1.7 End-of-Chapter Questions and Exercises
These exercises are designed to ensure that the knowledge you gain from this book about international business meets the learning standards set out by the international Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB International). AACSB is the premier accrediting agency of collegiate business schools and accounting programs worldwide. It expects that you will gain knowledge in the areas of communication, ethical reasoning, analytical skills, use of information technology, cross-culturalism and diversity, and reflective thinking.
Experiential Exercises
(AACSB: Communication, Use of Information Technology, Analytical Skills)
You like international business so much that you are inspired to start up an international business club at your school. While some of your classmates share this interest, you would like to start the club with strong membership numbers. Your teacher has agreed to give you five minutes at the start of the next class to introduce your club idea and build support for it. You think that you can also use this presentation to build awareness of international business among students who might really enjoy the class and the topic if they knew more about it. Develop a five-minute presentation that explains why you are passionate about international business, what international businesspeople do, and what types of organizations are involved in international business.
If you were a manager of a global firm, how would you evaluate the viewpoints on the debate on globalization addressed in Section 1.3? Should global firms be worried about challenges of globalization?
Ethical Dilemmas
(AACSB: Ethical Reasoning, Multiculturalism, Reflective Thinking, Analytical Skills)
In Chapter 1, Section 4 “Navigating Ethics and International Business” under the subhead “What Ethics Is Not,” you read the statement “Ethics is not following culturally accepted norms.” This is a tough statement, as many argue that ethics is impacted by cultural values. What are some examples of culturally accepted norms from one country that challenge the ethical beliefs in another?
Giving gifts is an accepted and legal tradition in the Japanese business setting but is discouraged (and in some cases illegal) in the US business setting. Does this difference affect the competitive advantage of Japanese firms doing business in the United States or US firms doing business in Japan?