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Overview

International business is a function of our global economy. Virtually every large business and many mid-sized and small businesses conduct business domestically and abroad. Unfortunately, we don’t have enough time in class to cover each area of international finance and international business management. Consequently, I have listed several topics for you to research.  You may choose the topic of your choice BUT you must meet me briefly to discuss the topic before you begin. If too many students choose the same topic, I will close the topic the prevent the overflow.

Topics to choose from

1.     What are the reasons that the United States government is establishing tariffs on goods imported from China?  (if you pick this topic, you must research the reasons and find the basis to either support or disagree with the US claims)

2.     Japan is largely dependent on exports in order to import key resources for its citizens.  However, the perception of many global economists is that Japanese economy has been very slowly growing. Is this perception accurate?  If so, why is their economy moving slowly?

3.     The United States government has renegotiated NAFTA with Canada and Mexico. Although the new agreement (called USMCA) has not been approved by Congress, what are the differences between the new agreement and NAFTA?  Why did the United States seek these changes?

4.     What is a global supply chain and how does a global supply chain differ from a domestic supply chain? What skills does a global supply chain require?  How does a global supply chain impact a multi-national company?

5.     What are the key obstacles that multinational companies face in the 21st Century? How have these obstacles risen and how are they likely to be resolved?

6.     International business has led to global strategic alliances (foreign subsidiaries, outsourcing, alliances, etc.). Why are global business alliances becoming more prevalent than purely self-sufficient businesses? 

7.      

Your report

I will base your grade you on the depth and effectiveness of your analysis. I will provide lower grades for illogical, poorly supported, and superficial research and research conclusions. Effective graphs and illustrations that support your conclusions are likely to increase your grade. I recommend that break down you paper into sub-topics and provide a table of contents.

Please carefully organize your paper so that it contains:

1.     The nature and objective of your paper, including the question that your paper is intended to answer.

2.     An explanation of the key factors in resolving your topic

3.     Your facts and finding in your research

4.     Your conclusion (which must be based on points 1-3 (above)

As you write, consider the following:

1.     The sophistication of your reader

2.     Describe your  topic and your research objective

3.     Be sure to explain:

a.     Why is this topic important?

b.     What are the key factors that underlie your objectives?

c.     Be specific and avoid making broad, vague, or unsupported statements.

d.     Create a new paragraph whenever you change topic and when you have more than 4 sentences about the same point.

e.     Don’t make statements of fact with a cite

f.      Don’t include excessive amounts of quotes. I want your wording. 

g.     Describe and justify your conclusions about the topic

Each paper must be prepared in word-processing. Font size required is 11pt and each page should be double-spaced. Spelling and grammar errors will lower your grade. All facts presented in the paper must be supported by cites and references.

 A reference page (listed by author name or source) is required. Internet cites must contain the title of the article, source, date of article, and a hyperlink to the article. Your reference list should be no less than 10 references. You may, of course, include more than 10 references. Choose your references very carefully; do not select sources from any politicians, editorials, or novice writers. You should the views of experts to ensure that our research is reliable. Try the library (which can be accessed at home) in order to find research that has been reviewed by scholars.

Plagiarism and clipping are violations of St .John’s academic integrity rules and may not be included in your work. 

Grading your report

Your report is worth12 points of your final grade. The report should be no less than 6 pages of text and no more than 10 pages. The font to use Times Roman 12pt and the paper should be double spaced.

The breakdown of the 3 points are as follows:

4 points -     Adequacy of research and references

4 points-      Expertise in explaining the technical aspects of the topic and meaningfulness of your conclusion

2 points       Organization and clarity of your report, conformity with these instructions

2 points       Grammar and spelling.

You may deliver your paper as early as November 19, 2019 (papers submitted on 11/19/2019 will receive 1 extra point) but no later than December 3. Papers that are submitted after December 3, 2019 will receive a reduction of 4 points.

Your papers should be  submitted to me in class (p