NMIMS Sem 4 JUNE 2024 International Trade Assignments
Business: Ethics, Governance & Risk
Note: This assignment is application based, you have to apply what you have learnt in this subject into real life scenario. You will find most of the information through internet search and the remaining from your common sense. None of the questions or answers appear directly in the textbook chapters but are based on the concepts and content covered in the chapters or live sessions, directly or indirectly.
1. “Business should provide goods and services in a manner that is sustainable and safe.” Prepare an executive summary (in your own words) to showcase how the company is delivering on this Principle 2 of the National Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct (NGRBC) from the Business Responsibility & Sustainability Report – 2022-23 (BRSR) of a company of your choice. Choose any ONE listed company from the BSE/NSE list of top 100 companies by market capitalization. You must mention the name of the selected company and include the weblink to its BRSR. (You may also refer to the company website or its sustainability report for additional information on this principle and its indicators) DO NOT copy paste.
2. Go through the ‘Corporate Governance’ section in the annual report (FY2022-23) of the company selected in Q1 and prepare an analytical write up (in your own words) on its corporate governance philosophy, each board member’s profile analysis in terms of whether they are executive, non-executive, or non-executive & independent, their skillsets/ competencies, the committees they are a part of in this company and their other board positions outside of this company. Conclude with your analysis/insights about the contribution that these board members make to their fiduciary duty of care and diligence as ‘trustees of social wealth’ on the board of this listed company. (You must go through their profiles as given on the company’s website in ‘investor’ section for additional relevant information). You must mention the name of the company and include the weblink to its annual report 2022-23.
3. You are a sales manager in a mid-size IT company selling IT hardware. The purchase manager for a large company agrees to give you an order of Rs. 50 lakh (their first order with you) on the condition that you will agree to make a Rs. 50,000 donation to his favorite charity (NGO) that is supporting a local youth sports team being managed and trained by his wife.
a. What according to you is/are the ethical dilemma/s in this situation?
b. Explain the step wise process of how will you handle this situation?
Research Methodology
1. One of the newly opened Gym in your area trying to understand what type of exercise is preferred by people these Days, how often they do their exercise and do they really enjoy it or they do just for the sake of doing. Which research design is most suitable for this situation? Write research proposal for this situation.
2. You are a HR manager in one of the major IT company. Design an experimental study to look into the factors that affect employee churn in the IT firm, with an emphasis on HR initiatives to lower attrition. Develop a design of experiment of this study keeping independent, dependent and extraneous variables into consideration. How you will apply control in this experimental research. Explain the variables and steps.
3. During pandemic Zepto has emerged as a major Quick commerce market in Mumbai; however; after the entry of Swiggy’s Instamart and Zomato’s Blinkit the market has become highly competitive. The market has been changing with respect to consumer preferences, market trends and consumer choices for apps.
a. Classify and distinguish the specific purposes for which Zepto may be able to use research effectively. Write down the problem statement and operational definition of this research.
b. Develop a questionnaire to study consumer preference for most preferred q-commerce app.
International Logistics & Supply Chain Management
Q1. An Indian dairy products company is planning its international foray beginning with exporting ice-creams & flavored milk beverages. It has chosen the Middle East & Singapore markets to begin with. Discuss the key considerations the company must deliberate upon, and accordingly suggest an appropriate supply chain strategy for the exports venture.
Q2. An Indian eye-wear products manufacturer has a well-established distribution channel comprising of distributors & independent retailers as well as its own retail stores in India which are serviced through a 3PL service provider. The manufacturer has now set its eye on the D2C (direct-to-consumer) market for which it is working on the logistics setup. What factors must the manufacturer consider for its D2C distribution logistics, and how, if at all, are they different from those of its traditional distribution channel comprising of distributors & retailers? Provide your recommendation, with justification, of the logistics strategy of having the same 3PL provider for both the markets or having two different 3PL providers for the two markets.
Q3. An Indian jewellery manufacturer specializing in gold & silver jewellery wholesales its products to retailers across India. Having established its credibility with retailers for gold & silver jewellery, it has planned to expand into diamond jewellery for which it will need to import diamonds which will be polished and used for making jewellery products in India.
a. What factors must the jewellery manufacturer consider for importing the diamonds, and from which countries can it import them? How can the company best facilitate such import procurement from those countries?
b. Explain the role of government agencies in this process, and the related aspects that the company will now have to handle.
International Finance
1. Suppose a particular Multinational Company is striving research for further scope of Global Finance Factors at MACRO Level. Which arena will be stringent for Management to discover the further International Scope ? Elaborate respective factors.
2. How the Bretton Woods System & Gold Standard affected 44 Countries Delegates at New Hampshire for new Currency USD as Global Reserve Currency? Elaborate the effective features of BWS in terms of International Finance regime.
3. a) What is the Cruciality of IMPERFECT MARKET THEORY in the era of International Trade & Finance as whether it can stand out as most different / Niche Global Theory?
b) Elaborate as how International Bonds Markets forms the crucial paradigm in International Finance Markets? Elaborate any 2 Factors.
International Marketing
a. Taking your business into the global marketplace can be a daunting task and also navigating it is tricky. What in your opinion motivates firms to engage in international marketing?
b. How in your opinion does India benefits when Foreign Direct Investments (FDI), and FII invest in India?
c. Read the following case study carefully and then answer the questions that follow:
Harley-Davidson Inc. is discontinuing sales and manufacturing operations in India as part of its company-wide restructuring. India hasn’t been an easy market for Harley, where it sells a few thousand bikes. The company operates a “complete knock-down” assembly plant, where components and parts are imported from U.S. and assembled into motorcycles. Finding the price sweet spot and gaining traction in India, even with models made for the market with smaller engines, has been difficult. Discounts sometimes help; at other times, they turn off buyers. Duties and taxes haven’t been lowered to keep pace, while ownership costs and road taxes have increased. State levies make up 50% of a vehicle’s on-road price. Many large domestic manufacturers though are exporting a significant proportion of their overall production.
Recently, an announcement was made after around a month of Harley-Davidson exit. “As per a distribution agreement, Hero Moto Corp will sell and service Harley-Davidson motorcycles, and sell parts & accessories and general merchandise riding gear and apparel through a network of brand-exclusive Harley-Davidson dealers and Hero’s existing dealership network in India,” Hero Moto Corp said in a statement. Some industry experts are considering it as an apt strategy for Harley-Davidson and Hero Motor Corp.
a. State any five likely reasons that led to Harley discontinuing its sales & manufacturing in India. Examine the stated reasons critically by providing suitable arguments.
b. Discuss the type of strategic alliance between Harley-Davidson with Hero Motor Corp. Provide your arguments if this alliance can be beneficial for both the companies.
