International Business | Internet Assignments

International Business : The Challenge of Global Competition, 8/e

Donald Ball
Wendell H. McCulloch, California State University Long Beach
Paul L. Frantz, California State University Long Beach
Michael Geringer, California Polytechnic State University
Michael S. Minor, University of Texas Pan American

Internet Assignments

Students:

Included here are some internet/case assignments that you can use to review or that your instructor may give as assignments. Your instructors have been given the answers to these questions and may choose to give them out to you or not.

This case is designed to:

Acquaint you with information electronically available on the International Trade Administration website;
Provide you with experience in using the International Trade Administration website to locate potential overseas markets; and
Place you in a position of making a decision about whether to pursue the overseas market.

The US Department of Commerce provides a number of sources that can help businesses that are interested in global expansion. One of these is the International Trade Administration site found at http://www.ita.doc.gov/index.html .

At the International Trade Administration site, one can find information that is very useful in assessing export opportunities by following the "Market Research" link http://www.ita.doc.gov/MRFrameset.html and the "Trade Statistics" link http://www.ita.doc.gov/TSFrameset.html .

Case Instructions:

Assume that you are a manager in a US company that manufactures computers. You have been given the task of identifying a country or countries that show export potential for your products.

Answer the following questions:

What country or countries are top targets for trade promotion in the toys and games industry? Go to http://www.ita.doc.gov/FS_Explore.html and click on "Will My Products or Services Sell Internationally?" View the Top Targets by Industry.
Now that you have identified the country or countries, you need to find out some specific information. If there was more than one country listed in number 1, chose one of the countries. What is the IT spending per capita in US dollars in the country that you chose?
What information can you find out about computer services in the country that you chose? Go here for foreign market reports. http://exportit.ita.doc.gov/ocbe/ForeignM.nsf/679c088699b484498525674e0000eb9f!OpenView .
Based on your preliminary findings would you pursue this market? Why or why not?