Strategic Management Creating Competitive Advantages Canadian 4Th Edition Dess Solutions Manual Full Chapter PDF
Strategic Management Creating Competitive Advantages Canadian 4Th Edition Dess Solutions Manual Full Chapter PDF
Chapter 7
International Strategy: Creating Value in Global Markets
SUMMARY/OBJECTIVES
The global marketplace provides many opportunities for firms to increase their revenue base and
profitability. Also, in today’s knowledge-based economy there are opportunities to create advantages by
leveraging firm knowledge across national boundaries. However, along with the potential benefits there
are pitfalls that all firms must avoid in order to be successful.
After some introductory comments on the global economy, we address this topic in four major sections:
2. We address some of the motivations as well as the risks (or pitfalls) associated with
international expansion.
3. We address how firms can attain a competitive advantage in the global marketplace. Here,
we focus on the two opposing forces that firms face when entering international markets—
cost reduction and local adaptation. Depending on the intensity of these forces, firms should
select among four basic (or generic) strategies: international, global, multidomestic, and
transnational.
4. The final section addresses the six entry strategies that firms typically choose from when
entering foreign markets. These vary along a continuum from low-investment/low-control
(exporting) to high-investment/high-control (wholly owned subsidiaries and greenfield
ventures).
LECTURE/DISCUSSION OUTLINE
The introductory case describes Molson’s effort to keep up with the global consolidation in the brewery
industry. Although the “jury is still out” on the ability of MolsonCoors to compete with the new
powerhouses of Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller, much of the initial feedback was quite negative.
The case highlights global brewery players in order to evaluate how and where Molson Coors should
expand for future success.. There are questions as to whether MolsonCoors can succeed in such
competitive market. The example serves to point out that even very large domestic firms can make
mistakes when entering international markets. You may want to begin the discussion by posing some
very general questions:
❑ What are some examples of firms that have had major successes in international markets?
Why were they successful?
❑ What are some examples of firms that have experienced failure when attempting to enter
international markets? What were the underlying causes of their failures?
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As the title indicates, our objective here is to provide a brief summary of some key issues in the global
economy. We emphasize the increase in global trade and point out that it is estimated that by the year
2015 that there will be more trade between nations than within nations, in spite of the recent retreat in
global trade due to the American induced recession around the world.
The SUPPLEMENT below illustrates the importance of estimating demand for customers in the bottom
of pyramid.
Confusing need with demand is a common problem among organizations serving the bottom of the
pyramid. Many firms have wasted time and resources trying to market products that are designed for the
poor but that consumers do not actually want. A research with microfinance customers in rural India
showed that when given a choice between beneficial products, such as solar-powered lanterns and low-
energy stoves, and aspirational products like mobile phones and gold coins, 85 percent of customers opted
for the latter.
It is usually difficult to make the economics work for a product if demand must be generated, because
marketing costs typically swamp efforts to keep prices extremely low. Companies should focus on areas
where they can meet existing demand, with either lower-cost and better-quality products than the existing
options, or simply with cheaper ones. Safaricom’s hugely successful M-Pesa, for example, offered money
transfers by mobile phone in Africa at 33 percent of the cost of Western Union--and at 20 percent of the
cost of (and much greater security than) long-distance bus companies, the customary provider.
Source: Karamchandani, A., Kubzansky, M. & Lalwani, N. 2011. Is the bottom of the pyramid really for
you? Harvard Business Review. 89(3): 107.
We also point out that there have been extremes in the effect of global capitalism on nations’ economies
around the world and their poverty levels. These extremes are pointed out with examples of success
(Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea) and failure (some countries in Central America).
Teaching Tip: It is useful to help students get a basic understanding of why some countries—and their
citizens—enjoy the fruits of global capitalism while others continue to be mired in poverty. Ask them
what some of the factors are that explain such differences. Some of the factors would include
government policy, local entrepreneurs, investment in modern technology, economic factors, a legal
system that protects property rights, strong educational system, etc. It is helpful to point out that some
countries such as Japan have succeeded even though they do not have a high level of natural
resources.
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The next section discusses “Porter’s diamond” and sets forth a useful context for explaining
competitiveness at the national level. (This provides a framework to address how firms can create
competitive advantages in the balance of the chapter.)
● Factor Conditions
● Demand Conditions
● Related and Supporting Industries
● Firm Strategy, Structure, and Rivalry
The balance of this section will briefly address each of these factors and then provide an integrative
example—the Indian software industry.
A. FACTOR CONDITIONS
Factors of production include not only labour, capital, and natural resources (e.g., land and minerals) but
also factors that can be created. The latter are more relevant to developed nations that are seeking
competitive advantage over firms in other countries. These include a skilled human resource pool as well
as the supporting infrastructure of a country, e.g., communication and transportation systems as well as a
stable banking system.
We give the example of Japan’s expertise in Just-In-Time systems—in part necessary because of Japan’s
expensive land costs.
The SUPPLEMENT below addresses Mexico’s efforts to improve its factor conditions by investing in
undergraduate and advanced training in engineering.
Mexico has long had a reputation as the provider of cheap, low-skilled labor. But the country realized it
needed to enhance the image of its workforce to compete more effectively. To do so, it focused on
engineering. Over the last decade, Mexican policy makers have increased enrollments in four-year
engineering degree programs and created a network of technical institutes that confer two-year degrees
and provide advanced training. The result may come as a surprise to many: in 2006, 451,000 Mexican
students were enrolled in four-year engineering programs compared to just 370,000 undergraduate
engineering students in the U.S., even though Mexico has half the population of the U.S.
Mexico’s efforts are not confined to degree programs. The country has formed alliances with major
manufacturers such as General Electric, General Motors and Honeywell to create research centers
employing hundreds of engineers. The students benefit as well because these and other multinational
companies also donate high-tech equipment, software, and materials that are used to develop course
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content that fits their training needs. “In the past five years, Mexican engineers have become increasingly
qualified and gained valuable experience,” says Alfredo Juarez, a director at the country’s top engineering
school, the National Polytechnic Institute in Mexico City. “We constantly have major multinationals here
trying to recruit dozens of engineers at a time.”
Source: Smith, G. 2006. Look who’s pumping out engineers. BusinessWeek, May 22: 42-43
A. DEMAND CONDITIONS
Demand conditions refer to the demands that consumers place on an industry for goods and services.
Consumers who demand highly specific, sophisticated products and services force firms to be more
innovative to meet such demand. Such consumer pressure presents challenges to a country’s industries to
also make it more competitive in international markets.
We provide the example of Denmark’s world-class position in water pollution control equipment. This is,
in part, due to the nation’s environmental awareness and demands for environmentally safe products.
The SUPPLEMENT below discusses the growth of the international box office as the demand for
imported movies grows when more fancy cinemas opened overseas.
Hollywood has always been an international business. In recent years, it has become dramatically more
so. In the past decades total international box office has more than doubled. The growth of box office
spending overseas is a result of a cinema boom in the emerging world, a concerted effort by the major
studios to make films that might play well outside the U.S. and a global marketing push to make sure they
do. Russia’s efforts to build superior cinema and supply has created demand. However, the big
Hollywood studios muscle domestic film-makers aside. The imported films made more than five times as
much as the home-grown products in Russia in 2010.
Source: Anonymous. 2011. Hollywood goes global; Bigger abroad. The Economist. February 19: 69.
Would the growth of the international box office alter the strategy of big Hollywood
studios? How so?
How can local producers successfully compete with Hollywood? What can Hollywood do to
successfully compete with local producers?
Related and supporting industries enable firms to more effectively manage inputs. For example, countries
with a strong supplier base benefit by adding efficiency in downstream activities. That is because a
competitive supplier base helps a firm obtain inputs using cost-effective, timely methods it contributes to
reducing manufacturing costs.
We provide the example of the Italian shoe manufacturing industry and the Swiss pharmaceutical
industry.
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Firms develop strategies and structures to compete with other firms in the same country that are trying to
capture the same customer market. Rivalry is particularly intense in nations with strong consumer
demand conditions, strong supplier bases, and high new entrant potential from related industries. Such
rivalry provides a strong impetus for firms to innovate and find new sources of competitive advantage.
The example we provide comes from the personal computer industry in the United States with such
players as Dell, Compaq, and Hewlett-Packard.
STRATEGY SPOTLIGHT 7.2 and EXHIBIT 7.1 provide the integrative example of the Indian software
industry. This should be a rather interesting example to students because many of them may think that
most of the software development is in the developed countries in North America, Europe, and Asia, and
that India only does back office work.
Porter’s conclusions were based on case histories from more than 100 industries. A common theme did
emerge: Firms that succeeded in global markets had first succeeded in intense competition in home
markets. Thus, successful global firms often result from relentless, continuing improvement, innovation,
and change. We discuss Canada’s unique position and some of the limitations of Porter’s diamond by
exploring the interconnectedness of the automotive sector.
We will now turn to the level of the individual firm. In the next section, we’ll discuss a company’s
motivations and risks associated with international expansion.
There are many motivations for a firm to pursue expansion into global markets. The most obvious one is
to increase the size of potential markets. EXHIBIT 7.2 lists the population of Canada compared to other
major markets. Note that the population of Canada is roughly only one-tenth of the US, one-fortieth of
that of India and even less than that of China.
Many multinationals are intensifying their efforts to market their products and services to countries such
as India and China as the ranks of their middle class have accelerated over the past decade.
The last item — optimize the location of every activity in its value chain — can yield three strategic
advantages: performance enhancement, cost reduction, risk reduction (to be discussed below)
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But first, you may want to stop for a moment and ask the students:
❑ What are the ethical issues that are being raised in Strategy Spotlight 7.3? How should they
be addressed?
Needless to say that the discussion is likely to be both heated and extensive. All students have opinions
and have been touched one way or another from Wal-Mart’s presence and activities.
1. Performance Enhancement
We provide the example of Microsoft’s decision to locate a corporate research facility in Cambridge,
U.K. in order to draw upon superb technical and professional talent.
The SUPPLEMENT below discusses how General Electric (GE) was able to tap talent in many countries
to develop its wind-energy business:
GE Builds a Global Team of Researchers in Germany, China, India, and the U.S.
Under Jeff Immelt’s leadership, GE has built two more research centers — one in Shanghai, China, and
the other in Munich, Germany (its other research centers are in the United States and India). “We did it,”
says Immelt, “to access the best brains everywhere in the world.”
The multiple research centers have really paid off for GE’s wind energy business, which it bought from
Enron in 2002. GE has quadrupled the unit’s revenues to $2 billion in 2005.
The expertise of all four centers has helped GE develop the huge 92 ton turbines.
Chinese researchers design the microprocessors that control the pitch of the blade.
Mechanical engineers from India (Bangalore) devise mathematical models to maximize the efficiency
of materials in the turbine.
Power-systems experts in the United States (Niskayuna, New York) — which has researchers from 55
countries — do the design work.
And, technicians in Munich have created a “smart” turbine that can calculate wind speeds and signal
sensors in other turbines to pitch their blades to produce maximum electricity.
Source: Sellers, P. 2005, Blowing in the wind, Fortune, July 25: 63.
2. Cost Reduction
We discuss Nike’s decision to source the manufacture of athletic shoes from Asian countries such as
China, Vietnam, and Indonesia; and the decision of many multinational companies to set up production
facilities just south of the U.S./Mexico border (maquiladoras).
STRATEGY SPOTLIGHT 7.4 discusses how Deere & Co. adapted a tractor (that was originally
developed for the Indian Market) for the U.S. market.
In Strategy Spotlight 7.4, we discussed Deere & Co.’s success with the tractor they developed in their
Indian research center which was subsequently modified and introduced in the U.S. market
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STRATEGY SPOTLIGHT 7.5 addresses a highly emotional topic on international management – the use
of child labour. It discusses alternate approaches taken by two firms based on their individual situations.
If you want to explore this topic further, ask your students to investigate “Free the Children”, the
passionate response of a young Canadian boy, Graig Kielburger, who was struck by the plight of children
in many countries. Ron its inception in 1995, FTC has grown to a global charity organization with
operations in many countries in south Asia and Africa, has built over 600 school facilities and has touched
the lives of millions of impoverished children and their families.
3. Risk Reduction
Here, we address the risks associated with erratic swings of exchange ratios of the U.S. dollar and other
currencies (such as the Japanese yen). Firms can cope with such risks by spreading high-cost elements of
their manufacturing operations across a few carefully chosen locations around the world. Such decisions
can help lower the overall risk profile of a firm with regard to currency, economic, and political risk.
The SUPPLEMENT below gives a counterexample to Nike and other athletic shoe manufacturers that
have outsourced manufacturing activities offshore.
Many United States manufacturers have outsourced manufacturing operations due to the allure of low
labour costs in other countries. New Balance, however, has kept much of its labour in its Norridgewock,
Maine location. The athletic shoe manufacturer takes a different approach to labour costs—encourage
existing labour to work cooperatively and efficiently and apply available technology to keep overall
labour costs low.
Twenty-five percent of New Balance’s shoes are produced in the United States. By “incessantly boosting
worker productivity, we’re able to keep jobs in America,” says Herb Spivak, Executive Vice President of
Operations. The firm also has plants in China, so managers at U. S. plants are well aware of labour cost
differentials. With an average wage of $10 per hour for New Balance U. S. workers, efficiency,
teamwork, and technology must compete with Chinese counterparts earning only 20 to 30 cents an hour.
Although the Chinese manufacturers are slightly under the $4 to $4.50 cost of an average pair of New
Balance shoes made in the U. S., the U. S. plants stay competitive once tariffs are factored in.
In addition, New Balance uses advanced technology to keep its manufacturing costs down. Workers scan
the edges of material with advanced optical technology while stitching seams together. The company also
has intensive training for its U. S. workers. They have recently changed from a piece work compensation
system to the hourly rate, encouraging workers to concentrate on training and skill upgrades that lead to
future productivity gains. This certainly hasn’t hurt revenues—total sales have grown from $221 million
in 1992 to $1.1 billion in 2000.
Sources: Coplan, J. H. 2001. New Balance stays a step ahead. U. S. News and World Report, July 2: 34;
Anonymous. 2000 New Balance enhances its fastest growing segment. New Balance Press Release,
March 23: np.
Teaching Tip: The example of New Balance provides you with an opportunity to point out that when it
comes to attaining competitive advantage through low labour costs, it is important to take into account
the overall costs of labour, NOT just labour costs. Also, make the point that it is important to view the
entire value chain and the integration of activities in the value chain—not just one activity such as
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“operations”. This will serve to integrate some of the material on value chain/competitive advantage
that was addressed in Chapters 3 and 5.
❑ What are some other examples of firms that help to illustrate the benefits from
international expansion?
There are also many potential risks associated with international expansion. To help companies assess
such risks, rating systems have been developed. EXHIBIT 7.3 depicts a sample of country risk ratings
published by The World Bank, from the 178 countries that Euromoney evaluates. In the Exhibit, note that
the lower the score, the higher the country’s expected level of risk.
Next, we address the four main types of risk: political and economic, currency, and management.
The SUPPLEMENT below discusses how companies face unique challenges in trying to build businesses
at the bottom of the pyramid (BOP) (addressed in STRATEGY SPOTLIGHT 7.1, page 242). The
following are some ways to manage the risk.
Image: Backlashes over issues such as exploitation--or the appearance of it--can be highly damaging.
Brand: A low-end version of the brand may reduce its attractiveness in some customer’s eyes. Housing
developers in India worry that building low-income units could cheapen their premium brands.
Cannibalization: New low-cost products may siphon off existing customers. That was the concern of
executives of a computer company in Africa, whose ultra-low-cost laptops could cut into demand for the
firm’s profitable midrange products.
Underestimating the competition: Companies often overlook the tough competitors operating within the
informal economy. For example, more than 90 percent of India’s juice market is run by small players,
many of whom do not conform to quality standards. These competitors may use radical tactics. Reliance,
an Indian multinational company, stopped selling fresh produce in some supermarkets after street vendors
attacked its store in 2007. Other options are keeping local competitors involved by employing them, and
giving them a role in the value chain, or even sourcing from them.
Source: Karamchandani, A., Kubzansky, M. & Lalwani, N. 2011. Is the bottom of the pyramid really for
you? Harvard Business Review. 89(3): 107.
(Suggestion: You might first ask the class what some of the challenges are that are
associated with BOP before addressing the SUPPLEMENT.) Can you think of additional
ways to manage the risks of building businesses serving the bottom of the pyramid?
Would building a lower priced version of a firm’s mainstream product potentially damage
its brand? Why? Why not?
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As indicated in EXHIBIT 7.3, countries vary significantly in their level of political risk. Such risk can
lead to such problems as the destruction of property, nonpayment of goods and services, and the
appropriation of a firm’s assets in a country.
We also address the enforcement of laws associated with the protection of property rights and discuss
how Microsoft has lost billions of dollars in potential revenue through the piracy of its software products
in many countries such as China.
2. Currency Risks
Currency fluctuations can pose substantial risks. A company with operations in several countries must
constantly monitor the exchange rate between its own currency and that of the host country. We provide
a hypothetical example of negative implications for an American company with overseas operations.
Also, we discuss devaluations by both Thailand and Russia.
3. Management Risks
Management risks may be considered the challenges and risks that managers face when they must
respond to the inevitable differences that they encounter in foreign markets. These take a variety of
forms: culture, language, income levels, customer preferences, distribution systems, and so on.
We noted in this chapter’s opening case Molson’s problems in Brazil and we also provide here an
example of problems Coca-Cola created with the Greeks when they “insulted” the Acropolis.
EXHIBIT 7.4 shows how cultures vary across countries as well as some of the implications for the
conduct of business across national boundaries.
Teaching Tip: Especially if you teach a multicultural group of students, you can take the opportunity
to ask them to identify similar protocol issues that multinational firms doing business in their country
must be aware of in order to be successful. Note how they vary from each other and common customs
in Canada. This is a splendid opportunity for international students to share their experiences.
The SUPPLEMENT below provides an insightful perspective on the need for a “global mindset”.
A global mindset can be defined as the ability to develop and interpret criteria for business performance
that are not dependent on the assumptions of a single country, culture, or context, and to implement those
criteria properly in different countries, cultures, and contexts. A global mindset is a key component of
globalization and in the truly globalized corporation; it is more a mindset than a structure.
Achieving a global mindset requires that managers demonstrate a global mentality. This features three
components:
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Chapter 7 – International Strategy: Creating Value in Global Markets
First, think globally; recognize when it is beneficial to create a consistent global standard.
Second, think locally: The process of becoming truly global means deepening the company’s
understanding of local and cultural differences.
Third, think globally and locally simultaneously; recognize situations in which demands from both global
and local elements are compelling.
Source: Begley, T. M. & Boyd, D. P. 2003. The need for a corporate global mind-set. MIT Sloan
Management Review, Winter: 25-32.
Approximately two decades ago, Ted Levitt advocated strategies that favoured global products and brands
that rested on three key assumptions.
We first provide examples of global brands from the fashion industry, as well as from well recognized
names such as McDonald’s and Apple. These are brands that have developed products that are relatively
unchanged throughout the world. Then, we provide evidence that challenges each of the three
assumptions. And, we point out the problems that Ford had with introducing its world car, the Escort.
❑ What are some other examples of global products and services that defy these assumptions?
EXHIBIT 7.5 shows the conditions under which each of the strategies—international, global,
multidomestic, and transnational—would be most appropriate. The strategies reflect their position on the
two opposing forces—lowering costs and local adaptation
It is important to note that the following strategies are considered to be “basic” or “generic”. In practice,
all firms will tend to have some elements of international, global, multidomestic, and transnational
strategies.
B. INTERNATIONAL STRATEGY
As indicated in EXHIBIT 7.5, a firm without a strong emphasis on either differentiating their product and
service offerings in order to adapt to local markets or lowering costs, is following an international
strategy. An international strategy is based on diffusion and adaptation of the parent company’s
knowledge and expertise to foreign markets. Although country units are allowed to make minor
adaptations to local markets, they have far less autonomy than local managers who operate under a
multidomestic strategy. Research in Motion follows to a large extent an international strategy.
We provide the example of Ericcson, a Swedish telecommunications company that built its strategy on its
ability to transfer and adapt its products and processes to international markets.
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Chapter 7 – International Strategy: Creating Value in Global Markets
● The international strategy, with its tendency to concentrate most of its activities in one
location, fails to take advantage of the optimally distributed value chain.
● The strategy is susceptible to high levels of currency and political risks. Being too closely
identified with a single country, an increase in the value of the currency may make the
product or service unattractive abroad.
C. GLOBAL STRATEGY
As indicated in EXHIBIT 7.5, a firm whose emphasis is on lowering costs tends to follow a global
strategy. A global strategy emphasizes economies of scale—due to the standardization of products and
services as well as the centralization of operations in a few locations. Bombardier is a good example of a
firm following a global strategy.
We provide the example of Siebel Systems, the $2 billion developer of e-business applications software.
Their CEO and founder, Tom Siebel, emphasizes global standardization.
There are, of course, some risks associated with a global strategy. These include:
STRATEGY SPOTLIGHT 7.6 discusses a Canadian firm, Gilden Activewear and its strategic decisions
that reflect the unique realities of its products, manufacturing pressures and market dynamics.
The SUPPLEMENT bellow addresses a “global delivery” approach which is indicative of the extent to
which outsourcing and offshoring have become part of global commerce.
The use of offshore providers of information technology, human resource management, and other services
is central to today’s global expansion. In fact, many service providers are pursuing a global delivery
model that permits them to fulfill their outsourcing obligations from offices around the world. For
example, BT (formerly British Telecom), the UK telecom giant, recently outsourced its human resources
operation to Accenture. To fulfill this task, Accenture is using offices in India, the Czech Republic, and
the U.S as well as the U.K. Dutch bank ABN Amro outsourced its IT operations to five companies. One
of them is Tata Consultancy which uses employees in Mumbai, Bangalore, Budapest and Luxembourg to
do the work. In another deal, Tata signed a joint agreement with Microsoft and a branch of the Chinese
government to create a software joint venture to supply IT outsourcing services. Nearly half of the 5,000
employees Tata will need for the job will be employee in Latin America – Brazil, Uruguay, and Chile.
Source: Dolan, K. A. 2006. Offshoring the Offshorers. Forbes, April 17: 74-76.
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D. MULTIDOMESTIC STRATEGY
As indicated in Exhibit 7.5, a firm whose emphasis is on differentiating their product and service
offerings in order to adapt to local markets follows a multidomestic strategy. In contrast to a global
strategy, which tends to be highly centralized, decisions are more decentralized to enable the firm to tailor
its products and services to rapidly respond to changes in demand.
To illustrate, we provide the example of Honda motorcycles. Here, they must adapt their product to
different markets such as the United States, Southeast Asia, and Australia and New Zealand. From
Canada, we discuss Maple Leaf Foods and Le Senza.
Cultural issues may also force a firm to adapt their personnel policies when expanding internationally.
We provide the example of Dofasco’s foray into Mexico.
The SUPPLEMENT below discusses how a Chinese cosmetics company is able to beat large
multinational firms by tailoring their products to local Chinese tastes.
Shanghai Jahwa, China’s oldest cosmetics company, has thrived by cleverly exploiting its local
orientation—especially its familiarity with the distinct tastes of Chinese consumers. Because standards of
beauty vary so much across cultures, the pressure to globalize the cosmetics industry is weak. The
company has developed low-cost, mass-market brands positioned around beliefs about traditional
ingredients.
Many Chinese consumers, for instance, believe that human organs such as the heart and liver are internal
spirits that determine the health of the body. Liushen, or “six spirits”, is the name of a traditional remedy
for prickly heat and other summer ailments, and it’s made from a combination of pearl powder and musk.
Drawing on this custom, Jahwa launched a Liushen brand of eau de toilette and packaged it for summer
use. Unilever and other multinational companies lack this familiarity with local tastes; they have found
their products appeal mainly to fashion-conscious city dwellers.
Source: Dawar, N. & Frost, T. 1999. Competing with giants. Harvard Business Review, 77 (2): 122.
❑ What are some other examples of companies that have successfully (or unsuccessfully)
adapted to cultural norms?
STRATEGY SPOTLIGHT 7.7 discusses how multinationals have adapted to the problem of bribery in
various countries. Such actions were taken while they still conformed to strict federal laws on corporate
practices abroad.
❑ Examples include Intel, Texas Instruments, and Analog Devices. Which do you feel is the
most effective approach? What factors (or contingencies) must be taken in to account?
Why?
As one might expect, there are some risks associated with a multidomestic strategy. These include:
● Typically, local adaptation of products and services will increase a company’s cost
structure.
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E. TRANSNATIONAL STRATEGY
Multinational firms following a transnational strategy strive to optimize the tradeoffs associated with
efficiency, local adaptation, and learning. It seeks efficiency not for its own sake, but as a means to
achieve global competitiveness. It recognizes the value of local responsiveness, but as a tool for
flexibility in international operations. Also, a core tenet of the transnational model is that a firm’s assets
and capabilities are dispersed according to the most beneficial location for a specific activity.
We provide the perspective of Peter Brabeck, Nestle’s CEO. He points out both the multidomestic and
global aspects of his firm’s strategy. It also illustrates whether or not to centralize or decentralize a value
chain activity. Generally speaking, activities that are “downstream” (such as marketing and sales) tend to
be decentralized because of the need to be closer to the customer. On the other hand, activities that are
“upstream” (such as logistics and operations) tend to be centralized because there are generally few
reasons to tailor them to local market conditions.
We provide the example of ABB to illustrate the importance of leveraging knowledge flows between
units—another key attribute of a transnational strategy.
The SUPPLEMENT below provides an additional perspective on the value of transnational concepts such
as sharing knowledge—applied to globalization, in general.
The following is based on an interview with Martin Sorrell, CEO of the WPP Group, an advertising and
public relations giant consisting of 70 companies and 33,000 employees.
“…I believe that consumers are more interesting for their differences than for their similarities. No more
than 15 percent of the business that we do at WPP is truly “global”—if by “global” you mean that we use
the same marketing methods throughout the world.
“The power of globalization is not about leveraging economies of scale. It’s about leveraging economies
of knowledge and coordination—figuring our how not to reinvent the wheel everywhere you do business,
how to benefit from knowledge created and knowledge shared. Again, that’s why America is so
important. For the time being, at least, the United States is where we are creating the most knowledge
about how to compete in the future, how to market in the future, how to use the Internet to reshape entire
industries.”
Source: Taylor, W. C. 1999. Whatever happened to globalization? Fast Company, September: 238.
❑ What are some of the challenges associated with leveraging economies of knowledge and
coordination?”
As with global and multidomestic strategies, there are some unique risks and challenges associated with
transnational strategies:
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● The choice of a seemingly optimal location cannot guarantee that the quality and cost of
factor inputs (i.e., labour, materials, etc.) will be optimal. Managers must ensure that the
relative advantage of a location is actually realized, not squandered because of
weaknesses in productivity and the quality of internal operations.
● Although knowledge transfer can be a key source of competitive advantages, it does not
take place “automatically.” It is important that business units and the headquarter office
both recognize the potential value of such “know how.”
Johnson & Johnson today operates in 57 countries with 250 operating companies. How does one manage
a company with so many different products and operations in so many different countries? Obviously,
trying to concentrate all decision making authority at the New Brunswick, N.J., corporate office would
create a huge bottleneck. So what is J&J’s solution? Decentralization. But at J&J, decentralization has
been carried to an extent that most other companies would find impossible to replicate. Because of its
extreme decentralization, the managing directors of operating companies have enormous freedom to run
their businesses.
But where do you find that many entrepreneurial managers to run its highly decentralized businesses?
This is where management development plays a crucial part. Managers in their early years are rotated
through different business segments systematically so that they become broadly developed. For example,
Sheri McCoy, the incoming head of pharma, started in consumer R&D, and then served in the devices and
diagnostics group before being promoted to the head of pharma.
Decentralization of such a scale can potentially have two negative consequences. First, the corporate
office can lose control. Second, efficiencies and scale advantages may be lost. How does J&J avoid
these undesirable outcomes? They standardize processes in staff and support areas like procurement,
human resources, and IT, but not in operations. The standardization of processes ensures control and cost
reduction while decentralization facilitates operational freedom.
Source: Colvin, G., & Shambora, J. 2009. J&J: Secrets of success. Fortune. May 4: 117-121.
● What are some of the control challenges J&J would face as they expand into more countries?
EXHIBIT 7.6 summarizes the relative advantages and disadvantages of international, global,
multidomestic, and transnational strategies.
Full scale globalization may not be the best strategic move for many types of firms. Recent research
indicates that most companies are regional or, at best, bi-regional rather than global. Considering the
advances in communication why is this so? Several reasons are suggested –distance still matters, despite
improved communications; trading blocs exercise power over regions; and, regional integration occurs
faster than global integration.
EXHIBIT 7.9 outlines the distribution of sales across countries for key Fortune 500 companies.
The SUPPLEMENT below extends the discussion of the importance of regional growth in the overall
globalization trend.
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In his Harvard Business Review article “Regional strategies for global leadership,” Pankaj Ghemawat
explains that regional strategies are not just a halfway measure between local strategies and global
strategies but represent a unique set of strategies that leverage economic, cultural and administrative
similarities to boost company performance. This is evidenced in part by the extent to which regional
initiatives dominant cross-country activity during the second half of the 20th century. For example,
increases in intraregional trade have outpaced global trade in Oceania and Asia for over forty years. In
1958, 35 percent of the trade in Asia and Oceania occurred between countries in that geographic region.
By 2000, within-region trade exceeded 50 percent of the trade in the Asia-Oceania region. Globally,
between 1958 and 2000, the amount of trade within regions increased from 47 percent to 55 percent.
These and other statistics led Ghemawat to conclude that “increasing economic integration through
international trade has been accompanied by increasing rather than decreasing regionalization” (p. 101).
Source: Ghemawat, P. 2005. Regional strategies for global leadership,” Harvard Business Review,
December: 97- 108.
A. EXPORTING
Exporting consists of producing goods in one country and selling them in another. This mode enables a
firm to invest the least amount of resources in terms of product, its organization, and its overall corporate
strategy. Not surprisingly, many host countries dislike this entry strategy because it provides limited
opportunities for local employment.
Exporting has both advantages and disadvantages. Its advantages are that it is a low cost/risk way to enter
foreign markets and it may provide the firm with local distributors who can help them benefit from their
valuable expertise and knowledge of local markets. After all, multinationals must recognize that they
cannot immediately master local business practices, meet regulatory requirements, hire and manage local
personnel, and gain access to potential customers.
There are also some disadvantages associated with exporting. Along with the lower cost/risk comes less
control. A firm’s exporting partner may carry lines that compete with the firm’s products and they may
not be willing to share market information with the exporting firm. Furthermore, the exporting firm has
little control over how their products are marketed or sold in the foreign market.
We provide some insights from a study that explored factors that explained the differential rates of
success that companies found in using distributors.
The SUPPLEMENT below discusses Loctite’s (a specialty adhesives company) insights on selecting
partners to distribute their product.
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“We increasingly look for what we have come to call ‘company fit’—a partner with a culture and a
strategy we feel comfortable with, in terms of the investment they’ll make, the training they’ll give their
people, and the support they’ll ask from us,” says the Loctite executive. “In many cases, this leads us to
partners who have no experience with our market. The first couple of times, this felt risky, but our
success with some of these partnerships made us bolder in choosing distributors.”
In effect, this means bypassing the obvious choice—a distributor who has the right customers and can
therefore generate quick sales—in favour of a partner with a greater willingness to invest and an
acceptance of an open relationship that draws on the multinational’s experience in marketing its own
products.
Source: Arnold, D. 2000. Seven rules of international distribution. Harvard Business Review, 78 (6): 135.
B. LICENSING
Licensing and franchising are both forms of contractual arrangements. Licensing involves the right to use
a company’s trade marks, patents, technologies, or other intellectual assets for a fee.
C. FRANCHISING
Franchise contracts typically include a broader range of factors in an operation and have a longer, as
compared to licensing, period during which the agreement is in effect. Franchisors typically exert more
control over their franchisees, as compared to licensing. Franchising has the advantage of limiting the
capital requirements and the risk exposure that a firm has in overseas markets while expanding the
revenue base of the parent company.
The other side of the coin, of course, is that the multinational firm receives only a portion of the revenues
in the form of franchise fees instead of the entire revenue—as would be the case if they set up the
operation themselves (such as a restaurant) through direct investment.
❑ What are some other examples of successful (or unsuccessful) Canadian franchisors with
(or without) operations/franchisees overseas? Students will most likely know of Couche Tard
(the owners of Couche Tard, Mac’s, Becker’s, Circle K, and other banners); La Senza has both
corporate and franchisee stores; and of course there is the venerable Tim Hortons with close to
3,000 franchisees.
Joint ventures and strategic alliances have become an increasingly popular way for firms to enter and
succeed in foreign markets in recent years. These two forms of partnerships differ in that joint ventures
entail the creation of a third-party legal entity, whereas strategic alliances do not. In addition, strategic
alliances generally focus on initiatives that are smaller in scope than joint ventures.
STRATEGY SPOTLIGHT 7.8 addresses how Microsoft has used a variety of strategic partnerships to
strengthen its position in East Asia.
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In Chapter 6 (corporate-level strategy) we addressed some of the major advantages and disadvantages of
these forms of collaboration. In addition to the usual issues, cultural differences can create additional
challenges in making strategic alliances and joint ventures work.
In the SUPPLEMENT below, Rosabeth Moss Kanter provides an interesting perspective on cultural
issues in strategic alliances.
“Managing international alliances makes cultural differences especially salient. But my research…on
foreign acquisitions of domestic companies made clear that national cultural differences are often less
important sources of problems than company style differences. Those involved in alliances and
partnerships must respect diverse cultural traditions and values, whatever their source. They must deal
with fuzzy social variables such as trust and reputation and soft skills such as empathy and understanding
to build relationships of mutuality. These fuzzy intangibles are increasingly recognized as having value
for economies as well as businesses. The economic prosperity of nations, regions, and communities
benefit from stocks of “social capital” and trust in institutions.”
Source: Kanter, R. M. 1999. Change is everyone’s job: Managing the extended enterprise in a globally
connected world. Organizational Dynamics, 28(1): 21.
We also discuss how some companies such as Lotus Corporation and Hewlett-Packard have carefully
documented alliance-management knowledge by creating guidelines and manuals to help them manage
specific aspects of the entire alliance cycle.
❑ What are some other examples of successful (or unsuccessful) strategic alliances and joint
ventures?
A wholly owned subsidiary is a situation in which a multinational company owns 100 percent of the stock
in the venue. There are two means by which a firm can establish a wholly owned subsidiary: acquisition
of an existing company or developing a totally new operation, termed a “greenfield venture.”
Wholly owned subsidiaries are most appropriate when a firm already has the appropriate knowledge and
capabilities that can be readily leveraged through multiple locations. We provide the example of Intel’s
building of semiconductor plants overseas. Knowledge can be further leveraged by hiring managers and
professionals from the home country.
While assuring the most control, wholly owned subsidiaries also are typically the most expensive and
risky of the various modes of entry. Unlike strategic alliances and joint ventures, for example, the entire
risk is borne by the corporation. The risks associated with doing business in a new country--such as the
political, cultural, and legal nuances--may be mitigated by hiring local talent.
We provide the example of Wal-Mart’s international expansion into South Korea to point out some of the
challenges and risks associated with creating Greenfield ventures.
❑ What are some other examples of successful (or unsuccessful) wholly owned subsidiaries?
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This section addresses two major trends in international business — outsourcing and offshoring.
Outsourcing occurs when a firm decides to utilize other firms to perform value-creating activities that
were previously performed in-house. Offshoring takes place when a firm decides to shift an activity that
they were previously performing in a domestic location to a foreign location.
It is important to point out that the movement of jobs offshore in the manufacturing sector was repeated
by the service sector as well in the mid-1990s. However, the trend that began with low-level programmers
and data entry work to countries such as India has grown many-fold to include a wide variety of white
collar and professional activities ranging from call centers to R&D. To survive, companies have to locate
each stage of the value chain in places where factor conditions are most conducive.
The SUPPLEMENT below discusses some of the key potential benefits of offshoring: building
capabilities and reaping the benefits of increased specialization.
The benefits of offshoring can go far beyond merely short-term savings in operations. It can also
encompass the rapid building of capabilities and increased specialization.
Several computer manufacturers have recently begun to compete in a variety of consumer electronics
markets. Gateway, in a very short time, has established a leadership in the U. S. plasma TV market.
Hewlett-Packard has entered the digital camera market and has recently gained a 6 percent market share
among leaders like Nikon and Canon. And, Dell is targeting televisions and smart phones. These firms
have one thing in common: they have relied heavily on offshore design suppliers in their core businesses
to accelerate their entry into consumer electronics.
Firms should see offshoring as more than a form of wage arbitrage. Rather, look at it as a form of skill
arbitrage supplemented by the opportunity to generate savings via lower wages. Even this perspective
does not capture the full potential of offshoring. In the longer term, it should become a powerful source of
innovation in products and services.
In the near term, innovation will be focused on serving the unique needs of demanding consumers in the
high-growth emerging economies of China and India. Over time, however, it will disrupt markets in more
developed economies as consumers in these countries begin to realize that they too can get more value at
lower cost.
To continue to create value, executives must adopt a much more strategic and dynamic view of
offshoring. They must use offshoring (and related outsourcing) decisions to reexamine the most basic
question of all: What business are we really in? Firms must be clear about their own areas of expertise
before they can leverage the specializations of others.
Source: Hagel, J. III. 2005. Productive friction: How business partnerships can accelerate innovation.
Harvard Business Review, 83 (2): 82-91.
Many students may be (justifiably!) concerned about the potential of having their job (or future job)
“offshored.” The SUPPLEMENT below provides some useful insights on how one may help to inoculate
themselves against such a fate.
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Chapter 7 – International Strategy: Creating Value in Global Markets
The safest bet is having a job that absolutely requires your physical presence, such as being a barber,
electrician, or a brain surgeon. Failing that, sustainable careers typically are those that involve deep
relationships with customers and extensive knowledge of local market conditions. It helps if you have
multidisciplinary skills that aren’t yet common in many low-cost countries. (Think computer science plus
biology, or law and international business.) Bonus points go to those who perform well in person with
the boss.
The face-time factor was one of the variables that Alan S. Blinder, a professor at Princeton University,
built into the “offshorability index” he published in March, 2007. At the top of Blinder’s list of the most
likely white collar jobs to be sent overseas are software programmers, data entry clerks, draftsmen, and
computer research scientists. Overall in the U. S., Blinder classifies 8.2 million people’s current jobs as
“highly offshorable” and 20.7 million more as “offshorable.” “The message is: If your job can be done by
a person in India who is just as smart as you but works for a fraction of the wage, you’re in a perilous
occupation”, he says.
Plenty of jobs have been lost already. Between 2000 and 2006, the American computer programmer
work force fell from 530,730 to 396,012, or about 25%, according to the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
A different BLS measure, however, shows the number of people in computer systems design services is at
an all-time high. So, while some lower-level programming jobs are moving offshore, techies who
specialize in advising clients are still in demand.
Source: Hamm, S. 2007. The changing talent game. Business Week, August 20 & 27: 68-71.
V. SUMMARY
We live in a highly interconnected global community where many of the best opportunities for growth
and profitability lie beyond the boundaries of a company’s home country. Along with opportunities, of
course, there are many risks associated with diversification into global markets.
The first section of the chapter addressed the factors that determine a nation’s competitiveness in a
particular industry. The framework was developed by Professor Michael Porter of Harvard University
and was based on a four-year study that explored the competitive success of 10 leading trading nations.
The four factors, collectively termed the “diamond of national advantage”, were factor conditions,
demand characteristics, related and unrelated supporting industries, and firm strategy, structure, and
rivalry.
The discussion of Porter’s “diamond” helped, in essence, to set the broader context for exploring
competitive advantage at the firm level. In the second section, we discussed the primary motivations and
the potential risks associated with international expansion. The primary motivations included increasing
the size of the potential market for the firm’s products and services, achieving economies of scale,
extending the life cycle of the firm’s products, and optimizing the location of every activity in the value
chain. On the other hand, the key risks included political and economic risk, currency risks, and
management risks. Management risks are the challenges associated with responding to the inevitable
differences that exist across countries such as customs, culture, language, customer preferences, and
distribution systems.
Next, we addressed how firms can go about attaining competitive advantage in global markets. We began
by discussing the two opposing forces—cost reduction and adaptation to local markets—which managers
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must contend with when entering global markets. The relative importance of these two factors plays a
major part in determining which of the four basic types of strategies to select: international, global,
multidomestic, or transnational. The chapter covered the benefits and risks associated with each type of
strategy.
The final section discussed the six types of entry strategies that managers may undertake when entering
international markets. The key trade-off in each of these strategies is the level of investment or risk
versus the level of control. In order of their progressively greater investment/risk and control, the
strategies range from exporting to licensing and franchising, to strategic alliances and joint ventures, to
wholly owned subsidiaries. The relative benefits and risks associated with each of these strategies are
discussed. Finally, we explored the reasons and opportunities associated with offshoring and outsourcing
as firms disperse their value chains cross the world.
DISCUSSION EXERCISES
You may want to lead a discussion in class to bring home the issues and importance of the points
associated with International Strategy and creating value in global markets. You can ask:
Canada is widely regarded as among the world’s leaders in mining. Explain Canada’s
success in this industry by using Porter’s Diamond of National Competitiveness.
TEACHING SUGGESTIONS
Of course, any other industry could be used here. Given the latest challenges facing the automotive sector
and the role that Canadian firms such as Magna are increasingly playing, this may not be an unfortunate
industry to pick. Be cautious though of the complexity of looking at an industry that exceedingly
complex and is populated by international firms with homes in different countries. As a reference, we
analyze the Indian software industry in Exhibit 7.1.
Answers for this question can be quite wide-ranging depending on the students’ knowledge relating to
this industry. Any discussion should engage the students to relate to their own experiences but also use
their knowledge in a structured way in terms of the following four broad attributes of the nation that
individually, and as a system, constitute “the diamond of national advantage” for this industry.
Factor conditions
Demand conditions
Related and Supporting Industries
Firm strategy, structure and rivalry
For a company with which you are familiar, identify a region of the world in which the firm
is active and describe its involvement there. Subsequently, pick another region where the
firm has very little activity and consider the reasons for the differences and what the firm
could be doing there. Why the firm is not active there? What would be the benefits of
entering these markets? Would you recommend internal development, strategic
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This is a good opportunity to get the students to think in terms of career possibilities abroad, even if it is a
short period of time. Invariably, there would be someone in the class who has spent a semester abroad or
gone on a missionary trip etc who would be able to talk about how much they learned in the process of
living and working abroad.
2. International Career Opportunities: Work assignments in other countries can often provide a
career boost. Be proactive in pursuing promising career opportunities in other countries.
Anticipate how such opportunities will advance your short- and long-term career aspirations.
Most students, even if they are interested in career opportunities abroad, are unaware of where to begin.
We find it worthwhile to talk about the entire gamut of opportunities available to them – from foreign
service with the government to teaching English in far away countries. The key is to make them realize
that despite some hardships and inconveniences initially, they could be intrinsically rewarding from a
personal development point of view initially and that it can pay rich dividends in terms of career
opportunities later on.
3. Cultural Diversity: Develop cultural sensitivity. Be sensitive and seek to appreciate individuals
from different cultures in your home-based organization as well as in your overseas experience.
Given the increasingly multicultural nature of the Canadian work force, students can discuss the issue of
cultural sensitivity even if they have never been abroad. Ask them if they (or others with whom they are
familiar) have made mistakes in misunderstanding cultures.
This is an excellent opportunity to get the students to think about how easy or difficult to outsource their
jobs altogether. We often mention in the class about the likelihood of outsourcing the instructor’s job to a
lower wage country! This often leads to a lively debate about pros and cons and how best one can protect
oneself against the global trend towards outsourcing.
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Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
Magnesium sulfate 34.00 “
Sodium chlorid 2.50 “
Water 11.60 “
The percentage of potash corresponding to the above composition is 27.2. This substance being so
rich in potash, and practically free of chlorids, is well suited to transportation to great distances and for
general use in the field. Since, however, a considerable expense attends the manufacture of the artificial
schönit, the advantages above named give it very little, if any, advantage in competition with the other
potash salts as they come from the mines. It has, however, an especial value for the fertilization of
tobacco and vineyards.
245. Potassium Sulfate.—Several grades of potassium sulfate are found in the market for fertilizing
purposes, some of them quite pure, containing over ninety-seven per cent of the pure sulfate. The
following data show the composition of a high grade and low grade potassium sulfate of commerce:
High grade. Low grade.
Potassium sulfate 97.20 per cent. 90.60 per cent.
Potassium chlorid 0.30 “ 1.60 “
Magnesium sulfate 0.70 “ 2.70 “
Magnesium chlorid 0.40 “ 1.00 “
Sodium chlorid 0.20 “ 1.20 “
Insoluble 0.20 “ 0.30 “
Water 0.70 “ 2.20 “
Naturally, high grade sulfates of this kind can only be prepared in chemical factories built especially
for the work. The result is that the potash per unit is raised greatly in price. When, however, the
fertilizers are to be transported to a great distance, the saving in freight often more than compensates
for the higher price of the potash. It therefore happens that there are many places in this country where
the actual price of potash per pound is less in high grade sulfates than in kainit or carnallit. When, in
addition to this, the especial fitness of the high grade sulfates for certain forms of fertilization, especially
tobacco growing, is considered, it is seen that at this distance from the mines these high grade salts are
of no inconsiderable importance. The percentage of potash in the high grade sulfates often exceeds fifty.
246. Potassium Magnesium Carbonate.—This salt has lately been manufactured and used to a
considerable extent, especially for tobacco fertilizing. As furnished to the trade it has the following
average composition:
Potassium carbonate 35 to 40 per cent.
Magnesium carbonate 33 to 36 “
Water of crystallization 25 “
Potassium chlorid, potassium sulfate,
and insoluble 2 to 3 “
The content of potash, as is seen from the above formula, amounts to from seventeen to eighteen
per cent. The compound is completely dry, is not hygroscopic, and is, therefore, always ready for
distribution. It is especially to be recommended for all those intensive cultures where it is feared that
chlorids and sulfates will prove injurious, especially in the cultivation of tobacco.
247. Potash in Factory Residues.—The residues from the potash factories in Stassfurt and vicinity
contain considerable quantities of potash and attempts have been made to recover this waste and put it
into form for fertilizing uses. The waste waters of the factories are sometimes collected and evaporated,
and the residue incinerated. The content of potash in these residues is extremely variable, usually quite
low, and they, therefore, cannot be recommended for fertilizing purposes, especially if they are to be
transported to any distance.
248. Quantity of Potash Salts Used.—The total quantity of potash delivered to consumers from the
Stassfurt mines in 1891, the last year for which complete statistics are at hand was 413,508 tons of
kainit and sylvinit, 39,444 tons of carnallit, 18,078 tons of sulfate, and 12,453 tons of the potassium
magnesium sulfate. Of the above quantities, 115,245 tons of kainit were shipped to North America, and
of the high grade sulfate mentioned, 13,322 tons were sent to other countries, and of the potassium
magnesium sulfate, 11,081 tons were exported.
METHODS OF ANALYSIS.
249. Classification of Methods.—To detect the presence of potash in a mixture the aid of the
spectroscope may be invoked. In the scale of the spectrum divided into 170 parts, on which the sodium
line falls at 50, potassium gives three faint rather broad bands, two red, falling at 17 and 27, and one
plum-colored band, near the extreme right of the spectrum, at 153. Potassium, however, does not give
brilliant and well-marked spectral bands, such as are afforded by its associates rubidium, caesium,
sodium, and lithium. A convenient qualitative test which, for practical purposes will be quite sufficient,
may be secured by dipping a platinum loop into a strong acid solution of the supposed potash
compound, and viewing through a piece of cobalt glass, the coloration produced thereby when held in
the flame of a bunsen. The red-purple tint thereby produced should be compared with that coming from
a pure potash salt similarly treated. If a fertilizer sample give no indication of potash when treated as
above it may be safely concluded that it does not contain any weighable quantity of potash.
For the estimation of the percentage of potash present in a given sample it may be safely assumed
that all of value in agriculture will be given up to an aqueous or slightly acid solution if organic matter
have been destroyed as indicated in a previous paragraph. In the case of minerals insoluble in a dilute
acid the potash may be determined by some one of the processes given in the first volume.[200] The
potash having been obtained in an aqueous or slightly acid (hydrochloric) solution, it may be determined
either by precipitation as potassium platinochlorid or as potassium perchlorate. The former method is
the one which has been almost exclusively used by analysis in the past, but the latter one is coming into
prominence and by reason of the greater economy attending its practice and the excellent results
obtained by some analysts, demands a generous consideration.
250. The Platinic Chlorid Method.—The principle of this method rests on the great insolubility of
the potassium platinochlorid in strong alcohol and the easy solubility of some of its commonly attending
salts; viz., sodium, etc., in the same reagent. Before the precipitation of the potash it is necessary to
remove the bases of the earths, sulfates, etc. Barium chlorid and hydroxid, ammonium oxalate or
carbonate, sulfuric acid, etc., are used in conjunction or successively to effect these purposes in the
manner hereinafter described. The filtrate and washings containing the potash are evaporated to
dryness and gently ignited to expel excess of ammonium salts and in the residue taken up with water
and acidulated with hydrochloric acid, the potash is precipitated with platinic chlorid solution. The best
methods of executing the analysis follow.
251. The Official Agricultural Method.—This method is based on the processes at first proposed
by Lindo[201] and Gladding,[202] and is given below as adapted to mixed fertilizers and mineral potash
salts.[203]
(1) In Superphosphates.—Boil ten grams with 300 cubic centimeters of water thirty minutes. To the
hot solution add ammonia in slight excess, and then a sufficient quantity of ammonium oxalate to
precipitate all the lime present; cool and make up to half a liter, mix thoroughly, and filter through a dry
filter; evaporate fifty cubic centimeters, corresponding to one gram, nearly to dryness, add one cubic
centimeter of dilute sulfuric acid (1 to 1), evaporate to dryness and ignite to whiteness. As all the potash
is in form of sulfate, no loss need be apprehended by volatilization of potash, and a full red heat must be
maintained until the residue is perfectly white. This residue is dissolved in hot water, plus a few drops of
hydrochloric acid, and a slight excess of platinum solution is added. This solution is then evaporated to
a thick paste in a small dish, and eighty per cent alcohol added. In evaporating, special precaution
should be taken to prevent absorption of ammonia. The precipitate is washed thoroughly with alcohol by
decantation and on the filter, as usual. The washing should be continued even after the filtrate is
colorless. Ten cubic centimeters of the ammonium chlorid solution, prepared as hereinafter directed, are
run through the filter, or the washing may be performed in the dish. The ten cubic centimeters will
contain the bulk of the impurities, and are thrown away. Fresh portions of ten cubic centimeters of the
ammonium chlorid are run through the filter several times (5 or 6). The filter is then washed thoroughly
with pure alcohol, dried, and weighed as usual. Care should be taken that the precipitate is perfectly
soluble in water. The platinum solution used contains one gram of metallic platinum in every ten cubic
centimeters. To prepare the washing solution of ammonium chlorid, place in a bottle 500 cubic
centimeters of water and 100 grams of ammonium chlorid and shake till dissolved. Now pulverize five or
ten grains of potassium platinochlorid, put in the bottle and shake at intervals for six or eight hours; let
settle over night, then filter off the liquid into a second bottle. The first bottle is then ready for preparation
of a fresh supply when needed.
(2) Potassium Chlorids.—In the analysis of these salts an aliquot portion of the solution, containing a
half gram, is evaporated with forty cubic centimeters of the platinum solution and a few drops of
hydrochloric acid, and washed as before.
(3) Potassium Sulfate, Kainit, Etc.—In the analysis of kainit, dissolve ten grams of the pulverized salt
in 300 cubic centimeters of boiling water, add ammonia to slight excess, then a sufficient quantity of
ammonium oxalate to throw down all lime present; cool and make up to half a liter, mix thoroughly, and
filter on a dry filter; from twenty-five cubic centimeters, corresponding to a half gram, proceed to remove
the ammonia, as in the analysis of superphosphates; dissolve the residue in hot water, plus a few drops
of hydrochloric acid, and add fifteen cubic centimeters of platinum solution. In the analysis of high-grade
sulfate and of double-manure salt (potassium sulfate, magnesium sulfate, containing about twenty-
seven per cent of potassium oxid), make up the solution as above, but omit the precipitation,
evaporation, etc.; to an aliquot part equal to a half gram add fifteen cubic centimeters of platinum
solution. In all cases special care must be taken in the washing with alcohol to remove all the double
platinum sodium chlorid which may be present. The washing should be continued some time after the
filtrate is colorless. Twenty-five cubic centimeters of the ammonium chlorid solution are employed
instead of ten cubic centimeters, and the twenty-five cubic centimeters poured through at least six times
to remove all sulfates and chlorids. Wash finally with alcohol; dry and weigh as usual.
252. Alternate Method for Potash.—Boil ten grams of the prepared sample for thirty minutes with
300 cubic centimeters of water, and, after cooling and without filtering, make up to one liter and filter
through a dry filter. If the sample have ten per cent of potassium oxid, use fifty cubic centimeters of the
filtrate; if less than ten per cent of potassium oxid (ordinary potash fertilizers), use 100 cubic centimeters
of the filtrate. In each case make the volume up to 150 cubic centimeters, heat to 100°, and add, drop
by drop with constant stirring, a slight excess of barium chlorid, and, without filtering, in the same
manner add barium hydrate in slight excess. Filter while hot and wash until the precipitate is free of
chlorids. Add to the filtrate one cubic centimeter of strong ammonium hydrate, and then a saturated
solution of ammonium carbonate, until the excess of barium is precipitated. Heat and add, in fine
powder, a half gram of pure oxalic acid or 0.75 gram of ammonium oxalate. Filter, wash free of chlorids,
evaporate the filtrate to dryness in a platinum dish, and ignite carefully over the free flame, below red
heat, until all volatile matter is driven off.
The residue is digested with hot water, filtered through a small filter, and washed with successive
small portions of water until the filtrate amounts to thirty cubic centimeters or more. To this filtrate, add
two drops of hydrochloric acid, in a porcelain dish, and from five to ten cubic centimeters of a solution of
ten grams of platinic chlorid in 100 cubic centimeters of water. The mixture is evaporated on a water-
bath to a thick sirup, as above, treated with alcohol of eighty per cent strength, washed by decantation,
collected in a gooch or other form of filter, washed with strong alcohol, afterwards with five cubic
centimeters of ether, dried for thirty minutes at 100°, and weighed.
It is desirable, if there be an appearance of foreign matter in the double salt, that it should be
washed, according to the previous method, with ten cubic centimeters of the half-concentrated solution
of ammonium chlorid, which has been saturated by shaking with potassium platinochlorid.
253. Method of Solution for Organic Compounds.—In case the potash is contained in organic
compounds, like tobacco stems, cottonseed hulls, etc., weigh ten grams, saturate with strong sulfuric
acid, and ignite in a muffle to destroy organic matter. Add a little strong hydrochloric acid to moisten the
mass and warm slightly so as to loosen it in the dish. Proceed then as in the lindo-gladding or alternate
method.
254. Factors.—The use of the factors 0.3056 for converting potassium platinochlorid to potassium
chlorid and 0.19308 for converting it to potassium oxid is advised. The latter number is almost identical
with that used by the Halle and Stassfurt chemists viz., 0.1927 and 0.1928 respectively.
255. Methods Used at the Halle Station.—(1) In Kainits and other Mineral Salts of Potash.[204]—
Five grams of the prepared sample are boiled for half an hour in a half liter flask with from twenty to
thirty cubic centimeters of concentrated hydrochloric acid and 100 cubic centimeters of water, and
afterwards as much water added as is necessary to fill the flask about three quarters full, and the
sulfuric acid is then precipitated with barium chlorid. To avoid an excess of barium chlorid the solution
used is of known strength and is added first in such quantity as would precipitate the sulfuric acid from a
kainit of low sulfuric acid content. The mixture is then boiled, allowed to settle and tried with a dropping
tube containing barium chlorid. If a further precipitate be given a few drops more of barium chlorid
solution are added, again boiled and allowed to settle. This is continued until barium chlorid gives no
precipitation. After the barium chlorid gives no more precipitate a drop of dilute sulfuric acid is added to
test for excess of barium. The operation is continued with the sulfuric acid until it no longer gives a
precipitate of barium sulfate. By the alternate use of the barium chlorid and sulfuric acid the exact
neutral point can soon be secured. When this point is reached the liquid is allowed to cool, the flask is
filled to the mark, its contents filtered, and of the filtrate fifty cubic centimeters, equal to half a gram of
the substance, taken for further estimation.
This quantity is evaporated on a water-bath to a sirupy consistence in a porcelain dish with ten cubic
centimeters of platinic chlorid. The platinic chlorid solution should contain one gram of platinum in each
ten cubic centimeters. The residue is treated with eighty per cent alcohol and, with stirring, allowed to
stand for an hour. The precipitate is then collected on a gooch, either of platinum or porcelain, washed
about eight times with eighty per cent alcohol and the potassium platinochlorid dried for two hours at
100°. After weighing the precipitate is dissolved in hot water and the residue washed under pressure,
first with hot water and then with alcohol. The crucible with the asbestos felt is dried at 100° and
weighed. Any impurities which the double salt may have carried down with it are left on the filter and the
weight of the original precipitate can thus be corrected. The weight of potassium platinochlorid is
multiplied by 0.1927 and the product corresponds to the weight of K₂O in the sample taken.
(2) Estimation of Potash in Guanos and Other Fertilizers containing Organic Substances.—Ten
grams of the substances are carefully incinerated at a low temperature in a platinum dish. After ignition
the contents of the dish are placed in a half liter flask and boiled for an hour with hydrochloric acid and a
few drops of nitric acid. The sulfuric acid can then be precipitated directly with barium chlorid, or better,
allow the flask to cool, fill to the mark, filter and treat an aliquot part of the filtrate with barium chlorid as
described above. The filtrate from the separated sulfate of barium is neutralized with ammonia and all
the bases, with the exception of magnesia and the alkalies, precipitated with ammonium carbonate; boil,
fill to the mark and filter. Of this filtrate evaporate from 100 to 200 cubic centimeters in a platinum dish.
After evaporation the ammonium salts are driven off by careful ignition, the residue taken up with hot
water and filtered through as small a filter as possible into a porcelain dish; the magnesia remaining in
the precipitate. The filtrate is acidified with a few drops of hydrochloric acid, ten cubic centimeters of
platinic chlorid added and the further determination conducted as with kainit.
256. Dutch Method.—The process used at the Royal Agricultural Station of Holland is almost
identical with that employed at Halle.[205]
A. Method for Stassfurt and other Potash Salts.—The necessary reagents are:
1. A dilute solution of barium chlorid:
2. A solution of platinic chlorid containing one gram of platinum in ten cubic centimeters: It must be
wholly free from platinous chlorid and nitric acid, and partially freed from an excess of hydrochloric acid
by repeated evaporations with water.
3. Alcohol of eighty per cent strength by the volume:
The methods of bringing the potash into solution and of precipitating the sulfuric acid are the same
as for the Halle process described above.
Add then twenty cubic centimeters of the platinum solution and evaporate the mixture nearly to
dryness. Add a sufficient quantity of eighty per cent alcohol and stir for some time. Allow to stand and
then filter through a gooch dried at 120°. Finally wash with eighty per cent alcohol, dry at 120°, and
weigh.
B. Method for Potash Superphosphate and other mixed Fertilizers.—The reagents necessary are the
same as under A, and, in addition, a saturated solution of barium hydrate and a solution of ammonium
carbonate mixed with ammonia.
Boil twenty grams of the substance with water for half an hour, cool, make up to half a liter and filter.
Boil fifty cubic centimeters of the filtrate, and add barium chlorid till no more precipitate forms. Mix with
baryta water to strong alkaline reaction, cool, make up to 100 cubic centimeters and filter. Raise fifty
cubic centimeters of the filtrate to the boiling temperature and add ammonium carbonate solution till no
more precipitate forms: Cool, make up to 100 cubic centimeters and filter. Transfer fifty cubic
centimeters of the filtrate to a platinum dish, evaporate and heat the residue, avoiding too high a
temperature, till the ammonia salts are expelled. Dissolve the residue in water, filter, and treat the filtrate
as described under A.
257. Swedish Methods.—The Swedish chemists determine the potash in mineral salts by the
platinum chlorid process, but with certain variations from the processes already given. The manipulation
is conducted as follows:[206]
Weigh one gram of the sample to be examined and pour about 300 cubic centimeters of hot water
over it in a beaker and filter after complete solution; add one cubic centimeter of hydrochloric acid, heat
nearly to boiling, add dilute barium chlorid solution from a pipette or burette in a very fine stream stirring,
slowly and carefully, till all sulfuric acid is completely precipitated, and only a trace of the precipitant is in
excess. If the precipitation be conducted in the way given the barium sulfate will come down in
crystalline condition, and settle rapidly within a few minutes, and almost immediately after the
precipitation is finished may be filtered clear. The filtrate and washings from the barium sulfate are
brought into a liter flask; fill this to the mark, take out fifty cubic centimeters with a pipette, evaporate the
greater portion on a water-bath in a porcelain dish, transfer the residue by means of ammonia-free water
to a beaker of fifty cubic centimeters capacity, add ten cubic centimeters of platinic chlorid solution, stir
well with a glass rod, evaporate on a water-bath to a sirupy condition, allow to cool, and if the residue be
too dry, add a few drops of water to allow the sodium platinochlorid to take up crystal water with
certainty, stir well, add alcohol after a few minutes, mix carefully, leave the mixture standing for a while
in the beaker covered with a watch glass, stirring occasionally; finally decant the solution, which must be
of a dark yellow color, through a very small filter, wash the precipitate in the beaker repeatedly with small
quantities of alcohol and decant; then transfer the precipitate to the filter, wash with alcohol, dry the filter
and the precipitate at a gentle heat till all alcohol has evaporated, carefully transfer the contents of the
filter to a watch glass placed on white glazed paper; dissolve the potassium platinochlorid still remaining
on the filter in small quantities of boiling water, evaporate the filtrate on a water-bath in an accurately
weighed platinum dish to dryness and transfer the same to the main portion of the chlorid from the
watch glass. In order to obtain the salt free of the corresponding combinations of sodium, barium,
calcium, and magnesium, which salts, although soluble in alcohol, may make the salt impure, before
weighing, treat the precipitate twice with small quantities of cold water which will dissolve these
impurities; evaporate the solution after addition of one cubic centimeter of platinic chlorid nearly to
dryness on a water-bath, treat the residue in the same way as given before, add the small quantity of
potassium platinochlorid which is hereby obtained together with the main portion to the platinum dish,
dry at 130°, and weigh. Only after having been treated in this way may the precipitated potassium
platinochlorid be considered absolutely pure. The Stassfurt salts contain magnesia, often in large
quantities and as a consequence the potassium platinochlorid precipitated directly is likely to be
contaminated therewith.
258. Methods for the Analysis of Carnallit, Kainit, Sylvinit, and Kieserit.—The chemists of the
German Potash Syndicate use the following methods in the analysis of the raw products mentioned
above.[207]
(1) Preparation of the Sample.—It is advisable to take from a large well mixed mass at least half a
kilogram for the analytical sample and this should be ground to a fine powder in a mill or mortar.
(2) Estimation of the Potash by the Precipitation Method.—In a half liter flask are placed 35.70 grams
of kainit or sylvinit, or 30.56 grams of carnallit or bergkieserit, which are boiled with 350 cubic
centimeters of water after the addition of ten cubic centimeters of hydrochloric acid. After cooling the
flask is filled to the mark with water, well shaken, and its contents filtered. Fifty cubic centimeters of the
filtrate are treated in a 200 cubic centimeter flask with a solution of barium chlorid, the flask filled to the
mark, well shaken, and its contents filtered. Twenty cubic centimeters of the filtrate, corresponding to
0.3570 or 0.3056 gram of the substance, are treated with five cubic centimeters of platinic chlorid
solution and the potassium estimated according to the usual methods.
(3) Estimation of Potash (K₂O) in Raw Potash Salts.—(a) For the determination of potash alone in
carnallit, kainit, and sylvinit one hundred grams of the well-mixed sample are put into a graduated flask
holding one liter and dissolved by boiling with half a liter of water, acidulated with ten cubic centimeters
of hydrochloric. The purpose of adding hydrochloric acid is to bring any polyhalit that might be present in
the salts into solution and which it is difficult to dissolve in pure water. After dissolving and cooling the
flask is filled up to the mark. The solution, after mixing, is filtered through a dry filter and 100 cubic
centimeters of the filtrate, corresponding to ten grams substance, are put into a half liter flask by means
of a pipette. After the addition of 200-300 cubic centimeters of water the solution is heated to boiling and
the sulfuric acid accurately precipitated with normal barium chlorid solution, containing 104 grams of the
dry salt in one liter. The volume of the precipitate is calculated from the amount of barium solution used
and from the specific gravity of the barium sulfate. After cooling, the flask is filled up with water as far
above the mark as equals the volume of the calculated barium precipitate, and, after thorough mixing,
the solution is filtered again through a dry filter. Fifty cubic centimeters of this filtrate, corresponding to
one gram substance, are evaporated upon the water-bath with a sufficient amount of platinic chlorid.
The residue of potassium platinochlorid is washed with ninety per cent alcohol, dried at 120°, and
weighed.
(b) If it be desired to determine separately the quantity of potash present in the form of sulfate and in
the form of chlorid, as for example in kainit and in sulfate of potash, or if it is to be determined whether
potassium sulfate is in combination with a proportionate amount of magnesium chlorid, as in kainit, or in
combination with magnesium sulfate alone, as in schönit, it then becomes necessary to determine
besides potash the percentages of chlorin, sulfuric acid, lime, magnesia, the total alkalies, water, and
the residue insoluble in water. For this purpose 100 grams of the sample are dissolved, the solution is
filtered, the filter washed, and the filtrate made up to one liter; a part of the liquid is taken for the
determination of sulfuric acid; by precipitating with barium chlorid, and another part for the determination
of lime and magnesia. For the determination of the alkali chlorids, 100 cubic centimeters of the solution,
corresponding to ten grams substance, are acidulated with hydrochloric, and, after heating to boiling,
the sulfuric acid is completely precipitated with barium chlorid, with the precaution of using not more of
the barium solution than is necessary for the complete precipitation. Fifty cubic centimeters of the
filtered solution, corresponding to one gram substance, are evaporated to dryness in order to drive off
the hydrochloric acid. Magnesium chlorid is decomposed by igniting with oxalic acid or with mercuric
oxid. After ignition, the residue is moistened with a little ammonium carbonate for the purpose of
converting the calcium oxid that may have been formed into calcium carbonate. The alkali chlorids,
which are entirely free of lime and magnesia, are weighed, and potassium chlorid is determined by
means of platinic chlorid. The amount of sodium chlorid is obtained by deducting potassium chlorid from
the mixed chlorids. For the water determination five grams of the sample are ignited and the loss of
weight is determined. The ignited mass is dissolved in water, and for the purpose of determining the
quantity of magnesium chlorid that may have been decomposed by the ignition the percentage of chlorin
is determined by titration. The difference in the contents of chlorin before and after ignition is subtracted
from the loss in weight, after allowance has been made for the absorption of oxygen and for the loss of
hydrogen. The rest is water. The results obtained are calculated in the following manner: From the total
amount of the sulfuric acid found, that portion is deducted which is combined with calcium as calcium
sulfate; the rest of the sulfuric acid is divided into two equal parts for the purpose of calculating the
contents of potassium sulfate and magnesium sulfate, according to the molecular proportion in which
these salts are present in kainit and in schönit. If there be an excess of potash left uncombined with
sulfuric acid, then it is in the form of potassium chlorid; likewise the amount of magnesia, uncombined
with sulfuric acid, is to be reckoned as magnesium chlorid. The result of this calculation will tell how
much potash is in the form of kainit (K₂SO₄, MgSO₄, MgCl₂ with 6H₂O) and how much of it is in the
form of schönit (K₂SO₄, MgSO₄, with 6H₂O) and how much in the form of potassium chlorid. The
sodium is reckoned as sodium chlorid.
(c) In calculating the contents of potash, of potassium chlorid, and of potassium sulfate from the
weighed potassium platinochlorid, the factors 0.1928, 0.3056, and 0.3566 are used, assuming that the
atomic weight of platinum is 197.18.
(d) The two methods which have been described under a and b, and which are in common use in the
Stassfurt potash industry, i. e., the so-called precipitation method, and the oxalic acid method, give
almost identical results. The first method, however, deserves preference on account of greater simplicity
in cases where potash alone is to be determined. Finkner’s method likewise gives results which agree
well with the results obtained by the customary methods. It consists in evaporating the salt solution with
a sufficient quantity of platinic chlorid without previously removing the sulfuric acid, reducing the
potassium platinochlorid, and weighing the metallic platinum.
The following are the results of comparative analyses:
1. After the precipitation method 22.02 per cent KCl
2. After the oxalic acid method 22.03 per cent KCl
3. After Finkner’s method 22.01 per cent KCl
In another sample of carnallit the following results were obtained:
1. After the precipitation method 17.88 per cent KCl
2. After the oxalic acid method 17.88 per cent KCl
In a third sample of carnallit the content of potassium chlorid was as follows:
1. After the precipitation method 18.44 per cent KCl
2. After the oxalic acid method 18.38 per cent KCl
The Anhalt chemists object to precipitating the sulfuric acid and alkaline earths with barium oxid and
ammonium carbonate, and afterwards the potash with platinic chlorid. The results obtained with this
method are, according to them, very inaccurate, and always too low. This is explained by the fact that it
is impossible to precipitate sulfuric acid without at the same time precipitating some of the potash,
unless it be in an acid solution.
A separation of the alkaline earths, if potash alone is to be determined, is superfluous, for the reason
that calcium and magnesium platinochlorid are soluble in ninety per cent alcohol, even with more facility
than sodium platinochlorid.
259. Methods for Concentrated Potash Salts.—In the preceding paragraphs have been given the
methods used by the Stassfurt syndicate for the estimation of potash in the raw salts as they come from
the mines. Following are the methods used by the same syndicate for the concentrated approximately
pure compounds and the other salts which accompany them.
Potassium Chlorid.—The following process is used for the estimation of potassium and other
constituents of the high grade chlorids of commerce. In a half liter flask are placed 7.6405 grams of the
finely powdered sample, which is dissolved and made up to the mark. With salts which contain more
than half a per cent of sulfuric acid the preliminary conversion of the sulfates into the corresponding
chlorin compounds, by precipitation with barium chlorid solution, is necessary. Twenty cubic centimeters
of the above solution, corresponding to 0.3056 gram of the salt, are placed in a flat porcelain dish
having a diameter of about ten centimeters and, after the addition of five cubic centimeters of the platinic
chlorid solution, evaporated on the water-bath with constant stirring until, after cooling, the sirupy liquid
passes quickly into a fine crystalline condition. The residue is rubbed into a fine powder with a glass rod,
mixed with twenty cubic centimeters of ninety-six per cent alcohol and dried at 120° to a constant
weight. It is weighed while warm and brought on a moistened filter with alcohol, care being taken that
the liquid does not touch the edge of the filter. The filtration can be carried on under a moderate
pressure. The complete washing of the potassium platinochlorid can be easily accomplished upon the
filter. The filter and the precipitate, after as much of the alcohol wash has been removed as is possible,
are dried at 120° to constant weight and weighed while still warm. One milligram of the potassium
platinochlorid thus obtained corresponds to a tenth per cent of potassium chlorid.
Estimation of Sodium Chlorid.—For the estimation of the sodium chlorid which may be present in the
potassium chlorid twelve and a half grams of the latter salt are dissolved in a quarter liter flask with
twenty-five cubic centimeters of boiling water after the addition of a little potassium carbonate for the
purpose of converting the magnesium and calcium compounds into carbonates. After filtration 100 cubic
centimeters corresponding to five grams of the salt are evaporated to dryness in a porcelain or platinum
dish after the addition of a few drops of concentrated hydrochloric acid in order to convert any calcium
carbonate which may be present into chlorid. The residue is gently ignited and weighed. In this mixture
of potassium and sodium chlorids the potassium chlorid may be estimated in the usual way and the
sodium chlorid determined by difference or the respective proportions of the two bases may be
calculated after the determination of the total chlorin by precipitation with a standard solution of silver
nitrate.
Estimation of Magnesium Chlorid.—In order to estimate the amount of magnesium chlorid in high
grade muriate of potash, twenty-five grams of the latter salt are dissolved in a half liter flask and treated
with ten cubic centimeters of a normal solution of potash lye. The flask is then filled to the mark with
water, thoroughly shaken and its contents filtered. Fifty cubic centimeters of the filtrate are then titrated
with one-tenth normal sulfuric acid. The calcium compounds which remain in solution do not influence
the result. The quantity of magnesium chlorid originally present corresponds to the number of cubic
centimeters of the normal potash lye which has disappeared in the operation. The reaction which takes
place is represented by the following equation:
Compounds
(A) (B) (C) (D) (E)
taken.
Cubic
Grams Grams. Grams. Grams. Grams.
centimeters.
Potassium chlorid = 0.10
Calcium carbonate = 0.13 50 0.1887 0.0027+ 0.0014+ 0.0005+ [231]
Magnesium sulfate = 0.13 82 0.1875 0.0016+ 0.0008+ 0.0005+ [232]
Ferric chlorid = 0.05 80 0.1861 0.0002+ 0.0001+ 0.0001+ [233]
Magnesium sulfate = 0.05 80 0.1843 0.0016- 0.0008- 0.0005- [234]
Manganese dioxid = 0.05 92 0.1839 0.0020- 0.0010- 0.0006- [235]
Sodium phosphate = 0.40 60 0.1854 0.0005- 0.0002- 0.0002- [236]
In the last three experiments of the above table the amount of perchloric acid was about three times
that required to unite with the bases present, and the phosphoric acid subsequently found with the
potassium was hardly enough to appreciably affect the weight, although its absolute removal was found
impossible.
That the magnesia does not produce any disturbing effect, as is supposed by the French chemists,
Kreider has proved by the following test: One hundred and fifty milligrams of magnesium carbonate
were treated with perchloric acid, evaporated till fumes of perchloric acid appeared, and cooled, when
the magnesium perchlorate crystallized: But on treating it with about fifteen cubic centimeters of ninety-
seven per cent alcohol containing two-tenths per cent of perchloric acid a perfectly clear solution was
obtained. If, therefore, a sufficient excess of acid be used, no interference will be caused by the
presence of magnesium.
While it is true, therefore, that the potassium perchlorate obtained may be contaminated with a trace
of phosphoric acid, if the latter be present in large quantity, no fear of contamination with magnesia need
be entertained if a sufficient quantity of the perchloric acid be used.
275. Removal of the Sulfuric Acid.—The practical objection to the removal of the sulfuric acid in
the form of barium sulfate rests on the fact of the mechanical entanglement of some of the potash in the
barium salt. Unless special precautions are taken, therefore, a considerable amount of the potash will
be found with the barium sulfate.
Caspari has succeeded in reducing this amount to a minimum by the following procedure:[237] The
solution of barium chlorid is prepared by dissolving 127 grams of crystallized barium chlorid in water,
adding 125 cubic centimeters of thirty-five per cent hydrochloric acid, and bringing the total volume up to
one liter with water.
Five grams of the substance from which the sulfuric acid is to be removed are boiled with 150 cubic
centimeters of water and twenty of strong hydrochloric acid. While the solution is still in ebullition it is
treated, drop by drop with constant stirring, with the barium chlorid solution above mentioned, until a
slight excess is added. This excess does not cause any inconvenience subsequently. After the
precipitation is complete the boiling is continued for a few minutes, the mixture cooled and made up to a
quarter of a liter with water. No account is taken of the volume of the barium sulfate formed since, even
with the precautions mentioned, a little potassium is thrown down and the volume of the barium sulfate
tends to correct this error. With a solution from which the sulfuric acid had been removed as above
indicated, Caspari found a loss of only one milligram of potassium perchlorate in a precipitate weighing
over 800 milligrams.
276. Applicability of the Process.—Experience has shown that sulfuric acid is the only substance
which need be removed from ordinary fertilizers preparatory to the estimation of the potash by means of
perchloric acid. The fact that this process can be used in the presence of phosphoric acid is a matter of
great importance in the estimation of potash in fertilizers, inasmuch as these fertilizers nearly always
contain that acid. The fact that the French chemists noticed that magnesia was a disturbing element in
the process, as has been indicated in volume first, probably arose from its presence as sulfate. Neither
Caspari nor Kreider has noticed any disturbance in the results which can be traced to the presence of
magnesia as a base.
If ammonia be present, however, there is a tendency to the production of ammonium perchlorate
which is somewhat insoluble in the alcohol wash used. Solutions therefore containing ammonia before
treating by the perchlorate method for potash should be rendered alkaline by soda-lye and boiled. With
the precautions above mentioned, the method promises to prove of great value in agricultural analysis,
effecting both a saving of time and expense in potash determinations.
277. Accuracy of the Process.—The perchlorate was tried in conjunction with the platinum method
on the two samples of potash fertilizer prepared and distributed by the official reporter on potash for
1893.[238] One of the samples was of a fertilizer which had been compounded for the Florida trade and
contained bone, dried blood, and potash, mostly in the form of sulfate. The other sample consisted of
mixed potash salts, sulfate, chlorid, double salt, kainit, and about five per cent of the triple sulfate of
calcium, potassium, and magnesium.
The results obtained by Wagner and Caspari on the two samples follow:
Sample No. 1. Sample No. 2.
Per cent potash. Per cent potash.
By the platinum method 13.25 37.98
By the perchlorate method 13.09 37.82
The perchlorate method on the whole appears to be quite as accurate as the platinum process,
requires less manipulation and can be completed in a shorter time and at less expense for reagents.
AUTHORITIES CITED IN
PART THIRD.
[185] Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, Bulletin No. 97,
p. 7.
[186] Annual Report Connecticut Station, 1892, p. 32.
[187] Colorado Agricultural Experiment Station, Bulletin No. 10.
[188] Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, Bulletin No.
103, p. 9.
[189] Annual Report, Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment
Station, 1888, p. 202.
[190] Vid. op. cit. 2, 1890, p. 110.
[191] Traité de la Fabrication de Sucre, Horsin-Déon, p. 511.
[192] Chemical Division, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bulletin
No. 37, p. 350.
[193] Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol. 17, p. 86.
[194] Volume First, pp. 19, et seq.
[195] Precht: Die Stassfurter Kalisalze.
[196] Maercker: Die Kalidüngung, S. 1.
[197] Vid. op. cit. supra, p. 3.
[198] Vid. op. cit. 12, p. 5.
[199] Vid. op. cit. 12, p. 7.
[200] Volume First, pp. 378, et seq.
[201] Chemical News, Vol. 44, pp. 77, 86, 97, and 129.
[202] Chemical Division, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bulletin
No. 7, p. 38.
[203] Vid. supra, Bulletin No. 43, p. 349.
[204] Die Agricultur-Chemische Versuchs-Station, Halle a/S., S.
76.
[205] Methoden van onderzock aan de Rijkslandbouw-
proefstations, 1893, p. 7.
[206] From the Official Swedish Methods. Translated for the
Author by F. W. Woll.
[207] Chemical Division, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bulletin
No. 35, p. 63.
[208] Chemiker Zeitung, Band 18, S. 1320.
[209] Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol. 17, p. 85.
[210] Chemical Division, U. S. Department of Agriculture, Bulletin
No. 43, p. 26.
[211] Vid. op. cit. 25, Vol. 17, p. 46.
[212] Zeitschrift für angewandte Chemie, 1891, S. 281.
[213] Zeitschrift für analytische Chemie, Band 32, S. 184.
[214] Vid. op. cit. 25, Vol. 16, p. 364.
[215] Vid. op. cit. 25, Vol. 17, p. 463.
[216] Vid. op. et. loc. cit. supra.
[217] Chemiker Zeitung, 1890, S. 1246.
[218] Volume First, pp. 369, 375.
[219] Annales de Chimie et de Physique {2}, Tome 46, p. 294.
[220] Comptes rendus, Tome 73, p. 1296.
[221] Zeitschrift für analytische Chemie, Band 14, S. 152.
[222] Chemical News, Vol. 44, p. 316.
[223] Rapport adressé par la Comité des Stations Agronomiques,
1887, p. 10.
[224] Zeitschrift für angewandte Chemie, 1891, S. 691.
[225] Vid. op. cit. supra, 1892, S. 233.
[226] Vid. op. cit. 40, 1893, S. 68.
[227] American Journal of Science, June, 1895, from advance
proofs sent by author.
[228] Watt’s Translation, Vol. 2, pp. 317-318.
[229] Manuscript communication from Mr. Kreider.
[230] Vid. op. et loc. cit. 43.
[231] The residue showed phosphoric acid plainly when tested.
[232] The residue showed phosphoric acid plainly when tested.
[233] Only traces of phosphoric acid found in the residue.
[234] Only traces of phosphoric acid found in the residue.
[235] Only traces of phosphoric acid found in the residue.