Exam 1: Chapters 1 - 5 Flashcards
International business Final
A business whose activities are carried out across national borders. This definition includes not only international trade and foreign manufacturing, but also the growing service industry in areas such as transportation, tourism, advertising, construction, retailing, wholesaling, and mass communications
Multi domestic company Final
An organization with multicountry affiliates, each of which formulates its own business strategy based on perceived market differences.
Global company Final
An organization that attempts to standardize and integrate operations worldwide in most or all functional areas.
Explain the difference between controllable and uncontrollable forces.
The external forces are commonly called uncontrollable forces. Management has no direct control over them. External forces consist of the following: Competitive, Distributive, Economic, Socioeconomic, Financial, Legal, Physical, Political, Sociocultural, Labor, And Technological
Controllable Forces-management does have some control are the internal forces-such as the factors of production (capital, raw materials, and people) and the activities of the organization (personnel, finance, production, and marketing)
Define self-reference criterion
Unconscious reference to the manager’s own cultural values, when judging others in a new and different environment
Define economic globalization
The tendency toward an international integration of goods, technology, information, labor, and capital, or the process of making this integration happen.
List the five drivers of globalization. Final
Political-the progressive reduction of barriers to trade and foreign investment by most governments and privatization of much of the industry in formerly communist nations
Technological- vast advancements
Market- become global customers
Cost- globalize product lines to reduce development, production, and inventory costs
Competitive- more competition
Explain how entering foreign markets can increase profits by:
Providing greater revenue:
Firms are able to obtain greater revenue by simultaneously introducing products in foreign markets and in their domestic markets as they move toward greater globalization
Lower the cost of goods sold:
Increasing total sales by exporting not only will reduce research and development costs per unit, but also will make other economies of scale possible. Inducements also help which are reduced taxes or subsidies for R&D
Firms often enter foreign markets to protect markets, profits, and sales. How does this relate to each of the following?
Following customers overseas
Following customers overseas Follow principal accounts overseas to prevent competitors from gaining access to those accounts. Guaranteed customer base
Firms often enter foreign markets to protect markets, profits, and sales. How does this relate to each of the following?
Lack of foreign exchange
First sign is a delay in payment by importers
Firms often enter foreign markets to protect markets, profits, and sales. How does this relate to each of the following?
Protectionism
When a government sees that local industry is threatened by imports, it may erect import barriers to stop or reduce these imports
Firms often enter foreign markets to protect markets, profits, and sales. How does this relate to each of the following?
Acquiring technology
Foreign firms invest in the United States for the acquisition of technology and management know-how
List 4 advantages for a firm to first export to its country’s major trading partners.
The business climate in the importing nation is relatively favorable
Export and import regulations are not insurmountable
There should be not strong cultural objections to buying that nation’s good.
Satisfactory transportation facilities have already been established
Define mercantilism
The accumulation of precious metals as an activity essential to a nation’s welfare.
Explain absolute advantage with an example. Final
The ability to produce goods most efficiently by having either a natural or acquired advantage, Corn from Nebraska and Oil from Saudi Arabia
Explain comparative advantage with an example.
Nations specialize in the production of a few products and trade with others to supply the rest of their needs
Define exchange rate.
To convert from foreign to domestic currency
Describe the resource endowment theory.
Abundance of resources
List the 4 stages of the international product life cycle from a US perspective.
U.S. Exports, Foreign production begins, foreign competition in export markets, Import competition in the United States
List the 3 main advantages to regional clusters.
Advantages associated with pooling of a common labor force so that staffing requirements can be met quickly, even with unexpected fluctuations in demand. -Gains from the development of specialized local suppliers whose operations and skills can be coordinated with the needs of the buyers. -Benefits that result with the geographic regions from the sharing of technological information and corresponding enhancement of the rate of innovation.
List and describe the 4 forces in Porter’s Diamond Model. Final
Demand conditions, Factor conditions, Related and supporting industries, Firm strategy, structure, and rivalry.
Portfolio investment
The purchase of stocks and bonds solely for the purpose of obtaining a return on the funds invested.
Foreign direct investment
Investors participate in the management of the firm in addition to receiving a return on their money
Explain why historically trade precedes FDI.
Engaging in foreign trade is typically less costly and less risky than making a direct investment into foreign markets. Can expand the business in small increments rather than through the considerably greater amounts of investment and market size that a foreign production facility requires
List and describe the 3 kinds of advantages of the eclectic theory.
Ownership Specific—extent to which a firm has an advantage through ownership of tangible and intangible that are not availabe to other firms and can be transferred abroad.
Location Specific—must have specific characteristics or an economic, social, or political nature that will permit the firm to profitably exploit its advantages by locating to that marked rather than serving the market through exports.
Internalization—receiving resources or funds from an internal source.
Explain why the UN is considered largely an informal organization.
The UN operates with voluntary agreements which makes it an informal institution.
List and describe the 5 organs of the UN.
The General Assembly acts by adopting resolutions that express the will of the member-nations.
The UN Security Council has responsibility for maintaining international peace and security.
The Economic and Social Council is concerned with economic and social issues, including trade, transport, industrialization, economic development, population growth, children, housing, women’s rights, racial discrimination, illegal drugs, crime, social welfare, youth, the human environment, and food.
The International Court of Justice makes legal decisions involving disputes between national governments and gives advisory opinions.
The Secretariat is the UN’s staff.