By the early 1970s IKEA had established itself as the largest furniture retailer in Sweden. What was the source of its competitive advantage at that time?
> IKEA is very Sweden-centric; that is, they like doing it the Swedish way, from the names of the furniture to the management of the company. Sweden is a neutral country so maybe this is the way to go for a global company, but, really, is it smart to be to
> Compared with 10 years ago, expatriate employees stay twice as long in Dubai, about 5 years, before they return to their home country or another foreign location. Do you think more expatriates will stay longer in Dubai as the city continues to develop in
> Alibaba is the world’s largest e-commerce platform. How did it achieve that status? How has Alibaba’s differentiation strategy contributed to its success?
> Integrating 160 different nationalities into one corporation, such as The Emirates Group, has challenges and opportunities. What challenges do you see? What opportunities come from this diverse workforce?
> Is it sustainable to think that Emiratis, which make up only about 15 percent of the people in Dubai, can be leading the city as they have for so long?
> Since the IPO was undertaken in New York, does this make Alibaba an American enterprise?
> What were the legal, financial, and strategic advantages to Alibaba of undertaking its IPO in New York?
> Why do you think the management of Alibaba decided against doing the IPO in China's main stock market, Shanghai? Why did they ultimately decide against Hong Kong?
> Why did Jack Ma decide it was time to take Alibaba public?
> What policy stance should the U.S. and EU adopt toward China with regard to how it manages the value of its currency?
> Is there any evidence that the Chinese kept the level of their currency artificially low in the past to boost exports? Are they keeping it artificially low today?
> What are the benefits that China might gain by allowing the yuan to float freely against other major currencies such as the U.S. dollar and the euro? What are the risks? What do you think they should do?
> Why did the Chinese move to a managed float system in 2005?
> What other steps could be taken in the long run to reduce the probability that producers in China and elsewhere will dump their excess production at a loss on world markets?
> Why do you think that the Chinese historically pegged the value of the yuan to the U.S. dollar?
> How would a fall in the value of the US dollar against other major currencies impact Apple?
> Under what conditions do you think the U.S. dollar might weaken against other major currencies (e.g. the euro, yen and yuan)?
> Why was the US dollar so strong during the 2014‒2016 period? Was the strength in the dollar a rational response to economic fundamentals?
> Why did Apple not fully hedge its foreign exchange exposure to avoid a hit on earnings?
> Why did the strong U.S. dollar during 2015 have a negative impact on Apple's earnings?
> Is the RECP a threat to American economic interests?
> Why do you think that Donald Trump is so adamantly opposed to the TPP?
> Can you think of any drawbacks to the TTP?
> What are the benefits of the TTP?
> Some companies do not hedge their foreign exchange exposure. Do you think Apple is correct to hedge? Why?
> What is the opportunity cost to the United States of withdrawing from the TPP?
> In addition to its BMW brand, the BMW Group owns two iconic British brands, Rolls-Royce and MINI. Discuss the importance of these brands to BMW.
> Reflect on the changing dynamics of the global marketplace and the implications of those changes for BMW.
> Discuss the role of innovation as a key to BMW’s success. How does this focus help position BMW for the future?
> What needs to happen for Zimbabwe to get back on track economically? How can investor confidence in Zimbabwe be restored?
> How would you characterize the political system in Zimbabwe?
> What will African countries need to do to make the TFTA a success? What are the likely impediments to doing this?
> Discuss the economic crisis in Zimbabwe. What factors have contributed to the country’s economic collapse?
> In addition to its commitment to providing the lowest prices to customers across all of its markets, Shoprite also donates large amounts of food to those in need. Discuss how Shoprite’s philanthropy complements its overall strategy and the relationship b
> Do you see any disadvantages to having company-wide diversity priorities?
> What are the benefits of Sodexo’s commitment to a global diverse workforce?
> How does Sodexo define a globally diverse workforce? Explain how Sodexo demonstrates its commitment to building a global diverse workforce.
> Based on the information in the case, do you think firms can succeed selling globally standardized products?
> One way of improving customer satisfaction is by developing market-specific products. What are the drawbacks of this strategy?
> Research shows that managers of multinational companies typically fail to fully understand their customers. Why do you think this is the case? How should multinationals address this situation?
> Discuss the availability of microfinance in Bangladesh. How can the availability of small loans help the country move to a higher level of economic development and continue to reduce poverty levels?
> Alibaba has set itself a goal of reaching $1 billion in product sales annually. How does the e-commerce giant plan on reaching that goal?
> Why do you think free trade areas established so far in Africa have not lived up to their expectations?
> Discuss the challenges still facing Bangladesh. How can continued political reform help the country?
> In the space of just a few decades, Bangladesh has transitioned from being one of the world’s poorest nations to a country with a thriving textile industry and a microfinance movement that is paving the way for entrepreneurship. What contributed to the t
> What is Tata Motors strategy going forward? What role will exporting play in expanding the company’s global presence?
> Why do you think Tata Motors has chosen to expand into foreign markets using exports rather than local manufacturing as a main mechanism of getting its product to new markets?
> Discuss the importance of exports to Tata Motors. Why has the company chosen to export?
> Why do you think IKEA’s expansion into Europe went so well? Why did the company subsequently stumble in North America? What lessons did IKEA learn from this experience? How is the company now applying these lessons?
> What are the strategic advantages to IBM of its globally integrated enterprise strategy? What kind of organizational changes do you think had to be made at IBM to make this strategy a reality?
> By the 1990s the classic multinational strategic orientation was no longer working well for IBM. Why not?
> In the 1970s and 1980s Palmisano states that IBM was organized as a classic multinational enterprise. What does this mean? Why do you think IBM was organized that way? What were the advantages of this kind of strategic orientation?
> What are the likely gains from trade to be had from TFTA if it is fully implemented as a common market?
> What does the evolution of Coca-Cola’s strategy tell you about the convergence of consumer tastes and preferences in today’s global economy?
> How would you characterize the strategy pursued by Coca-Cola under Isdell’s leadership? What is the enterprise trying to do? How is this different from the strategies of both Goizueta and Daft? What are the benefits? What are the potential costs and risk
> What were the limitations of Goizueta’s strategy that persuaded his successor, Daft, to shift away from it? What was Daft trying to achieve? Daft’s strategy also did not produce the desired results. Why do you think this was the case?
> Why do you think that Roberto Goizueta switched from a strategy that emphasized localization toward one that emphasized global standardization? What were the benefits of such a strategy?
> When it comes to purchasing coffee beans, Starbucks adheres to a “fair trade” program. What do you think is the difference between fair trade and free trade? How might a fair trade policy benefit Starbucks?
> Is Starbucks a force for globalization? Explain your answer.
> Why do you think Starbucks decided to enter the Japanese market via a joint venture with a Japanese company? What lesson can you draw from this?
> What are the advantages for Gazprom of forming strategic alliances with companies in other countries? Discuss Gazprom’s alliance with Lukoil. How does the collaboration create a win-win scenario for both companies?
> What drove Starbucks to start expanding internationally? How is the company creating value for its shareholders by pursuing an international expansion strategy?
> Where did the original idea for the Starbucks’ format come from? What lesson for international business can be drawn from this?
> Why are African countries more likely to trade with Europe and America than they are with each other?
> In addition to its reputation for being a good partner, what other assets do you think GE brings to the table, making it an attractive joint venture partner?
> The case mentions that GE has a well-earned reputation for being a good partner. What are the likely benefits of this reputation to GE? If GE were to tarnish its reputation by, for example, opportunistically taking advantage of a partner, how might this
> What are the risks that GE must assume when it enters into a joint venture? Is there any way for GE to reduce these risks?
> Why do you think that GE has come to prefer joint ventures in recent years? Do you think that the global economic crisis of 2008-2009 might have impacted this preference in any way? If so, how?
> GE used to have a preference for acquisitions or greenfield ventures as an entry mode, rather than joint ventures. Why do you think this was the case?
> What is the source of IKEA’s success today? Can you see any weaknesses in the company? What might it do to correct these?
> What is IKEA’s strategy toward its suppliers? How important is this strategy to IKEA’s success?
> How would you characterize IKEA’s strategy prior to its missteps in North America? How would you characterize its strategy today?
> Many of Russian oil giant Gazprom’s strategic alliances are with companies in foreign countries. Do you see any disadvantages to these companies of partnering with a government-owned Russian company?
> Some 80 percent of Woolworths’ suppliers have partnered with the organization for more than a decade. Discuss the importance of relationships like to Woolworths’ competitive advantage. How can firms encourage this type of loyalty?
> Was terminating the Japanese licensing agreement and opening wholly-owned stores the correct strategic move for Burberry? What are the risks here?
> Woolworths Group has interests across multiple industry sectors and across multiple countries. Rather than following norms of corporate behavior in each market, Woolworths has chosen to set its own initiatives to follow in each market. What can other fir
> Discuss social responsibility at Woolworths. What makes the People, Planet, and Prosperity framework so appealing to the company?
> With 400 brands and a presence in countries around the world, Unilever is a complex organization. How can the company minimize duplication of effort across its product lines and divisions?
> Consider organizational culture at Unilever. Given its dual-nationality along with its size, what norms and values would be important to the company?
> Unilever owns 400 brands, but counts just 13 as being the core of its business. Based on this information, what type decision making strategy would you expect Unilever to follow and why?
> Sony is currently exploring opportunities in a variety of new areas including Life Space UX, Sports Entertainment, and Sony Computer Science Laboratories. Discuss the importance of being a leader in innovation and why Sony pursues these new strategic ini
> Sony has organized itself into 12 distinct core business segments. How does the company integrate these segments to create a meaningful overall strategy? What is the advantage of incorporating an integrating mechanism instead of letting the core business
> How would you describe Sony’s strategy? What give the company an edge over its rivals?
> How does the geographic location of Swatch’s headquarters impact the company and its product line?
> What were the causes of the surge in inflation in Russia during the early 1990s? Could this have been avoided? How?
> What limitations of the licensing strategy became apparent over time? Should Burberry have expected these drawbacks to arise?
> In late 1997, the IMF stepped in with a rescue package that included $55 billion in emergency loans to support the currency. These loans had the effect of stabilizing the won and over the next few years South Korea enjoyed a strong recovery. If the IMF h
> Why was the Korean central bank unable to stop the decline in the value of the won?
> What role did Korean enterprises play in creating the 1997 crisis?
> What role did the Korean government play in creating the 1997 crisis?
> Discuss accounting regulations and Saudi Aramco. Do you see any issues related to Saudi Aramco’s state ownership? How might things change for Saudi Aramco if it sells its shares on the NYSE?
> What are the benefits of listing Saudi Aramco on a larger exchange like the NYSE rather than the local exchange?
> Do you own a Swatch? What attracted you to the watch you chose? Discuss the appeal of Swatch. How has the company managed to bridge age, gender, national, and other differences?
> How has Swatch capitalized on cultural diversity in its product line?
> Explain the difference between transaction exposure and translation exposure using the material in the Caterpillar case to illustrate your answer.
> How did Caterpillar use strategy as a “real hedge” to reduce its exposure to foreign exchange risk? What is the downside of its approach?
> Who is harmed by this action? Who might benefit?
> In the 1980s a stronger dollar hurt Caterpillar’s competitive position, but in 2008 a stronger dollar did not seem to have the same effect. What had changed?
> In the early 2000s Russia cut tax rates for individuals and corporations, and government tax revenues surged. Why? Does this result suggest that the IMF policy prescriptions were wrong?
> During the mid-1990s, the IMF wanted Russia to raise tax rates, close loopholes in the tax system, and cut public spending. Russia was unable to do this. Why?
