Group No: 2 : Free Trade Not much is fair about free trade.. Group No: 3 : Foreign Direct Investment in China BEIJING: China's foreign direct investment FDI inflows dropped 2.4% in the
Trang 2Giám đốc điều hành Wal-Mart bị cáo buộc nhận hối lộ (2007, May 28) Retrieved from VnExpress:
https://kinhdoanh.vnexpress.net/tin-tuc/quoc-te/giam-doc-dieu-hanh-wal-mart-bi-cao-buoc-nhan-hoi-lo-2687923.html
Khánh, N (2013, June 26) Walmart “đi đêm” tại Mexico Retrieved from Thời báo ngân hàng: http://
thoibaonganhang.vn/walmart-di-dem-tai-mexico-22786.html?fbclid=IwAR2-Gq8VhRY4rWE4IEsXDHG4tme5CCMxHDnjR4KCy0O7YcIMLH5ZVQxrOME
Walmart Ethics (2015) Retrieved from
https://www.walmartethics.com/uploadedFiles/Content/U.S.%20-%20English.pdf
CBA300 – INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Group Assigment
Assessed in class
Carries 20% each of total marks
Group Presentation
Max 5 pax only
Peer evaluation for variations in individual marks
Presentation on the discussion questions provided at the end of each module Failure to present will result in automatic failure of the subject
Evaluation will be based on:
clear understanding of the case study topic
content of the presentation
critical discussion
succinctness of the presentation
clarity of presentation and confidence
ability to answer question raised by others in class and course leader
mode and materials used for presentation
Choose from these ten (10)
Trang 3Group No: 1 : Multinational Management : A Strategic Approach
HONG KONG (Reuters) - General Electric Co aims to double the number of joint ventures it has in China from the current 28 in roughly five years, its vice-chairman said in May, 2012
John Rice, who is based in Hong Kong and runs the company's global operations, said GE will buy more, sell more and make more in China John Rice was speaking at an American Chamber of Commerce event in the city The largest U.S conglomerate makes electric turbines, water-purification systems, medical equipment and other infrastructure equipment that developing nations invest in as they industrialize
Summarize the background of General Electric Co (GE) and critically analyse how GE would operate its multinational approaches to achieve its strategic goals.
Group No: 2 : Free Trade
Not much is fair about free trade There is a big difference between Fair Trade and Free Trade Free Trade means that China and others pay substantially less in taxes to do business
in the U.S than American companies It means they are free to use the strength of the dollar
to close our manufacturing facilities and put millions of workers out of work
They are free to ignore patent and trademark laws and protections Free trade means that China and others are free to ignore the environment and dump toxins into the water and air which will affect our air and weather and eventually our coasts
In order to gain free trade there will be a price to pay Even today, the United States continues
to support free trade, an example being NAFTA (North America Free Trade Agreement) The problem is that free trade has caused the foreign industry to take over the U.S marketplace
In my opinion free trade has only hurt the American work force, increased poverty, and added to our national debt
Today there are about 10 million unemployed citizens and 35 million Americans are living in poverty because of free trade It's clear that the foreign industry is taking advantage of us You can visit most clothing store and you'll find that most of the clothing’s comes from South Korea, China, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines On the other hand, some studies show that free trade is beneficial for every country involved
Summarize what is Free Trade and critically describe how one country can benefit from
it whilst others may fear stiff competition Is Free Trade free for all? Debate the free trade argument considering both advantages and disadvantages on a regional and global basis and coming to conclusions supported by a range of references
Trang 4Group No: 3 : Foreign Direct Investment in China
BEIJING: China's foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows dropped 2.4% in the first four months of 2012 versus last year, the longest period of declining inflows since the depths of the global financial crisis and a sign of external economic headwinds
The Commerce Ministry said yesterday that the country drew US$37.9bil in FDI between January and April, down from US$38.8bil attracted in the same period in 2011 April's inflow alone was US$8.4bil, down from US$8.5bil a year earlier
“We believe the negative trend reflects concerns over China's lower growth potential, lack of confidence in the global growth outlook, and poorer access to funding from deleveraging banks,” said Dariusz Kowalczyk, senior economist and strategist at Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong “It is worrying that despite very favourable base effects, foreign direct investment is continuing to shrink.”
FDI is an important gauge of the health of external economy, to which China's vast factory sector is oriented, but it is a small contributor to overall capital flows compared with exports, which were worth about US$1.9 trillion in 2011
FDI from the European Union dropped 27.9% year-on-year in the January - April period, while inflows from the United States rose 1.9% FDI from 10 Asian economies rose 0.6% to US$33.1bil in the same period, the ministry said
A weaker-than-expected reading from economic data released last week raised investor concerns that a five-quarter long slide has not bottomed and more must be done to support growth
Trade data had set the scene, with April's 4.9% annual rate of export growth barely half that forecast by economists and import growth at a standstill, expanding by just 0.3% versus expectations of 11% growth
A ministry spokesman told a news conference after the FDI data was published that it was impossible to say whether the outlook for trade was either optimistic or pessimistic “Looking from the trade data last month and the deals signed at the Canton trade fair, China's export situation is still severe.”
The just-concluded Canton Fair, a biannual export trade fair widely considered a barometer
of China's export growth, saw the value of signed export deals shrink 2.3% from a year earlier, the first annual drop since the global financial crisis – Reuters
Summarize whether foreign direct investment (FDI) in China is either optimistic or pessimistic and critically analyse the importance of FDI for a country including its advantages and disadvantages Explore further whether China's export situation is still severe or better over these years
Group No: 4 : Re-entry Shock and Expatriate Experience
Trang 5After a period of work abroad, a returning expatriate may expect to feel comfortable “back home” – after all, hasn’t it been hard to suffer homesickness all the time abroad? And yet the once familiar home town seems strange and the foreign country left behind evokes homesickness and feelings of loss
Immersion in a foreign culture is a profoundly transforming experience, and it should not be surprising to find that the person who comes home is not the same person who left Even a few months or years overseas can stretch the mind and heart in unexpected ways, making it difficult or impossible ever to return to formerly familiar grooves
The home culture may seem narrow and provincial after exposure to a wider multicultural world, and issues and projects that previously seemed important may appear trivial in light of the overseas experience The sense of being different can become a burden if there is no way
to connect the overseas experience with life and work back “home”, and returning expatriates often feel cut adrift, unsure how to find a sense of direction and move forward in life again
Sharing the Overseas Experience
One common problem encountered by many returnees is the difficulty of telling the story, or explaining to family and friends what happened, what was done, what was seen, what was learned, and what the experience of cultural immersion is really like People will ask a few questions, listen politely for a short time and then move on, not delving into the heart of what may be a rich and complex story Especially for those who have not had any kind of cross-cultural experience, understanding the true dimensions of life in a foreign culture may be difficult to grapple with Returnees should try to find companions who have had similar experiences overseas and who can enter into the emotions and difficulties with more empathy
Stages of Repatriation and Re-entry
Just as when first going overseas, a returnee should expect that the adjustment back home
will occur in stages Culture shock and re-entry shock are really two sides of the same coin,
and each phase has to be acknowledged The stages cannot be skipped or avoided Many people will experience a prolonged period of maladjustment, irritability, fault-finding and nostalgia for the place of life and work overseas
Settling back into old patterns and routines can take much longer than expected, and can sometimes be a painful experience If the human resources manager has resources available
to assist with repatriation, these should be accessed Knowledge is power, and educating oneself about the re-entry process can make it easier to endure
Gradually the adjustment process will begin to work, and the returnee will begin to re-learn life in the home culture Some will look for more opportunities for overseas sojourns, while others will settle back in more permanently All will find that life “back home” is different, and must be learned as if in a completely new culture Re-entry shock can also be a positive experience for expatriates if they take the time to adjust and integrate their learning both overseas and at home
Trang 6Summarize the psychological process of culture shock which maybe affecting people living abroad that is characterized by homesickness, irritability, confusion, aggravation, and depression when expatriates were posted to new green fields and also the repatriation and re-entry of expatriates after their overseas stints Is there any reverse culture shock? Critically analyse how could this be avoided or how can this be mitigated
or even used for advantage needs some form of analysis and evaluation?
Group No: 5: Leadership & Ethics
CHICAGO: Wal-Mart Stores Inc’s profit and sales surpassed expectations as more people shopped at its established US stores and spent more, pushing shares up more than 4% despite ongoing internal and government probes into possible bribery
Wal-Marts shares jumped and briefly recovered the entire of 8.2% plunge sustained after an
April 21 New York Times report uncovered an alleged past bribery scheme in Mexico that the
newspaper said Wal-Mart executives knew about The first-quarter results, including a 10.1% increase in profit, showed that Wal-Marts US recovery was on track and efforts were progressing to cut costs and establish everyday low pricing in markets such as China
The real question is, would the stock be higher if it weren’t for the investigation' It’s very hard to know, said Faye Landes, managing director at Consumer Edge Research At the same time, Wal-Mart is seen as a defensive play amid weak economic data and worries about Europe
Wal-Mart shares could rise to US$65 to US$70 and perhaps in six to nine months break out
of their 13-year trading range, driven by earnings growth, said Gilford Securities analyst Bernard Sosnick The shares last traded above US$70 in 1999
A strong performance from the Walmart US unit pleased investors Sales at Walmart US stores open at least a year rose 2.6% in the first quarter and should rise 1% to 3% in the second quarter, the company said The rebound in the United States follows Walmarts reversal of its inventory reduction plan after shoppers headed elsewhere to find goods not on Walmart shelves
The turnaround they initiated several quarters ago is starting to show some benefit, its starting
to gain traction But at the end of the day it is still a very challenging backdrop for them, said Walter Stackow, a senior research analyst at Manning & Napier, which owns Wal-Mart shares Stackow cited the financial concerns of Walmarts core customers and the competition Walmart faces from dollar stores and online retailers WalMarts shares closed up 4.2%, or US$2.49, at US$61.68 on the New York Stock Exchange Reuters
Trang 7Summarize the background of Wal-Mart Stores and critically analyse how Wal-Mart addresses alleged past bribery scheme in Mexico and labour issues in USA Is there any weakness in the code of conduct and ethics of Wal-Mart? How does Wal-Mart overcomes these weakness and moves towards more transparency and openness in their leadership and ethics?
Group No: 6 : Joint-venture Partners in China
BEIJING (Reuters) - China sales by Japan's Toyota Motor Corp and its two local joint-venture partners rose 68 percent in April from a year earlier to about 81,700 vehicles, according to a company spokesman
For the first four months of the year, the Japanese auto maker sold a total of about 293,200 vehicles, a 14.3 percent increase from the same period last year, said the spokesman, Takanori Yokoi
Yokoi said the large year-on-year jump in April sales was due chiefly to the fact that sales during April month were comparatively low because of the massive earthquake on March 11 The earthquake and tsunami paralyzed production of key components and affected Toyota's vehicle production around the world, including China
Still, Toyota's sales momentum was "fairly strong" so far this year, said Yokoi Because the company's sales performance was so bad last year due to the impact from the earthquake Toyota "should be able to post double-digit sales growth at least for the next several months," the Beijing-based spokesman said
"If things go as normally as we expect, we should be able to meet our sales goal" of selling one million cars this year, said Yokoi
Toyota's China sales totaled about 883,400 vehicles, a 4.4 percent increase from 2010, reflecting in part the general slowdown of automobile sales in China last year After rapid growth in 2009 and 2010, China's auto market as a whole slowed considerably last year as sales of smaller-engine cars and commercial vehicles stalled after the government ended some incentives for car buyers
Various industry forecasts point to overall vehicle sales this year growing about 5-10 percent from 2011.Toyota would have to grow sales by about 13 percent this year to meet its goal of selling one million vehicles – Reuters
Summarize the overall vehicle sales in China and critically analyse how joint-venture automotive manufacturers would survive in the turbulent business when the government ended incentives for car buyers.
Group No: 7 : Free Trade
Trang 8CANBERRA: Australia signed a free trade agreement (FTA) with Malaysia on 22 May 2012
in a move it hopes will add new momentum to stalled bilateral trade talks with other key Asian trading partners
Australia is still negotiating free trade deals with South Korea, Japan and China, with progress in reaching agreement with Beijing and Tokyo slow The deal with Malaysia, which will be Australia's sixth FTA, will be signed in Kuala Lumpur, said a spokesman for Australian Trade Minister Craig Emerson
"Such agreements can generate momentum for further deals, providing a head-turning effect from other countries," Emerson told the Australian newspaper Australia already boasts FTAs with New Zealand, the United States, Singapore, Thailand and Chile, and reached a regional trade deal with 10 ASEAN countries in 2010
The agreement with Malaysia is a step further than the ASEAN deal, granting Australia's service sector the right to operate majority-owned operations in Malaysia and allowing access
to Malaysia without endorsement from other ASEAN countries
Under the deal, more than 97 percent of tariffs on Australian goods sold in Malaysia will be eliminated In return Australia has agreed to accelerate the removal of tariffs for goods from Malaysia, the Australian newspaper reported Malaysia is Australia's ninth-biggest trading partner with two-way trade worth about $13 billion a year
Summarize the Free Trade Agreement signed between Malaysia and Australia and critically analyse the importance and benefits of this agreement Explore further whether Australian can play an important role in ASEAN Economic Community 2015.
Group No: 8 : Exporting Luxury Goods into China
Luxury goods are products and services that are not considered essential and are associated with affluence The concept of luxury has been present in various forms since the beginning
of civilization Its role was just as important in ancient western and eastern empires as it is in modern societies Luxury was limited to the elite classes
Louis Vuitton (LV) is one of the most popular luxury brands in China and it can also represent the current situation of luxury goods market in China Louis Vuitton (LV) is the world's leading luxury brand It is ranked number 1 It is also regarded as the leading brand of the LVMH group and the 1st world group of luxurious goods which were produced and distributed This brand was created in 1987
LVMH earned worldwide sales of €16.5 billion in 2011 (+7.7%) This achievement has ensured and conquered competition with its revenues being three times greater than its follower Richemont Group The group has been split into five core activities with a rich portfolio of over 60 brands Fashion and leather goods constitute €5.6 billion sales which accounts for nearly 34 % of the group's turnover It is also this sector that stimulates the
Trang 9group's growth engine LV dominates the luxury segment by reaching a target of €1.659 billion turnover in 2006 Further, LV owns 405 stores
Summarize the exporting of luxury goods into China and critically analyse that since a ban instituted in October, 2012 on government agencies purchasing luxury goods, often used as "gifts", whether the sales of luxury goods in China remained strong, slowed, or falling for some luxury retailers in the coming years.
Group No: 9 : Social Media Marketing
The explosive growth of Social Media has provided millions of people the opportunity to create and share content on a scale barely imaginable a few years ago Massive participation
in these Social networks has now raised much interest in business Ideas, opinions, and products compete with all other content for the scarce attention of the user community (Romero, Galuba, Asur and Huberman, 2010)
There is no agreed business models to implement Social Media strategies and for evaluating the impact of Social Media on organisational competitiveness (Carlsson, 2010; Schafer, 2004) This implies that firms find it difficult to select Social Media strategies to implement
or Social Media business models to benchmark against To explore ways that organisations can effectively gain competitive advantages from Social Media strategies Hence, it will relate how strategic management concepts can be employed for harnessing Social Media technologies to gain sustainable competitive advantage
Social media can be a double-edged sword for your brand in that it can virally make people aware of your brand and drive revenue or it can kill a brand literally overnight if you make a single misstep
Case Study : Levi’s During the summer of 2010, Levi’s launched a new line of jeans that was different because it featured a new way of sizing the jean by the degree of bodily curve the woman who’d be wearing the jean had The company claimed to have taken body scans of 60,000 women around the world to come up with new sizes that should fit eighty percent of the women in the world The new sizes were “slight”, “demi”, and “bold” curves for the new sizing method
Although it seemed like a great idea, the ads that communicated the new concept angered many who expressed their feelings via social media Some were angered by the ad’s slogan
“All asses are not created equal” Those provocative words combined with the fact that the most curvaceous models were dark-skinned made some to claim that the ads were “racist”
Summarize the ‘explosive’ of social media marketing and critically analyse the importance and dynamics of social media marketing reaching out to all possible
Trang 10customers by effectively and efficiently gaining competitive advantages over others.
Group No: 10 : Starbucks HR Policies and Practices
Given the present global economic climate, it is incumbent for retail businesses to place significant emphasis on not only hiring the right people, but also to retain them In a business that is considered in line with the fast food industry, coffee giant, Starbucks, appears to have the ideal business model as it relates to success Nowadays, when a company can generate a profit on an overpriced product and continue to boast profits, it has to be doing something right Starbucks executive management is quick to attribute its phenomenal success to its human resources practices
When Starbucks began in the early 1970s, it was established with an idea that stemmed from the bohemian coffee houses of the 1960s While its atmosphere has changed over the years, its business model of being a friendly, relaxing place to savor in a cup of coffee remains the same Customers have come to expect prompt, courteous service whether they are grabbing a cup of coffee on the way to work or staying in for a period of time reading and working from laptops Throughout its modern history, though, Starbucks’ top management has insisted that its successful formula lies not with the product so much as with the people The executives consider a trip to its coffee shops to be an “experience.” Employees receive several benefits, incentives and programs that are designed to ensure a high retention rate, keeping the best employees out of a pool of what could be classified as “unskilled labor.” This process starts with hiring
Hiring Practice
Starbucks does not refer to its staff as employees The company calls them “partners.” These partners are the front line people whose job is to provide the Starbucks “experience.” In order
to promote the experience, the right people must be hired Starbucks begins this process by making initial contact with potential employees through job fairs, in-house advertisements, its website, and by word of mouth The company’s hiring managers are provided with interview guidelines that contain lists of core skills that potential partners need to have The guidelines also list “behaviors that outline the ideal employee for each position.” (Weber, 2005) There
is also an extensive data base of current applicants, as Starbucks is very particular about the type of people it hires – “people who are adaptable, dependable, passionate team players (Weber, 2005)
Summarize Starbucks HR policies and practices and critically analyse the importance of hiring and retaining human assets without compromise the quality of services and overpricing