IBM501: International Business Introduction: Tutorials are a great learning opportunity where you can ask questions, clarify what you have learnt, participate in activities, and present your work to others. You will find tutorials more interactive, informal and specific. Your tutorials can also assist you to develop the assignments. It is therefore important that you attend as many tutorials as possible and make an effort to join in the discussion. The hardest part is to join the discussion for the first time but it gets easier! Through active participation you learn and better appreciate that others understand things differently from you. You will gain fresh perspectives on issues and hopefully develop new strategies for addressing questions, assignments and activities. It can be really stimulating! During some tutorials, you may be asked to work in small groups. It is particularly important in such situations for each student to contribute to the discussion. Contribution: You can contribute to the discussion by:  giving an example to illustrate what you intend to say  agreeing with others, but adding your own suggestions  comparing what has been said in the group to something else you know about (perhaps something you have read or experienced)  disagreeing with others —and giving your reasons for the disagreement Tutorial participation and contribution however does not imply talking all the time. It means thinking, participating and listening. You should be prepared to take notes if something relevant and interesting is mentioned that you wish to explore further.Whatever you say is valuable, and others opinions should be respected. If you are an international student, your experience of other cultures and viewpoints are often very interesting to the students who may not have such experience. If English is not your first language, some of your fellow students may not be accustomed to your accent. Don’t be upset or embarrassed if others don’t understand what you are saying and ask you to repeat yourself. Just restate your ideas—if possible using different words. Even if you are fluent in English, some students may find it difficult to understand if you speak really fast. So, make an effort to speak SLOWLY and clearly. At the same time, don’t be shy to ask people to explain what they mean, or to speak more slowly if you do not understand what they have said. Tutorial time: On campus: Thursday 3.00 to 4.00 pm On-line tutorial: Thursday 5.00 to 6.30 pm Tutorial questions and activities: Tutorial questions and case studies indicated are from your prescribed textbook: Fisher, G., Hughes, R., Griffin, E. and Pustay, R. (latest edition), International Business: Managing in the Asia-Pacific, Pearson Education Australia. Please read the case studies to be able to discuss specific issues and questions raised during the tutorial session. Do spend some time on ‘review and discussion questions’ as they give you an opportunity to better understand the concepts and their application in real business. Week 1 No tutorialTutorial activities week 2 Chapter 1 Discussion Questions: 1. Why do some industries become global while others remain local or regional? 2. What is the impact of the Internet on international business? Which companies and which countries will gain as Internet usage increases throughout the world? Which will lose? 3. What are some of the differences in skills that may exist between managers in a domestic firm and those in an international firm? Closing Case Chapter 1 page 22: A Boom in BangaloreTutorial activities week 3: Chapter 3 Discussion Questions: 1. How does the international monetary system impact on Australia today? 2. Under what conditions might a country devalue its currency today? 3. Are there any circumstances under which a country might want to increase its currency’s value? 4. Can international businesses operate more easily in a fixed exchange rate system or in a flexible exchange-rate system? Closing Case Chapter 2 page 61: Why Europeans Lose to American…Tutorial activities week 4: Chapter 4 Discussion Questions: 1. Should we worry if foreigners sell us goods cheaply? Chapter 9 Discussion Questions: 1. How does the WTO affect operations of large MNCs? Did MNCs benefit from the successful completion of the Uruguay Round? 2. Should international businesses promote or fight the creation of regional trading blocs? 3. Of what importance are rules of origin to international businesses? 4. Why does the MFN principle promote multilateral, rather than bilateral, negotiations among WTO members? 5. How do you anticipate China’s financial growth as a nation will impact on the Australian economy? Case Chapter 4 page 135: ‘….the hide of one Australian Tanner’Tutorial activities week 5: Chapter 5 Discussion Questions: 1. Many Western business people argue that the keiretsu system in Japan acts as a barrier to foreign companies’ entering the Japanese market. Why do you think they believe this? 2. What can African countries do to encourage more foreign investment in their economies? Chapter 6 Discussion Questions: 1. What can private parties do to resolve international business disputes? Case Chapter 5 page 178: It’s Time to Cry for ArgentinaTutorial activities week 6: Chapter 7 Discussion Questions: 1. How can international businesspeople avoid relying on the self-reference criterion when dealing with people from other cultures? 2. Assume you have just been transferred by your firm to a new facility in a foreign location. How would you go about assessing the country’s culture along Hofstede’s dimensions? How would you incorporate your findings into conducting business there? Chapter 8 Discussion Questions: 1. Although people from the same culture are likely to have similar views of what constitutes ethical versus unethical behavior, what factor or factors would account for differences within a culture? 2. What do you think is most likely to happen if the ethical behaviors and decisions of a new team of top managers of a firm are inconsistent with the firm’s long-entrenched corporate culture? 3. Do multinational businesses ever do socially responsible things that are clearly of no benefit whatsoever to themselves?Tutorial activities week 7: Chapter 10 Review and Discussion Questions: 1. What are the three levels of international strategy? Why is it important to distinguish among the levels? 2. Study mission statements from several international businesses. How do they differ, and how are they similar? 3. Why do relatively few international firms pursue a single-product strategy? Culture case Chapter 10 page 340: BRAZIL: HOW DO YOU USE JEITINHO?Tutorial activities week 8: Chapter 11 Review and Discussion Questions: 1. What are some of the basic issues a firm must confront when choosing an entry mode for a new foreign market? 2. Do you think it is possible for someone to make a decision about entering a particular foreign market without having visited that market? Why or why not? 3. What factors could cause you to reject an offer from a potential licensee to make and market your firm’s products in a foreign market? Case Chapter 11 page 398: Heineken’s Global ReachTutorial activities week 9: Chapter 12 Review and Discussion Questions: 1. What are some of the initial impacts of international activity on organisation design? 2. Do managers of international firms need to approach organisation design differently from their counterparts in domestic firms? Why or why not? 3. Why is control an important management function in international business? Case Chapter 12 page 435: Daimler and Chrysler: Dream or Nightmare?Tutorial activities week 10: Chapter 13 Review and Discussion Questions: 1. What are the basic factors involved in deciding whether to use standardization or customization? 2. How do legal, cultural, and economic factors influence product policy? 3. What are some of the fundamental issues that must be addressed in international advertising? 4. Identify several products you think could be marketed in a variety of foreign markets with little customization. Identify other products that would clearly require customization. Building Global Skills, chapter 13 page 471: Nestle around the worldTutorial activities week 11: Case: Challenges of marketing tobacco products in Australia Case study will be provided soonTutorial activities week 12: Chapter 14 Review and Discussion Questions: 1. What special problems arise in financing and arranging payment for international transactions? 2. How do the various types of countertrade arrangements differ from each other? Case Chapter 14 page 509: “Currency crash: some big-ticket resource projects are under threat from roaring Australian dollar” Chapter 15 Review and Discussion Questions: 1. How do firms establish prices for goods sold by one subsidiary to another?1