Assessing Economic and Ethical Risks of Doing Business in Cuba

Economic Risks of Doing Business in Cuba

Q1 “Economic risk refers to a country’s ability to meet its financial obligations. An example of such risk is that the government may change its economic policies, thereby making a foreign company unprofitable or unable to repatriate its foreign earnings.” From the perspective of assessing the international political, economic, legal and technological environment, discuss the above statement with application to the economic risks of doing business in Cuba.

• Include a general introduction to the concept of economic risk in international business;

• Be in line with the details contained in the case study;

• Refer to several independent and credible sources or references; and

• Must contain specific examples of economic risks currently associated with Cuba.

Q2 “International business ethics refers to the conduct of managers in their relationships to all individuals and entities with whom they come into contact. Ethical behaviour is judged and based largely on the cultural value system and the generally accepted ways of doing business in each country or society. Managers must decide whether to base their ethical standards on those of the host country or those of the home country and whether these different standards can be reconciled.” From the perspective of managing the interdependencies of social responsibility, ethics, and sustainability, discuss the above statement with application to the generally accepted ways of doing business in Cuba.

• Include a general introduction to the concept of ethics in international business;

• Be in line with the details contained in the case study;

• Refer to several independent and credible sources or references; and

• Must contain specific examples of the standard of business ethics in Cuba.

Q3 "The culture of a society contains the shared values, understandings, assumptions, and goals that are passed down through generations and imposed on members of the society. These unique sets of cultural and national differences strongly influence the attitudes and expectations – and therefore also the on-the-job behaviour – of individuals and groups.” From the perspective of the role of culture in international business, discuss this statement with application to social culture and business behaviour in Cuba.

• Include a general introduction to the concept of social culture and business behaviour in international business;

• Be in line with the details contained in the case study;

• Refer to several independent and credible sources or references; and

• Must contain specific examples of social culture and business behaviour in Cuba.

Your course material and prescribed textbook offer you a suitable starting point, but your own additional research is also required.

Q4 “International expansion and the resulting realisation of a firm’s strategy are the products of both rational planning (usually in developed markets) and responding to emergent opportunities (usually in emerging markets). For example, those opportunities may develop because of economic, competitive, demographic, or political changes in other countries. Despite the risks, companies are increasingly taking advantage of opportunities for expansion into emerging markets.” From the perspective of formulating and implementing strategy for international business operations, discuss this statement with application to the emerging market risks and opportunities in Cuba.

• Include a general introduction to the concept of emerging market risks and opportunities in international business;

• Be in line with the details contained in the case study;

• Refer to several independent and credible sources or references; and

• Must contain specific examples of emerging market risks and opportunities in Cuba.

Q5 “Appropriate and attractive compensation packages must be designed by IHRM staff to sustain a competitive global expatriate staff. Compensation packages for host-country managers must be designed to fit the local culture and situation as well as the firm’s objectives.” From the perspective of international human resource management, discuss this statement with application to the local culture and situation of expatriate management staff in Cuba.

• Include a general introduction to the concept of remuneration packages for expatriate management staff in international business;

• Be in line with the details contained in the case study;

• Refer to several independent and credible sources or references; and

• Must contain specific examples of the impact of the local culture and situation on the compensation packages of expatriate management staff in Cuba.