Marshall Hill MGT 657 G-8 Report for Chapter 2
1. Managing the political and legal environment will continue to be an important challenge for international
managers, as will the rapid changes in technological environment of global business. (p. 36) It is imperative
that managers have a thorough understanding of their organizations goals in engaging in international
business activities. In order to design and incorporate successful strategies, a manager must anticipate
challenges and obstacles that exist in the legal and political environment, and be sensitive to the climate and
culture of the country in which the organization is operating. The potential technology differential of
international operations can cause logistical and operational difficulties and must be anticipated early in the
strategic process to ensure success.
2. The issue with understanding how to conduct international management extends beyond the general
knowledge of the government practices to the specifics of the legal and regulatory frameworks in place.
Underlying actions of a government is the ideology informing the beliefs, values, behavior, and culture of the
nation and its political system. (p.37) Failure to understand the moral, social, and cultural factors that lead to
the implementation of laws and regulations can negatively affect operational integrity and ultimately the
firm’s success in international ventures. Any oversight in this area exposes the firm to potentially fatal
conditions as demonstrated by Google’s operations in China. Contingency measures should always be
explored early in the planning process, and collaboration with government decision makers in operational
planning are measures that may be employed to minimize the impact of these factors.
3. The biggest problem may well be that the government does not know what it wants from multinational
investors, and this is what accounts for the mixed signals and changes in direction that it continually sends
All this obviously increases the importance of knowledgeable international managers. (p.41) Questions
concerning the expectations of government should be expected to arise. Even in the most industrialized
nations, changes in the political climate can greatly impact the nature of international trade. In my limited
experience in the food processing sector, changes in domestic legislation greatly affected my firm’s ability to
conduct business internationally which adversely affected production and profitability with a ripple effect
