International Business Risks Or Risks of Doing Business Overseas

Anytime businesses decide to operate or expand internationally, they face certain and specific risks. These international business risks can be determined by a number of different factors including country history, cultural values, mores, geographical traits and of course legal precedents of chosen international location. The company or firm must consider all of these factors before making a solid and final decision to move abroad. The firm must always keep in mind their competitive advantage at home and compare that standing prior to entering the international business realm. They must keep in mind that risks are always relative to the size and stability of the firm's competitive advantage.

Basically, there are six primary international business risks which are most often faced by firms considering entering the international business realm. Again, they are always tied closely to the firm's competitive advantage. A firm's competitive advantage is broken by "type", "scope", "transferability", and finally "translate-ability". All of these factors break into degrees of low risk to high risk and must always be considered in the plan.

When doing this risk analysis, S.L.E.P.T. comes in very handy. SLEPT stands for Social, Legal, Economic, Political, and Technological. In this case, the firm would have to look at the inherent risks in the firm being a wholly owned operation, a joint venture, a franchise, licensing issues, and export ability. On the other side of the coin, they would also need to look at marker risks, ownership risks, intellectual property risks, currency risks, and finally political risks.

I've decided to break this international business risks post into separate posts in a series to make it easier to follow and to make it more concise and to the point. You can click on my author link and find the rest of the posts in the series which will include all factors discussed in greater detail. They will include everything from political risks of corruption, unstable institutions, and red-tape. I will also be looking at currency risks, intellectual property risks, ownership risks, and finally market risks and all that they involve.

In the end it should be understood that these risks are not the only risks that a firm may face when considering, expanding, and beginning to do business internationally. There are certainly other risks that absolutely must be analyzed by the firm. The firm must be extremely thorough in doing their due diligence analysis before entering any country with the intent of establishing themselves there. Before making any major and "life-altering" decisions, the company must understand the amount of risk that is currently and already present there, and most importantly, how much of that inherent risk is the firm willing to take upon it and assume.

In closing I would like to simply state possibly the obvious but some that needs to be stated and restated many times so that it's importance really sinks in. And that simply that deciding to enter a country is always a very, very serious decision that can and will make or break a firm and so it's imperative that the decision makers do not skimp on the analysis involved. Due diligence is of utmost importance here.

Benefits of Internet Fax For International Business

When working on an international level, it's important to have a focused and balanced approach to every aspect of your business. From the way that a company negotiates with clients, to the products and services a business provides, everything has to be carefully managed in order to gain a foothold in international markets.

Modern technology has made this a lot easier for many companies. Orders for products can be received worldwide through websites, and communication has become more simple and manageable thanks to new technology like email, broadband phone services, and Internet fax. However, many businesses don't take advantage of this last item--many traditional fax machines are still in use today, despite the fact that faxing over the Internet is superior in nearly every conceivable way. Considering some of the differences between a traditional fax service and an Internet fax service can be well worth the time for any business that's competing in international markets.

For one, Internet fax services allow a single fax number to be used for all of a company's incoming orders. This can be difficult, costly, and even impossible for traditional fax lines, as hundreds of machines and separate lines would need to be installed to avoid dropped orders. Internet fax services receive all of their data through broadband connections, and never report a "failed call" to a fax machine that sends them an order, because no fax is ever dropped. Regardless of how many faxes are being received at any one time, an Internet fax service can handle all of them.

This can create the impression of a large, well run, established company, and image is everything in international markets. It's not just an image, either; Internet fax services make a company more organized, as every received fax can be automatically filed. Faxes received through Internet services arrive as common document types such as PDFs, and it's incredibly easy to search through all received faxes for certain keywords or order numbers. The more business a company handles through its fax service, the more they'll benefit from this better form of organization. Customers' past orders can be easily located, cutting down on the time that customer service centers spend to resolve each complaint or issue with an order. The ordering process becomes faster from the client's end, which results in more satisfied clients that are more likely to return.

Internet fax works through existing Internet technology, and as such, any worker who's trained to use email will learn how to use Internet fax services almost immediately. Training can be a major cost for international businesses, but Internet based fax services require almost no training that would otherwise be necessary. This is particularly advantageous for large companies with several international locations, as training becomes more expensive when language barriers are in place.

For those companies with multiple offices, Internet fax services also help with space, as large, unwieldy fax machines become completely obsolete. As mentioned earlier, Internet fax services bring a new sense of organization to a company's fax systems, and less room needs to be budgeted for filing cabinets, printer ink, and paper. These small expenses add up quickly, especially for many of the world's international companies.

The best benefit of Internet fax might be the way that it allows an international business to function as a single, cohesive unit. It's a technology that allows the different branches of a company to act as one, following the same procedures, taking orders in the same way, and handling customers identically (at least for customers that use fax to interact with the company). All international businesses try to project a positive image of their company and brand, and the most fundamental element of a positive image is good communication. Internet fax drastically improves client relations, and as with other digital technologies, it's a vast improvement over its predecessor. Just as letters have gradually been replaced by emails, Internet based fax services are replacing their modem-connected ancestors. For many businesses, it can't happen soon enough.

International Business Degree - Maximise Your Career Prospects

In many ways behind every brilliant career there is the right choice of university and degree. Students with the drive and ambition to succeed in business and a wish to travel may consider an international business degree that focuses on maximising your career prospects.

Serious tuition at a business school gives undergraduates the best possible learning environment in terms of facilities, teaching and industry links. There is no better way to study business than in London, the financial epicentre of the planet. The broad-based knowledge, skills and training you receive for a career in the global business world is invaluable.

There are numerous international business degrees available to enroll on, each providing their own insight into global business - from accounting and finance to real estate and management. Naturally, enrolling on courses at such pioneering establishments with close links to the City of London is a rigorous process with high entry requirements. Students with a clear aptitude and skill in a business environment may be able to benefit from generous scholarships and bursary awards made purely on the basis of academic merit.

International business degrees provide the chance to obtain international exposure in the marketplace, giving undergraduates a vital edge in the job market. Many institutions give scholars the chance to spend a year or a term studying in partner institutions be it Hong Kong, Singapore, the United States or across Western Europe.

Professional placements and internships are the perfect opportunity to gain both work experience and build up networks and relationships that can mould future career steps. Being able to apply theoretical knowledge gleaned from an international business degree course and apply it to practical everyday problems is a worthwhile experience.

Earning an International Business Degree Gives You a Big Advantage

Careers in international business are very rewarding and high paying and so it makes sense to earn an international business degree so that you can face up to and meet the many challenges that await you in this field.

In fact, if you want to advance in global business then you must have a relevant degree which will prove to be a major asset and which will help you achieve more success. It is quite obvious that people with a degree in international business will stand a better chance of obtaining a high paying job in international organizations as compared to those who simply possess a degree in business.

No doubt, both kinds of people are going to possess sound knowledge about business but with a degree in international business you will always have an advantage over those who do not have such a degree.

There are numerous schools out there that are offering such degrees. These schools have just one mission and that is to produce the best students who can handle the intricacies involved in doing business outside the borders of their home countries.

There are several famous schools that offer relevant degrees including names such as University of Phoenix, Walden University, Kaiser College and Argosy University. It is up to you to contact these and other colleges to find out what courses they offer, their fees and basic entrance requirements so that you know which school is offering you the kind of degree that will help further your career goals.