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Research into the location decision of Australian international firms was primarily directed toward investigating motivations of Australian investors for setting up their foreign direct investments (FDI) in specific foreign countries. Nevertheless, the strategic decision-making process concerning the selection of a beneficial foreign country for either Australian or Western Australian international operations has been neglected in the existing literature; hence, an evident and significant gap was identified. Therefore, the current exploratory investigation used an interpretive paradigm to examine ‘how do Western Australian internationalising firms arrive at a beneficial foreign location choice for their international operations and hence attain successful international expansion. As an attempt to provide rich and deep insights into managerial actions and procedures, as well as critical success factors, that should be considered in effective international location decision-making process to attain a beneficial foreign location choice, five empirical comparative in-depth case studies excluding a pilot case study were purposefully selected from among sixteen potential Western Australian firms which established manufacturing and service operations abroad. Furthermore, seven international location decision-making processes were examined within these five cases through relying on several data sources: in-depth face to face interviews, short telephone and follow-up interviews and questionnaire instrument as primary data sources besides field notes, documents review when available and internet sources as secondary data sources. Two main stages of analysis were undertaken in the current research, namely, within and cross-case analyses. / The empirical findings of the extant research show that a thorough consultative and international experience-based strategic decision process should be considered to attain effective foreign country selection decisions. The consultative decision process encompasses five crucial managerial phases; that is, (1) strategic analysis of internationalisation drivers, (2) strategic searching and development of location factors and alternatives, (3) acquiring of adequate and relevant information about the prospective locations and, hence, strategic assessment for these alternatives, (4) strategic selection of final beneficial foreign location choice, and finally, (5) effective implementation of the selected location choice. Results reveal that the decision process cannot separately lead to the selection of a beneficial foreign location choice in the absence of four critical success factors, i.e., (1) international business experience of the selected location team, (2) the country knowledge about the potential foreign locations, (3) in-house and external consultations with international business experts and (4) identification of a trustworthy and internationally experienced manager or local partner for the international operation. The findings also illustrate that the comprehensive foreign country selection decision process is a multi-stage decision process which incorporates three separate location selection processes, namely, (1) country selection, (2) city selection and (3) site selection process. The current research extends the satisficing or bounded rational decision theory by confirming the appropriateness and the effectiveness of the theory in foreign country selection decisions. / In addition, the earlier critical success factors are adding new and important aspects of knowledge to the existing research on location decision-making process in international business, as well as foreign direct investment decisions. Accordingly, the former management phases and critical success factors were integrated into a conceptual model. The major and the unique contribution of the current thesis to existing theory is the development of a decision model which combines two fields of management research; that is, strategic decision-making and location decision-making in international business. The research provides important methodological contributions to international business research in relation to an effective multiple case study approach to capture elements of the comprehensive and complex international location decision-making process. Finally, the research findings and decision model have practical managerial implications for both international and internationalising firms by assisting them to improve the effectiveness of their foreign country selection decision processes. Further, the findings provide benefits for foreign investment policy-makers as well as local development officials in both home and host countries by assisting them to increase their outward FDI and attract more inward FDI and, consequently, boost the economic development movement in their countries.

This thesis examines how new maritime nations, which are engaged in the export of seafaring labour, need to respond to the demands of the international maritime industry. In particular, traditional maritime nations are calling for greater internationalisation of maritime education and training. The global labour market for seafarers, which is dominated by employers from traditional maritime nations, demands internationally minded graduates. China’s response to these demands for quality labour exports from new maritime nations is the subject of exploration in this thesis. Within the specific context of Maritime English teaching and learning, a significant opportunity for innovation and change is identified. The research took the form of an international collaborative education project in pursuit of the following question: What teaching and learning development opportunities are there for improving the communicative competence of Chinese Navigation officers? The author of this thesis, formally a seafarer, is a teaching practitioner in higher education in the UK. For the purposes of this thesis, the author became a visi ting researcher, and later a teaching practitioner, at the case maritime higher education institution in China. Becoming a member of the teaching staff at the host institution was a necessary step in order to establish and carry out teaching practitioner -led research as a member of a professional learning community. The aim of this professional learning community has been to collaborate on a Maritime English teaching development project. This development work has since continued beyond this PhD study into a commercially funded project, which demonstrates the necessity and timeliness of the research. This thesis sets out to report on the collaborative process of an international education development project as it was experienced. Research was carried out over a 15.5 month period spent in-situ at the case institution. The institution was selected as it is the most influential maritime university in China in terms of national maritime higher education policy reform, due it being under the direct authority of the Ministry of Transport of the People's Republic of China rather than the Ministry of Education, as is the case with other universities. The author had to work very hard to overcome a number of cultural issues to become accepted as a teaching practitioner in the research setting. Once accepted as a participant researcher, research-based professionalism founded on previous teacher training and experience allowed for a living theory approach to improving both own teaching practice and that of new-found colleagues. The outcomes of this PhD study are multiple: The ethnographic account of the development process in the form of this PhD thesis. The establishment of a professional learning community between teaching practitioners and continued research and development work. The local teaching and learning innovation in the form of a new content and language integrated syllabus for Maritime English teaching, suitable for Chinese learners at maritime higher education institutions. The continued collaboration between an industry stakeholder and the local teaching practitioners in the further development of a new Maritime English syllabus and accompanying teaching resources to ensure that it meets the needs of employers. As understanding grew of how Chinese maritime higher education institutions are preparing their students for employment in the global labour market for seafarers, the research objectives emerged while in-situ. The aim of the research centred on working with local teaching practitioners and industry stakeholders to improve the quality of maritime education graduates’ transferable skills, in terms of their intercultural communicative competence. The key feature of the study was to collaboratively identify teaching and learning development opportunities for improving the preparedness of Chinese maritime higher education graduates to work in a safety critical environment, where they will need to communicate effectively in English. The internationalisation of the Maritime English syllabus, and the wider Navigation curriculum, through content and language integrated learning and teaching is the main recommendation of this thesis. The evidence presented in this thesis has led to the conclusion that this curriculum intervention is necessary for improving the transferable skills of Chinese Maritime Higher Education graduates. The content and language integrated learning approach to teaching was found to offer Chinese maritime higher education institutions with a solution to boost intercultural communicative competence in meeting the demands of the international maritime industry for professionally skilled, and competent-in-English seafarers for labour export.

<p>This rapport examines six Swedish workplace unions, in manufacturing internationalised companies, degree of internationalised trade union work. The report is based on interviews with local shop stewards. All local workplace unions were in some form internationalised. They were placed in three different groups of strategies: Passive, Tactical and Strategic. The Passive union only tried to get information; the Tactical unions were reactive against initiative from company management and used the channels provided of Industrial Relation laws. The Strategic unions where acting from an analysis that demanded collaboration with foreign trade unions and were active in trying to build contacts.In discussing why a local workplace trade union become internationalised three explaining factors was constructed: A relation to the company which gave the union more information and resources than the minimum level of required legislation. Second; a strategic analysis involving a threat against the employees. And third; a belief that the trade union could make a difference.</p>

This rapport examines six Swedish workplace unions, in manufacturing internationalised companies, degree of internationalised trade union work. The report is based on interviews with local shop stewards. All local workplace unions were in some form internationalised. They were placed in three different groups of strategies: Passive, Tactical and Strategic. The Passive union only tried to get information; the Tactical unions were reactive against initiative from company management and used the channels provided of Industrial Relation laws. The Strategic unions where acting from an analysis that demanded collaboration with foreign trade unions and were active in trying to build contacts.In discussing why a local workplace trade union become internationalised three explaining factors was constructed: A relation to the company which gave the union more information and resources than the minimum level of required legislation. Second; a strategic analysis involving a threat against the employees. And third; a belief that the trade union could make a difference.