How might U.S. law affect international managers? Provide examples in your discussion.
Tort law is one law that could affect international managers. A tort is when a person is injured, either by
accident or purposely, and then the company is held responsible for the injury by strict liability and the
person is awarded a large monetary award, whereas other governments have restrictions on how much
they can be paid out in a tort. The process of discovery can also affect international managers. Discovery
is a process of litigation where all facts related to the case are presented. It has been known to be an
intrusive and is a big reason why many outsides dislike the U.S.’s litigation process. Antitrust laws can
also affect international management. Antitrust laws are “laws that prevent inappropriately large
concentrations of power and its abuse through price-fixing, market sharing, and monopolies.”
Geringer, J. M., McNett, J. M., Minor, M., & Ball, D. A. (2016). International business. New York, NY:
McGraw-Hill Education.
What are the differences you can see between traditional and global teams? Provide examples of how
managing global teams might be different from managing domestic teams.
Traditional teams are likely face-to face whereas global teams are virtual. A global team is made up of
members in more than one country. Global team characteristics are; multiple work locations, multiple
cultures and geographies, multiple economic, political, and social conditions, several spoken languages,
cross-cultural adaptability, less face-to face opportunities, and working across different time zones.
(Geringer, 2016. Pg. 297). Traditional teams work in one location, shared cultures, and geography, one
spoken language, work more face-to-face, and work within the same time zone. Both teams, whether
global or traditional, still need to have a mission, know their stakeholders, and have roles and
responsibilities for everyone.
Geringer, J. M., McNett, J. M., Minor, M., & Ball, D. A. (2016). International business. New York, NY:
McGraw-Hill Education.
Using information from Hofstede’s research on culture and management style, what two aspects of
his indices would you share with a colleague leaving on her first assignment to lead a group of
managers in Saudi Arabia? Why did you choose these two? How would you advise her to conduct
herself?
Power distance would be one of Hofstede’s indices I would share with a colleague leaving for Saudi
Arabia. I chose this one because I believe Saudi Arabia is a power distanced country. Meaning that
seniority, age, rank, and title are important factors. If my colleague is to be successful leading a team of
managers in Saudi Arabia, she will need to develop a high rank within the community and present
herself as knowledgeable of the business. Another aspect I would present to my colleague is uncertainty
avoidance. This is a society’s level of comfort with uncertainty. (Geringer, 2016. pg. 78). Saudi Arabia has
a high level of discomfort for uncertainty, so if my colleague shows confidence and certainty, as well as
power distance, I believe she would be successful leading a group of managers in this country.
Geringer, J. M., McNett, J. M., Minor, M., & Ball, D. A. (2016). International business. New York, NY:
McGraw-Hill Education.
Define and discuss country risk assessment using examples to illustrate your points.
Country risk assessment “is an assessment of a country’s economic situation and politics to determine
how much risk to employees, property, and investments exists for the firm doing business there.”
(Geringer, 2016. pg. 133) It is a big step in determining whether or not a manager should decide to
conduct business in a specific environment of another country. Majority of risk are political, including
wars, revolutions, and coups and can have a large impact on the business. Another factor that can
impact the business relationship is the importance of the home country. If two countries are at war with
one another, how would that impact doing business in the other country? The home country could
impose certain sanctions on the business for doing so.
Geringer, J. M., McNett, J. M., Minor, M., & Ball, D. A. (2016). International business. New York, NY:
McGraw-Hill Education.
Compare and contrast home replication, global, multidomestic, and transnational management
strategies.
A home replication strategy is when a company integrates product development functions in their home
country, where it will uphold tight control over marketing and product strategy, as well as the primary
responsibility of local subsidiaries to control capabilities of the home country.
Global strategies run the risk of leaving a company with limited liability to adapt in a timely manner
when a customer’s needs have changed across national or regional markets.
Multidomestic strategies are successful when the pressure to adapt products or services are strong
within certain markets, allowing a company to quickly respond and modify products to meet the needs
of the consumer.
Transnational management strategy is when the business challenges immediate pressure for cost
effectiveness and adaptation.
Home replication- local adaption
Global- cost reduction
Multidomestic- adaption
Transnational- reduced costs
Explain the barriers (tariff and non-tariff) to trade using examples to illustrate your points.
Tariffs are taxes levied on imported goods, primarily to raise their selling price in order to reduce
competition for domestic producers, also known as import duties. (Geringer, 2016. Pg. 140). The three
types of tariffs are ad valorem, specific and compound.
Non-tariffs are imposed discrimination taxes. Some of which are quantitative barriers, voluntary export
restraints, and nonquantitative nontariff barriers. Quantitative barriers set limits as to the specific good
that is allowed to be imported during a specific time. Voluntary export restraints are quotas with other
countries that allow the exporting country to decide on the quota versus the importing country. An
example of nonquantitative nontariff barriers is that all food distributed for school lunches within the
country must be from food produced within the country.
These tariffs are an important part of international business. Though the consumer ends up paying the
costs. When business is done internationally, tariffs result in a higher priced product.
Geringer, J. M., McNett, J. M., Minor, M., & Ball, D. A. (2016). International business. New York, NY:
McGraw-Hill Education.
Identify and discuss the five major drivers that are leading international firms to the globalization of
their operations. Include examples of companies that have globalized as a result of these driving
forces.
Political, technological, market, cost and competitive drivers are the five major divers that are leading
firms to the globalization of their operations. Political drivers move towards unification and socialization
of the global community. The European union, along with the North American Free Trade Agreement,
have been able to give other firms great marketing opportunities. Technological drivers are “advances in
computers and communication technology are permitting an increased flow of ideas and information
across borders, enabling customers to learn about foreign goods.” (Geringer, 2016. Pg 14). This means
conducting business is becoming easier by making ideas and information more easily accessible. Market
drivers mean a business will travel abroad and set up business internationally where their consumers
are located in order to maintain business. Cost drivers mean the company will prefer to conduct
business where cost of doing business is going to be the most cost efficient. Examples of companies
doing this are when AT&T moved from Louisiana to Singapore in 1985, United Technologies relocated
from Massachusetts to Europe in 1986, and General motors moved from the U.S. to Mexico in 1987.
(Markides, 2014.) Competitive drivers are when companies conduct business in foreign markets in
order to increase market presence, like Samsung.
Markides, C. M. (2014, August 01). Manufacturing Offshore Is Bad Business. Retrieved from
https://hbr.org/1988/09/manufacturing-offshore-is-bad-business
The five principles of the WTO, if followed, would provide developing nations a boost in their
development. Agree or Disagree. Provide examples in your discussion.
Trade without discrimination, freer trade, gradually, through negotiation, predictability, through binding
and transparency, promoting fair competition, and encouraging development and economic reform are
the 5 principles of the World Trade Organization.
I do agree that these principles would provide developing nations a boost in their development. Trade
without discrimination is important. A nation that is underdeveloped can’t grow if a developed nation is
discriminating. Child labor is a good example to use as we’ve discussed these issues in a previous week.
If we know the child labor is going on, we can refuse business with the country or implement rules in
order for the country to grow and economic reform can be mandated.
Discuss the keystone of international trade, the theory of comparative advantage. Provide examples
of how this theory works.
Means that when one country has an obvious advantage over another country, it can still benefit from
international trade with the country that only has a comparative advantage. An example is- a country
can produce both oil and soybeans, yet another country can produce soybeans, the first country would
benefit by focusing on oil and trading with the second country for soybeans through international trade
and outsourcing from another country can work to it’s advantage. Then both companies will have profit
and it’s an advantage all around conducting business this way.
Why do international managers need to know anything about a nation’s topographic and climactic
features? How do these two aspects of a country’s environment influence management’s decision to
enter that market?
A nation’s topographic and climactic features are very important factors when deciding to conduct
business in another country. Topography is the physical features of land, such as mountains, bodies of
water, deserts, and plains. Mountains can create borders and make it hard to transport goods or
establish business in general. They can also create boundaries on cultures and languages. Bodies of
water, depending on the climate, can help a business succeed due to the ease of being able to import
and export goods. Climate is also a big factor because the wrong climate can affect crops from growing
successfully, as well as cause diseases, and other issues. So topography and climate are extremely
important for managers decision to enter the market.