Ontario Grade 12 BBB4M International Business Fundamentals (Grade 12, University/College Preparation)
Chapters: 5
1. Preparation for Employment
1 Digital Portfolio · 2 The Job Search · 3 Strategies to make an effective transition from school
- Career Planning: From Knowing Yourself to Your First Job – Career planning has five steps. 1) Know yourself: interests, skills and values. 2) Explore career families and find out the work, study needed, pay and demand. 3) Plan a pathway with SMART goals and a plan B. 4) Search for jobs with a CV, cover letter, digital portfolio and interview practice. 5) Make the move from school to work and keep learning, because careers change over a lifetime.
2. Terminology, Concepts, and Business Communication Practices
1 Terminology, Concepts, and Business Communication Practices · 2 The Impact of International Business on Canada · 3 International Interdependence
- International Trade – International trade is buying and selling goods and services across the boundaries of countries. Selling abroad is export; buying from abroad is import. It helps nations (foreign exchange, growth, jobs) and firms (profit, new markets). Exports and imports follow fixed steps and need many documents, such as the letter of credit and bill of lading. The WTO (1995) makes trade rules and works to cut trade barriers.
- International Trade: Basis, Balance, WTO and Ports – International trade is the exchange of goods and services between countries. It began with barter, grew along routes like the Silk Route, passed through the cruel slave trade and colonial trade, and expanded with industry. Countries trade because they differ in resources, population, development, foreign investment and transport. Balance of trade compares exports and imports. Trade can be bilateral or multilateral; free trade lowers barriers, while dumping sells goods abroad below cost. The WTO sets global rules, regional blocs group neighbours, and ports of many types act as gateways.
- International Business – International business is any business activity that crosses national borders: trade in goods and services, licensing, franchising, joint ventures and foreign direct investment (FDI). Firms go abroad to find new customers, cheaper inputs and growth, but face risks: exchange-rate changes, trade barriers (tariffs, quotas, embargoes), customs rules, political and economic risk, and cultural differences that may force them to adapt their products and communication. Trade agreements and organisations reduce barriers and make countries interdependent; technology and e-commerce let even small firms sell worldwide.
3. The Global Environment for Business
1 Effects of Globalization on Canadian Business · 2 Factors Influencing Participation in International Business · 3 Effects of Trends
- Environmental Stewardship: Caring for the Planet as We Use Technology – Environmental stewardship means using the Earth's resources carefully so they last, and fixing harm where we can. Every product, from a phone to a hospital machine, has a life cycle: raw materials, making, transport, use and end of life. Each stage uses energy and makes waste. Good stewards keep products longer, choose efficient machines, follow the waste hierarchy (refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, then dispose), send e-waste to proper recyclers and support laws and company practices that protect nature. Technology can harm the environment, but it can also help: solar panels, LEDs and smart sensors cut waste.
- International Business – International business is any business activity that crosses national borders: trade in goods and services, licensing, franchising, joint ventures and foreign direct investment (FDI). Firms go abroad to find new customers, cheaper inputs and growth, but face risks: exchange-rate changes, trade barriers (tariffs, quotas, embargoes), customs rules, political and economic risk, and cultural differences that may force them to adapt their products and communication. Trade agreements and organisations reduce barriers and make countries interdependent; technology and e-commerce let even small firms sell worldwide.
4. Factors Influencing Success in International Markets
1 Cultural Factors · 2 Political, Economic, and Geographic Factors · 3 Avoiding Common Mistakes · 4 Canada's International Competitiveness
- International Business – International business is any business activity that crosses national borders: trade in goods and services, licensing, franchising, joint ventures and foreign direct investment (FDI). Firms go abroad to find new customers, cheaper inputs and growth, but face risks: exchange-rate changes, trade barriers (tariffs, quotas, embargoes), customs rules, political and economic risk, and cultural differences that may force them to adapt their products and communication. Trade agreements and organisations reduce barriers and make countries interdependent; technology and e-commerce let even small firms sell worldwide.
- Civics and Government: How Citizens and Governments Work Together – Civics is the study of how people govern themselves and how citizens take part. In a democracy, power comes from the people, who choose representatives in free elections. Government has three branches: the legislature makes laws, the executive carries them out and the judiciary checks they follow the constitution. Most countries also have levels of government (local, state or provincial, national), each with its own jobs. A law starts as an idea, becomes a bill, is debated and voted on, and gets final approval. Citizens have rights, such as free speech and voting, and responsibilities, such as obeying laws and respecting others. Active citizens stay informed, vote, volunteer and work peacefully for change.
- Demand, Supply and Market Equilibrium – The law of demand says buyers want less when the price rises; the law of supply says sellers offer more. The market price settles at equilibrium, where quantity demanded equals quantity supplied, and shifts in demand or supply move it. Some goods break the usual laws (Giffen, Veblen, panic buying). A price ceiling set below equilibrium causes shortages. Markets can also fail, for example with pollution or public goods like street lights, so the government steps in.
5. Marketing Challenges
1 Marketing Challenges · 2 Marketing Approaches · 3 Distribution and Logistics
- Demand, Supply and Market Equilibrium – The law of demand says buyers want less when the price rises; the law of supply says sellers offer more. The market price settles at equilibrium, where quantity demanded equals quantity supplied, and shifts in demand or supply move it. Some goods break the usual laws (Giffen, Veblen, panic buying). A price ceiling set below equilibrium causes shortages. Markets can also fail, for example with pollution or public goods like street lights, so the government steps in.