Reference no: EM132265248

Course Description

Examines current patterns of international business and social, economic, political, and cultural systems impacting the conduct of business. Topics include international business transactions, financial institutions facilitating international transactions, and the interface between nation states and the firms conducting foreign business activities.

Course Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:

1. Differentiate international business from domestic business operations.

2. Analyze the effects of political, legal, economic, and cultural dimensions of international business on an organization.

3. Evaluate policies and factors affecting international trade patterns.

4. Distinguish between absolute advantage and comparative advantage trade theories.

5. Explore the influence of regional trading groups on an organization.

6. Examine economic concepts and indicators.

7. Calculate the implications of foreign exchange rates.

8. Examine the major marketing considerations applicable to international business.

9. Compare the accounting concepts of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

10. Explore international human resource management and staffing approaches associated with multinational enterprises (MNEs).

Unit Assignments

Unit I Assignment

For this assignment, you will use Hofstede’s characteristics to differentiate international and domestic business operations. This exercise will help identify the key characteristics that drive business decisions on an international and domestic level.

Part 1: Pick three individual countries, one in the Middle East, one in Asia, and one in Europe. Apply Hofstede’s characteristics to each one, and state if the characteristic is low, medium, or high in each country. Also, explain why each country deserves that description.

Part 2: Given your descriptions, explain which country is most like the United States and which country is most unlike the U.S.

Your response must be a minimum of three pages in length.

Note: The template is just a tool to get you started. Feel free to use another layout.

Unit II PowerPoint Presentation

Your company wants to put a ball-bearing factory in Africa. Your company predicts this is where the most growth will be in the 21st century. Your assignment is to research a country on the African continent that you think would be the most advantageous to your company in cultural, economic, and political environments.

Your assignment is to point out and explain the facts or statistics that you think would make this country a good place to build and staff your factory. Remember to keep the cultural, economic, and political environments in mind. Your presentation must include at least two facts or statistics that relate to each environmental area (cultural, economic, and political).

Feel free to use the suggested readings as a starting point for your research on sources of data about different countries in the world. You must use at least three authoritative sources, and you are required to use the CSU Online Library for at least one of your sources. Pull a minimum of two facts or statistics from each source that you use.

Some good examples of authoritative sources are provided below:

The U.S. State Department

The World Bank

The Academic Search Complete database features information on countries through the CIA World Factbook.

The Business Source Complete database has a “Country Report” that can be selected in the Publication Type area. These reports by country can be 200-plus pages and are very in depth.

Your PowerPoint presentation should be a minimum of 10 slides. Be sure to use APA guidelines to cite and reference the sources for your facts.

Unit III Essay

For this assignment, write an essay that addresses each of the following points:

1. Choose five U.S. government policies that affect trade with foreign nations. Identify three factors of production, and
describe how their mobility is good or bad for U.S. trade

2. Distinguish between absolute advantage and comparative advantage trade theories and give examples

3. Choose either the TPP or the T-TIP free trade agreement and describe which other countries have signed on and why the U.S. Senate should ratify or not ratify the agreement. Also, explain how regional trading groups influence organizations.

Your essay submission should be a minimum of three pages in length in APA style; however, a title page, a running head, and an abstract are not required. You are required to use at least two scholarly sources for this essay. Your responses to the three prompts must be in paragraph form. Be sure to cite and reference all quoted or paraphrased material appropriately in APA style.

Unit IVAssignment

For this assignment, you will practice calculating exchange rates and examine some of the key factors that have an impact on foreign exchange.

Unit VI Article Critique

Your task is to offer a detailed critique of a peer-reviewed article, which you can locate in the CSU Online Library. The article must be related to international marketing.

In your critique, address the following questions:

What are the main points and arguments of the author(s)?

What is your opinion of the article?

How can the points and arguments of the author(s) be applied to the lesson in this unit? (Some examples include the marketing mix, marketing orientation, and organizational structure.)

The critique should be a minimum of two pages in length in APA style; however, a title page, a running head, and an abstract are not required. Be sure to cite and reference all quoted or paraphrased material appropriately in APA style.

Unit VII Case Study

To read the case study below, you must first log into the myCSU Student Portal and access the General OneFile database
found in the CSU Online Library.

Read the case study indicated below, and answer the following questions:

James, M. L. (2010). Accounting for business combinations and the convergence of International Financial Reporting Standards with U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles: A case study. Journal of the International Academy for Case Studies, 16(1), 95-108.

1. What key financial ratios will be affected by the adoption of FAS 141R and FAS 160? What will be the likely effect?

2. Could any of the recent and forthcoming changes affect the company’s acquisition strategies and potentially its growth?

3. What were FASB’s primary reasons for issuing FAS 141R and FAS 160?

4. What are qualifying SPEs? Do they exist under IFRS? What is the effect of FAS 166 eliminating the concept of qualifying SPEs on the convergence of accounting standards?

5. If the company adopts IFRS, what changes should management be aware of?

6. What are the principle differences between IFRS and U.S. GAAP?

Your submission should be a minimum of three pages in length in APA style; however, a title page, a running head, and an abstract are not required. Be sure to cite and reference all quoted or paraphrased material appropriately in APA style.

Unit VIII Case Study

To read the case study below, please click the link and log into the CSU Online Library.

Bodolica, V., & Waxi, M. (2007). Chicago food and beverage company: The challenges of managing international assignments. Journal of the International Academy for Case Studies, 13(3), 31-42.

Please answer the following questions after reading the case study:

1. Which staffing framework do you recognize in this case study? Explain its characteristics and the advantages to using this type of framework?

2. Would this type of staffing framework affect Paul’s ability to get things done? Why, or why not?

3. Explain if any of the other staffing frameworks would be any better? What can you recommend to the company’s headquarters in this sense?

4. Why does Paul want this job? Is Paul a good candidate for this expatriate position?

5. What comments can you make on expatriate management in general? And what comments can you make on the expatriate recruitment policy in particular?

6. What are the different expatriate compensation methods you recognized in the text? What are the advantages and disadvantages of these different expatriate compensation methods?

7. What do you suggest to the U.S. headquarters’ human resources manager in order to improve the expatriate satisfaction/compensation?

Your submission should be a minimum of three pages in length in APA style; however, a title page, a running head, and an abstract are not required. Be sure to cite and reference all quoted or paraphrased material appropriately in APA style