manufacturing and distribution
Your team is a large U.S. corporation that manufactures rubber tires, and you want to begin manufacturing and distribution in another country. As a team, choose a country in which you would like to start a manufacturing plant. Each individual team member should pick out a role as chairman, vice-chairman, secretary, and treasurer. If there are more than 4 people on your team, double up on titles, but each team member should still submit an individual project.
Chairman: Research and write on the following issues:
Discuss the macro environment of the country.
What is the company strategy there?
What will be your structure and controls?
How will you be socially and economically responsible?
How would you implement your strategy?
What would be the role of management?
What is the mode of entry you are going to use, and why?
You are also thinking of how you are going to implement the rewards program.
What do you think would motivate the workers?
How would you design the right culturally appropriate program?
What kind of leadership would work in this country?
Vice-chairman: Research and write on the following issues:
What are the political, cultural, environmental, and economic risks of doing business there?
If you do decide to do business there, how would you staff the operation?
What kind of approach would you take?
What type of concerns would you have?
What do you need to consider when you recruit, evaluate, train, and deal with labor relations issues?
How would you select the manager?
What are some of the issues to consider regarding the expatriate?
What if it does not work out?
Secretary: Research and write on the following issues:
What are some of the legal issues you would have to deal with as a company if you decide to expand there?
What sort of international orientation would you consider?
What are some of the opportunities and strengths of doing business there?
What are some of the cross-cultural issues you are going to have to deal with?
How are they different from in the United States?
What are some of the protocols and etiquette issues you must incorporate into your business behavior?
How are you going to deal with management issues such as assertiveness, conflict resolution, and team building?
What should you practice to be successful?
Treasurer: Research and write on the following issues:
What competitive advantage does this country have?
What are some of the foreign trade issues you will have to deal with?
What are the determinants to foreign entry there, and how would you enter there?
You will be embarking on the international negotiation.
What are the 5 stages of negotiation, and how are you going to prepare for them?
What cultural differences do you need to be sensitive to in the process?
What would be some of the political, legal, economic, and ideological issues that may come up?
How would you manage conflict if it should come up in the negotiations?
What decision-making process would work better with the different cultures?
Inductive or deductive reasoning?
Is it a personal issue or a cultural issue?