Global Markets, National Politics and the Competitive Advantage of Firms

Assignments

Study Questions

I. Lec # 1

1. What are the key features of Porter’s “Diamond” model? How does this model help you understand the relative competitiveness of different industries in your home countries? What is missing from the model?

2. Should Gerber invest in Poland? What benefits would the company gain from this investment? What are the risks? Why would the Polish government be interested in selling the Alima facility to Gerber? What information would you gather to assess the relative opportunities/risks inherent in this deal?

II. Lec # 2

1. What is the “paradox” Analog Devices experienced when implementing TQM? Was this experience a success or a failure? What metrics would you use to assess this? Why did the TQM experience unfold as it did? What was going on at the national economy, industry and company levels?

III. Lec # 3

1. Should the Korean government bailout Daewoo? Why or why not? What are the consequences for the country, the industry, the company? What would you advise the Korean government to do?

2. How should we understand the post-1997 Korean experience? Is state-driven economic development a bankrupt strategy? Are all countries converging on the Anglo-American model of capitalism?

IV. Lec # 4

1. How can foreign oil companies mitigate the various risks they face in Russia? What strategies can they/did they pursue? Evaluate the different strategies pursued by Phibro, Mobil and Conoco. Which strategy do you think worked best? Why?

V. Lec # 5

1. This case and related material will be distributed in class. But, for this session I would like you to think about India’s comparative advantage in the biotech sector. What is it? Is it sustainable? Is this model of high tech development appropriate for other developing countries? What are Biocon’s core competencies? Are these sustainable in the long run? What should the company’s next move be? What do you see as it’s major challenges?

VI. Lec # 6

1. Assess the Endeavor model. What do you think are its relative strengths and weaknesses? How successful has Endeavor actually been? Can this model diffuse outside of Latin America?