Describe a multinational corporation (MNC) with which you are familiar.

Select a foreign market for your MNC and assess the risks of foreign currency exposures and develop strategies to manage these risks.

Explain the basic functioning of the international banking system and financial markets (money, bond, equity) and the techniques for using the markets to finance global operations for your MNC.

Develop the financial strategies to support long-term financing of global operations for your MNC that address portfolio investment, capital budgeting, and foreign direct investment decisions.

Select a U. S. company with global operations. Write a 3-4 page project in which you do the following:

Discuss the firm's activities outside the U.S.
Identify which economic concepts, such as comparative advantage, apply to your firm.
Explain how these economic concepts can be used to address the firm?s problems and opportunities?
Identify which economic and political policies affect your firm and explain how they impact business decisions.
How does your firm use technology to strategic advantage?
Discuss the impact of globalization on the firm's cost structure, markets, currency risk, and overall strategy. Be sure to provide a definition of globalization in your answer.

im requesting amber111 to write this paper if she is available
please use attached paper for reference. Must read it because this paper is an extension to that one

Determine the marketing mix specific to your selected global product or service and explain your choice of marketing mix. Prepare a marketing plan that addresses product modification, pricing, promotional programs, distribution channels, and e-business in your chosen country. Include market indicators and trends for your product or service.


? Prepare a financial overview for your global venture. Include a chart that represents the general budget for your global venture. Explain how your company deals with foreign exchange risk for your global operation.


? Identify potential domestic and international sources of financing for your global venture. Include at least two possible financial institutions within your chosen region.

This paper project is for my Business 610: Economics for the global manager course I am taking for my MBA program.

Select a U.S company with global operations. Write a 3 page paper project in which you do the following:

1) discuss the firm's activities outside the U.S.

2) identify which economic concepts, such as comparative advantage, apply to your firm.

3) explain how these economic concepts can be used to address the firm's problems and opportunities?

4) identify which economic and political policies affect your firm and explain how they impact business decisions.

5) discuss the impact of globalization of firm's cost structure, markets, currency risk, and overall strategy. Be sure to provide definition of globalization in your answer.

This paper project must be 12 point, Times New Roman font. My email address is: [email protected] or [email protected]

Select a U.S. company with global operations. write a 3-4 page project in which you will do the following:
1. Discuss the firm's activities outside the U.S.
2. Identify which economic concepts, such as comparative advantage, apply to your firm.
3. Explain how these economic concepts can be used to address the firm's problems and opportunties?
4. Identify which economic and political affect your firm and explain how they impact business decisions.
5. How does your firm use technology to strategic advantage?
6. Discuss the impact of globalization on the firm. Are there any effects on its cost structure, markets, currency risk, and overall strategy? Be sure to provide a definition of globalization in your answer.

This came from my class list of assignments. Please let me know if I need to provide any other information.

I need assistance on a team project in which we are developing a global business venture. Our product will be a hybrid plane in which we will be expanding globally in producing and selling the planes in Japan.


In 900 words, please:

Prepare a financial overview for your global venture. Include a chart that represents the general budget for your global venture. Explain how your company deals with foreign exchange risk for your global operation.

Identify potential domestic and international sources of financing for your global venture. Include at least two possible financial institutions within your chosen region.


I will not need an intro or conclusion as this is just a portion of the project.

I will send additional information as an attachment about this business venture that will help with the order.

Please use sources that are available for me to view and review from the internet.

There are faxes for this order.

Prepare a budget and financial overview for your McDonald in Japan. Prepare a financial analysis in terms of currency risk management and financing of your global operation. Discuss what financial institutions and instruments you would use to achieve your global expansion.

Prepare a paper (700 to 1,050 words) discussing the case and incorporating answers to the questions below. It is important to address each of the questions presented. Therefore, the APA rules for formatting, quoting, paraphrasing, citing, and listing of sources are to be followed. The Reference List is not included in the required paper length. Your paper must contain at least five references, which may include your course textbook, internet sources, books, and professional journals or other appropriate resources. Please do not copy or plagiarize others materials. All papers are electronically scanned by SafeAssign. Significant deduction of points may result when copying and plagiarism is evident.
Read the case study Burger King Beefs Up Global Operations:
Burger King Beefs Up Global Operations
Burger King is the worlds largest flame- broiled fast food restaurant chain. 65 As of mid- 2009, it operated about 12,000 restaurants in all 50 states and in 74 countries and U. S. territories worldwide through a combination of company- owned and franchised operations, which together employed nearly 400,000 people worldwide. Only Yum Brands ( A& W, KFC, Long John Silver, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell), McDonalds, and Subway, with 36,000, 32,000, and 28,000 restaurants, respectively, were larger. Given that Yum Brands has no hamburger units, Burger King is second in the fast food hamburger restaurant segment/ market. Burger King plans to increase the number of net operating units by 3 to 4 percent per year in the near future, with most of that increase coming in international operations. Two major ways in which Burger King differentiates itself from competitors are the way it cooks hamburgers??" by its flame- broiled method as opposed to grills that fry??" and the options it offers customers as to how they want their burgers. This latter distinction has been popularized with the have it your way theme. About two- thirds of Burger Kings restaurants are in the United States, and its U. S. and Canadian operations accounted for 69 percent of its $ 2.54 billion revenue in fiscal 2009. The geographic distribution of Burger Kings restaurants is shown on Map 12.2. Although the company began in 1954 by offering just burgers, fries, milk shakes, and sodas, the menu has expanded to include breakfast as well as various chicken, fish, and salad offerings. Nevertheless, burgers remain the mainstay of the company, and 2007 marked the 50th anniversary of the Whopper sandwich, which is considered Burger Kings signature product. Burger King has also differentiated itself with some innovative advertising campaigns through the years, such as its use of a figure of a man who is the Burger King. Recently, the company ran a Whopper Virgins campaign in which it assembled people who had never tasted a burger??" such as from remote parts of Greenland, Thailand, and Transylvania??" to participate in a comparative taste test between Whopper sandwiches and Big Macs. The Burger King logo has changed slightly through the years; for example, going from two buns separating a burger to two buns separating the companys name. Yet it has always been displayed and recognizable globally, as illustrated in the photo of a restaurant in Taiwan with Mandarin lettering. A Bit of History Burger King can trace its roots to 1954, when it started as InstaBurger King. In 2006, the company went public, and since then the company has operated independently. During its first five years, the private company grew to five restaurants, all in the Miami, Florida, area. In 1959, the name was changed to Burger King, and it began domestic franchising. In 1967, Pillsbury, which had several other retail food groups??" such as Bennigans, Steak and Ale, and Godfathers Pizza??" bought Burger King, which by then had 274 restaurants. During the first few years of Pillsburys ownership, franchising increased substantially. Then in 1989 Pillsbury got out of the restaurant business and sold Burger King to the British company Grand Metropolitan, which then converted most of its Wimpy restaurants in the United Kingdom to Burger King restaurants. Grand Metropolitan merged with Guinness in 1997 to form Diageo, and Diageo divested itself of restaurant operations in 2002 when it sold Burger King to a consortium of private equity firms controlled by TPG Capital, Bain Capital Partners, and the Goldman Sachs Funds. In May 2006, Burger King consummated its initial public offering, becoming a publicly traded company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The years of transformed ownership took a toll on Burger King as emphases changed and the companys interests were sometimes made secondary to those of its parent company. For instance, in the period leading into the twenty- first century, some of Burger Kings franchisees experienced financial problems. Despite Burger Kings evolving ownership, the company did expand internationally. In the early 1960s, it entered the Bahamas and Puerto Rico. In the 1970s, it entered markets in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. While some of these moves turned out to be highly successful, a few were not. It entered and then retreated from operations in such countries as Colombia, France, Japan, and Oman. ( We will see in later discussion that Burger King has re-entered some of these markets.) Much of Burger Kings early international forays came about either because someone in another country approached Burger King or because someone in the company was familiar with a particular country and thought it would offer opportunities. Two reasons have been prevalent in the decision to leave a market: ( 1) the franchisee does not perform adequately, such as not investing sufficiently in the business or not making royalty payments; and ( 2) the market turned out to be too small to support the necessary infra-structure, such as being too small to develop slaughterhouse and beef grinding facilities. Over time, especially since the company went public, Burger King has taken a more systematic approach toward restaurant expansion. While it still sees substantial growth opportunities within the United States, it sees the United States as a mature market for fast food, especially for hamburgers, in comparison with many foreign countries. In looking for new countries to enter, Burger King looks most favorably at those with large populations ( especially of young people), high consumption of beef, availability of capital to franchisees for growth, a safe pro- business environment, growth in shopping centers, and availability of a potential franchisee with experience and resources. Overall, Burger King has expanded internationally later than its primary rival competitor, McDonalds. This has resulted in both advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, later entry is a disadvantage in very small markets because there may be few adequate suppliers. For instance, there may be only one slaughterhouse, and the owners may be unwilling to work with more than one customer. On the other hand, in larger markets, such as in the BRICs, being a later entrant may be advantageous because the earlier entrants have built demand for fast food and have created a supply infrastructure. In some later- entry markets, Burger King has been able to concentrate almost entirely on emphasizing its product ( have it your way, good taste of flame- broiled burgers), without incurring the early developmental costs. For instance, in Latin America and the Caribbean, McDonalds and Burger King compete in 27 country markets, with Burger King currently leading McDonalds in the number of restaurants in 15 of those markets. However, keep in mind that local companies also learn from the successes of foreign fast food companies, and they sometimes alter their menus and flavorings to appeal to local tastes. Some notable examples are Bembos in Peru, Mr. Biggs in Nigeria, Pollo Campero in Guatemala, and Quick in France. Outside of Burger Kings Americas group ( United States and Canada), 37.0 percent of the countries and 24.6 percent of the restaurants are in the Latin American and Caribean group, yet these countries accounted for only 13.5 percent of the non- Americas group revenue in fiscal 2009. This is largely because many of these countries have very small populations, such as the Cayman Islands, Aruba, and Saint Lucia. So why did Burger King develop a presence in these markets, even though at this writing it is not in countries with much bigger populations, such as India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Russia, and South Africa? The answer is largely due to a location factor. Burger King remains headquartered in Miami, which is often called the capital of Latin America. Because so many people from Latin America and the Caribbean come to or through Miami, Burger Kings reputation spilled over to that area early on. This simplified gaining brand recognition and acceptance. Further, the nearness of the Latin American and Caribbean countries to Miami enhances the ability of Burger Kings management to visit these countries and for franchisees to visit Burger Kings headquarters. In 2008, Burger King opened its thousandth restaurant in the Latin American and Caribbean region. Although Burger King prefers to operate in markets through franchising, doing so is sometimes initially difficult because suppliers and prospective franchisees do not know the company well enough. If such a market looks sufficiently attractive, Burger King will enter with its owned operations. ( Overall, Burger King owns 12 percent of its restaurants and franchises the rest.) By owning, Burger King demonstrates market commitment. For instance, there may only be one meat- processing plant, and the owners may otherwise be reluctant to invest in added capacity or the processing of ground beef. Further, if the country turns out to be as attractive as anticipated, then the owned operations may be more profitable for Burger King than royalties received from franchisees. Throughout its long history, the company has consistently focused on expanding its global portfolio into new and existing markets. Since becoming a publicly traded company, it has entered a number of markets for the first time, including Indonesia, Egypt, Hong Kong, Suriname, and the Czech Republic. It has also re- entered several markets that it had earlier abandoned, including Japan, Curacao, Uruguay, and Colombia. Lets take a look at the decision to re- enter Colombia. Re- Entering Colombia Burger King entered the Colombian market in the early 1980s but pulled out after several years of operating in the market because it was not allowed to expatriate royalty payments. In addition to the problem of expatriation of royalty payments, Colombia was going through a prolonged period of economic and political turmoil. Also, at the turn of the century, the beef industry suf-fered from foot- and- mouth disease outbreaks and cattle rustling by guerilla groups. These con-ditions combined to make Colombia a less attractive market for fast food restaurants. Burger King re- entered Colombia in 2008. By this time, Colombian cities were considered safe for people to go out to eat. The beef health and rustling problems were largely under control. ( Currently, Colombia accounts for about 2 percent of global beef production.) With about 44 million people, Colombia is the third most populated country in Latin America, after Brazil and Mexico. The Colombian peso was strong and, when coupled with a rise in two-income families, there was more disposable income to spend on eating out. In 2005, about 77 percent of the population was classified as urban, and Colombia boasted some large cities such as Barranquilla, Bogot, Cali, and Medellin??" all with large and recently built shop-ping centers. About 31 percent of the population was under 15 years of age. Although incomes were very unevenly distributed, the richest 20 percent of the population ( almost 9 million people) had a per capita expenditure in 2007 of over U. S. $ 17,000. While all the above factors were favorable, there were some negative things to consider. From a political standpoint, there were potential problems with leftist- leaning governments in the neighboring countries of Ecuador and Venezuela, which could support a resurgence of political unrest. Economic problems in the United States from the global recession and in Venezuela from fluctuating oil prices could cause Colombia to lose sales because those two countries comprise half of the countrys export earnings. Further, about 2 percent of Colombian GDP in 2007 came from remittances of Colombians working abroad, mainly in Spain. These were at risk because Spain was hard hit by the global recession. In effect, economic downturns could hit sales of fast foods. Burger King learned this lesson in Mexico and Germany, which in response caused the company to tactically develop a more relevant value proposition, including value meals. Overall, though, the Colombian situation looked bright. Burger King signed an agreement with KINCO for franchise rights to Medellin, Cali, and northern Colombia. KINCO is a well- established Colombian company with restaurant experience. Burger King signed a second franchise agreement with Alsea, a Mexican company, for rights to Bogot. Alsea owns 75 percent of the Colombian operation of Dominos Pizza and operates Burger King restaurants in Mexico. Thus both of these companies seem very compatible with Burger Kings criteria for selecting franchise operators with capital and restaurant experience. Although Burger Kings operations in Colombia are still in the early stages of development at the time of this writing, Burger Kings management is optimistic about the future of Colombia and its own future therein. Brazil as Model for Entry into Russia In our Meet the BRICs case in Chapter 4, we explored why so many companies have been putting emphasis on Brazil, Russia, India, and China. Burger King is no exception. The possibilities in these four countries are simply too great to ignore. Burger King opened its first restaurants in two of the BRICs, Brazil and China, almost simultaneously, in November and June 2004 respectively. By then, many foreign fast food franchisors had entered the markets, many without success. For the most part, failure occurred because of underestimating what it would take to succeed in such a large country. However, Burger Kings success in Brazil has led it to use the Brazilian experience as a model for entry into Russia, which is expected in the near future. On the one hand, Burger King had a recognition advantage in Brazil because thousands of Brazilians fly into Florida, where Burger King restaurants abound. In addition there are about 300,000 Brazilians living in the South Florida area, most of whom have relatives back in Brazil. On the other hand, the failure of many prior fast food entrants into Brazil made potential suppliers apprehensive. By observing the mistakes of other fast food chains, Burger King forged a strategy that has proved successful. In fact, for the last few years, Brazil has been one of Burger Kings fastest growing markets. By mid- 2009, it had 68 restaurants in Brazil. This strategy can be summarized in five parts: ( 1) develop an infrastructure before putting in restaurants, ( 2) develop a local management team, ( 3) focus development on major cities and adjacent geographies with established shopping mall location, prevalent in Brazils largest cities, instead of the whole country, ( 4) establish a local office, and ( 5) support continuous development and the use of local suppliers that meet Burger Kings global specifications. For smaller markets or those where all the restaurants are franchised, Burger King does not set up a regional restaurant support center or local headquarters. However, management deemed a Brazilian office necessary because of Brazils size ( in both area and population), its language barrier ( Portuguese), and the magnitude of investment that suppliers and franchisees would eventually need to make. At first, the office served to demonstrate the companys market commitment and to handle early supply- chain procurement and management. The result was that Burger King was abe to initially secure about 80 percent of its supplies within Brazil and has since upped that figure to over 90 percent. By focusing initially on So Paulo, Brazils largest city, Burger King was able to develop economies in its marketing and distribution. Its subsequent expansion has focused on cities and states near So Paulo. Finally, by building a staff of Portuguese- speaking Brazilians, the company showed its commitment to the country and developed a competency to deal with external stakeholders. Burger Kings success in Brazil has led its management to follow the same strategy for expansion into Russia. It has offices in Moscow, where initial penetration is planned. In fact, duplication of the successful Brazilian strategy may be even more important for Russia because Burger King lacks the same pre- entry brand recognition that it had in Brazil. The Future At this point, Burger King has many opportunities for expansion, such as moving into new countries and growing operations within markets where it is already operating. Despite its international growth, it is still in less than 40 percent of the worlds countries. Thus, it faces the challenge of deciding where the best locations are for placing its future emphasis.

Incorporate into your analysis responses to the following questions. You should make sure to incorporate core concepts from your reading assignment.
1. What is Burger Kings core competency? How does it relate to its chosen strategy?
2. How would you explain how Burger King has decided to configure and coordinate its value chain? Which of Burger Kings value chain activities create the most value for the company?
3. Burger King globally expanded later than its main fast food competitor. What advantages and disadvantages has this created?
4. When entering another country, discuss the advantages and disadvantages that an international restaurant company, specifically Burger King, would have in comparison with a local company in that market.
5. About two-thirds of Burger Kings restaurants and revenues are in its Americas region ( United States and Canada) and one-third elsewhere. Should this relationship change? If so, why and how?
6. The case mentions that Burger King prefers to enter countries with large numbers of youth and shopping centers. Why do you think these conditions would be advantageous?
7. How has Burger Kings headquarters location influenced its international expansion? Has this location strengthened or weakened its global competitive position?
8. As CEO of Burger King, what tools and strategies would you use when deciding on possible future locations for the company.
9. What do the implications of the challenges identified in the case have for Burger Kings strategy today and in the future?
Please use this reference as one of the five
References
Daniels, J., Radebaugh, L., & Sullivan, D. (2011). International business, environment &
operations (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall., 465-470.

There are faxes for this order.

Prepare a paper (800 words) discussing the case and incorporating answers to the questions below. It is important to address each of the questions presented. Please use APA format. The paper must contain at least five references, which may include your course text book, internet sources, books and professional journals or other appropriate resources.
Read the case study ?Burger King Beefs Up Global Operations? at the end of Chapter 12 of your course textbook. Incorporate your analysis responses to the following questions.
1. What is Burger King?s core competency? How does it relate to its chosen strategy?
2. How would you explain how Burger King has decided to configure and coordinate its value chain? Which of Burger King?s value chain activities create the most value for the company?
3. Burger King Globally expanded later than its main fast food competitor. What advantages and disadvantages has this created?
4. When entering another country, discuss the advantages and disadvantages that an international restaurant company, specifically Burger King, would have in comparison with a local company in that market.
5. About two-thirds of Burger King?s restaurants and revenues are in its American region(United States and Canada) and one-third elsewhere. Should this relationship change? If so, why and how?
6. The case mentions that Burger King prefers to enter countries with large numbers of youth and shopping centers. Why do you think these conditions would be advantageous?
7. How has Burger King?s headquarters location influenced its international expansion? Has this location strengthened or weakened its global competitive position?
8. As CEO of Burger King, what tools and strategies would you use when deciding on possible future locations for the company.
9. What do the implications of the challenges identified in the case have for Burger King?s strategy today and in the future?


Textbook reference: Daniels, J. Radebaugh, L., & Sullivan, D. (2011). International business, environment & operations (13th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Case Study:
Burger King Beefs Up Global Operations
Burger King is the world?s largest flame-broiled fast food restaurant chain. As of mid-2009, it operated about 12,000 restaurants in all 50 states and in 74 countries and U.S. territories worldwide through a combination of company-owned and franchised operations, which together employed nearly 400,000 people worldwide. Only Yum Brands (A&W, KFC, Long John Silver, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell), McDonald?s, and Subway with 36,000, 32,000, and 28,000 restaurants, respectively, were larger. Given that Yum Brands has no hamburger units, Burger King is second in the fast food hamburger restaurant segment/market. Burger King plans to increase the number of net operating units by 3 to 4 percent per year in the near future, with most of that increase coming in international operations.
Two major ways in which Burger King differentiates itself from competitors are the way it cooks hamburgers-by its flame-broiled method as opposed to grills that fry-and the options it offers customers as to how they want their burgers. This latter distinction has been popularized with the ?have it your way? theme. About two-thirds of Burger King?s restaurants are in the United States, and its U.S. and Canadian operations accounted for 69 percent of its $2.54 billion revenue in fiscal 2009. The geographic distribution of Burger King?s restaurants is shown on Map 12.2. Although the company begin in 1954 by offering just burgers, fries, milk shakes, and sodas, the menu has expanded to include breakfast as well as various chicken, fish, and salad offerings. Nevertheless, burgers remain the mainstay of the company, and 2007 marked the 50th anniversary of the Whopper sandwich, which is considered Burger King?s signature product.
Burger King has also differentiated itself with some innovative advertising campaigns through the years, such as its use of a figure man who is the Burger ?King.? Recently, the company ran a ?Whopper Virgins? campaign in which it assembled people who had never tasted a burger-such as from remote parts of Greenland, Thailand, and Transylvania-to participate in a comparative taste test between Whopper sandwiches and Big Macs. The Burger King logo has changed slightly through the years; for example, going from two buns separating a burger to two buns separating the company?s name. Yet it has always been displayed and recognized globally, as illustrated in the photo of a restaurant in Taiwan and Mandarin lettering.
A Bit of History
Burger King can trace its roots to 1954, when it started as InstaBurger King. In 2006, the company went public, and since then the company has operated independently. During its first five years, the private company grew to five restaurants, all in the Miami, Florida area. In 1959, the name was changed to Burger King, and it began domestic franchising. In 1967, Pillsbury, which had several other retail food groups-such as Bennigan?s, Steak and Ale, and Godfather?s Pizza-bought Burger King, which by then had 274 restaurants. During the first few years of Pillsbury?s ownership, franchising increased substantially. Then in 1989 Pillsbury got out of the restaurant business and sold Burger King to the British company Grand Metropolitan, which then converted most of its Wimpy restaurants in the United Kingdom to Burger King restaurants. Grand Metropolitan merged with Guinness in 1997 to form Diageo, and Diageo divested itself of restaurant operations in 2002 when it sold Burger King to a consortium of private equity firms controlled by TPG Capital, Bain Capital partners, and the Goldman Sachs Funds. In May 2006, Burger King consummated its initial public offering, becoming a publicly traded company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The years of transformed ownership took a toll on Burger King as emphases changed and the company?s interests were sometimes made secondary to those of its parent company. For instance, in the period leading into the twenty-first century, some of Burger King?s franchisees experienced financial problems. Despite Burger King?s evolving ownership, the company did expand internationally. In the early 1960s, it entered the Bahamas and Puerto Rico. In the 1970s, it entered markets in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. While some of these moves turned out to be highly successful, a few were not. It entered and then retreated from operations in such countries as Columbia, France, Japan, and Oman. (We will see later in the discussion that Burger King has reentered some of these markets.) Much of Burger King?s early international forays came about either because someone in another country approached Burger King or because someone in the company was familiar with a particular country and thought it would offer opportunities. Two reasons have been prevalent in the decision to leave a market: (1) the franchisee does not perform adequately, such as not investing sufficiently in the business or not making royalty payments; and (2) the market turned out to be too small to develop slaughterhouse and beef grinding facilities. Over time, especially since the company went public, Burger King has taken more systematic approach toward restaurant expansion. While it still sees substantial growth opportunities within the United States, it sees the United States as a mature market for fast food, especially for hamburgers, in comparison with many foreign countries. In looking for new countries to enter, Burger King looks most favorably at those with large populations (especially for young people), high consumption of beef, availability of capital to franchisees for growth, a safe pro-business environment, growth in shopping centers, and availability of a potential franchisee with experience and resources.
Overall, Burger King has expanded internationally later than its primary rival competitor McDonald?s. This has resulted in both advantages and disadvantages. On the other hand, later entry is a disadvantage in very small markets because there may be few adequate suppliers. For instance, there may be only one slaughterhouse, and the owners may be unwilling to work with more than one customer. On the other hand, in larger markets, such as in the BRICs, being a later entrant may be advantageous because the earlier entrants have built demand for fast food and have created a supply infrastructure. In some later-entry markets, Burger King has been able to concentrate almost entirely on emphasizing its product (have it your way, good taste of flame-broiled burgers), without incurring the early developmental cost. For instance, in Latin America and the Caribbean, McDonald?s and Burger King compete in 27 country markets, with Burger King currently leading McDonald?s in the number of restaurants in 15 of those markets. However keep in mind that local companies also learn from the successes of foreign fast food companies, and they sometime alter their menus and flavorings to appeal to local tastes. Some notable examples are Bembos in Peru, Mr. Bigg?s in Nigeria, Pollo Campero in Guatemala, and Quick in France.
Outside of Burger King?s American group (United States and Canada), 37.0 percent of the countries and 24.6 percent of the restaurants are in the Latin American and Caribbean group, yet these countries accounted for only 13.5 percent of the non-American group revenue in fiscal 2009. This is largely because many of these countries have very small populations, such as the Cayman Islands, Aruba, and Saint Lucia. So why did Burger King develop a presence in these markets, even though at this writing it is not in countries with much bigger populations, such as India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Russia and South Africa? The answer is largely due to a location factor. Burger King remains headquartered in Miami, which is often called the capital of Latin America. Because so many people from Latin America and the Caribbean come to or through Miami, Burger King?s reputation spilled over to that area early on. This simplified gaining brand recognition and acceptance. Further, the nearness of the Latin American and Caribbean countries to Miami enhances the ability of Burger King?s management to visit these countries and for franchisees to visit Burger King?s headquarters. In 2008, Burger King opened its thousandth restaurant in the Latin American and Caribbean region. Although Burger King prefers to operate in markets through franchising, doing so is sometimes initially difficult because suppliers and prospective franchisees do not know the company well enough. If such a market looks sufficiently attractive, Burger King will enter with its own operations. (Overall, Burger King owns 12 percent of its restaurants and franchises the rest.) By owning, Burger King demonstrates market commitment. For instance, there may only be one meat-processing plant, and the owners may otherwise be reluctant to invest in added capacity or the processing of ground beef. Further, if the country turns out to be as attractive as anticipated, then the owned operations may be more profitable for Burger King than royalties received from franchisees.
Throughout its long history, the company has consistently focused on expanding its global portfolio into new and existing markets. Since becoming a publicly traded company, it has entered a number of markets for the first time, including Indonesia, Egypt, Hong Kong, Suriname, and the Czech Republic. It has also re-entered several markets that it had earlier abandoned, including Japan, Curacao, Uruguay, and Columbia. Let?s take a look at the decision to re-enter Columbia.
Re-Entering Columbia
Burger King entered the Columbian market in the early 1980s but pulled out after several years of operating in the market because it was not allowed to expatriate royalty payments. In addition to the problem of expatriation of royalty payments, Columbia was going through a prolonged period of economic and political turmoil. Also, at the turn of the century, the beef industry suffered from foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks and cattle rushing by guerilla groups. These conditions combined to make Columbia a less attractive market for fast food restaurants.
Burger King re-entered Columbia in 2008. By this time, Colombian cities were considered safe for people to go out to eat. The beef health and rustling problems were largely under control. (Currently, Colombian accounts for about 2 percent of global beef production.) With about 44 million people, Columbia is the third most populated country in Latin America, after Brazil and Mexico. The Colombian peso was strong and, when coupled with a rise in two-income families, there was more disposable income to spend on eating out. In 2005, about 77 percent of the population was classified as urban, and Colombia boasted some large cities such as Barranquilla, Bogota, Cali, and Medellin-all with large and recently built shopping centers. About 31 percent of the population was under 15 years of age. Although incomes were very unevenly distributed, the richest 20 percent of the population (almost 9 million people) had a per capita expenditure in 2007 of over U.S. $17,000.
While all the above factors were favorable, there were some negative things to consider. From a political standpoint, there were potential problems with leftist-leaning governments in the neighboring countries of Ecuador and Venezuela, which could support a resurgence of political unrest. Economic problems in the United States from the global recession and in Venezuela from fluctuating oil prices could cause Colombians to sales because those two countries comprise half of the country?s export earnings. Further, about 2 percent of Colombian GDP in 2007 came from remittances of Colombians working abroad, mainly in Spain. These were at risk because Spain was hard hit by the global recession. In effect, economic downturns could hit sales of fast foods. Burger King learned this lesson in Mexico and Germany, Which in response caused the company to tactically develop a more relevant value proposition, including value meals.
Overall, though, the Colombian situation looked bright. Burger King signed an agreement with KINCO for franchise rights to Medellin, Cali, and northern Colombia. KINCO is a well-established Colombian company with restaurant experience. Burger King signed a second franchise agreement with Alsea, a Mexican company, for rights to Bogota. Alsea owns 75 percent of the Colombian operations of Domino?s Pizza and operates Burger King restaurants in Mexico. Thus both of these companies seem very compatible with Burger King?s criteria for selecting franchise operators with capital and restaurant experience. Although Burger King?s operations in Colombia are still in the early stages of development at the time of this writing, Burger King?s management is optimistic about the future of Colombia and its own future therein.
Brazil as Model for Entry into Russia
In our ?Meet the BRICs? case in Chapter 4, we explored why so many companies have been putting emphasis on Brazil, Russia, India, and China. Burger King is no exception. The possibilities in these four countries are simply too great to ignore. Burger King opened its first restaurants in two of BRICs, Brazil and China, almost simultaneously, in November and June 2004 respectively. By then, many foreign fast food franchisors had entered the markets, many without success. For the most part, failure occurred because of underestimating what it would take to succeed in such a large country. However, Burger King?s success in Brazil has led it to use the Brazilian experience as a model for entry into Russia, which is expected in the near future.
On the one hand, Burger King?s had a recognition advantage in Brazil because thousands of Brazilians fly into Florida, where Burger King restaurants abound. In addition there are about 300,000 Brazilians living in the South Florida area, most of whom have relatives back in Brazil. On the other hand, the failure of many prior fast food entrants into Brazil made potential suppliers apprehensive.
By observing the mistakes of other fast food chains, Burger King forged a strategy that has proved successful. In fact, for the last few years, Brazil has been one of Burger King?s fastest growing markets. By mid-2009, it had 68 restaurants in Brazil. This strategy can be summarized in five parts: (1) develop an infrastructure before putting in restaurants, (2) develop a local management team, (3) focus development in major cities and adjacent geographies with established shopping mall location, prevalent in Brazil?s largest cities, instead of the whole country, (4) establish a local office, and (5) support continuous development and the use of local suppliers that meet Burger King?s global specifications.
For smaller markets or those where all the restaurants are franchised, Burger King does not set up a regional restaurant support center or local headquarters. However, management deemed a Brazilian office necessary because of Brazil?s size (in both area and population), its language barrier (Portuguese), and the magnitude of investment that suppliers and franchisees would eventually need to make. At first, the office served to demonstrate the company?s market commitment and to handle early supply-chain procurement and management. The result was that Burger King was able to initially secure about 80 percent of its supplies within Brazil and has since upped that figure to over 90 percent. By focusing initially on Sao Paulo, Brazil?s largest city, Burger King was able to develop economies in its marketing and distribution. Its subsequent expansion has focused on cities and states near Sao Paulo. Finally, by building a staff of Portuguese-speaking Brazilians, the company showed its commitment to the country and developed a competency to deal with external stakeholders.
Burger King?s success in Brazil has led its management to follow the same strategy for expansion into Russia. It has offices in Moscow, where initial penetration is planned. In fact, duplication of the successful Brazilian strategy may be even more important for Russia because Burger King lacks the same pre-entry brand recognition that it had in Brazil.
The Future
At this point, Burger King has many opportunities for expansion, such as moving into new countries and growing operations within markets where it is already operating. Despite its international growth, it is still in less that 40 percent of the world?s countries. Thus, it faces the challenge of deciding where the best locations are for placing its future emphasis.

Prepare a 700-1,050-word paper in which you identify, analyze,
discuss, and recommend the most appropriate solutions to the
issues raised in the following case from the perspective of global
value chain strategies located in the e-text, Global Operations and
Logistics: Text and Cases:

? Case 8-3: ISOL

the e-text is attached and the case 8-3 is the towards the last page

a paper (700 to 1,050 words) discussing the case and incorporating answers to the questions below. It is important to address each of the questions presented. Use the APA format in writing the papers. APA rules for formatting, quoting, paraphrasing, citing, and listing of sources are to be followed. The Reference List is not included in the required paper length. Your paper must contain at least five references, which may include your course textbook, internet sources, books, and professional journals or other appropriate resources.
Read the case study Burger King Beefs Up Global Operations. Incorporate into your analysis responses to the following questions.
1. What is Burger Kings core competency? How does it relate to its chosen strategy?
2. How would you explain how Burger King has decided to configure and coordinate its value chain? Which of Burger Kings value chain activities create the most value for the company?
3. Burger King globally expanded later than its main fast food competitor. What advantages and disadvantages has this created?
4. When entering another country, discuss the advantages and disadvantages that an international restaurant company, specifically Burger King, would have in comparison with a local company in that market.
5. About two-thirds of Burger Kings restaurants and revenues are in its Americas region ( United States and Canada) and one-third elsewhere. Should this relationship change? If so, why and how?
6. The case mentions that Burger King prefers to enter countries with large numbers of youth and shopping centers. Why do you think these conditions would be advantageous?
7. How has Burger Kings headquarters location influenced its international expansion? Has this location strengthened or weakened its global competitive position?
8. As CEO of Burger King, what tools and strategies would you use when deciding on possible future locations for the company.
There are faxes for this order.

Case study : Supply chain Whirl
While the 2001 global overhaul of whirlpool?s supply chain systems remains a work in progress today, managers say its success to date is encouraging the remaining system work.
The supply chain whirlpool in 2000 was broken. Indeed, a manger there at the time quipped that among the four major appliance makers in U.S. , Whirlpool ranked fifth in delivery performance.
??We had too much inventory, too little inventory, wrong inventory, right inventory/wrong place, any combination of those things, ??says J.B. Hoyt who was then the supply chain project director. He says a sales vice president approached him one day and said he?d accept even worse performance from supply systems if they would just be consistent rather then wildly bouncing back and forth between good and poor production and shipping plans.
So in 2001, whirlpool embarked on a multi project global overhaul of its supply chain system. The meta project remains a work in progress today, with a number of systems yet to be rolled out and some major technical issues to be resolved. But managers at whirlpool say its success to date including huge improvements in customer service and reduced supply chain costs is providing the psychological and financial impetus to drive the remaining systems work
Whirlpool CIO Esat Sezer says that by 2000, the company had grown by acquisition and geographic expansion to the point that old systems, stitched together by spread sheets and manual procedures, couldn?t cope with the exploding complexity.? Our supply chain was becoming a competitive disadvantage for us,?? he says. Availability ? the percentage of time a product is in the right place at the right time ? was an unacceptably low 83 percent, even as inventories remained too high overall.
The home grown supply systems were primitive and not well integrated with the company?s SAP ERP system, which had been installed in 1999, or with a legacy production scheduling system, Sezer says. And they weren?t integrated with the system major wholesale customers or suppliers of parts and materials. ??The plans we were creating weren?t linking back into reality,?? he says.
In particular, Sezer says, supply chain systems weren?t fine ?grained enough, nor were they very good at juggling priorities and constraints except through slow and cumbersome manual methods. Often, they would optimize locally ? a single product line at one location, for example ? but not for the supply chain as a whole.
Here?s what Whirlpool was using for its North American supply chain in 2000:
- A home grown production scheduling system, the Whirlpool manufacturing control system (WMCS),which was developed in the mid-1980s and extensively modified over the years.
- SAP?s R/3 ERP system, which was installed in 1999 and used for transaction-processing applications such as accounting and order processing.
- I2 technologies demand planner (now called demand manager), which was installed in 1997 and used for demand forecasting.
- A system for distribution planning that was custom-developed for Whirlpool in the 1980s that used optimization software from ILOG.
Then in 2001, Whirlpool began to implement an advanced planning and scheduling (APS) system. It included a suite of supply chain integration and optimization tools from i2 ? Supply chain planner for the master scheduling, Deployment planning and inventory planning. Those three modules, the heart of Whirlpool?s efforts to fix its supply chain, went live in three phases over 2001 and 2002.
In mid-2002, Whirlpool installed the i2 TradeMatrix collaborative planning, forecasting and replenishment (CPFR) system, a web-based collaboration tool for sharing and combining the sales forecasts of Whirlpool and its major trade partners-- Sears, Roebuck and Co., Lowe?s and best buy Co.
The rollout of the a component for Web-based collaboration with suppliers, based on SAP?s inventory collaboration Hub, is just getting under way. And Whirlpool continues to use the old WMCS for production scheduling but plans to replace that with SAP?s production planning module.
It?s available
By all accounts, the supply chain overhaul was a smashing success for the US$13 billion company. CPFR cut forecasting errors in half. APS boosted availability in North America from 83 percent to 93 percent (it?s at 97 percent today), reduced finished-goods inventories by more than 20 percent and trimmed 5 percent from freight and warehouse costs. Whirlpool declined to discuss the cost of the projects.
Managers at Whirlpool give much of the credit for the success of these projects to a close partnership between the IT department and the business units. Says Hoyt, ``it was one of the first times the IT community didn?t say, ?OK, here?s your tool. ?We said the tool had to do x, y and z. We did the requirements analysis together.??
Whirlpool considered standardizing completely on SAP for all ERP and supply chain systems in North America, but i2 ultimately got the nod for the APS system, the critical part needed to fix the company?s availability and inventory problems. ``There was a lot of back and forth, but after a long harangue and discussion of our business requirements, we settled on the i2 tool set in North America, ``Hoyt says.
But while i2 was seen as being more capable than SAP for handling the fine?grained optimization, constraint-based planning and prioritization that the business units wanted, it was far from ideal from an IT perspective. The APS system would cost IT, whose budget is about US$190 million, more than all-SAP supply chain because there would be less integration, more systems interfaces and more skills to maintain in-house. Plus, IT was worried about i2?s deteriorating financial condition.
Whirlpool had already standardized on IBM AIX application servers and zSeries mainframe database servers for supply chain systems and had put systems for all its global operations in a single data center in Benton harbor. Now it was time to standardize on software.
So in 2001, a mandate came from the CIO, via whirlpool?s executive committee, that supply chain modernizations henceforth would be based entirely on SAP. In particular, new systems planned for Europe for 2003 and Latin America would use SAP?s Advanced planner and Optimizer rather than the more capable but costly i2-based APS system used in North America. And they were to use SAP?s NetWeaver for Web collaboration with suppliers and trade partners rather than North America?s TradeMatrix CPFR.
Vivek Mehta, A lead supply chain analyst at Whirlpool, says SAP may catch up with i2 in its optimization capabilities, but in the meantime, i2?s financial condition is worrisome. ``There were 10 guys at i2 that we interacted with, and some of them are gone now, ``he says. ``There?s lack of continuity??.
``We have this challenge, where the IT organization is pushing for everything to be SAP, but the business, on the other hand, is going fro whatever brings them value, ``Mehta says. ``They are now used to the optimal plan, the high service levels, the lower inventories. So if we bring in something and say their availability will go down by couple of points, no way will they buy that.??
Sezer says Whirlpool will probably replace i2 with SAP ``eventually?? but is in no hurry. ``We?d like to get the return out of that investment before making any platform decisions, ``he says.
Sezer says that in the four years since Whirlpool standardized on IBM and SAP as ``strategic partners,?? revenue has increased on average US$1 billion per year and IT expenses have fallen 6 percent per year.He says there are several joint development projects under way involving all three companies.
But for the time being, the combination of SAP and i2 works well for Whirlpool, far better then the legacy tools of a few years ago. Sezer says the company?s supply chain is now a competitive advantage. ``On a global scale, to be able to manage all your operating platforms, I?m not aware that any of our competitors have that today, ``he says.
Think globally, act locally
When time came for Whirlpool Europe to overhaul its supply chain, the company decided not to go with i2 optimization products, as North America had done, but with SAP?s advanced planner and optimizer (APO) for demand and supply-network planning.
Vivek Mehta, a lead supply chain analyst involved in both projects, says Europe was starting from a more primitive systems base, with even more manual procedures and less-integrated systems than had been the case in North America. So for Europe, ``APO was a huge step forward, ``he says.
The integration of Whirlpool Europe?s supply chain systems around APO, though not quite complete, has already boosted inventory availability from less than 80 percent to more than 90 percent, says Walter Manfredi, supply chain director in Whirlpool?s Comerio, Italy, operations center.
``Today, our supply chain is integrated ? process and systems, ``he says. ``Now, demand from a trade partner or customer is integrated into production planning. We can look into production plans and see if this item for this date in this quantity is for this customer. So we can now give priority depending on the type of demand.??
For example, he says, priority is always given to production orders earmarked for specific customers ? for which availability is now 97 percent-- over orders to simply replenish stock.
Still, improvements need to be made, especially at the level of individual factories, Manfredi says. Some factory managers, in an attempt to tweak system rules and parameters to optimize their operations, make the systems so complex that they become maintenance nightmares. And, he adds, attempts by factories to optimize their own performance can be at odds with optimizing the European supply chain overall.
Finally, Manfredi say, while production can be varied daily by altering system rules and parameters, some production modifications require workforce changes or changes in line and equipment capacities, which can take weeks to accomplish. ``That?s very difficult, he notes.
Required : Write a report that answers the following areas:
1) Critically appraise the supply chain management system used by Whirlpool ? North America and evaluate how it contributed to Whirlpool?s business performance and in gaining competitive advantage.
2) Evaluate how Whirlpool?s production helped in making planning and sourcing decision. What set back did Whirlpool face in making delivery decisions that provoked them to move to an optimal platform of supply chain management.
3) Discuss on the future trends and challenges faced by global makers of home appliances in managing their supply chain.
This coursework aims to achieve the following learning outcomes of the module :
- Critically appraise how supply chain management and supplier development can contribute to business performance and competitive advantage
- Critically evaluate planning and sourcing decisions
- Critically evaluate making and delivery decisions
- Identify and discuss future trends and issues in global supply chain management
Resources
Supply chain case studies / Journals of supply chain management / Harvard business review
Supply chain management review / supply chain digest
1)Submission of the paper should follow the standard format , consisting of
- Table of contents
- Executive summary
- Content page
- Main report
- Conclusion
- References (Harvard)
2) Others points to take note
- Printed using Arial font , size 10 , 1-1/2 line spacing
- Do not use first person in your report (no ??I?? , ??me??, ??us??, ??we?? ) Used third person and passive voice
- Avoid making use of jargon. The report should be written in academic form
- Citation and references should be in Harvard referencing format
MARKS
10 marks ? Executive summary , conclusion and references
10 marks ? Presentation and appearance
80 marks ? Contents , Appraise the supply chain management system used by Whirlpool , evaluate
And discuss future trends and challenges faced by global makers of home applicances in managing their supply chain.

Scholarly Activity 3 ??" Unit VII
Complete your assigned readings before you complete the assessment.
Prepare a paper (700 to 1,050 words) discussing the case and incorporating answers to the questions below. It is important to address each of the questions presented.Students use the APA format in writing course papers. Therefore, the APA rules for formatting, quoting, paraphrasing, citing, and listing of sources are to be followed. The Reference List is not included in the required paper length. Your paper must contain at least five references, which may include your course textbook, internet sources, books, and professional journals or other appropriate resources. Please do not copy or plagiarize others materials. All papers are electronically scanned by SafeAssign. Significant deduction of points may result when copying and plagiarism is evident.
Read the closing case Avon Calls on Foreign Markets
Avon Calls on Foreign Markets
Avon, founded in 1886, is one of the world's oldest and largest manufacturers and marketers of beauty and related products. 92 Many are most familiar with Avon through its long- standing ad, ' Ding dong, Avon calling', but the company has recently switched to 'Hello Tomorrow' to change its image and better reflect the company's new marketing approaches. Where Opportunity Currently Knocks Avon is headquartered in the United States, but over three- quarters of its sales and employees are outside its North American division. It seems to be selling everywhere moisturizer to Inuits above the Arctic Circle and makeup delivered by canoe to residents of Brazil's Amazon region. It has its own sales operations in 66 countries and territories, and it distributes to another 44. Altogether, there are about 5.8 million independent representatives selling Avon products. However, Avon was 28 years old (an adult by human standards) before it ever ventured abroad, and then only to nearby Canada. Forty years later, a geriatric in human terms, it moved into its second foreign market, Venezuela. Map 16.1 shows how Avon now divides the world regionally and the portion of its business in each region. Why Avon Went Global. So why has Avon put so much emphasis on international expansion in recent years?
First, Avon forecast a slow growth potential in the U. S. market, because there is virtually no remaining untapped market for cosmetics, fragrances, and toiletries. To grow rapidly in the United States would mean taking sales from competitors, and the U. S. beauty market is very competitive. If you doubt this, just try weaving through a large U. S. department store without being accosted and sprayed on. Avon has preferred to put emphasis on less- competitive markets, and its latest annual report even states that it expects U. S. growth to be in line with that of the overall beauty market - which means its domestic sales will depend primarily on the population growth of women in the cosmetics- using age group. Even if there were a considerable untapped U. S. market, less than 5 percent of the world's population lives in the United States. Second, you need to understand Avon's distribution system to appreciate why Avon worried about U. S. sales in the latter part of the twentieth century.
Avon has always depended on direct selling by contracted independent salespersons (almost always women working part time and known as 'Avon ladies' or 'Avon representatives'), who sell to households by demonstrating products and giving beauty advice. These reps place sales orders with Avon and deliver orders to the customers once they receive them. Historically, these direct sales have been the backbone of Avon's success. To begin with, direct selling offers Avon a cost- savings advantage by enabling the company to maintain a smaller number of employees, keep its advertising budget low ( the Avon ladies do much of the promotion), and avoid having to pay for shelf space in stores. The lower costs have facilitated Avon's maintenance of generally lower prices than those that competitors charge in department stores. Thus Avon has consistently maintained an image of good value for the money.
Direct selling also offers additional marketing advantages, because word- of- mouth customers tend to be quite loyal to the Avon ladies they befriend. However, in the late twentieth century, the outlook for U. S. direct sales of any kind of product looked bleak. Droves of U. S. women were entering the workforce full time, which made them less receptive to door- to-door salespersons and less willing to spend time on makeup demonstrations and the arrangements for a later receipt of their purchases. Because of working full time, the pool of women seeking part- time employment also seemed to be drying up.
Meanwhile, back in the Home Market In an effort to combat the problem of house- to-house sales, Avon has allowed reps to open retail outlets, which are usually small kiosks in shopping malls. Further, Avon ladies have pretty much given up their old ' ding dong' routines by selling instead to friends and family, to colleagues at work, and through ads on their own Web sites. In the meantime, the prediction that the pool of part- time job seekers would dry up proved wrong. Between 1996 and 2007, the number of direct sellers in the United States for all companies increased from 8.5 million to 15 million, and sales value has increased proportionately. The global recession has since increased the availability of people to sell independently. When the U. S. outlook looked gloomy, the outlook in foreign markets looked bright. For example, the lack of developed infrastructure in the rural areas of such countries as Brazil and the Philippines deters women from leaving their homes to shop for cosmetics. But in these countries, Avon ladies reach consumers in some of the most remote areas, because there are ample numbers of potential Avon ladies. For instance, Avon has 800,000 representatives in Brazil alone. In transitional economies, Avon's market entry coincided with pent- up demand from the period of centrally planned economic policies. In rapid- growth economies, such as Chile and Malaysia, Avon taps a growing middle- class market that can afford its products.
The International Strategy Global Products.
As Avon moved internationally, it pretty much allowed its country managers to decide what products would sell in their markets. Either Avon's R& D unit in the United States or a local R& D unit would then develop them. These were largely produced within the country selling them and included such products as a combination skin cream ( moisturizer, sunscreen, and insect repellent) in Brazil, skin- lightening creams in parts of Asia, long-lasting citrus fragrances in Mediterranean countries, technology- driven skin products in Japan, health and wellness products in Argentina, and bigger bottles of personal- care products in Spain. Once products are developed, Avon disseminates the information to its facilities else-where. For example, Avon- Japan developed emulsion technologies to produce lotions and creams with lighter textures and higher hydration levels, and many Avon operations in other countries now use the process. Some Pitfalls of Product Proliferation On the one hand, this decentralization to fit the wants of local consumers has undoubtedly given consumers the products they want. On the other hand, it has come with costs. To begin with, the resultant product proliferation has increased manufacturing costs, which threatens Avon's strategy of maintaining a good profit margin while simultaneously offering customers a good value for their money.
Next, Avon has depended primarily on its catalogs to promote its products. For instance, it distributes catalogs every two weeks in the United States and every four weeks abroad. Its circulation dwarfs that of any other commercial publication. However, as its product line grew to '13,000 products for the Mexican market alone' the catalogs became too bulky, and the Avon ladies could not possibly know enough about the line to sell effectively. In 2006, Avon cut its poduct line by 25 percent, and it plans to cut the line even more. It is also moving toward more large-scale centralized production to save on manufacturing costs. Although Avon is paring its product line, this does not imply a cutback in new products, which are important in the industry. In fact, Avon has signed exclusive agreements with several universities worldwide (such as in Australia, China, Japan, and Thailand) to help develop new products.
For example, Asia has long been a leader in herbal and therapeutic treatments. Avon's venture with Chiang Mai University in Thailand has produced one of Avon's latest products using this Asian expertise, Anew Alternative, which is purported to diminish fine lines and wrinkles. Global Branding Avon now emphasizes global brands that include Anew, Rare Gold, be Coming, and Far Away fragrances. Through standardized branding, Avon creates a uniform global quality image while saving costs by using uniform ingredients and packaging. Global branding also helps inform consumers that the company is international. This helps sales in countries such as Thailand, where consumers prefer to buy beauty products made by foreign companies. Although Avon prominently displays its name on most of its products worldwide, some of its brand names differ among countries. For instance, when Avon has made foreign acquisitions, it has sometimes kept the successful brand name and goodwill it has acquired. For example, when Avon acquired Justine in South Africa, it kept the Justine name. The company prints instructions in local languages but may or may not put the brand names in that language.
It sometimes uses English or French brand names, because consumers consider the United States and France high- quality suppliers for beauty products. For example, Avon sells skin- care products called Rosa Mosqueta (in Spanish), Revival (in English), and Renaissage (in French) in Chile, Argentina, and Japan, respectively. In each case, the Avon logo appears prominently on the products' containers as well. Global Pricing for each country operation sets its own prices to reflect local market conditions and strategic objectives. However, at times the price difference between neighboring countries has created demand for contraband shipments from the country with lower prices - such as has recently occurred between Colombia and Venezuela. The prices are subject to change for each sales campaign. Avon runs a new campaign with different special offers every two weeks in the United States and every four weeks abroad. The shortness of campaigns is helpful for adjusting prices in highly inflationary economies. Avon also has a strategy of introducing two- tiered products that sell at different prices. The aim is to capture more up market sales while maintaining the existing clientele. For instance, it has contracted with Christian Lacroix to develop fragrances that will sell at a higher price than Avon's traditional ones. Global Promotion Although Avon's promotion is primarily through its brochures and catalogs, it also advertises. It uses such media as broadcasts and billboards and has four primary objectives: 'To sell newly launched products'. To accelerate sales in some of its fastest- growing markets, such as Russia - To recruit reps in places like China - To use a campaign called 'Hello Tomorrow' to change the public perception of its products as unfashionable and outdated to stylish and modern 'Hello Tomorrow' This campaign is Avon's first global ad campaign aimed at the image of its overarching Avon brand. Its prior global campaigns aimed at selling specific products. Despite the global campaign, some of Avon's ads vary by country. For instance, it sponsors a British TV drama about footballers' wives and one in Russia that includes a character who sells Avon products. Avon is also using celebrities to help sell its products. The Mexican film star Salma Hayek is the face of Avon. Academy Award winning actress Jennifer Hudson is the spokesperson for Imari fragrance. Baseball player Derek Jeter (yes, Avon does have some products for men too) has his name on a collection of skin- care products. Meeting the Needs of Women Worldwide Perhaps Avon's most important campaign is to develop a global image as a company that supports women and their needs, a campaign that has generated favorable publicity in media reports. Building on this theme, Avon co-hosted a Global Summit for a Better Tomorrow at the United Nations during International Women's Day, and it gives annual Women of Enterprise Awards to leading women entrepreneurs. It also publicizes how being an Avon lady heightens the role of women, which has been particularly successful at attracting new reps in developing countries such as Malaysia and the Philippines. Undoubtedly, Avon's biggest social- responsibility projects are its work internationally in fighting breast cancer and domestic violence. Avon ladies disseminate information about breast cancer along with their promotion brochures and sell items to raise money for local needs. Avon is the largest corporate donor to breast cancer research. The fight against domestic violence is a newer Avon program. It is working through local organizations to pre-vent violence through education and to treat women who have been victims. Global Distribution Avon basically duplicates its distribution method in foreign countries, which means that it sells to independent representatives who have taken orders from customers they have either communicated with or visited. However, there are some variations. We have already discussed some of the changes in the United States. In Japan, there is a substantial mail- order business. In Argentina, Avon has beauty centers. Probably the biggest deviation from direct selling occurred in China, the only single-country division in Avon's global network. In response to a 1998 Chinese law prohibiting house- to- house sales, Avon quickly opened about 6,000 beauty boutiques, lined up 9,000 independent stores to carry Avon, and opened 1,000 beauty counters. Thus Avon made its products available in virtually every corner of the country.
In 2005, the Chinese government loosened its house- to- house sales regulations but with many restrictions, such as capping the commission for salespeople and preventing them from recruiting others to work on a shared- commission plan. Avon seeks to transfer successful practices in one country to other countries. To encourage the transfer of know- how, Avon brings marketing personnel from different countries together to share what it calls ' best practices', and it passes on information from country to country. It also promotes competition among countries, such as awards for country- level initiatives to improve sales, quality, and efficiency. Looking toward the Future Avon has several challenges for the future. Although its direct- sales method has been important in Avon's success, there are drawbacks to it. For one, customers cannot obtain a product whenever they want it. For another, reps report many returns because customers cannot always discern exact colors from catalogs. For another, it may be difficult for Avon to capture clientele in a higher- price category while maintaining the value- for- money clientele. Avon anticipates that international operations will account for the bulk of its growth in the foreseeable future. Its products are still not available to a large portion of the world's women. It is already operating in all four BRIC countries, however, and is the market leader in two of them (Brazil and Russia).
Incorporate into your analysis responses to the following questions. You should make sure to incorporate core concepts from your reading assignment.
1. Your reading assignment for this unit describes different marketing orientations. Discuss the applicability of each to Avons global operations.
2. Why is Avon so much more dependent on its foreign operations than on its home ( U.S.) operations?
3. Discuss socioeconomic and demographic changes that could affect Avon.
4. How might a global recession such as the one that began in 2008, impact Avons operations?
5. What are the major competitive advantages that Avon has? How easily might other companies duplicate these advantages?
6. Avon does not sell within the United States in retail establishments (with the exceptions of kiosks handled by some of its reps). What are the pros and cons of distributing that way?
7. If you were advising Avon on the selection of new suppliers, what would be your major concerns as you evaluate firms that are potential suppliers? What criteria should the company use to make decisions on where to manufacture their products?
8. Identify the challenges Avon faces in both maintaining and expanding its global manufacturing and supply chain network given the dynamics of todays competitive environment.
Please use this reference as one of the five
References
Daniels, J., Radebaugh, L., & Sullivan, D. (2011). International business, environment &
operations (13th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall., 620-625.

Prepare a paper (800 words) discussing the case and incorporating answers to the questions below. It is important to address each of the questions presented. Please use APA format. The paper must contain at least five references, which may include your course text book, internet sources, books and professional journals or other appropriate resources.
Read the closing case ?Avon Calls on Foreign Markets? at the end of Chapter 16 in your course textbook. Incorporate into your analysis responses to the following questions.
1. Your reading assignment for this unit describes different marketing orientations. Discuss the applicability of each to Avon?s global operations.
2. Why is Avon so much more dependent on its foreign operations than on its home (U.S.) operations?
3. Discuss the socioeconomic and demographic changes that could affect Avon.
4. How might a global recession, such as the one that began in 2008, impact Avon?s operations?
5. What are the major competitive advantages that Avon has? How easily might other companies duplicate these advantages?
6. Avon does not sell within the United States in retail establishments (with the exceptions of kiosks handled by some of its reps). What are the pros and cons of distributing that way?
7. If you were advising Avon on the selection of new suppliers, what would be your major concerns as you evaluate firms that are potential suppliers? What criteria should the company use to make decisions on where to manufacture their products?
8. Identify the challenges Avon faces in both maintaining and expanding its global manufacturing and supply chain network given the dynamics of today?s competitive environment.

Textbook Reference:
Daniels, J., Radebaugh, L., & Sullivan, D. (2011). International business, environment & operations (13th ed). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Case: Avon Calls on Foreign Markets

Avon, founded in 1886, is one of the world?s oldest and largest manufactures and marketers of beauty and related products. Many are most familiar with Avon through its long-standing ad, ?Ding dong, Avon calling,? but the company has recently switched to ?Hello Tomorrow? to change its image and better reflect the company?s new marketing approaches.

Where Opportunity Currently Knocks

Avon is headquartered in the United States, but over three-quarters of its sales and employees are outside its North American division. It seems to be selling everywhere-moisturizer to Inuits above the Arctic Circle and makeup delivered by canoe to residents of Brazil?s Amazon region. It has its owns sales operations in 66 countries and territories, and it distributes to another 44. Altogether, there are about 5.8 million independent representatives selling Avon products. However, Avon was 28 years old (an adult by human standards) before it ever ventured abroad, and then only to nearby Canada. Forty years later, a geriatric in human terms, it moved into its second foreign market, Venezulea.

Why Avon Went Global

So why has Avon put so much emphasis on international expansion in recent years? First, Avon forecast a slow growth potential in the U.S. market, because there is virtually no remaining untapped market for cosmetics, fragrances, and toiletries. To grow rapidly in the United States would mean taking sells from competitors, and the U.S. beauty market is very competitive. If you doubt this, just try weaving through a large U.S. department store without being accosted and sprayed on.

Avon has preferred to put emphasis on less-competitive markets, and its largest annual report even states that it expects U.S. ?growth to be in line with that of the overall beauty market?-which means its domestic sales will depend primarily on the population growth of women in the cosmetic-using age group. Even if there were a considerable untapped U.S. market, less than 5 percent of the world?s population lives in the United States.

Second, you need to understand Avon?s distribution system to appreciate why Avon worried about U.S. sales in the latter part of the twentieth century. Avon has always depended on direct selling by contracted independent salespersons (almost always women working part time and known as ?Avon ladies? or ?Avon representatives?), who sell to households by demonstrating products and giving beauty advice. These reps place sale orders with Avon and deliver orders to the customers once they receive them.

Historically, these direct sales have been the backbone of Avon?s success. To begin with, direct selling offers Avon a cost-saving advantage by enabling the company to maintain a smaller number of employees, keep its advertising budget low (the Avon ladies do much of the promotion), and avoid having to pay for shelf space in stores. The lower cost have facilitated Avon?s maintenance of generally lower prices than those that competitors change in department stores. Thus Avon has consistently maintained an image of good value for the money.

Direct selling also offers additional marketing advantages, because word-of-mouth customers tend to be quite loyal to the Avon ladies they befriend. However, in the late twentieth century, the outlook for U.S. direct sales of any kind of product looked bleak. Droves of U.S. women were entering the workforce full time, which made them less receptive to door-to-door salespersons and less willing to spend time on makeup demonstrations and the arrangements for a later receipt of their purchases. Because of working full time, the pool of women seeking part-time employment also seemed to be drying up.

Meanwhile, Back in the Home Market

In an effort to combat the problem of house-to-house sales, Avon has allowed reps to open retail outlets, which are usually small kiosks in shopping malls. Further, Avon Ladies have pretty much given up their old ?ding dong? routines by selling instead to friends and family, to colleagues at work, and through ads on their own Web sites. In the meantime, the prediction that the pool of part time job seekers would dry up proved wrong. Between 1996 and 2007, the number of direct sellers in the United States for all companies increased from 8.5 million to 15 million, and sales value has increased proportionately. The global recession has since increased the availability of people to sell independently.

When the U.S. outlook looked gloomy, the outlook in foreign markets looked bright. For example, the lack of developed infrastructure in the rural areas of such countries as Brazil and the Philippines deters women from leaving their homes to shop for cosmetics. But in these countries, Avon ladies reach consumers in some of the most remote areas, because there are ample numbers of potential Avon ladies. For instance, Avon has 80,000 representatives in Brazil alone. In transitional economies, Avon?s market entry coincided with pent-up demand from the period of centrally planned economic policies. In rapid-growth economies, such as Chile and Malaysia, Avon taps a growing middle-class market that can afford its products.

The International Strategy

Global Products

As Avon moved internationally, it pretty much allowed its country managers to decide what products would sell in their markets. Either Avon?s R&D unit in the United States or a local R&D unit would then develop them. These were largely produced within the country selling them and included such products as a combination skin cream ( moisturizer, sunscreen, and insect repellent) in Brazil, skin-lightening creams in parts of Asia, long lasting citrus fragrances in Mediterranean countries, technology-driven skin products in Japan, health and wellness products in Argentina, and bigger bottles of personal-care products in Spain.

Once products are developed, Avon disseminates the information to its facilities elsewhere. For example, Avon-Japan developed emulsion technologies to produce lotions and creams with lighter textures and higher hydration levels, and many Avon operations in other countries now use the process.

Some Pitfalls of Product Proliferation

On the one hand, this decentralization to fit the wants of local consumers has undoubtedly given consumers the products they want. On the other hand, it has come with costs. To begin with, the resultant product proliferation has increased manufacturing cost, which threatens Avon?s strategy of maintain a god profit margin while simultaneously offering customers a good value for their money. Next, Avon has depended primarily on its catalogs to promote its products. For instance, it distributes catalogs every two weeks in the United States and every four weeks abroad. Its circulation dwarfs that of any other commercial publication. However, as it product line grew-13,000 products for the Mexican market alone-the catalogs became too bulky, and the Avon ladies could not possibly know enough about the line to sell effectively. In 2006, Avon cut its product line by 25 percent, and it plans to cut the line even more. It is also moving toward more large-scale centralized production to save on manufacturing costs.

Although Avon is paring its product line, this does not imply a cutback in new products, which are important in the industry. In fact, Avon has signed exclusive agreements with several universities worldwide (such as Australia, China, Japan, and Thailand) to help develop new products. For example, Asia has long been a leader in herbal and therapeutic treatments. Avon?s venture with Ciang Mai University in Thailand has produced one of Avon?s latest products using this Asian expertise, Anew Alternative, which is purported to diminish fine lines and wrinkles.

Global Branding

Avon now emphasizes global brands that include Anew, Rare Gold, becoming, and Far Away fragrances, Through standardized branding, Avon creates a uniform global quality image while saving cost by using uniform ingredients and packaging. Global branding also helps inform consumers that the company is international. This helps sales in countries such as Thailand, where consumers prefer to buy beauty products made by foreign companies.

Although Avon prominently displays its name on most of its products worldwide, some of its brand names differ among countries. For instance, when Avon has made foreign acquisitions, it has sometimes kept the successful brand name and goodwill it has acquired. For example, when Avon acquired Justine in South Africa, it kept the Justine name. The company prints instructions in local languages but may or may not pull the brand names in that language. It sometimes uses English or French brand names, because consumers consider the United States and France high-quality suppliers for beauty products. For example, Avon sells skin-care products called Rosa Mosqueta (in Spanish), Revival (in English), and Renaissage (in French) in Chile, Argentina, and Japan, respectively. In each case, the Avon logo appears prominently on the products? containers as well.

Global Pricing

Each country operation sets it own prices to reflect local market conditions and strategic objectives. However, at times the price difference between neighboring countries has created demand for contraband shipments from the country with lower prices-such as has recently occurred between Colombia and Venezuela. The prices are subject to change for each sales campaign. Avon runs a new campaign with different special offers every two weeks in the United States and every four weeks abroad. The shortness of campaigns is helpful for adjusting prices in highly inflationary economies. Avon also has capture more upmarket sales while maintain the existing clientele. For instance, it has contracted with Christian Lacroix to develop fragrances that will sell at a higher price than Avon?s traditional ones.

Global Promotion

Although Avon?s promotion is primarily through its brochures and catalogs, it also advertises. It uses such media as broadcasts and billboards and has four primary objectives:
? To sell newly launched products
? To accelerate sales in some of its fastest-growing markets, such as Russia
? To recruit reps in places like China
? To use a campaign called ?Hello Tomorrow? to change the public perception of its products as unfashionable and outdated to stylish and modern

?Hello Tomorrow?
This campaign is Avon?s first global ad campaign aimed at the image of its overarching Avon brand. Its prior global campaigns aimed at selling specific products. Despite the global campaign, some of Avon?s ads vary by country. For instance, it sponsors a British TV drama about footballers? wives and one in Russia that includes a character who sells Avon products. Avon is also using celebrities to help sell its products. The Mexican film star Salma Hayek is the face of Avon. Academy Award-winning actress Jennifer Hudson is the spokesperson for Imari fragrance. Baseball player Derek Jeter (yes, Avon does have some products for men too) has his name on a collection of skin-care products.

Meeting the Needs of Women Worldwide
Perhaps Avon?s most important campaign is to develop a global image as company that supports women and their needs, a campaign that has generated favorable publicity in media reports. Building on this theme, Avon cohosted a Global Summit for a Better Tomorrow at the United Nations during International Women?s Day, and it gives annual Women of Enterprise Awards to leading women entrepreneurs. It also publicizes how being an Avon lady heightens the role of women, which has been particularly successful at attracting new reps in developing countries such as Malaysia and the Philippines. Undoubtedly, Avon?s biggest social-responsibility projects are its work internationally in fighting breast cancer and domestic violence. Avon ladies disseminate information about breast cancer along with their promotion brochures and sell items to raise money for local needs. Avon is the largest corporate donor to breast cancer research. The fight against domestic violence is a newer Avon program. It is working through local organizations to prevent violence through education and to treat women who have been victims.

Global Distribution
Avon basically duplicates its distribution method in foreign countries, which means that it sells to independent representatives who have taken orders from customers they have either communicated with or visited. However, there are some variations. We have already discussed some of the changes in the United States. In Japan, there is a substantial mail-order business. In Argentina, Avon has beauty centers.
Probably the biggest deviation from direct selling occurred in China, the only single country division in Avon?s global network. In response to a 1998 Chinese law prohibiting house-to-house sales, Avon quickly opened about 6,000 beauty boutiques, lined up 9,000 independent stores to carry Avon, and opened 1,000 beauty counters. Thus Avon made its products available in virtually every corner of the country. In 2005, the Chinese government loosened its house-to-house sales regulations but with many restrictions, such as capping the commission for salespeople and preventing them from recruiting others to work on a shared-commission plan.
Avon seeks to transfer successful practices in one country to other countries. To encourage the transfer of know-how, Avon brings Marketing personnel from different countries together to share what it calls ?best practices,? and it passes on information from country to country. It also promotes competition among countries, such as awards for country-level initiatives to improve sales, quality, and efficiency.
Looking toward the Future
Avon has several challenges for the future. Although its direct-sales method has been important in Avon?s success, there are drawbacks for it. For one, customers cannot obtain a product whenever they want it. For another, reps report many returns because customers cannot always discern exact colors from catalogs. For another it may be difficult for Avon to capture clientele in a higher-price category while maintain the value-for-money clientele.
Avon anticipates that international operations will account for the bulk of its growth in the foreseeable future. Its products are still not available to a large portion of the world?s women. It is already operating in all four BRIC countries, however, and is the market leader in two of them (Brazil and Russia).

Identify, analyze, discuss and recommend the most appropriate solutions to the issues raised in the Laura Ashley and Federal Express Strategic Alliance case. This is Case 6-2 in textbook Global Operations and Logistics - Text and Cases.

Needs to be APA formatted, 12-pt Times New Roman font with in-text citations and at least 3 quotations from sources.

Will provide PDF file of textbook for use as a source. Case study begins on page 196 of the textbook.
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Scholarly Activity #3
Prepare a paper (700 to 1,050 words) discussing the case and incorporating answers to the questions below. It is important to address each of the questions presented. Therefore, the APA rules for formatting, quoting, paraphrasing, citing, and listing of sources are to be followed. The Reference List is not included in the required paper length. Your paper must contain at least five references, which may include your course textbook, internet sources, books, and professional journals or other appropriate resources.

Read the closing case Avon Calls on Foreign Markets at the end of Chapter 16 in your course textbook. Incorporate into your analysis responses to the following questions. You should make sure to incorporate core concepts from your reading assignment; chapters 16 & 17 of text.

1. Your reading assignment for this unit describes different marketing orientations. Discuss the applicability of each to Avons global operations.
2. Why is Avon so much more dependent on its foreign operations than on its home (U.S.) operations?
3. Discuss socioeconomic and demographic changes that could affect Avon.
4. How might a global recession, such as the one that began in 2008, impact Avons operations?
5. What are the major competitive advantages that Avon has? How easily might other companies duplicate these advantages?
6. Avon does not sell within the United States in retail establishments (with the exceptions of kiosks handled by some of its reps). What are the pros and cons of distributing that way?
7. If you were advising Avon on the selection of new suppliers, what would be your major concerns as you evaluate firms that are potential suppliers? What criteria should the company use to make decisions on where to manufacture their products?
8. Identify the challenges Avon faces in both maintaining and expanding its global manufacturing and supply chain network given the dynamics of todays competitive environment.


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You are to write a 3-page paper. You Are to State Question first and then continue to answer. Read the case Study, at the end of the Case Study answer discussion questions. *Do Not Use Outside Sources*.

Case Study: Logitech
Best known as one of the world's largest producers of computer mice, Logitech is in many ways the epitome of the modern global corporation. Founded in 1981 in Apples, Switzerland, by two Italians and a Swiss, the company now generates annual sales of more than $100 billion, most of our products such as mice, keyboards, and low-cost video cameras that cost under $100. Logitech made its name as a technological innovator in the highly competitive business of personal computer peripherals. Among other things, it was the first company to introduce a mouse that used infrared tracking, rather than a tracking ball, and the first to introduce wireless mice and keyboards. Logitech is differentiated from competitors by its continuing innovation in 2003 it introduced 91 new products its high-brand recognition, and its strong retail presence. Less obvious to consumers, but equally important, as in the way the company has configured its glow value chain to lower production costs while maintaining the value of those assets that lead to differentiation. Logitech still undertakes basic R&D work (primarily software programming) in Switzerland where it has 200 employees. The company is still legally Swiss, but the corporate headquarters are in Fremont, California, close to many of Americas high-technology enterprises, where it has 450 employees. Some R&D work (again, primarily software programming) is also carried out in Fremont. Most significantly, though, Fremont is the headquarters of the companys global marketing, finance, and logistics operations. The ergonomics design of Logitechs products their look and feel is done in Ireland by an outside design firm. Most of Logitechs products are manufactured in Asia.

Logitechs expansion into Asian manufacturing began in the late 1980s when it opened a factory in Taiwan. At the time, most of its mice were produced in the United States. Logitech was trying to win two of the most prestigious OEM customers; Apple Computer and IBM. Both bought their mice from Alps, a large Japanese firm that supplied Microsoft. To attract discerning customers such as Apple, Logitech not only needed the capacity to produce a high volume and low-cost, but it also had to offer a better designed product. The solution: manufacture in Taiwan. Cost was a factor in the decision, but it was not only as significant as might be expected, since direct labor accounted for only 7 percent of the cost of Logitechs mouse. Taiwan offered a well-developed supply base for parts, qualified people, and a rapidly expanding local computer industry. As an inducement to fledging innovators, Taiwan provided space in its science based industrial park in Hsinchu for the modest fee of $200,000. Sizing this up as a deal that was too good to pass up, Logitech signed the lease. Shortly afterward, Logitech won the OEM contract with Apple. The Taiwanese factory was soon out- producing Logitechs US facility. After the Apple contract, Logitechs other OEM business started being served from Taiwan; the plants total capacity increased to 10 million mice per year.
By the late 1990s, Logitech needed more production capacity. This time it turned to China. A wide variety of the companys retail products are now made there. Take one of Logitech's biggest sellers, a wireless infrared mouse called Wanda. The mouse it self is assembled in Suzhou, China, in a factory that Logitech owns. The factory employs 4,000 people, mostly young women such as Wang Yan, an 18 year-old employee from the impoverished rural province of Anhui. She is paid $75 a month to sit all day at a conveyer belt plugging three tiny bits of metal into circuit boards. She does is about 2,000 times each day. The mouse Wang Yan helps assemble sells to American consumers for about $40. Of this, Logitech takes about $8.00, which is used to fund R&D, marketing, and corporate overhead. What remains of the $8.00 after that is the profit attributable to Logitech's shareholders. Distributors and retailers around the world take a further $15. Another $14 goes to the suppliers who make Wandas parts. For example, a Motorola plant in Malaysia makes the mouses chips and another American company, Agilent Technologies, supplies the optical sensors from a plant in the Philippines. That leaves just $3.00 for the Chinese factory, which is used to cover wages, power, transport, and other overhead costs.
Logitech is not alone in exploiting China to manufacture products. According to China's Ministry of Commerce, foreign companies account for three quarters of China's high-tech exports. China's top 10 exporters include American companies with Chinese operations, such as Motorola and Seagate Technologies, a maker of disk drives for computers. Intel now produces some 50 million chips a year in China, the majority of which end up in computers and other goods that are exported to other parts of Asia or back to United States. Yet Intels plant in Shanghai does not really make chips from silicon wafers made in Intel plant abroad, mostly in the United States. China and less than 5 percent of the value. The US operations of Intel generating the bulk of the value and profits.
Theory of Comparative Advantage suggests that it makes sense for a country to specialize in producing those goods that can produce most efficiently, while buying goods that it can produce relatively less efficiently from other countries; even if that means buying goods from other country that it could produce more efficiently itself. Theory of Comparative Advantage suggests that free trade brings about increased world production; that is, that trade is a positive-sum game. Theory of Comparative Advantage also suggests that opening a country to free trade stimulates economic growth, which creates dynamic gains from trade. The empirical evidence seems to be consistent with this claim.

Discussion Questions

1. Use the Theory of Comparative Advantage to explain the way in which Logitech has configured its global operations.

2. Why does the company manufacturer in China and Taiwan, undertake basic R&D in California and Switzerland, design products in Ireland, and coordinate marketing and operations from California?

Part 1: Equity Value Drivers (2 pages)
Examine equity value in relation to international accounting in this assignment. Do the following:
? Examine equity value drivers derived from DuPont analysis and expressing return on common equity as return on net operating assets leveraged with net financial obligations.
? Describe how dimensions of global operations impact the stock price of parent companies.
? Explain GAAP standards for currency adjustments.
? Consider hypothetical U.S. corporate investments in European Union and Russia. Discuss ?what if? concerns related to equity valuation of such investments.
? Locate current or historical examples of accounting principles and foreign currency adjustments and valuation.
Part 2: 1 page
Based on research from part 1, discuss foreign currency translation. Address the following:
? Comment on questions about the comparability of computations related to equity valuation and equity value drivers.
? Discuss operations and financing activities that derive from financial statements prepared using different bases of accounting such as different countries? GAAP.
? Explain applications in international investment analysis and mergers and acquisitions.
? Describe and discuss a form of an equity valuation model in terms of its inputs, the sources of information about the inputs, and their comparative reliability. Specifically, what is the impact of global mergers and acquisitions upon firm value? What aspects of the international dimensions of transnational business operations impact the value for parent companies investing globally?
? Identify and explain current or historical examples.

Pick any MNE from the following list and discuss its global operations by applying Chapter 14.

Wal-Mart: http://www.walmartstores.com/AboutUs/246.aspx

Toyota: http://www.toyota-global.com/company/profile/facilities/worldwide_operations.html

Ford: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Motor_Company

GM: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors

Siemens: http://www.siemens.com/about/en/worldwide.htm

1. The United States Armed Forces utilize various transportation assets in support of global operations. Write a one page paper on the C-130 Hercules, answering the following questions; What is the combined and maximum load capacity of litter and ambulatory patients? What is the range of the vehicle? How many attendants are needed? How fast can the vehicle travel? Name advantages / disadvantages of using this particular asset?

2.The performance Triad supports the Ready and Resilient Campaign with the goal of increasing unit health and unit performance and decreasing injuries. The Performance Triad represents Physical Activity, Nutrition, and Sleep- three key components that can influence the cognitive and physical performance of Soldiers.Write a one page professional paper addressing the questions; While each component is independently important which is the most important subject to you when it comes to Soldier readiness? What are some mitigating factors that you can implement to sustain readiness/good nutrition in the field?

Scenario Summary
It is January, 1998, the Senior Executives of DuPont are considering possible divesture of Conoco. Various executives express their opinions, and the CFO is charged with presenting his recommendation with analysis from a financial perspective. This is based on the discussion in Chapter 12: Appendix, Analysis of a Sample of Recent Divestitures, (pp. 312-327).

The assignment set as I am the Chief Financial Officer of DuPont. I need to develop a recommendation for DuPont and its shareholders from a financial perspective. I will need to analyze and present the actual actions that DuPont took, or change the course of history, and make another presentation, from a financial perspective ?no divestiture, partial divesture, full divesture in one step, or two-stage divestiture. Base on three financial perspectives. I have to develop a specific recommendation for one of the propose. I choose the first propose which is should this divesture be made from a financial perspective? What are the benefits, disadvantages and risks? (Below are the following activities. I also attach Appendix for this assignment.

Acitvity Chief Executive Officer
I?m going to propose three

First, should this divesture be made from a financial perspective? What are the benefits, disadvantages and risks?

Second, if we do divest, should we divest only part of Conoco? What percent of Conoco should we divest?

Third, should we divest 100% of the company? How should this divestiture be implemented? Develop a proposal and process to implement this divestiture, whereby we at DuPont maximize our shareholder value.

Your recommendation may be one stage or two-stage. When you develop your specific recommendation, tell us specifically how it will work, and how it will benefit DuPont, our shareholders, and Conoco.

Chief Operating Officer
Our ownership of Conoco has been very successful, and we can do a 100% IPO of Conoco for cash and raise a significant amount to use in our core business growth internationally. This would give us the opportunity to expand our global operations in agriculture, health care, nutrition, and electronics.

Executive Vice President for R&D and Product Developmenmt

Our ownership of Conoco since the 1980?s has added great marketing and purchasing clout to DuPont?s operations. I recommend that we maintain between 51% -60% ownership of Conoco, and support its successful growth under our continued ownership control of the company.

Prepare a paper discussing the case and incorporating answers to the questions below. It is important to address each of the questions presented. Use the APA format in writing course papers. APA rules for formatting, quoting, paraphrasing, citing, and listing of sources are to be followed. The Reference List is not included in the required paper length. Your paper must contain at least five references, which may include your course textbook, internet sources, books, and professional journals or other appropriate resources. Case Avon Calls on Foreign Markets . Incorporate into your analysis responses to the following questions.
1. Your reading assignment for this unit describes different marketing orientations. Discuss the applicability of each to Avons global operations.
2. Why is Avon so much more dependent on its foreign operations than on its home ( U.S.) operations?
3. Discuss socioeconomic and demographic changes that could affect Avon.
4. How might a global recession, such as the one that began in 2008, impact Avons operations?
5. What are the major competitive advantages that Avon has? How easily might other companies duplicate these advantages?
6. Avon does not sell within the United States in retail establishments (with the exceptions of kiosks handled by some of its reps). What are the pros and cons of distributing that way?
7. If you were advising Avon on the selection of new suppliers, what would be your major concerns as you evaluate firms that are potential suppliers? What criteria should the company use to make decisions on where to manufacture their products?
8. Identify the challenges Avon faces in both maintaining and expanding its global manufacturing and supply chain network given the dynamics of todays competitive environment.
Identify the challenges Avon faces in both maintaining and expanding its global manufacturing and supply chain network given the dynamics of todays competitive environment.
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PUMPS FOR ALL
Description:
Pumps For All (PFA) is a large organization that designs, builds, markets, and distributes pumps for any need for moving water. The pumps range from small, above-ground swimming pool pumps to large, farm irrigation pumps. Many of the pumps are electrical, but several large ones can be powered by combustion engines. The pumps are designed to move small amounts of clear water such as would be found in a Jacuzzi to those that can handle a large degree of mud such as one designed to drain a large, 100 acre shallow, and murky farm pond. PFA will remain at the leading edge of pump technology for this range of water movement needs. This production strategy is not without risks. There are several competitors who produce along much more narrow lines so that they can specialize and produce higher quality with the latest technology. Competing with them will require PFA to operate in a fashion similar to small companies. It must do this along its production lines by creating competitive divisions.
Vision:
PFA will be the technological leader in providing the most efficient pumps in the world. These pumps will be provided at a reasonable price, but quality will not be compromised to cut price in order to meet or beat competition. PFA will provide the best pump for its given purpose. PFA will be the standard by which customers compare other manufacturers products. PFA will be a world class provider of pumps for an increasing range of needs.
Strategy:
In order to fulfill this vision, PFA will continue to conduct its own research and development but will begin to benchmark designs from leading pump manufacturers around the globe to capture the latest technological advances from all over the world. PFA will become the national leader in moving water by capturing more of the national market share by continuing to be the market standard for quality pumps and offering them at a reasonable pricequality and latest technology will not be compromised. PFA will, within the next year, move into the petroleum pumping arena. These pumps will be of the quality PFA is known for, and like the water pumps, will be offered to handle a variety of needs from filling station gas pumps to large pumps for bringing up crude oil from far underground. To reemphasize, these pumps, like the water moving pumps, will be world class in quality. Within a year, PFA will begin to penetrate the global market for pumps. The primary interest for global operations remains the United Arab Emirates (UAE).




Write a research paper using the above information to answer the following:

***Address the following: (Note: ALL examples should be related to the situation above).
o Analyze the corporate strategy and operating environment.

o Provide at least 3 examples explaining how HRM actions can contribute to the company being more effective and efficient.

o What common HR strategy would you recommend for this company?

o Provide supporting rationale and explain how that HR strategy aligns with and contributes to the companys competitive business strategy.

o Assume the company is planning on expanding and setting up operations in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The company will have offices and operating facilities in that country, and use a mix of home, host, and third-country nationals to staff the operations. Compared to operating in the US, what do you see are the most critical factors that will affect the companys HRM of the workforce in the country?

o Give 3 examples of the more critical factors and explain how these will impact the companys HRM strategy and policies.

Use at least 4 book references to support your discussion of the factors in the country.

Using the same multinational company that was chosen in the Assignment 1 prepare an analysis that will examine key strategic risks and a financial strategy for your supervisor to consider for possible expansion into this new international market.
Write a 6-8 page paper in which you:
Examine possible risks of foreign currency exposure for your company and prepare a strategy for how each of these risks can be managed. Please be specific and consider all possible implications to your company.
Evaluate the basic functions of the international banking system and financial market (such as bonds, equity, and money markets) and provide a plan for using these financial markets to finance your global operations.
Present a financial strategy to support long-term financing of operations for possible expansion of your MNC (taking into consideration portfolio management, capital budgeting and foreign direct investment decisions).
Provide final recommendations based on both your findings and your initial assessment of opportunities and risks on the three dimensions of international finance, economic trends of the country, impact of globalization, and the monetary system.
Use at least three (3) quality references. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not quality as academic resources
Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student?s name, the professor?s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required page length.

Assume that Riordan is now considering an expansion to Japan and that Robert Lord's pay is $140,000 per year in the United States.

Develop a 1,750- to 2,000- word paper in which you address the following:

? Taking into consideration that an expatriate's pay would include housing, healthcare, transportation, allowances and premiums, and so forth, how would Robert Lord's pay as an expatriate differ from the pay of a Japanese national of the same age? Is this difference equitable?

? How would Robert Lord's pay differ if he were relocated back to the United States? Is this difference equitable?

? Evaluate the effect of trade unions and employee involvement on the Japanese national compensation system. What role does the social contract play in the Japanese system?

Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.

Notes: Robert Lord will be listed in the Riordan portal as the Director of Plant Operations in the PRC joint venture.. Do not let this confuse you. Consider him as stated above as having $140,000 compensation as a U.S. employee.

Objective of Paper Key Concepts:
Objectives
Assess the role of the social contract on compensation systems internationally.
Evaluate the equity in compensation between expatriate and nationals within the same country.
Evaluate the effect of trade unions and employee involvement on compensation systems for cross border organizations.
Compare and contrast pay systems across countries.

Materials
SUPPLEMENT: Week Six Mind Map
SUPPLEMENT: Week Six Concept Outline

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EBOOKS
EBOOK COLLECTION: Chapter 16 - Cascio. (2003). Managing Human Resources(6th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
EBOOK COLLECTION: Chapter 16 - Milkovich & Newman. (2005). Compensation (8th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

Riordan Backround information for global Pay:

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Annual Pay Adjustments

The company has a process for annual performance evaluations and pay adjustments, which happens on a fiscal year basis, with all raises taking effect the first day of the new fiscal year.

Managers complete a performance appraisal with each employee using a behaviorally-anchored rating scale. At the end of the performance appraisal, each employee receives an overall rating of "does not meet expectations" "meets expectations," or "exceeds expectations." Managers receive a pool of merit increase dollars, which are divided among employees using the following matrix (where "x" is the average percentage of wage increase). Managers may not allocate more money for raises than they receive in their increase budget.




Does Not Meet

Meets

Exceeds




Position in relation to the external market...
Above market median

0

?x

1x



Position in relation to the external market...
Near market median (+ or ? 10%)

0

1x

1.5x



Position in relation to the external market...
Below market median

0

1.5x

2x

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Compensation Philosophy and Rewards Practices

Our Employees
?We will maintain an innovative and team-oriented working environment.
?By assuring that our employees are well informed and properly supported, we will provide a climate focused on the long term viability of our company.

Other Factors
?R & D is critical to the mission (industry leader in identifying industry trends).
?Exceeding ISO 9000 standards is important to the organization.

Compensation Philosophy

The purpose of the pay program at Riordan Manufacturing is to help the company achieve its mission and goals by attracting, motivating and retaining the most highly-qualified people, with a particular focus on attracting people in critical disciplines such as R & D and quality. Base pay opportunities will be competitive by targeting the median of the appropriate external comparative group for average or satisfactory performance. Because we are focused on creating a team oriented working environment, teams who perform in an above average manner will have the opportunity to earn variable pay to improve their competitive pay position. The company is closely held, therefore, stock options will be available only to officers of the corporation.

Our pay bands are broad ranges which allow for considerable flexibility in rewarding individual performers based on their specific skills and contributions. We expect managers to make base pay decisions based on market information, which is provided annually during the salary review process.

Incentive plans for teams are developed individually, based on the specific results that each team is expected to achieve.

Because we want to properly support our employees, we will offer the following benefits to all full-time, U.S. employees, in addition to those benefits required by law, such as social security and workers' compensation.
?Health insurance for employees and their dependents
?Dental insurance for employees and their dependents
?Life insurance for employees
?Flexible working schedules, when approved by individual managers or teams
?401(k) savings program, with a company match
?Vacation (schedule varies with seniority)
?Paid holidays
?Educational assistance/tuition reimbursement

We also provide the following benefits through our flexible benefits program.
?Child care reimbursement account
?Medical reimbursement account (flexible spending account)

International pay and benefits are based on applicable laws in the country in which we operate.
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Employee and Labor Relations

Currently, all of Riordan?s facilities are non-union facilities. Employee relations are part of the Human Resources department.

Key employee relations policies include the following:
1.The company has an ?open-door? policy, where employees are encouraged to share any concerns with higher-level supervisors if they are not satisfied with a supervisor?s decision. The process is loosely defined, and employees do not have a formal process for appealing supervisory decisions.
2.There is an employee handbook given to employees on their first day of employment. Employee policies, such as attendance, etc. are explained in the handbook. Employees are encouraged to read and understand the handbook.
3.Safety technicians are in place to encourage safe and healthy work practices.

The Pontiac facility is a provider of parts to the automotive industry. To date, there have been no attempts by any union to organize the facility; however, there are rumors that an organizing drive may be focused on the plant during the next 12 months. While the company has officially agreed to remain neutral if there is an organizing campaign (as required in its vendor agreement), unofficially, company officials are opposed to unionization and would prefer to stay union-free.
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Employee Recognition Programs

In addition to compensation and team-based incentives, the company has some programs for recognizing outstanding employees.
1.Outstanding Employee Award - One employee per year is named as the outstanding employee of the year. Employees are nominated by their peers, and a committee of executives and employees selects the winner. The criteria for this award are as follows: 1.Performed above and beyond normal job duties
2.Demonstrated a high level of teamwork and support for others
3.Modeled respect for diversity

2.Employee Suggestion Program - Employees can make suggestions for improving products or the work process. When a suggestion is adopted, employees receive a $25 check for their contribution and their picture in the company newsletter.
3.Seniority Awards - These awards are given to employees upon their first, fifth, tenth, and 20th year of employment, as follows: 1.One year - 1 day off with pay
2.Fifth year - Silver company logo lapel pin
3.Tenth year - Gold company logo lapel pin
4.20th year - Gold watch and induction into the "20-year club" - Annual dinner with Riordan president for the club.

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Global Operations

The company has a joint venture facility in Hangzhou, China, where plastic fan parts are produced. Riordan owns 60% of the joint venture, and the plant manager is an expatriate from the United States who is one year into a three-year assignment. All of the other employees are host-country nationals.

The plant manager is compensated on a home-country based method. His pay level is comparable to that of the plant managers in Pontiac and Albany. The plant manager also participates in a management incentive plan, which is based on overall corporate performance, not performance of the joint venture.

Specific allowances for expatriate duties include the following:
?Foreign service premium - 25% of base pay
?Home visit leave - One visit to the US per year with his family (not counted as part of regular vacation)
?Relocation benefits
?Educational assistance for two children (tuition at a school for English-speaking students)
?Housing allowance
?Cost of living adjustment based on international survey data

The company uses a balance sheet approach in calculating benefits, including equalization of taxes.

The manager has been asked to develop a host-country national who can assume the plant manager position at the end of his three year assignment and the manager will receive a one-time incentive payment if he does this successfully.

Engineering personnel may travel between the US and China for specific projects, but there are no expatriate engineers from the US in China, and no Chinese employees currently work in the US operations.
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Key Jobs

As a company that specializes in leading in R & D, engineering jobs, particularly in R & D are critical. In addition, those who work on patent and legal issues are very important to the organization.

Another group of employees that are very important to operations are the CAM support specialists-most of the products manufactured are produced by NC machinery. If this machinery is down, production schedules cannot be met.
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Pay Grades



Pay Grades

Jobs Included

FLSA Status

# of Incumbents




Executive Band

All Officers, Vice Presidents and Directors

Exempt

21



Manager

All positions with supervisory responsibility

Exempt

25



Professional

All other exempt professional positions - no supervisory responsibility

Exempt

76



Sales 1

Sales representative

Exempt

12



Technicians

All technicians

Nonexempt

23



Administration

All non-exempt, clerical or administrative positions

Nonexempt

21



Production

All production and shipping employees

Nonexempt

127








Remaining employees are in China and on a home-country pay system.


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Recruitment and Selection Practices

Riordan Manufacturing currently recruits employees primarily from outside the organization for entry-level jobs, whether they are hourly or professional. The company also recruits most engineering staff from outside the organization. The organization uses the following methods for recruitment:
?Online advertisements at Monster.com
?Local newspaper advertisements
?Employee referrals
?Use of employees from temporary agencies
?Attendance at engineering conferences

There is a formal job-posting process in the company when there are openings. However, the company does not pay for relocation from one facility to another unless the position has budgeted for relocation as part of the hiring process. In the past two years, two managerial positions have been filled by internal candidates. There is currently no formal succession planning process.

The company uses contract workers for some engineering work, international sales and IT support in China. It has some part-time jobs, and there are two women who job-share in the corporate office. Benefits administration has been outsourced to a third-party provider.

Riordan is a small employer in both Pontiac and Albany and sometimes has trouble attracting the types of employees it would like. It also has had some difficulty attracting employees in San Jose although its reputation is somewhat better there.

Average turnover rates are low; most employees have been with the company for longer than two years.

The selection process uses the following tools:
?Application
?R?sum? review
?Face-to-face interviews with the HR recruiter
?Face-to-face interviews with hiring managers (In the case of production teams, these are group interviews with team members.)

The company does not conduct reference checks and does not use any form of testing, other than testing all prospective employees for drugs using standard testing methods.

The company has no federal contracts and does not have any affirmative action plans or goals.
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Training & Development

Riordan provides the following mandatory training for all employees within 90 days of hire:
?New employee orientation (1 day) - offered once per month
?Six Sigma - for all production, shipping and quality employees

Supervisors are also expected to attend the following workshops within 12 months of becoming a supervisor:
?Interviewing guidelines
?Preventing EEO claims and sexual harassment in the workplace
?Performance reviews

Self-directed teams operate throughout the plants in Pontiac, Albany and China. Team members cross-train on jobs within the team, as well as attend training sessions on goal setting, scheduling, selection processes and managing conflict. These are provided on an ?as-needed? basis by the HR employee relations specialist at each site.

The company offers tuition reimbursement for work-related educational activities.

The company will also pay for professional organization fees for engineers in order to encourage them to stay current in their field.

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