International Trade Operations Management
MAN 4673
St. Thomas University
Spring 2020
Final Exam Application Essays: Please answer all five-essay questions. A good written essay on
average (12 pt. font/Times New Roman) is half a page long.
1. Please provide examples of the four International Trade Drivers and why they’re
important in today’s global marketplace:
a. Cost Drivers –increased sales to recover high investment costs
b. Competition Drivers—entering into foreign markets
c. Market Drivers—customer expectations of companies
d. Technology Drivers—Internet of Things (IoT)
Within your analysis please highlight if all these drivers are independent from one
another or are they reliant on each other for maximum financial returns?
2. Containerization has changed the way we move goods in this country and around the
global marketplace— but there’s always future challenges with goods movement when
conducting national and international commerce:
a. policy,
b. financing,
c. security legal documentation,
d. trade compliances
Please provide examples of three of four mentioned above—define each in today’s
economy.
3. How have ports (port infrastructure) changed today’s infrastructure landscape –what
are the benefits of having such capacity including but not limited to:
a. Water draft—dredged port
b. Cranes – for Post-Panamax ships
c. Operations –workforce/organized labor
4. What are some of the main differences in franchising in the U.S. and franchising
oversees—do the same rules and models apply to both markets? Examples could
include McDonalds and Yum Brands (Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, KFC)
5. Why has intellectual property grown so much in the past several years? How has
“protection” and “International agreements” played into this dialogue? What do you
think the future of patents and copyrighted materials/ideas are within third world
countries?
