Economics Sample Assignment Part 1

Economics Sample Assignment Question Part 1

Chapter A

How does the HR relate to other functional areas such as marketing, finance and operations management?
Why and how does the scope of a firm's internationalization affect its HRM practices?
How are the different approaches to recruiting and selecting managers for foreign assignments similar and dissimilar ?
Which are easier to assess, business skills or international skills? Why?
If you were being assigned to a foreign position, what specific training requests would you make of your employer ?
Do you agree or disagree with the idea that sone international assignments require special compensations ?
How easy or difficult do you think it is to handle the equity issue on international compensation?
What does the high cost of replacing an international manager suggest regarding staffing philosophy?
Which do you think is easier, HRM for managerial employees or HRM for non managerial employees? Why?

Chapter B

What is the impact on the global economy if governments fails to restore investor's faith in firms accounting records ?
What impact would harmonisation of national accounting standards have on international business ?
What are the benefits of the two transaction approach to international business and international investors ?
How can an international firm use transfer pricing to increase its after tax income ?
The U.S tax code distinguishes between active and passive income in permitting the deferral foreign subsidiaries income. Why has it made this distinction ? Why is the distinction important ? If tax havens were eliminated between active and passive income ?
Is the use of transfer pricing to reduce a firm's taxes ethical ? why ? or why not ?
Are U.S firms at a competitive disadvantage because they cannot use accounting reserves as German firms do ?

Chapter C

What are the advantages and disadvantages of each method of payment for international transactions from the exporter's perspective ?
Which type of letter of credit is most preferable from the exporter's point of view ?
Why do firm's use counter trade ? What problems do they face when they do ?
How does capital budgeting for international projects differ from that for domestic projects ?
Bringing the world into focus on that some U.S companies are losing contracts to supply the Three Gorges Dam to European competitors because of the lack of support from the Eximbank. Should the Eximbank change its policy to aid U.S exporters ? Or should it maintains its pro environment stance ?
The government of Colefax and Fowler's home country the United Kingdom has chosen not to be a participant in the European Union ( EU's ) single currency scheme Will this put Colefax and Fowler at a disadvantage in competing for business in other EU countries ? If so is there anything the company can do to reduce its disadvantage

Chapter D

How does international operations management relate to international marketing?
How are a firm's strategy and operations management interrelated ?
How do each of the basic business strategies ( differentiation, cost leadership and focus) relate to operations management ?
What are the basics similarities and difference between production management and service operations management ?
why are services most closely associated with developed industrialized economies ?
which quality is important in your purchasing decision. Which countries, if any have reputations ( good or bad) for each of these particular products ?
what type of information are particularly important to an international firm ?

Chapter E

What are the similarities and difference between domestic and international marketing?
Identify several products you think could be marketed in a variety of foreign markets with little customization. Identify other products that clearly would require customization ?
How do legal, cultural and economic factors in your home country affect product policy for foreign firms ?
What are the pros and cons of trying to use a single brand name in different markets, as opposed to creating unique brand names for various markets ?
What are the advantages and disadvantages of each pricing policy ? Why do most international firms use market pricing ?
The ethnocentric approach and the geocentric approach both suggest standardization of the marketing mix. What is the difference between these two approaches, if both lead to standardization ?
What are some basic differences you might expect to see in TV ads broadcast in France, Japan, Saudi Arabia and the United states ?

Chapter F

Which do you think is a more powerful determinant of human behaviour - cultural factors or individual difference ?
Think of two or three personality traits that you believe are especially strong in your culture and two or three that especially weak. Relate these to Hofsede's cultural dimensions ?
Assume that you have just been transfered by your company to a new foreign location. Which of your own personal dimensions do you think will be the most effective in helping you deal with this new situation ? Does your answer depend on which country you are sent to ?
How might preparation affect motivation in different cultures ?
How might organisations in different cultures go about trying to enhance leadership capabilities?
Do you think it will ever be possible to develop a motivation frame work that is applicable in all cultures? why or why not?
How do motivation and leadership affect corporate culture?
What advice would you give a Japanese, an Australian and an Italian manager just transfered to the United States?
Assume that you are leading a team composed of representatives from British , Mexican, Brazilian and Egyptian subsidiaries of your firm. The team must make a number of major decisions.

What guidelines might you develop for yourself for leading the team through its decision - making process?

What steps might you take to enhance the team's cohesiveness ? How successful do you think such an effort would be?

Chapter G

If a new organization start out with a global perspective will it necessarily experience any of the initial impacts of international activity on organization design ? Why or why not?
Do managers of international firms need to approach organization design differently from their counterparts in domestic firms? Why or why not?
How do the global product, are, functional and customer approaches to organization design differ ? How are they similar ?
Why is a global matrix design almost always transitional in nature?
Why is control an important management function in international business?
Do you think the three common types of international organizational control are mutually exclusive ? why or why not ?
WHich form of control system would you most and least prefer for your own work? why?
Which control techniques are most likely to be tailored to international settings? Which can be merely extensions of domestic operations ?

Chapter H

What are the relative advantages and disadvantages of joint ventures compared to other types of strategic alliances ?
Assume you are a manager for a large international firm which has decided to enlist a foreign partner in a strategic alliance and has asked you to be involved in the collaboration . What effects if any might the decision to structure the collaboration as a joint venture have on you personally and on your career ?
What factors could conceivably cause a sharp decline in the number of new strategic alliances found ?
Could a firm conceivabaly undertake too many startegic alliances at one time? why or why not?
Can you think of any foreign products you use that may have been marketed in this country as a result of a strategic alliance ? What are they ?
What are some of the issues involved in a firm's trying to learn from a strategic alliance partner without giving out too much valuable information of its own ?
Why would a firm decide to enter a new market on its oen rather than using a strategic alliance ?
what are some of the similarities and difference between forming a strategic alliance with a firm from your home country and forming one with a firm from a foreign country ?
The joint venture between General Mills and Nestle was worked out in only 23 days. Most experts, however argue that a firm should spend a long time getting to know a prospective partner before proceeding both an alliances. What factors might account for CPW being an exception to this general rule ?
Otis Elevator has sought to obtain first -mover advantages by quickly entering emerging markets with the help of local partners. This strategy has proven very successful for Otis . Should all firms adopt this strategy ? Under what conditions is this strategy most likely to be successful ?

Chapter I

Do you think it is possible for some one to make a decision about entering a particular foreign market without having visited that market ? Why or why not ?
How difficult or easy do you think it is for managers to gage the costs , benefits and risks of a particular foreign market ?
How does each advantage in Dunning's eclectic theory specifically affect a firm's decision regarding entry mode ?
Why is exporting the most popular initial entry mode?
What specific factors could cause a firm to reject exporting as an entry mode ?
What conditions must exist for an intra corporate transfer to be cost effective ?
Your firm is about to begin exporting. In selecting an export intermediary, what characteristics would you look for ?
Do you think trading companies like Japan's sogo sosha will ever become common in the United Stated ? Why or why not ?
What factors could cause you ti reject an offer from a potential licensee to make and market your fim's products in a foreign market ?
Under what conditions should a firm consider green field strategy for FDI ?An acquisition strategy ?

Chapter J

What are the basic difference between a domestic strategy and an international strategy?
Should be the same managers be involved in both formulating and implementing strategy, or should each part of the process be handled by different managers ? why?
Successful implementation of the global and the transnational approaches requires high levels of coordination and rapid information and subsidiaries.Accordingly, would you expect to find many companies adopting either of these approaches in the nineteenth century? Prior to World war II ? Prior to the advent of personal computers ?
Study mission statements from several international business. How do they differ and how are they similar ?
How can a poor SWOT analysis affect strategic planning?
Why do relatively few international firms pursue a single product strategy?
How are the components of international strategy (scope of operation, resource deployment, distinctive competence and synergy) likely to vary across different types of corporate strategy ( single business, related diversification and unrelated diversification )?
The new Disney theme park in Hong Kong is slated to open in 2006.Develop a list of at least five ways other units of Disney can help promote and publicize this park as the grand opening nears
Is a firm with a corporate strategy of related diversification more or less likely than a firm with a corporate strategy of unrelated diversification to use the same business strategy for all its SBUs ? Why or Why not?
Identify products you use regularly that are made by international firms that use the three different business strategies .
Related and unrelated diversification represent extremes of continue. Discuss why a firm might want to take a mid range approach to diversification as opposed to being purely one or the other.
What are some of the issues that a firm might need tzo address if it decides to change its corporate or business strategy ? For example how would an MNC go about changing from a strategy of related diversification to a strategy of unrelated diversification?

Chapter K

How does the WTO effects the operations of large MNC? Did MNC benefit from the successful completion of the Uruguay Round ?
Should international business promote or flight the creation of regional trading blocs?
What strategies can North American and Asian firms adopt to ensure access to enormous EU market?
Is the abandonment of import substitution policies by SOuth American governments a necessary condition for the success of the Andean Pact and the Mercosur Accord ?
Of what importance are rules of origin to international business ?
Why does the MFN principle promote multilateral, rather than bilateral, negotiations among WTO members ?

Chapter M

What are the advantages and disadvantages of an industrial policy?
Because of Japan's success in competing in international markets. It has been the target of numerous complaints that it restricts foreign access to its local markets. As Japan reduced its barriers ti imported goods, who is likely to gain from lowered barriers ? Who is likely to lose from them ?
Strategic trade theory applies to industries that are composed of only a few firms world wide.List as many industries as possible that fit this description ?
Since 1992, Indonesia has imposed high export taxes on the export of raw wood and sawn timber. Why would it do this ?( Hint : What us the impact of these export tariffs on the domestic market for wood and timber ? Which domestic industries would benefit from this impact ?) Who is hurt by these high export taxes ?
Should we worry if foreigners sell us goods cheaply?

Chapter N

Suppose the federal reserve board unexpectedly raises interest rates in the United States. How will this action affect the foreign exchange market ?
How important are communications and computing technologies to the smooth functioning of the foreign exchange market ? If the technological advances of the past four decades were eliminated - how would the foreign exchange market be affected ?
Do you expect the U.S dollar to maintain its position ass the dominant currency in the foreign exchange market once the Euro is fully established ? why or why not ?
Suppose the spot pound and the 90 day forwards pound are both selling for $1.65 , while U.S interest rates are 10 percent and British interest rates are 6 percent. Using the covered-interest arbitrage theory describe what will happen to the spot price of the pound , the 90 day forward price of the pound, interest rates in the US and interest rates in UK when arbitrageur enter this market ?
How important is the creation of international banking facilities to the international competitiveness of the US banking industry ?
What would be the impact on world trade and investment if there were only one currency.

Chapter 0

What parallels exist between the role of the British pound in the nineteenth century international monetary system and that of the U.S dollar since 1945?
Did the key role that the dollar played in the Bretton Woods system benefit or hurt the US?
Under what conditions might a country devalue its currency today?
Are there any circumstances under which a country might want to increase its currency's value?
Can international business operate more easily in a fixed exchange rate system or in a flexible exchange rate system,?
What connections exist between the current account and the capital account?

Chapter P

In our example of France trading wine to Japan for clock radios we arbitrarily assumed that the countries would trade at a price ratio of one bottle of wine for two clock radios. Over what range of prices can trade occur between the two countries? ( Hint in the absence of trade, what is the price of clock radios in terms of wine in France? In Japan?) Does your answer differ if you use Table 6.2 instead of table 6.1?
In the public debate over ratification of the North American Free Trade Agreement Ross Perot said he heard a giant sucking sound from US jobs headed south because of low wage rates in Mexico. Using the theory of comparative advantage, discuss whether Perot's fears are valid?
Why is intraindustry trade not predicted by country based theories of trade?
Hyundai decided to build a new automobile assembly plant in Alabama.
1. what factors do you think Hyundai considered in selecting Alabama as the site for factory?
2. Who benefits and who loses from the new plant in Alabama?
3. Is the firm's decision to build the new plant consistent with Dunning's eclectic theory?

Chapter Q

While people from the same culture are likely to have similar views of what constitutes ethical versus unethical behaviour, what factor or factors would account for differences within a culture?
Is it valid to describe someone as having "no ethics"? Why or why not?
People from which countries would likely have similar ethical beliefs as people from the United Kingdom? Why?
Under what circumstances is a code of ethics most and least likely to be effective? Why?
What do you think is most likely to happen if the ethical behaviours and decisions of a new team of top managers of a firm are inconsistent with the firm's long entrenched corporate culture?
Do you think social responsibility for a multinational corporation is some thing best managed locally or best managed globally ?
Do multinational businesses ever do socially responsible things that are clearly of no benefit whats over to themselves?
What are the dangers or pitfalls that might be encountered if a multinational business attempts to be socially responsible , but only in ways that provide direct benefits to its profitability?
Under what circumstances if any, might you see yourself as a whistle -blower? Under what circumstances if any, might you keep quiet about illegal acts by your employer?
Do you think there should be more or fewer attempts to regulate international ethics and social responsibility? why?