Discussion Question

Doing International Business" THIS IS NOT A PAPER!!

• From the case study and e-Activity, differentiate between the major benefits and potential pitfalls of sourcing from Thailand for Blades after conducting your country risk assessment. Determine whether or not there are other Asian countries that could provide Blades with the same or higher economic benefits with less risk. Provide a rationale for your response. 1-2 Paragraphs

• From the case study, recommend two approaches that Blades could take in order to pursue market entry into Thailand. Determine the approach that would carry the smaller risk and the approach that would carry the bigger risk. Provide a rationale for your response. 1-2 Paragraphs

USE BELOW AS A REFERENCE TO ANSWER QUESTIONS

• Use the Internet and the links below to assess business risk in Thailand. When researching and in your assessment, focus on the following areas: corruption, political stability, exchange rate stability, regulatory oversight, freedom of the press, and rule of law.

o Bureau of Economic Analysis: www.bea.gov

o Transparency International Corruptions Perceptions Index: http://www.transparency.org/cpi2013/results (Note: The Website works optimally when accessed using Internet Explorer or Google Chrome.)

o Ranking of Economies-World Bank http://www.doingbusiness.org/rankings

o IMF Home Page http://www.imf.org/external/index.htm

o Country Risk Classification-OECD http://www.oecd.org/tad/xcred/crc.htm

o World Trade Organization Home Page http://www.wto.org/

o http://www.valueline.com/Stocks/Industries/Industry_Analysis__Recreation.aspx

Consider the following as you complete your simple country risk assessment:

o Where Thailand stands relative to other countries as far as corruption and ease of doing business is concerned.

o Where Thailand stands relative to other countries when it comes to corruption, political stability, exchange rate stability, regulatory oversight, freedom of the press, and the rule of law.

o The reasons why the above factors and others warrant careful analysis.