MGMT 3P98 TEST#4

Question 1

Scanning:

Answer 1

Involves comparing readily available, inexpensive, and comparable country information to limit geographic alternatives.

Question 2

Important Information in Scanning:

Answer 2

Opportunities (sales expansion, cost considerations), Risks (political risk, foreign exchange risk, competitive risk).

Question 3

Country Comparison Tools:

Answer 3

Grids and matrices help in analyzing data and ranking countries by important variables.

Question 4

Allocating Among Locations:

Answer 4

Strategies for international expansion, gradual commitments, geographic diversification vs. concentration, reinvestment vs. harvesting.

Question 5

Non-Comparative Decision Making:

Answer 5

Sometimes location decisions are made without comparing different countries’ possibilities.

Question 6

Exporting:

Answer 6

The sale of goods or services produced by a company based in one country to customers residing in a different country. Types of exporters include non-exporter, occasional exporter, and regular exporter.

Question 7

Characteristics of Exporters:

Answer 7

Size (large, SMEs), management commitment, efficiency, cost structure.

Question 8

Reasons to Export:

Answer 8

Profits, productivity, diversification.

Question 9

Approaches to Exporting:

Answer 9

Direct exporting, indirect exporting, passively filling orders, selling to domestic buyers representing foreign end users.

Question 10

Importing:

Answer 10

The purchase of goods or services by a buyer in one country from a seller in another. Types of importers include input optimizers, opportunistic, arbitrageurs.

Question 11

Export Plan:

Answer 11

Identifies resources, assigns responsibility, and stipulates controls.

Question 12

Reasons to Import:

Answer 12

Specialization of labor, global rivalry, local unavailability, diversification.

Question 13

Countertrade:

Answer 13

Trading products using limited or no currency or credit.

Question 14

Organization Structure:

Answer 14

Formal arrangement of roles, responsibilities, and relationships in an MNE, including vertical and horizontal differentiation.

Question 15

Vertical Differentiation:

Answer 15

Balance between centralization and decentralization of authority.

Question 16

Horizontal Differentiation:

Answer 16

Specifies tasks, divides tasks among units, and stipulates superior-subordinate relationships.

Question 17

Classical Structures:

Answer 17

Functional structure groups people based on common expertise, divisional structure divides employees based on product/customer/geographical location, and matrix structure overlaps functional and divisional forms.

Question 18

Neoclassical Structures:

Answer 18

Emphasize coordination and cultivation, include network structure and virtual organization.

Question 19

Coordinated Systems:

Answer 19

Standardization, plan, and mutual adjustment for coordinating international activities.

Question 20

Control Systems:

Answer 20

Define how managers compare performance to plans, identify differences, and impose corrections. Includes bureaucratic control, market control, and clan control.

Question 21

Organization Culture:

Answer 21

Coherent set of assumptions about an MNE and its goals and practices shared by its members.

Question 22

Marketing Strategies:

Answer 22

Depends on marketing orientation (production, sales, customer, strategic marketing, social marketing).

Question 23

Product Policies:

Answer 23

Pros and cons of product alterations, product line decisions, and considerations for standardized and differentiated marketing programs.

Question 24

Pricing Strategies:

Answer 24

Complexities in foreign markets, government intervention, market diversity, pricing tactics, and negotiation of import-export prices.

Question 25

Promotion Strategies:

Answer 25

Country differences in promotional practices, standardized advertising advantages and problems.

Question 26

Branding Strategies:

Answer 26

Worldwide brand advantages, problems with global brands (language, brand acquisition, country-of-origin, generic names).

Question 26

Distribution Strategies:

Answer 26

Effective practices and complications of international distribution, standardizing distribution, choosing distributors and channels, factors contributing to distribution cost differences, e-commerce and the Internet.

Question 27

Managing the Marketing Mix:

Answer 27

Emphasis within the marketing mix may vary among countries, gap analysis for estimating potential sales.

Question 28

Supply-Chain Management:

Answer 28

Network linking different aspects of the value chain, coordinating materials, information, and funds from the raw material supplier to the ultimate customer.

Question 29

Global Supply Chain Strategies:

Answer 29

Factors in supply chain strategy include compatibility, manufacturing configuration, coordination, and control.

Question 30

Supplier Networks:

Answer 30

Sourcing is the process of obtaining a supply of inputs for production. Global sourcing involves materials management, inventory management, and transportation between suppliers, manufacturers, and customers.

Question 31

Global Sourcing:

Answer 31

Outsourcing is when a company externalizes a function or process to another business. Contract manufacturing is when the entire manufacturing process is handled by another firm.

Question 32

The Make-or-Buy Decision:

Answer 32

Deciding which production activities should take place in-house and which should be subcontracted to independent companies.

Question 33

Supplier Relations:

Answer 33

Firms that outsource must decide how to work with suppliers, either through a close arrangement based on trust or an arms-length relationship.

Question 34

The Purchasing Function:

Answer 34

Four phases of purchasing include domestic purchasing only, foreign buying based on need, foreign buying as part of a procurement strategy, and integration of global procurement strategy.

Question 35

Foreign Trade Zones:

Answer 35

Areas where domestic and imported merchandise can be stored, inspected, and manufactured free from formal customs procedures until the goods leave the zones. There are general-purpose zones and subzones.

Question 36

Transportation Networks:

Answer 36

Transportation links suppliers, companies, and customers as part of the global supply chain.

Question 37

Uncertainty and the Global Supply Chain:

Answer 37

Globalization encourages companies to outsource to foreign suppliers to reduce costs, but political events increase the risk of supply chain disruption.

Question 38

What is HRM?

Answer 38

Human resource management (HRM) involves the activities that staff the MNE. Factors influencing HRM in international business include environmental differences, strategic contingencies, and organizational challenges.

Question 39

Strategizing HRM:

Answer 39

Superior human resources are essential for high productivity, competitive advantage, and value creation. MNEs need to integrate strategy and HRM.