You are working for a company that is considering investing in a foreign country

You are working for a company that is considering investing in a foreign country. Investing in countries with different traditions is an important element of your company’s long-term strategic goals. As such, management has requested a report regarding the attractiveness of alternative countries based on the potential return of FDI. Accordingly, the ranking of the top 25 countries in terms of FDI attractiveness is a crucial ingredient for your report. A colleague mentioned a potentially useful tool called the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Confidence Index. The FDI Confidence Index is a regular survey of global executives conducted by A.T. Kearney. Find this index and provide additional information regarding how the index is constructed.

1) Who is the indicator created by?

2) What does it represent?

3) Why would a manager find it useful?

4) Companies like Uber, Lyft (one of Uber’s main competitors), and Airbnb (an online marketplace that enables people to lease or rent short-term lodging) are innovating in fields that traditionally have been very complex and regulated. Can Uber’s business model be applied in other industries globally?

5) Are cities around the world doing a disservice to their citizens or their visitors, or both, by banning Uber outright from operating in their community?

6) Uber’s strategy has been to break these regulations, establishing its service first, and then fighting attempts by regulators to shut the service down. This goes along with the old saying that “do first, ask questions later.” Is this business approach viable globally in the long run?