1. “To be effective, international business strategy must be aligned with organizational
structure, organization architecture, and with enterprise information technology (IT)
architecture.” Discuss this statement as follows:
a) Define organization structure, organization architecture and enterprise IT
architecture. (6 marks)
b) Describe the four main types of IT enterprise architecture, and illustrate, with
examples, which international business strategy fits best with each architecture.
(8 marks)
c) Describe a geographical area structure and assess which international business
strategy and IT enterprise architecture the geographical area structure best fits
with. (6 marks)
d) Assess the advantages and disadvantages of a decentralized organization
structure, and the conditions under which a decentralized structure is most
suitable. (5 marks)
2. ‘In today’s fast moving and unpredictable international business environments,
strategic planning has become almost redundant.’ Discuss this statement as follows
using illustrative examples:
a) What is the resource-based approach to achieving competitive advantage, and
what are its advantages and limitations? (8 marks)
b) How useful are value chain analysis and SWOT analysis in today’s
international business environment? (6 marks)
c) Compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of Ghemawat’s AAA
framework, and Porter’s generic strategies framework for gaining strategic
advantage in international business. (8 marks)
d) In the light of the 2020-21 crisis, what practices do you think managers need to
adopt when carrying out international business strategy analysis? (3 marks)
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3. ‘International human resources management has become much more difficult
following the pandemic and economic crises of 2020-21.’ Discuss this statement as
follows, using illustrative examples:
a) Under what conditions would an international business today be advised to adopt
an ethnocentric approach to staffing its domestic and foreign operations?
(6 marks)
b) The use of expatriate managers has been declining. Why is this, and do you
think the 2020-21 crisis will result in further changes in the use of expatriate
managers? (10 marks)
c) What are the main concerns of international labour, and how can an international
business respond through adopting a corporate social responsibility agenda?
(9 marks)
4. ‘An international business faces many challenges when entering new foreign
markets.’ Discuss this statement, using illustrative examples, as follows:
a) What are the main marketing strategies a firm can consider when looking to
enter a new market? (4 marks)
b) Discuss the main factors an organization needs to assess in terms of why
enter, which markets to enter and when to enter. (7 marks)
c) Assess the advantages and disadvantages of fully owned subsidiary, and
strategic alliance as methods of market entry. (9 marks)
d) Why would a country erect barriers to foreign direct investment (FDI)?
(5 marks)
5. ‘Currency exchange rates can be the difference between healthy profit, and
substantial losses for an international business.’ Discuss this statement as follows,
using illustrative examples:
a) Explain what an exchange rate is, and how an exchange rate is arrived at, using
illustrative examples. (6 marks)
b) Assess the risks faced by an international business working with many exchange
rates. (8 marks)
c) How can an international business reduce these risks? (6 marks)
d) What is the role of the International Monetary Fund when there is a currency
crisis? (5 marks)
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6. “International trade needs to be understood and regulated.” In light of this statement,
and using illustrative examples:
a) Describe and assess the Dunning OLI framework and Porter’s diamond of
national competitive advantage as frameworks for understanding international
trade. (10 marks)
b) What is the role of the World Trade Organisation? Assess how successful it has
been in fulfilling this role. (8 marks)
c) Using an illustrative example e.g EU, ASEAN, NAFTA/USMCA, describe how a
regional bloc can regulate international trade. (7 marks)
7. ‘Outsourcing business and IT services can be very risky.’ Assess this statement as
follows, using illustrative examples:
a) What major formal and informal institutions and location attractiveness factors
does an international business need to consider when designing its global
outsourcing strategy? (12 marks)
b) Describe Ghemawat’s CAGE framework and assess its usefulness. (5 marks)
c) What management practices reduce the risks stemming from offshore
outsourcing of business and IT services? (8 marks)
8. ‘Arguments against globalization now seem to be winning. Particularly following the
2020-21 pandemic and economic crises, countries and international businesses are
increasingly experiencing the disadvantages.’ Assess this statement as follows, using
illustrative examples:
a) What have been the major long-term trends towards globalization? (8 marks)
b) Why have countries been taking protective measures against globalization and
international trade in recent years? (5 marks)
c) What risks explain why many international businesses have been refocusing on
regional and domestic markets? (8 marks)
d) Assess whether these more recent trends support Ghemawat’s contention that
‘distance still matters’?