International Business Examination Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5750 words

International Business Examination - Essay Example First stage In the first stage, the emphasis is on research and development that is focused on new product development. The firm is able to maintain its leverage in the market due to high demand for the product which has relatively few competitions. The stage is also marked by high profitability which gives further thrust to technology and processes. But the new product has smaller domestic market. The first stage is inherently linked to strategic initiatives of the firm which are used to exploit its competitive advantage to progress to the next level. Second stage The second stage of product’s life cycle is process of maturing which leads to competition because other firms compete on variations of the product putting downward pressure on the prices. This necessitates the innovating firm to expand globally and focus on technology and intense marketing to maintain its niche market position. The phase also highlights growth of the firm with higher emphasis on internationalizatio n in order to gain leverage by shifting production to new location in other countries with low production cost and increase profit. The near standardisation of product results in established technologies, low focus on R&D and growing domestic and export market. FDI emerges as attractive option mainly for two reasons: to ease out price pressure from the domestic market; and to overcome the barriers of import in foreign countries and lower production cost (Krugman & Obstfeld, 2009). Moreover, the stage is also relevant because it provides opportunities for firms to expand their market internationally and create new avenues of growth. Third stage In this phase, the product is matured and completely standardised and there is intense competition. With market saturation, the production is moved to overseas production sites with low production cost so that finished goods can be re-imported from these locations for home market with higher profit margin. Some scholars believe that the maturi ty of the product accelerates R&D to infuse it with greater value added service so that it can serve the changing needs of the customers as new product (Leinwand & Mainardi, 2010). This is interesting because it promotes the concept of recycling of products and product cycles to constantly improve and improvise market. Thus, firms can maintain their niche position through constant innovation and growth in new market and existing market. 1(b) In the 21st century, the model provides a realistic description of firm internationalization. The stage approach is supported by various scholars who believe that sequential progression in the stages of product life cycle creates linkages for internationalization of firms (Li, 2007; Johanson & Vahlne, 1990). The virtual economy, liberalization of market and most importantly, the inter-dependence of resources promote expansion of market and serve as major imperative for internationalization of firm. The innovative firm in the developed country fi rst serves domestic market and gradually expands to other developing nations to serve local markets to leverage increasing competition. Later emerging markets provide them with locations that are cost effective in terms of production and become attractive. Most importantly, in the 21st

Improving Student Learning When Budgets Are Tight (Ch. 3 Summary) Essay

Improving Student Learning When Budgets Are Tight (Ch. 3 Summary) - Essay Example Thus the author’s major argument is that schools and districts should develop strategic plans to successfully cope with tightening budgets. According to the author there are four major reasons why schools are facing problems with cost increases, namely, smaller classes, more electives, automatic pay increases, and growing benefit costs (Odden, 2012, 47-49). First, some schools and districts reduce class sizes in the belief that it will improve student performance. Such belief is supported by several studies which reported improvements in the academic achievement of students who belong in smaller classes. However, these smaller class sizes are only effective in early grades. Second, more elective courses demand greater costs because they are usually made up of smaller classes. Third, as expected, automatic pay increases boost costs. Teachers and administrators are automatically given salary increase every time they acquire more experience or move up to a higher qualification le vel. Unfortunately, this salary system is not associated with greater academic performance and better teaching; it merely increases costs. And lastly, pension and health benefits, especially for those currently employed, also add pressure to education resources. All of these four factors undoubtedly increase education costs, but with little or no positive impact on student learning or academic performance. The author provides several strategic methods to resolve the dilemma of increasing costs and flat performance, such as definite objectives, a plan of action, and a clear strategic budgeting plan. Those schools with adequate resources but experiencing budget cutbacks must only consider strategies that will have the least effect on academic performance, such as a smaller number of administrators and instructional aides. On the other hand, those schools with insufficient funding must leave out small class sizes and consider more instructional coaches to enhance core classroom instruc tion (Odden, 2012, 50-52). In essence, a general plan of action can offer guidance to both sufficiently and insufficiently funded schools. The Midwestern middle school example shows how a substantially funded school can improve student learning without having to increase costs or demand additional resources. The problems with the school are that it has too many staff, but no instructional coaches and tutors, and lacking in collaborative work which could promote student learning. According to the analysis, the school can in fact afford all the staffing needed to significantly enhance student learning (Odden, 2012, 54). Numerous staff positions and electives can be reallocated to areas that have greater impact on student performance, such as those for struggling students (e.g. poor, disabled, etc). The analysis shows that the suggested staffing allocation could drastically enhance academic performance without additional staffing and/or funding. One of the main suggestions given to suc cessfully address the issue of tightening budget in education is increasing class sizes in order to reallocate resources to other more important areas, like programs for struggling students. As mentioned previously, studies have found that smaller class sizes positively impact student learning in early grades, but nothing has been