Unlock document.
This document is partially blurred.
Unlock all pages and 1 million more documents.
Get Access
International Business
Geringer, McNett, Minor, Ball
Instructor Guide to Module 10
20 Instructor’s Manual – Module 10 | Geringer, McNett, Minor, Ball © 2016 by McGraw-Hill Education.
This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This
document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
6. It is obvious that in formulating new strategies, management may uncover a need to
change its organization. Can you describe some situations in which the reverse may be true?
7. In choosing whether decisions will be made by the parent company or by its
subsidiaries, what should management consider when equipment and products are
standardized worldwide? What about when they are tailored to individual national
circumstances and markets?
8. Regarding issues of control in an international company:
9. What measures can be utilized to control subsidiaries that are less than 100 percent
owned by the firm, or joint-venture partners in which the firm has no ownership?
10. Some companies use the same control systems for each unit or operation worldwide.
For example, Starbucks, Kentucky Fried Chicken, or McDonald’s apply the same rigid quality
BACK TO
MAIN PAGE
International Business
Geringer, McNett, Minor, Ball
Instructor Guide to Module 10
21 Instructor’s Manual – Module 10 | Geringer, McNett, Minor, Ball © 2016 by McGraw-Hill Education.
controls throughout all aspects of their organizations, even as they expand internationally.
Why would a company impose rigorous corporate quality standards, regardless of the
country in which it operates? What modifications in these quality standards, if any, should
the company permit because of differences across nations or regions of the world? Why is the
MINICASE: Connect All, Inc.—Must It Reorganize?
This mini-case provides an opportunity for students to examine a situation in which the
internationalization of a company has raised issues of the appropriate organizational structure
to design and implement in order to enhance the prospects for continued success.
1. How should the company be organized to handle the new foreign production facilities?
How can Connect All reduce the time needed to bring new designs to market?
International Business
Geringer, McNett, Minor, Ball
Instructor Guide to Module 10
22 Instructor’s Manual – Module 10 | Geringer, McNett, Minor, Ball © 2016 by McGraw-Hill Education.
BONUS ACTIVITIES (additional resources not in the text)
This section provides you with support of your course above and beyond what’s found in the
text. We have developed these resources to support your course, to support your traditional,
hybrid, flipped, or online class.
VIDEO SUGGESTIONS
McGraw Hill’s collection of international business videos is available on pinterest at
https://pinterest.com/mheibvideos. The content is rich and varied, and it is updated monthly.
You might find it valuable to use the video, “What is a Matrix Organization Structure,” at
“Introduction to Organizational Structure and Design,” at https://youtu.be/NxJvS92uCus.
The video on “Managing in a Global Economy: Organization in International Business,” found at
https://youtu.be/rvNYIW7tTZk, includes discussion of various international organizational
structures, including network and virtual organizations. It also addresses issues of
standardization, coordination, control, and related topics associated with this module.
GlobalEdge and the Academy of International Business provide links to a number of
organizations that offer videos about international business. You can find these links at
https://aib.msu.edu/resources/videodepositories.asp.
TEAM EXERCISES
These may be done individually or in groups or teams, either in or out of class, for later class
presentation. Some are also appropriate for use in hybrid/flipped classroom and online courses.
1. We have had good response from students when we have asked them to analyze why
certain types of decisions should be made by the IC parent company while others should be
made by the subsidiary and other IC units. You can assign this as a verbal report or presentation
in class, to help stimulate learning by peers as well as interesting comparisons. The material in
this module is a good place to start their analyses.
2. Assign students to identify key elements of the operating environment of one or several
international companies in a key industry, such as oil and gas, automobiles, or clothing,
including ones from other nations, as well as the strategies being pursued by the companies.
Then you can ask the students to identify how these elements of the operating environment
and strategy are affecting the way these organizations are structuring their activities, with
particular emphasis on understanding how and why there may be differences in the
International Business
Geringer, McNett, Minor, Ball
Instructor Guide to Module 10
organizational structures being used. These analyses can be shared in class to help initiate a
discussion on the design of organizational structures in international business.
3. Have students report on the types of information that needs to be reported by IC units to
the parent, as well as on appropriate sources of the information that will be reported. You can
have different teams examine different industries or sectors, in an effort to identify whether
and how the information needs may vary and the implications of these differences.
4. Have students analyze an IC to identify its organizational structure, strategic control
issues and methods used in the company. The merger of high end Daimler-Benz and the more
popular-priced Chrysler, Toyota and its recent (2010/2011) automobile recalls, or Volkswagen
and its recent (2015) issues with diesel engine emission software, are examples of potential
topics. Sharing these analyses in class can produce a spirited discussion about how international
environment, competitive strategy, and organizational structures and control systems can often
create challenging situations for IC management..
SUPPLEMENTAL ACTIVITIES
Case Studies
Case studies that focus on international organization design and control are available through
Ivey Publishing and Harvard Business School. Ivey’s catalog is available for browsing (www.
iveycases.com); the cases are downloadable and pricing is in the U.S. $3.50 range. Harvard
Business Publishing (https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/pages/home) requires an account and
offers free review copies for educators. The case prices begin in the $3.95 to $6 range.
“United Cereal: Lora Brill’s Eurobrand Challenge,” examines the strategic and organizational
challenges faced by the European organization of a large multinational cereal company as it
struggles to identify the best was of structuring and coordinating the introduction of its new
cereal within Europe. This is a Harvard Business School case.
“Bella Healthcare India” describes the challenges faced by subsidiary management in
Bangalore, India, as they attempt to coordinate product development efforts with parent
company units in the U.S. A range of strategic, technical, cultural, and organizational factors
are introduced, providing for a rich discussion of how to effectively structure and control
activities between headquarters and subsidiaries. This Harvard Business School case.
“Philips versus Matsushita: The competitive battle continues,” examines the evolution of
international strategies and structures of two firms battling in the same sector, showing the
challenges of developing, leveraging, and evolving the organizational structures and strategies
of IC within a changing international competitive context, including balancing organizational
design with pressures for local responsiveness versus global standardization. This is a Harvard
Business School case.
International Business
Geringer, McNett, Minor, Ball
Instructor Guide to Module 10
CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES
1. Global Debate: The GLOBAL DEBATE: BigSoft: Should Companies Be Allowed to Profit
from International Transfer Pricing? boxed element described earlier in this module’s
2. IB in Practice: The IB in Practice: Working in a Global Virtual Organization boxed
International Business
Geringer, McNett, Minor, Ball
Instructor Guide to Module 10
25 Instructor’s Manual – Module 10 | Geringer, McNett, Minor, Ball © 2016 by McGraw-Hill Education.
This is proprietary material solely for authorized instructor use. Not authorized for sale or distribution in any manner. This
document may not be copied, scanned, duplicated, forwarded, distributed, or posted on a website, in whole or part.
TEACHING SUGGESTIONS
1. This module involves what can be abstract, “big picture” content, so helping learners
appreciate the nature and influence of design and control decisions within international
companies can provide them with a new approach to thinking about business. The use of the
figures and examples is helpful. Examples of organizational design challenges abound in current
business news, including decisions of companies to re-organize (e.g., the opening vignette on
Mondalez and Kraft; Alcoa’s proposal to split into 2 companies, one based on traditional
aluminum production and the other based on value-added aluminum products). It can be useful
to pick one or two recent events and then have students discuss whether and how such events
might impact the organizational design and control decisions of an international company
operating in that industry or closely associated with the industry or activity.
2. Analyze the relationship between where certain types of decisions are made within the
organization and the overall business strategy a firm is using internationally. Then move to why
decisions are best made where they are. (Contrast, for example, retail level international
banking with a retail clothing chain.)
3. To point out the importance for an IC to control activities of its units and efforts around
the world, review the control issues Nike faced in its outsourcing, with child labor and worker
abuse (can search this on the Web, for example). Similarly, it is possible to discuss a variety of
other companies that have encountered control issues with their own or their suppliers’
operations, such as Apple’s recent challenges arising from worker complaint, suicides, and
other issues in its Chinese supplier, Foxconn Technology Group.
4. Guest Lecturer possibilities: Some people who could contribute to the material in this
module would be:
a. Your school’s management and organization people could speak on control and
information.
b. Executives from ICs located near you could add to those subjects.
c. Virtual organizations may be described by local IC managers, or you might bring
such speakers in “virtually” through the use of technology-mediated tools such as
Skype, Adobe Connect, FaceTime, or the like.
BACK TO
MAIN PAGE
International Business
Geringer, McNett, Minor, Ball
Instructor Guide to Module 10
26 Instructor’s Manual – Module 10 | Geringer, McNett, Minor, Ball © 2016 by McGraw-Hill Education.
CONNECT TOOLS FOR ASSESSEMENT OF LEARNING
Interactive Applications
Assigning Interactives
Consider assigning only 2 interactives per chapter. Interactive applications allow students to see
concepts in practice and assess higher order thinking skills. There are numerous exercises of
different types available. Click’n’drag, video cases, and case analysis are the types you will see
most frequently in this program.
Time-Saving Hints:
• Instructors may want to give students unlimited or multiple attempts on the first few
assignments so the students have a chance to learn and navigate the system before
selecting the option for one attempt only.
• The value of each question should probably be relatively low, since multiple questions
are usually assigned for each chapter. A good rule of thumb would be to make “Quiz
Questions” worth 1 point each and “Interactives” worth 5-10 points each since these
require more time and thought.
International Business
Geringer, McNett, Minor, Ball
Instructor Guide to Module 10
27 Instructor’s Manual – Module 10 | Geringer, McNett, Minor, Ball © 2016 by McGraw-Hill Education.
• Feedback given to students is time flexible. Selecting feedback to be displayed after the
assignment due date helps to limit students from giving the correct answers to other
students while the interactive is still available.
Connect Content Matrix
For every chapter, please refer to the Connect Content Matrix to see what application
exercises are available, what Learning Objectives they help reinforce/assess.
International Business
Geringer, McNett, Minor, Ball
Instructor Guide to Module 10
28 Instructor’s Manual – Module 10 | Geringer, McNett, Minor, Ball © 2016 by McGraw-Hill Education.
Module
Assignment
Type
Title
Topic(s)
Learning
Objective(s)
AACSB
Accreditation
Tagging
Bloom's
Taxonomy
10
Drag and Drop
Alternative
Organizational
Structures for
International
Companies
Evolution of
International
Company
Structure
10-02
Reflective
thinking
Understand
10
Comprehension
Case
Organizational
Design:
Merging
Hershey and
Cadbury
Where
Decisions are
Made in
Wholly
Owned
Subsidiaries
10-01; 10-
02
Analytical/
Reflective
thinking
Understand/
Analyze
10
Comprehension
Case
Control in
Wholly- and
Jointly- Owned
Subsidiaries
Where
Decisions are
Made in Joint
Ventures and
Subsidiaries
less than
100% Owned
10-03; 10-
04
Analytical/
Reflective
thinking
Understand/
Analyze
