1) 

You are the CEO of a company that has to choose between making a $100 million
investment in Russia or the Czech Republic.  Both investment promise the same
long-run return, so your choice is driven by risk considerations.  Assess the various
risks of doing business in each of these nations.  Which investment would you favor
and why?

As the CEO of a business that must decide between investing $100 million in Russia or the
Czech Republic, risk factors have become crucial in determining the optimal course of
action. The risk factors take into account each country's political, economic, and legal
institutions as well as its cultural norms, educational attainment, and skill levels, as well as
its economic growth stage. The legal and economic systems of a nation are influenced by
its political systems (Hill, 45). These systems are interrelated and are crucial in helping
investors decide which nation to invest in.

In evaluating the risks of making the investment in Russia, the most widely discussed risk
that is found is the corruption in the country; this remains a major barrier success for
businesses in the nation. There is a complex business environment in Russia along with
known issues involving bribery. The corruption in the nation leads to a number of problems
including non-transparent and inconsistent application of laws and regulations with the weak
enforcement of laws and court decisions (Business Anti-Corruption Portal). This isn’t the
only area where corruption is a problem in Russia, there is corruption in the area of
licensing and permits with multiple inspections and red tape. Intentional and lengthy delays
in the procedures for starting a business, getting required permits and licensing are
additional risks along with the corruption. It does seem as though the worst corruption lies
within the public procurement sector. Political risks in Russia are still very high, although
there tends to be a trend of changes within the government to help.

“All investments carry some degree of risk”. Investment risks can be defined as the degree
of uncertainty or the probability of occurrence of losses relative to the expected return in an
investment decision. We can all agree that risks are inevitable especially when doing
business. According to Wall Street Mojo, there are different risks associated with each type
of investments, but we’ll only focus on international investment and its risks
international investing has become increasingly vital. Many investors/companies today
place a portion of their company’s portfolios in foreign investment and account for a smaller
and smaller portion of international revenue and profit, one good example of this is
American companies. Kuepper added, <According to Vanguard, U.S. equities accounted for
just 49 percent of global market capitalization, but U.S. investors only allocated about 27
percent of their portfolios to non-U.S. funds. The leading mutual fund providers recommend
at least a 20 percent allocation to non-U.S. stocks with an upper limit based on the global
market cap.= However, some investors or companies forgets that investing in foreign assets
or securities which are governed by foreign laws and regulations creates additional
threats/concerns. As stated by P. Jain (2021), <Adding international stocks to a portfolio
offers diversification and may provide higher returns. However, there are both benefits and
risks associated with global investing. = Furthermore, they often ignore one of the important
things to consider before investing to a foreign country which is the riskiness of investment
climate in the considered/chosen country. It is true that different economies/countries offer
different kinds of opportunities specially when it comes to investment but, investors and
companies put in mind that along with those opportunities, foreign countries also offer
different risks

I would most likely consider and compare their political, economic and legal risk when it
comes to investing or business as a whole. I would prefer to invest in Poland, rather than
Russia. The decision is based on the economic and political environments of both Russia
and Poland. Poland has embraced market-based economic policies, opened its markets to
international trade and foreign investment, and privatized many state-owned businesses.

Poland has a more open market with market economy. There s no supply restriction and
investment environment is better than Russia. Russia operates with a civil law system,
which is less flexible than the common law system. Russia doesn't not have a safe
protection for the property rights, including the intellectual property. It experienced the Mafia
problem. The situation in Russia improved significantly since the sass, but it still slower the
economic growth and foreign direct investment. Russia also has a higher corruption rate
than Poland, which also decreases the economic growth and investment.
Poland keeps improving. Steps are being taken to simplify tax saws, reduce tax rates, and
remove bureaucratic hurdles to doing business in the country. Political economy impacts
the benefits, costs, and risks of doing business in different nation-states. To lower the risks
of investment and generate the profits, I will choose

Supp Facto Finar Micr What is the relationship between property rights, corruption, and
economic progress? How important are interruption efforts in the effort to improve a
country's level of economic development? Well protection of property rights could help to
improve the economic growth. And the completed and common legal system could protect
the property rights. Corruption is the abuse of public office for private gain. High level of
corruption significantly reduce the foreign direct investment, level of international trade, and
economic growth rate in a country. Corruption also undermines economic development by
generating considerable distortions and inefficiency. Corruption also reduces the benefits of
Globalization. It is a major impediment to the progress of these countries. It is very
important for the interruption efforts.

2)  You are preparing for a business trip to Brazil where you will need to interact extensively
with local professionals.  Therefore you should consider collecting information regarding
local culture and business habits prior to your departure.  Prepare a short description of the
most striking cultural characteristics that may affect business interactions in this country.