International Business
Geringer, McNett, Minor, Ball
Instructor Guide to Module 9
11 Instructor’s Manual – Module 9 | Geringer, McNett, Minor, Ball © 2016 by McGraw-Hill Education.
LO 9-3
Describe the features of a strategic plan
• Strategic plan features and implementation facilitators
• Sales forecasts and budgets
• Facilitation tools for implementing strategic plans
o Policies
o Procedures
• Performance measures
Key Terms:
• Sales forecast
• Budget
• Policies
• procedures
Lecture Outline and Notes:
I. Strategic Plan features and implementation facilitators
Sales forecasts and budgets these are two prominent features of the strategic plan. They
are both a planning and a control technique.
III. Sales Forecast – a prediction of future sales performance.
Budget – an itemized projection of revenues and expenses for a future time period.
IV. Facilitation tools for implementing strategic plans
Policies are broad guidelines issued by upper management to assist lower level managers
to handle recurring problems.
Procedures describe how certain activities will be carried out, thus ensuring uniform
action throughout the firm.
V. Performance measures
3 ways to measure if a strategy is proceeding successfully or needs modification:
1. Success in obtaining and applying required resources.
15. Effectiveness of company’s personnel performance.
16. Progress toward achieving mission, vision, and objectives in a manner consistent
with the company’s stated values.
LO 9-4
Key Terms:
• Top-down planning
• Bottom-up planning
• Iterative planning
International Business
Geringer, McNett, Minor, Ball
Instructor Guide to Module 9
Lecture Outline and Notes:
I. Kinds of strategic plans
Time Horizon
1. short, medium, and long term.
17. time horizon will vary according to the age of the firm and the stability of its
market.
Level in the Organization
Each organizational level of the company will have its level of plan
1. If firm has four organizational levels (Figure 9.4), there will be four levels of
plans. Each will be more specific and for a shorter time frame than it is at the
level above.
Methods of planning
1. Top-Down Planning – corporate headquarters develops and provides
guidelines.
a. Disadvantages – restricts initiative at lower levels and shows
insensitivity to local conditions.
j. Advantages – headquarters should be able to formulate plans that
ensure optimal use of firm’s resources.
18. Bottom-Up Planning – lowest levels inform top management of what they expect
to do.
a. Advantage – those responsible for attaining the goals are
formulating them.
k. Disadvantage – no guarantee that the sum total of the goals will
coincide with those of headquarters.
19. Iterative Planning – (Figure 9.4) combines aspects of bottom-up and top-down
planning.
LO 9-5
Key Terms:
•
International Business
Geringer, McNett, Minor, Ball
Instructor Guide to Module 9
Lecture Outline and Notes:
I. New directions in planning
Strategic planning, particularly in the more traditional bureaucratic form still practiced in
some corporations, has been described as a calendar-driven ritual, not an exploration of
the company’s potential
This traditional strategic planning approach commonly consists of a company’s CEO and
the head of planning getting together to devise a corporate plan, which is then handed to
the operating people for execution.
1. This approach assumes the future will be similar to the present, even if there
is evidence to the contrary.
20. Not surprisingly, the resulting strategic planning documents often fail to be
implemented successfully.
21. Increasingly, the old process is being replaced by a strategic management
approach, which combines strategic thinking, strategic planning, and strategic
implementation and which is increasingly recognized as a fundamental task of line
management, rather than the job of specialized planners in staff positions.
Who Does Strategic Planning?
senior operating managers, not CEO and planning staffs
1. frequently these teams include members ranging from junior staff members
firsthand experience with the firm’s markets. Other important stakeholders such
as governments and activists (social, environmental, and political) are also
relevant influences, if not necessarily direct participants.
How strategic planning is done
less structured format and a shorter document.
reach the objective, the objective must be changed.
Contents of the plan
Concerned with issues, strategies, and implementation and with incorporating creative,
forward-looking ideas essential to competitive success within changing and uncertain
international environment.
International Business
Geringer, McNett, Minor, Ball
Instructor Guide to Module 9
14 Instructor’s Manual – Module 9 | Geringer, McNett, Minor, Ball © 2016 by McGraw-Hill Education.
1. Staying competitive demands long-term perspective to strategic decision-
making and resource allocation decisions.
International Business
Geringer, McNett, Minor, Ball
Instructor Guide to Module 9
15 Instructor’s Manual – Module 9 | Geringer, McNett, Minor, Ball © 2016 by McGraw-Hill Education.
CONNECT TOOLS FOR CLASS PREPARATION
SmartBook
What is SmartBook?
SmartBook is a digital version of your course textbook. It contains the same content within the
textbook, but unlike a typical eBook, SmartBook actively tailors that content to your individual
needs as a student. SmartBook can be accessed online through your laptop, tablet or
smartphone and is also accessible when you’re offline!
How Does SmartBook Help You/Students?
• Assignable – assigning students their reading and studying their textbook content
ensures they are coming to class prepared.
• Proven to help students get a better grade. Studies show SmartBook technology can
help increase grades by a full letter.
• Save time. Study smarter. SmartBook makes sure students focus on the things you don’t
know so they can prioritize your study time wisely.
• No more cramming. SmartBook helps learners retain key concepts so you can learn—
How to assign SmartBook to ensure students come to class prepared?
• On the Connect course homepage click “add assignment” > LearnSmart > Select the
chapter
• Decide what content you’d like your students to study, and how much time you’d like
students to spend on their work. Start by narrowing down the content prior adjusting
• The entire LearnSmart/SmartBook module is available to your student at all times,
however, assigning it will prompt students to try it. You are required to select a due date
for this assignment, however, this will not prevent the student from access to the tool; it
is designed to show you that the student has taken the LearnSmart/SmartBook
International Business
Geringer, McNett, Minor, Ball
Instructor Guide to Module 9
16 Instructor’s Manual – Module 9 | Geringer, McNett, Minor, Ball © 2016 by McGraw-Hill Education.
assignment. LearnSmart/ SmartBook is an adaptive study tool designed for students. It
can also show you where students are struggling to understand specific concepts.
• The student’s LearnSmart/SmartBook score in the Connect reports is based on their
this tool. Continued use of LearnSmart will not affect their LearnSmart/SmartBook
assignment results in the Connect reports, but has shown to improve test scores by as
much as a full letter grade.
International Business
Geringer, McNett, Minor, Ball
Instructor Guide to Module 9
ENGAGEMENT & APPLICATION (FACE TO FACE & ONLINE &
HYBRID)
BOXED TEXT DISCUSSION QUESTIONS WITH SUGGESTED ANSWERS
IB IN PRACTICE: Regional Strategies for Competing Globally
world marketplace is regional rather than global in nature. This provides a good foundation for
discussion, using such questions as, “Is the world truly evolving to a global market, and
therefore regional or semi-globalization strategies are merely a stage in the evolution of
international companies? Or is there a “threshold of internationalization” beyond which a
multinational’s performance declines, not merely short term but well into the future?,” and
vibrant and insightful discussion. The instructor may wish to use a debate to argue for and
against the viability of a “regional strategy” perspective as a long-term approach, for example.
Alternatively, the instructor may wish to have an exercise intended to incorporate scenario
analysis techniques to identify the variables that may influence, for example, whether and to
what extent regional versus global perspectives may predominate in discussion and relevance
during coming years.
Online and Hybrid: Assign questions to be prepared in virtual teams and submitted as a
team assignment, or submitted individually and then discussed in a blog or group discussion
site.
Face-to–Face: Students develop responses to the questions in class in teams/groups
1. How might the influences of culture work against a globalized marketplace?
International Business
Geringer, McNett, Minor, Ball
Instructor Guide to Module 9
18 Instructor’s Manual – Module 9 | 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.
2. What might account for the tendency of international trade to have remained largely
within the triad nations? What might cause this to change in the future?
GLOBAL DEBATE: Google’s Values and Strategy versus Opportunity in China
The focus of this Global Debate explores “Google’s Values and Strategy versus the China
Opportunity.” This is an excellent situation because students know Google and should be
aware that it as an MNC of the highest order. This also gives excellent examples of the impact
of international situations and dynamically changing environmental factors on implementation
of strategic plans and how firms must rapidly change their plans in response to local market
conditions. It also brings in the related issues of corporate mission and values as drivers of
strategic plans.
This situation is continuing to unfold as this book goes to press, developing as the external and
competitive forces change. Discussion can be initiated through questions such as, “Did Google
make a good decision to leave China? What do you think?” An update on developments related
to the position of Google and other companies in China can lead to a discussion of how rapidly
the changing global market environment has impacted an organization your students know.
This discussion could serve as an introduction to international competitive strategies.
Online and Hybrid: A classroom discussion option is to assign individuals, groups, or the
class as a whole to examine the evolving situation in China with respect to market access,
censorship, and related issues, both with respect to Google and more generally. The students’
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International Business
Geringer, McNett, Minor, Ball
Instructor Guide to Module 9
findings can provide a strong basis for discussion or debate on these emerging issues. Virtual
teams can be assigned questions and submit their work as a group. Alternatively, virtual teams
can be assigned to take different roles or perspectives to argue for (or against) and these
assignments can be submitted as a group and then opened up to discussion and debate on an
online class discussion site or blog, or presented and debated in a face-to-face setting.
Face-to–Face: Students develop responses to the questions in class in teams/groups, or
else assign perspectives and conduct an in-class debate and discussion.
1. What might have been the implications if Google stayed in China’s Internet search
engine market? Would that have harmed Google’s reputation and performance elsewhere in
the world?
2. What could be the implication of Google’s exiting the Chinese search engine market?
Will it hinder the company’s ability to compete successfully in other parts of the world?
International Business
Geringer, McNett, Minor, Ball
Instructor Guide to Module 9
even more loyal to Google. The different perspectives can again allow this to generate an
interesting and insightful discussion among class participants.
3. Overall, do you think Google made a good decision to leave China? Why or why not?
GET THAT JOB! FROM BACKPACK TO BRIEFCASE Eduardo Rangel: Growth in
International through Experience
The focus of this Get that Job! From Backpack to Briefcase box explores Eduardo Rangel’s
decision to study international business and to gain international experience through an
extended internship in China, due to his recognition of the strategic value of learning more
about this important emerging economy. He preceded his overseas work with an extended
immersion language program and familiarization with the country, in an effort to help mitigate
the effects of culture shock. Despite these efforts, he still experienced some of the challenges
associated with living and working in another culture, and the importance of altering his
perspective on the situation in order to be able to function optimally. After graduating from
university, he chose to deepen his experience base by returning the China for an additional two
years of work, language acquisition, and cultural familiarization. He concludes his discussion by
providing recommendations to students interested in living and working abroad, including the
value of having a clear objective and plan for what you hope to achieve from your international
experience.
Online and Hybrid: Virtual teams evaluate Rangel’s advice for their own career
development and their ability to understand and adapt to life in another culture, particularly
one that is quite different from one’s home culture. Share conclusions with class, either online
or in face–to–face setting.
Face-to–Face: Students evaluate their own career strategy in light of Rangel’s advice.
1. How would you evaluate Eduardo Rangel’s efforts to understand and integrate
effectively within Chinese culture? How can such efforts help him to achieve his objective of
immersing within and understanding other cultures?