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International Business, 2e

Geringer, McNett, Ball

Instructor Guide to Module C

Bonus C-17

Education.

Online and Hybrid: Virtual teams evaluate Demaria’s advice for their own career development,

particularly as it relates to working with people from other cultures. Share conclusions with

class, either online or in face-to-face setting.

Face-to-Face: Students evaluate their own career strategy in light of Demaria’s advice.

1. What do you think of the nature of the international work that Demaria was involved in?

Would this sort of activity be interesting and fulfilling to you? Why or why not?

2. What do you think of Demaria’s advice to be as brave as you can? When would this be

good to follow and when would it not be?

Students will have various answers to this question. Many will discuss overcoming the fear of

International Business, 2e

Geringer, McNett, Ball

Instructor Guide to Module C

Bonus C-18

END OF MODULE EXERCISES

CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS

1. What recent developments have caused supply chain management to become increasingly

important to international companies? Do you expect supply chain management to become

less, or more, important as 3D printing technology becomes more commercially viable?

Explain your rationale.

Individual businesses no longer operate in a vacuum and are forced to compete with businesses

from around the globe. For this reason management should be constantly searching for

2. Is the reduction of inventory an appropriate goal of supply chain management systems?

What benefits might result from reducing inventory? What problems might result from

inventory reduction efforts?

3. What are the main differences between sequential and concurrent approaches to the

design of products and services? What problems might a company encounter if it decided to

use concurrent design?

4. Why would a company choose to source raw materials, components, or other products or

services from a foreign supplier? What problems or concerns can arise from relying on foreign

International Business, 2e

Geringer, McNett, Ball

Instructor Guide to Module C

Bonus C-19

sources for a company’s supplies, and how might these differ from the factors arising from

outsourcing to a domestic firm?

5. What concerns arise as a firm purchases an increasing portion of its materials from outside

firms, especially those located in foreign countries, rather than producing these materials

itself? How might this threaten the long-term competitiveness of a firm, and what might a

firm do in order to lessen such risks?

The reason for a large and increasing proportion of cost of raw materials in the overall cost of

goods sold is due to the greater complexity of products and the increasing pressure for firms to

focus on their core business and outsource other non-core activities. Also, competitive

pressures and an emphasis on reducing concept to market cycle times have resulted in a rapid

International Business, 2e

Geringer, McNett, Ball

Instructor Guide to Module C

Bonus C-20

6. In what ways may the emergence of global electronic procurement be a potential benefit

for small and midsized companies, and in what ways might global electronic procurement

pose a threat to these companies?

The answers to this question may vary. Smaller companies are using the Internet to purchase

raw materials as well as to sell their products to customers, often on a worldwide basis.

Developments such as e-procurement exchanges have opened the door for many smaller

7. What are the advantages to a worldwide firm of global standardization of its production

facilities? Why might a firm not want to achieve such standardization across its network of

facilities?

The complexity of a global manufacturing company’s operation is immense. Standardization of

its production facilities allows the business to simplify the production systems and allows for

more control from headquarters. Most planning and design functions are done at a central

International Business, 2e

Geringer, McNett, Ball

Instructor Guide to Module C

Bonus C-21

Education.

personnel inspect and replace worn parts. A fatalistic attitude that is common in some cultures

is a deterrent to planning, the basis of preventive maintenance.

8. How might an international company’s decision to adopt approaches such as just–in-time

manufacturing systems or Six Sigma within its international network of subsidiaries result in a

decline in its short- and longer-term performance?

9. How might global logistics practices be impacted by developments such as 3D printing

technology or a sustained rise in the global price of oil?

10. What differences might you expect to see in the approach used for global manufacturing

and supply chain management for a product that has stable demand and limited change in its

basic design, versus a product that experiences substantial changes in demand and continued

GLOBALEDGE RESEARCH TASK

Exercise 1

All countries can be accessed in the ‘by Country’ section which is in “Global Insights” section.

Once a country is selected, its profile page will be displayed. Select ‘Indices’ from the left-hand

International Business, 2e

Geringer, McNett, Ball

Instructor Guide to Module C

Bonus C-22

Resource Name: International Logistics Performance Index

Exercise 2

All countries can be accessed in the ‘by Country’ section which is in “Global Insights” section.

Once a country is selected, its profile page will be displayed. Select ‘Indices’ from the left-hand

MINICASE: Modern Millennials Apparel Company Outsources Domestic Production

This minicase provides an opportunity for students to examine a situation in which a company

has closed its domestic manufacturing operations and outsourced the production to companies

in Vietnam. A number of issues have arisen in conjunction with this decision to offshore

production.

1. Identify specific concepts in the case found in this module and discuss their relevance to

the problems facing the company.

i. Outsourcing and offshoring – Companies tend to jump on the “band wagon” and follow

other companies in an effort to not be left behind. Modern Millennials Apparel appears

iii. Logistics – The ability to efficiently move product from point A to B is integral to

lowering costs. The Modern Millennials Apparel company’s original plans were a

logistical nightmare. In the Mexican maquiladora, Modern Millennials Apparel will have

International Business, 2e

Geringer, McNett, Ball

Instructor Guide to Module C

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Education.

transportation rule. Required contingency plans include: Mexican and U.S. holidays,

weather forcing roads and bridges to close, cross docking of freight in order for the

appropriate licensed transportation lines in each country to travel and deliver their

contents.

iv. Organization and staffing – A new organization structure must be developed that will

allow for the continual monitoring and subsequent production adjustments coming

from both offshore sources. In addition, bilingual representatives will be needed to

communicate more efficiently with both the Vietnam and Mexico facilities.

vii. Design of the manufacturing systems – The Vietnam location resulted in a longer- than-

desired operations pipeline resulting in high inventories. Relocating some of the

2. Considering all of the problems incurred in Vietnam and the immense effort and capital

needed to start up the Mexico operation, would it have been a better idea for Modern

Millennials to keep its domestic operations? Why or why not?

In order for the company to retain and grow its market share in a low-cost provider strategy,

Modern Millennials Apparel must keep its prices in line with its competition. Given the vast

differences in labor costs and the high percentage of labor involved in producing garments,

International Business, 2e

Geringer, McNett, Ball

Instructor Guide to Module C

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Modern Millennials Apparel has no choice but to move enough of its production to low labor

cost areas.

International Business, 2e

Geringer, McNett, Ball

Instructor Guide to Module C

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BONUS ACTIVITIES

This section provides you with support of your course above and beyond what is found in the

text. We have developed these resources to support your course, to support your traditional,

hybrid, online, or flipped class.

VIDEO SUGGESTIONS

McGraw Hill’s collection of international business videos is available at

Implications of examination of operating standards in the food services are highlighted in the

video “McDonald’s: Russia watchdog widens probe into food chain,” found at

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.

International Business, 2e

Geringer, McNett, Ball

Instructor Guide to Module C

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1. 3D Printing’s Impact on Global Manufacturing and Supply Chains

We have had good response from students when we have asked them to analyze the

introductory vignette on 3D printing and the likely impact it will have on global manufacturing

2. Key Elements of the Global Supply Chain

Assign students to identify key elements of the global supply chain for a company such as Apple

(e.g., for the iPhone), Ford (e.g., for the Focus), or Old Navy (e.g., jeans or shirts). Have them try

3. Standardization

Have students report on the extent to which a company standardizes various parts of its total

product (e.g., you could use a well-known consumer product such as McDonald’s sandwiches or

SUPPLEMENTAL ACTIVITIES

Case Studies

Case studies that focus on intercultural issues and their effects in business environments are

available through Ivey Publishing and Harvard Business School. Ivey’s catalog is available for

Harvard Cases

“Market Expansion at CMS Electronics,” examines the challenges confronted by CMS

Electronics, a European provider of electronic manufacturing services, when trying to “follow

International Business, 2e

Geringer, McNett, Ball

Instructor Guide to Module C

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small size. The case highlights the impacts of changes in the international manufacturing center

of gravity on the internationalization strategies of existing competitors. This is a HEC Montreal

Center for Case Studies case.

CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES

1. Global Debate: Is Cognizant Technology Solutions Leveraging Low-Cost Talent or Exploiting

It?

This box feature described earlier in this module’s Instructor Guide provides an excellent

foundation for debating some of the issues raised in the text, including issues about offshoring

and outsourcing.

2. IB in Practice: Zara: Using Innovative Supply Chain Management to Transform the

International Fashion Industry

This box feature described earlier in this module’s Instructor Guide can be an interesting tool

for generating discussion and debate. This discussion provides a useful overview of many of the

concepts discussed in the chapter. We find that students often have a broad range of

International Business, 2e

Geringer, McNett, Ball

Instructor Guide to Module C

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challenges and logistics of their business, provide a fascinating example that the students find

interesting and stimulating for discussion.

3. Current Events for Sources of Content on Global Operations and Supply Chain Management

Controversy

A focus on current events that are relevant to the module’s topics is a good way to bring home

the concepts, review their application, and build news-review habits. Ask everyone to come

prepared with an article for every meeting. If a meaningful percentage of the final grade is

TEACHING SUGGESTIONS

1. Supply chain management (SCM) is an area of growing importance to which students may

want to pay attention. Our teaching experience with this chapter suggests that students are

2. Identify problems that a marketing manager might have with establishing and implementing

a newly internationalized supply chain, both backward and forward. How would the manager

International Business, 2e

Geringer, McNett, Ball

Instructor Guide to Module C

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3. Overby Manufacturing of Boston has begun to build a plant in Bangkok and management is

choosing American personnel who will be sent to fill the top administrative positions. The Vice

President for Procurement wants to send a promising young buyer to head up the purchasing

4. Guest Lecturer possibilities: Some people who could contribute to the material in this

module would be:

• An overseas purchasing agent or someone who has been involved in designing or

implementing electronic purchasing system, ISO application, or a Six Sigma process.

• Someone with international quality control experience could be an interesting guest

International Business, 2e

Geringer, McNett, Ball

Instructor Guide to Module C

CONNECT TOOLS FOR ASSESSEMENT OF LEARNING

CONNECT CONTENT MATRIX

For every chapter, please refer to the Connect Content Matrix to see what application exercises

are available and what Learning Objectives they help reinforce/assess.

Title

Assignment

Type

Topic(s)

Learning

Objective(s)

AACSB

Accreditation

Tagging

Bloom’s

Taxonomy

Benefits and Costs

of Global Sourcing

Comprehension

Case

Global Sourcing

Arrangements

C-03

Analytical

Thinking

Understand

Deciding Whether

to Make or Buy

Case Analysis

Global Sourcing

Arrangements

C-03

Analytical

Thinking

Understand

Electronic

Purchasing for

Global Sourcing

Comprehension

Case

Global Sourcing

Arrangements

C-03

Analytical

Thinking

Understand

Problems with

Global Sourcing

Video Case

Global Sourcing

Arrangements

C-01; C-02;

C-03; C-05

Analytical

Thinking

Understand

CONNECT ACTIVITIES

1. Benefits and Costs of Global Sourcing

Activity Summary: This is a case about a U.S. manufacturer of skateboards that is considering

2. Deciding Whether to Make or Buy

Activity Summary: In this case analysis, students are told that they are given the assignment to

promote a fast-moving consumer good and then asked multiple-choice questions related to

International Business, 2e

Geringer, McNett, Ball

Instructor Guide to Module C

3. Electronic Purchasing for Global Sourcing

Activity Summary: This case discusses the solar industry setting up a B2B electronic purchasing

4. Problems with Global Sourcing

Activity Summary: This is a video case in which students watch a short video about waste