Internet Based Exercises

1. Using World Trade Organization data (shown on the International Trade page of its
web site, (www.wto.org), determine the following information: (a) the fastest growing
traders; (b) the top ten exporters and importers in world merchandise trade; and (c)
the top ten exporters or importers of commercial services.
2. Compare and contrast an international companys home pages for presentation and
content; for example, Coca Cola (www.coca-cola.com) and its Japanese version
(www.cocacola.co.jp). Are the differences cultural?
3. Go to the World Bank web site (www.worldbank.org) to obtain an overview of the
banks purpose and programs. Search for criticism of bank programs on other web
sites and prepare a two-page report of the key issues accounting got the World Bank
Controversy.
4. Check the U.S. Department of Commerce web site (http://www.doc.gov) to determine
the assistance available to exporters. Which programs do you find most helpful to
firms?
5. According to the anticorruption monitoring organization Transparency International,
which countries have the highest levels of corruption? Which have the lowest levels?
(Use the Corruption Perception Index found at http://www.transparency.de.) What
problems might an exporter have in doing business in a country with high levels of
corruption?
6. Compare and contrast two different points of view on expanding NAFTA by
accessing the websites of The Business Roundtable, and industry coalition promoting
increased access to world markets (http://www.brtable.org) and the AFL-CIO,
American

Federation

of

Labor

Congress

of

Industrial

Organizations

(www.aflcio.org).
7. Prepare a one-page memo to a foreign company introducing your product or service.
Include the contact listing of ten businesses in foreign countries looking to import
your particular product. Include the company name, address, and other contact
information along with special requirements of the company you note from their
posting of an offer to buy. Cite the sources from which you prepared your list.
http://www.tradematch.com

http://www.tradecompass.com
http://www.itrade.com
http://tradenet.org
http://www.mnileads.com
8. The differences across multinational firms are striking. Using a sample of firms such
as those listed here; pull from their individual web pages the proportions of their
incomes that are earned outside their country of incorporation.
Walt Disney

http://www.disney.com/

Nestle S.A.

http://www.nestle.com/html/home.html

Intel

http://www.intel.com/

Daimler-Benz

http://www.daimler-benz.com/index_e.htm

Mitsubishi Motors

http://www.misubishi-motors.com.jp/

9. Current economic and financial statistics and commentaries are available via the IMFs web
page under Whats New, Fund Rates, and the AIMF Committee on Balance of Payments
Statistics. For an in-depth examination of the IMFs ongoing initiative on the validity of
these statistics, termed metadata, visit the IMFs Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board
listed below.

International Monetary Fund

http://www.imf.org/

IMFs Dissemination Standards

Bulletin Board

http://dsbb.imf.org/

10. Using the material available at their website (www.unilever.com), suggest ways in
which Unilevers business groups can take advantage of global and regional strategies
due to interconnections in production and marketing.
11. Many traditionalists do not foresee that virtual trade shows will become a major
threat to the actual shows themselves. Their view is that nothing can replace the
actual seeing and touching of a product in person.

Visit the E-Expo USA site

(www.e-expousa.doc.gov) and develop arguments for and/or against this view.

12. What types of information are available to the exporter on The Transport Web? Go to
the site, www.transportweb.com, and give examples of transportation links that an
exporter would find helpful and explain why.
13. Using a Web site such as monster.com (http://workabroad.monster.com/articles/cost/)
Compare the cost of living in your home city vs. Vienna, Austria; Brussels, Belgium;
Shanghai, China; Bogot, Colombia; and New Delhi, India. What accounts for the
differences present?
14. The website www.overseasjobs.com provides valuable information for those
interested in jobs overseas. What skills do international employers seem to value
most? Peruse the job listings and find several jobs that you might be interested in.
Also take a look at the profiles of several international companies that you might be
interested in working for. What characteristics do the international firms listed here
possess?
15. In order to analyze an individual firm's operating exposure more carefully, it is
necessary to have more detailed information available than is in the normal annual
report. Choose a specific firm with substantial international operations, for example
Coca-Cola or PepsiCo, and search the Security and Exchange Commission's Edgar
Files for more detailed financial reports of their international operations. Search SEC
EDGAR Archives at http://www.edgar-online.com
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