms and taboos. When designing global marketing strategies, companies must understand how culture affects consumer reactions in each of its international markets. In turn, they must also understand how their strategies affect culture. In the global marketplace, extension of products and services into foreign markets often faces unanticipated cross-cultural challenges involving consumer cultural behavior. For example: in Japan, “Diet Coke” was renamed “Coke Light” after the firm learned that the word “diet” carried an embarrassing connotation. A “blunder” is a careless mistake usually caused by a person’s ignorance, poor judgment or confusion. International marketing blunders represent avoidable mistakes made by companies in foreign markets. Many types of blunders result from ignorance of culture. If international marketers are misinformed about the cultural characteristics of a foreign market they may stumble into blunders. A simple cultural...
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...PART 1 GLOBAL BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT CHAPTER ONE Globalization Learning Objectives After studying this chapter, you should be able to 1. Describe the process of globalization and how it affects markets and production. 2. Identify the two forces causing globalization to increase. 3. Summarize the evidence for each main argument in the globalization debate. 4. Identify the types of companies that participate in international business. 5. Describe the global business environment and identify its four main elements. A LOOK AT THIS CHAPTER This chapter defines the scope of international business and introduces us to some of its most important topics. We begin by presenting globalization—describing its influence on markets and production and the forces behind its growth. Each main argument in the debate over globalization is also analyzed in detail. We then identify the key players in international business today. This chapter closes with a model that depicts international business as occurring within an integrated global business environment. A LOOK AHEAD Part 2, encompassing Chapters 2, 3, and 4, introduces us to different national business environments. Chapter 2 describes important cultural differences among nations. Chapter 3 examines different political and legal systems. And Chapter 4 presents the world’s various economic systems and issues surrounding economic development. 24 Emirates’ Global Impact DUBAI, United Arab Emirates—The...
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...Kaydeon Burnett Professor Jim McCarty December 14, 2015 Final Paper “International Business is any commercial transaction that crosses the border of two or more nations.” This class of international business has truly been a great deal of help to me in pursuing my degree in Business Management. When I first enrolled in this class I was a bit skeptical about how I would learn such a potentially difficult subject without being in a classroom, however I truly learned a lot. With an international business it has various key learning concepts including entry to new markets, trade and foreign direct investments, politics, economics and environmental variables of culture. Each of these concepts carries a different definition as well as the same intent. Globalization by definition means a “trend toward greater economic, cultural, political, and technological independence among national institutions and economies.” (p 7) Within globalization it is very important that the particular company that plans to expand beyond the borders of their home office must understand that going global is not just looking at the global aspext and not taking the time to properly invest money, time, and strategy. For example when Apple began to go global they took the time that was necessary to properly strategize on how to get their product from beyond the four walls of the Apple brand. Globalization has good parts as well as bad parts. The good part about globalization is that the particular...
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...International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories.[1] In most countries, such trade represents a significant share of gross domestic product (GDP). While international trade has been present throughout much of history (see Silk Road, Amber Road), its economic, social, and political importance has been on the rise in recent centuries. Industrialization, advanced transportation, globalization, multinational corporations, and outsourcing are all having a major impact on the international trade system. Increasing international trade is crucial to the continuance of globalization. Without international trade, nations would be limited to the goods and services produced within their own borders. International trade is, in principle, not different from domestic trade as the motivation and the behavior of parties involved in a trade do not change fundamentally regardless of whether trade is across a border or not. The main difference is that international trade is typically more costly than domestic trade. The reason is that a border typically imposes additional costs such as tariffs, time costs due to border delays and costs associated with country differences such as language, the legal system or culture. Another difference between domestic and international trade is that factors of production such as capital and labor are typically more mobile within a country than across countries. Thus international trade is mostly restricted...
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...Germany, 1948 by Rudolf Dassler. The major products covered almost all sport items, such as sport shoes, wears, and other sports equipment. The brand PUMA is the leader of football shoes. Puma is Olympic sponsors and partner of World formula championship tournament. Today the group has more than 9,500 employees and distributes its products more than 120 countries. Group holds three major sport brands, which are PUMA, COBRA, and Tretorn in sport industry market.(Puma, 2013). Business process outsourcing (BPO) is the key issue of today’s multinational corporation (MNC), which is considered as high chance to find out more opportunities and reduce cost. The main advantage of Business process outsourcing is that, which makes firms more flexibility, in one hand, which can help MNCs to reduce the fixed cost, as transferring into variable cost. In another hand, BPO is considered to be a good way to focus on firm’s core competencies. In addition, this process also may increase the speed of business processes. Based on these factors, BPO may help MNCs grow faster without the huge capital requested. At the same time, this process also brings limitations for MNCs, such as the higher risk level, which could be caused by both privately or structure of firm. Risks and treats of outsourcing must therefore be managed, to achieve any benefits. 2.0 Investment Market Analysis Vietnam is viewed as a viable alternative to China for foreign (particularly U.S. and European) companies seeking...
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...mid-1980s, and then spread to Eastern Europe at the beginning of the 1990s and to China later on during the same decade. Although the transition to a free market has led to disappointing outcomes, most Eastern Europe countries have concentrated on integrating their economies with Europe and on becoming part of the EU. All these events led to the world becoming more and more global in nature and to defining globalization as a closer economic integration among nations through increased trade and capital flows. It also refers to labor movement and technology transfer across international borders as well as cultural and political issues, which are beyond the scope of this chapter. Globalization is the result of technological processes occurring mainly in the areas of information technology, telecommunications, energy, transport, and biotechnology as well as a shift in economic policies. In this chapter a number of international organizations, such as the WTO, the IMF, and the World Bank were presented and their role in terms of globalization and economic integration issues described. In the course of all these developments, “economic integration,”...
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