Please
answer all the questions below;
I’ll
circulate paper on which to write your essay.
Points total 57; your raw score
will be multiplied by 0.316 to yield your points (out of 18) toward the
quarter’s total of 100 points. You have
120 minutes.
BRIEF EXPLANATIONS
[10 points]
1. [6 points] What are the three key variables (things that have to be negotiated) in export payment, in addition to the sales price? Under each variable, name two key options and underline the option that is more favorable to the exporter.
Variable A
Variable B
Variable C
2. [4 points] A “letter of credit” is really a stylized letter. In its most basic form (not confirmed) in international trade, it is from whom to whom, saying what?
FROM:
TO:
ESSAYS [42 points]
1. [35 points] Build a case study! Create an international business plan for a real or imagined manufacturing company (or at least, a company whose products include manufactured goods
What’s
the company name? Where is it
headquartered
and based: Canada, China, Mexico, the US
(or another country, if you’d like)?
Identify two company-wide assets of that company – based on your expectation of what a company in that country would likely have as key assets.
Select and defend one element (i.e., one line of business) of that company’s corporate strategy.
Given your company’s core assets, what should its business strategy be in that line of business?
To support that business strategy, where in the world might that company engage in the design, production, assembly, and marketing of its products? Why? For each of those activities, should the company own its facilities and operations, or contract within a network of close-knit suppliers or marketing firms, or contract out on an “arms’ length” basis? Why?
Does that value chain (the organization and location of activities from design through marketing) entail any FDI? Use the OLI model (the “eclectic framework”) explicitly to assess one element of this chain. (In other words, pick design, production, assembly, or marketing and explain why it makes sense that the company has decided to use FDI or some other form of international business (IB). It’s okay if FDI is not the form of international business used – just explain why).
For one of the forms of IB in which your company will engage, describe how the host country’s cultural, economic, and legal/political environments will affect its operations. (Describe just one element of each environment).
Assume that the company wants to market (some of) its products in a country other than its home country. State whether its goal is to establish a long-term international market, versus to sell what it can wherever it can. Develop an international marketing plan based on that goal, and that supports the company’s business strategy. The plan should include the elements of place, placement, product adaptation, pricing, promotion, and distribution, and they should all complement each other.
Have some fun with this – try to make it into an exciting case study. However, recognize that I’m looking to see explicitly whether you understand and can use the key principles and concepts I’ve boldfaced. In other words, make sure that I can understand your definition of each concept, and I see how that you understand the principles.
ESSAY 2
(Write on ONE of the following topics for 7 points)
2.a. Describe Fordism. When
and why did it end as a dominant logic
of US capitalism? How would you
characterize the logic of “post-Fordism”?
2.b. What have been the differing effects of NAFTA
on US regions? How would you explain
these differences?
2.c. If FDI is a preferred option in your response
to essay 1.f., describe a likely negotiation between the parent company
and the
national or provincial government in the host country.
What would each side want? Given
the core assets and motivation of the
company, and the major economic and developmental needs of the host
country,
how might each side compromise to reach a mutually satisfactory
negotiation?
ASSESSMENT
[5 points]
For each objective below, give yourself a
1 (“I’m
not very able
to do this.”)
2 (“I’m
clearly better
able to do this than I was in mid-September, but I’m not very
confident.”) or
3 (“No
one’s perfect,
but I can do a reasonably good job of this.”)
For at
least three of these objectives, tell me what activity or reading was
most
helpful.
As you might imagine, I’m not going to grade
this on the basis of how highly you rate yourself – I’ll give full
credit for a
complete set of reasonable answers!
By the
end of the quarter, a highly successful student will:
|
Objective |
Self Rating |
What was most
helpful? |
|
Be able to
articulate learning goals and assess progress toward them. |
|
|
|
Learn the basic
outlines of world trade patterns, and explain these outlines using
international trade theory (ITT). |
|
|
|
Use an
understanding of ITT and its assumptions to understand and assess the
critiques of liberalized trade policy. |
|
|
|
Gain empirical
grounding in the trade relationships of Canada, China, or Mexico,
emphasizing the trade patterns and trends with the United States. |
|
|
|
Distinguish the
varied forms of international business (IB), and the choice criteria
among them. |
|
|
|
Ask and begin to
answer questions about the logistics of international trade. |
|
|
|
Present a
nuanced perspective on trade-policy recommendations for the United
States and one other country, to benefit each side. |
|
|