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Chapter 7 – International Strategy: Creating Value in Global Markets
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:
1. We draw on Porter’s “diamond of national advantage” as a framework to explain the level of

success for an industry in a given country.
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?
Instructor’s Manual to accompany Strategic Management, 4th Canadian edition © 2015 McGraw-Hill Ryerson Ltd.
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A. THE GLOBAL ECONOMY: A BRIEF OVERVIEW
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.
What Do People Need and Demand at the Bottom of the 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.
 What is the implication of the example stated above?
 Can the bottom of the pyramid prove to be a profitable, long-term market?
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.
STRATEGY SPOTLIGHT 7.1 provides an interesting perspective on international trade –marketing to

the “bottom of the pyramid.” Collectively, this market of 5 billion people represents $14 trillion in
purchasing power.
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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.)
I. FACTORS AFFECTING A NATION’S COMPETITIVENESS

After conducting a four-year study, Michael Porter concluded that there are four broad attributes of
nations that individually, and as a system, constitute what is termed “the diamond of national advantage”.
These attributes collectively determine the playing field that each nation establishes for its industries.
These factors are:
● 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.
❑ How do these factors—individually or jointly—affect industries in countries with which you

are familiar?
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’s Surprising Lead in Undergraduate Engineering Degree Programs
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 Films Need Foreign Viewers
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?
B. RELATED AND SUPPORTING INDUSTRIES
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.
C. FIRM STRATEGY, STRUCTURE, AND RIVALRY
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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.
D. CONCLUDING COMMENTS ON FACTORS AFFECTING A NATION’S

COMPETITIVENESS
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.
II. INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION: A COMPANY’S MOTIVATIONS

AND RISKS
A. MOTIVATIONS FOR 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.
❑ What are the implications of Exhibit 7.2 for international trade?
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.
Potential benefits of international expansion include (with examples we discuss):
● attain economies of scale (Bombardier, IMAX)

● reducing costs for R&D or operations (Microsoft, Cott)
● arbitrage opportunities (Wal-Mart)
● extend the life cycle of a product (Nortel)
● optimize the location of every activity in its value chain
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.
New Balance Defies Conventional Wisdom
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?
B. POTENTIAL RISKS OF 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.
Managing Rids at the Bottom of the Pyramid
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?
1. Political and Economic Risk
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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.
III. ACHIEVING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES IN GLOBAL

MARKETS
In this section, we begin by addressing the two opposing forces that firms face when they expand into
global markets—cost reduction and adaptation to local markets. Then, we address the four basic types of
international strategies that they may pursue—international, global, multidomestic, and transnational.
The SUPPLEMENT below provides an insightful perspective on the need for a “global mindset”.
Defining 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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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.
A. TWO OPPOSING PRESSURES: REDUCING COSTS AND ADAPTATION TO LOCAL

MARKETS
Approximately two decades ago, Ted Levitt advocated strategies that favoured global products and brands
that rested on three key assumptions.
● Customer needs and interests are becoming increasingly homogeneous worldwide.

● People around the world are willing to sacrifice preferences in product features,
functions, design and the like for lower prices at high quality
● Substantial economies of scale in production and marketing can be achieved through
supplying global markets.
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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Some of the risks of an international strategy include:
● 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:
● A firm can enjoy scale economies by concentrating scale-sensitive resources and

activities in one or a few locations. Decisions about locating facilities must weigh the
potential benefits from concentration against higher transportation and tariff costs.
● The geographical concentration of any activity may also tend to isolate that activity from
the targeted markets.
● Concentrating an activity in a single location also makes the rest of the firm dependent on
that location.
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.
Outsourcing’s Global Delivery Model
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.
How a Chinese Company Wins on its Home Turf
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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● At times, local adaptations, even well intentioned may backfire.

● Consistent with other aspects of global marketing, the optimal degree of local adaptation
evolves over time.
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 WPP Group—Insights on Transnational Strategy Concepts
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.”
J&J’s Decentralized Structure
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.
F. GLOBAL OR REGIONAL? A SECOND LOOK AT GLOBALIZATION
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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Growth in Regional Trade Fuels Global Expansion
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.
IV. ENTRY MODES OF INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION

A firm has many options available to it when it decides to expand into international markets. EXHIBIT
7.7 depicts a variety of modes of foreign entry that include: exporting, licensing, franchising, strategic
alliances, joint ventures, and wholly owned subsidiaries. As the exhibit indicates, these various types of
entry form a continuum that ranges from exporting (low investment, low risk) to wholly owned
subsidiaries (high investment and risk, high control).
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.
Loctite’s Insights on the Selection of Distributors in International Markets
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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.
❑ What are some examples of successful (or unsuccessful) exporting?
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.
D. STRATEGIC ALLIANCES AND JOINT VENTURES
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 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?
E. WHOLLY OWNED SUBSIDIARIES
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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Global Dispersion of Value Chains: Outsourcing and Offshoring
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 Rationale for Offshoring
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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Inoculating Oneself Against Having Your Job “Offshored”
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
Another question that is likely to stimulate a lot of discussion may be:
 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
7-20
alliances/joint ventures, or acquisition as the means to enter these markets? Potential

benefits that would go beyond simply growth and more revenues?
REFLECTING ON CAREER IMPLICATIONS

Below, we provide some suggestions on how you can lead the discussion on the career implications for
the material in Chapter 7.
1. International Strategy: Be aware of your organization’s international strategy. What

percentage of the total firm activity is international? What skills are needed to enhance your
company’s international efforts? How can you benefit from it? For your career, what conditions
in your home country might cause you to seek careers abroad? Likewise, what career
opportunities might draw you abroad?
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.
4. Outsourcing and Offshoring: What activities in your organization can/should be outsourced or

offshored? Be aware that you are competing in the global marketplace for employment and
professional advancement. Continually take inventory of your talents, skills, and competencies.
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:
In a third sample of carnallit the content of potassium chlorid was as follows:
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:
MgCl₂ + 2KOH = MgO₂H₂ + 2KCl.

Potassium Sulfate.—The quantity of potassium sulfate contained in the high grade sulfates of
commerce is determined in the following manner: In a half liter flask are placed 8.9235 grams of the
finely ground sample which is dissolved in about 350 cubic centimeters of boiling water after the addition
of twenty cubic centimeters of hydrochloric acid. The sulfuric acid is thrown out by the addition, drop by
drop, of a barium chlorid solution, the contents of the flask being kept boiling meanwhile and thoroughly
stirred. From time to time the addition of the barium chlorid is stopped and the upper part of the liquid
allowed to become clear by the subsidence of the barium sulfate. It is then noticed whether or not an
additional drop of the barium chlorid solution produces a turbidity. Any excess of barium chlorid is
removed by the careful addition of sulfuric acid. After the precipitation is complete and the contents of
the flask are cooled, it is filled up to the mark with water and its contents filtered. Twenty cubic
centimeters of the filtrate, corresponding to 0.357 gram of the original salt are precipitated by platinic
chlorid in the usual manner and the resulting potassium platinochlorid collected and weighed. One
milligram of the potassium platinochlorid thus obtained corresponds to one-tenth per cent of potassium
sulfate in the original salt. To the percentage of potassium sulfate thus found three-tenths per cent are to
be added for a correction when high grade potassium sulfate is taken. If the sample be a high grade
sulfate of potassium and magnesium no correction should be applied.
Estimation of Potassium Chlorid and Potassium Sulfate in Calcined Manurial Salts.—In these salts
15.281 grams for potassium chlorid or 17.847 grams for potassium sulfate are dissolved in a half liter
flask after the addition of ten cubic centimeters of hydrochloric acid. The flask is filled to the mark and its
contents filtered and 250 cubic centimeters placed in a half liter flask and treated with barium chlorid
solution as indicated above. The rest of the operation is exactly as has been described. In each case
one milligram of the potassium platinochlorid corresponds to one-tenth per cent of the desired salt.
Estimation of Magnesium Sulfate in Kieserit.—Ten grams of the finely powdered kieserit are boiled
for one hour in a half liter flask two-thirds full of water. After cooling, from fifty to sixty cubic centimeters
of double normal potash lye and twenty cubic centimeters of a ten per cent neutral potassium oxalate
solution are added, the flask filled to the mark, and after being well shaken and standing for a quarter of
an hour, filtered. The reaction is represented by the formula
MgSO₄ + 2KOH = MgO₂H₂ + K₂SO₄.
Fifty cubic centimeters of the filtrate are then titrated with one-tenth normal sulfuric acid. To the
percentage of magnesium sulfate found by this process two-tenths per cent are to be added as a
correction.
Barium Chlorid Solution.—Dissolve 122 grams of crystallized barium chlorid in water in a liter flask.
Add fifty cubic centimeters of hydrochloric acid and water to the mark and shake well.
260. The Barium Oxalate Method.—The principle of this process, worked out by Schweitzer and
Lungwitz[208] is based on the fact that in an ammoniacal solution, by means of barium oxalate, all the
alkaline earths can be precipitated as oxalates, and sulfuric acid in similar circumstances can be thrown
down as a barium salt and the iron and alumina as hydroxids. The reagents used to secure this
precipitation are ammonia and barium oxalate.
For the determination of potash in a superphosphate the analytical process is conducted as follows:
Ten grams of the superphosphate are mixed with half a liter of water and fifteen grams of barium oxalate
dissolved in hydrochloric acid.
The mixture is boiled for twenty minutes and treated with some hydrogen peroxid to oxidize any
ferrous iron that may be present. Afterwards the solution is made alkaline with ammonia. After cooling, it
is made up to a given volume (half a liter) and filtered. An aliquot part of the filtrate is evaporated to
dryness, ignited, extracted with hot water and, after the addition of a few drops of hydrochloric acid, the
potassium is precipitated with platinic chlorid, and collected and weighed in the usual manner: Or the
ignited residue may be dissolved directly in dilute hydrochloric acid and the rest of the process carried
out as indicated.
In kainit the process is conducted as follows: Ten grams of the powdered sample are treated with a
hydrochloric acid solution of the barium oxalate containing ten grams of the salt. The rest of the
operation is conducted as described above. In the use of this method it is important that always enough
of the barium oxalate solution be employed to fully saturate all the sulfuric acid which may be present.
261. Method of DeRoode for Kainit.—All the potash contained in kainit, according to de Roode,
passes readily into aqueous solution.[209] On evaporating this aqueous solution to a pasty condition with
enough platinic chlorid to unite with all the halogens present all the other bodies can be washed out of
the potassium platinochlorid by ammonium chlorid solution and the pure platinum salt thus obtained,
which is washed and dried in the usual way. De Roode therefore asserts that it is quite useless to
previously precipitate the solution of kainit with barium chlorid, ammonium oxalate, or carbonate. Before
the addition of alcohol to the residue obtained by evaporation with platinic chlorid the sodium sulfate
present renders the platinum salt sticky and difficult to wash, but the disturbing sodium compound can
be readily removed by washing with ammonium chlorid solution.
The method of direct treatment has the advantage of avoiding the occlusion of potash in other
precipitates and the danger of loss on ignition. The method as used by de Roode gives results about
one-tenth per cent higher than are obtained by the official processes.
262. The Calcium Chlorid Method.—Huston has proposed the addition of calcium chlorid to the
solution of a fertilizer in the determination of potash, in order to furnish sufficient calcium to form
tricalcium phosphate with all the phosphoric acid present, and thereby permit of the use of platinum
dishes in the lindo-gladding method.[210] In testing this process de Roode found that when sufficient
calcium chlorid was added to combine with all the phosphoric acid present and then ammonia added in
excess and a portion of the solution filtered, no test for phosphoric acid could be obtained; but, that if in
addition to the calcium chlorid and ammonia, some ammonium oxalate or carbonate was added, a
filtered portion of the solution gave a test for phosphoric acid.[211] This is accounted for by the fact that
the calcium phosphate, which is precipitated by the ammonia, is changed by the ammonium oxalate or
carbonate into calcium oxalate or carbonate and ammonium phosphate, so that the very object for
which the calcium chlorid was added is defeated by the addition of the ammonium oxalate or carbonate.
In order to make the use of calcium chlorid effective it is necessary to filter the liquid from the precipitate
formed by the calcium chlorid and ammonia and then add the ammonium oxalate or carbonate to the
filtrate. This necessitates two separate filtrations and makes the proposed method of Huston as long as
the old process.
263. Rapid Control Method for Potash Salts.—For rapid control work where great accuracy is not
required Albert recommends that the finely ground substance be placed in a liter flask and about 400
cubic centimeters of water added and three cubic centimeters of hydrochloric acid.[212] After boiling,
barium chlorid is added drop by drop as long as a precipitate is produced. After cooling, the flask is filled
to the mark and shaken and its contents filtered through a dry filter. An aliquot portion of the filtrate is
evaporated with platinum chlorid solution in a smooth porcelain dish almost to dryness and the mass
treated with alcohol, filtered through a weighed filter, and well washed with alcohol. The filter is then
dried in an air-bath to a constant weight. For the different kinds of potash materials on the market the
following proportions are recommended:
Kainit or Carnallit.—Twenty grams in one liter: Fifty cubic centimeters of the filtrate are evaporated
with forty of platinic chlorid solution. The weight of potassium platinochlorid obtained × 19.3 gives the
per cent of K₂O.
Sulfate of Potash.—Fifteen grams in one liter: Twenty cubic centimeters of the solution are
evaporated with fifteen of platinic chlorid. The weight of potassium platinochlorid obtained × 64.33 gives
the per cent of K₂O.
Potassium Chlorid.—Ten grams in one liter: Twenty-five cubic centimeters are evaporated with
fifteen of platinic chlorid solution. The weight of the precipitate obtained × 77.2 gives the per cent of
K₂O.
264. Weighing the Precipitate as Metallic Platinum.—Hilgard calls attention to the difficulty of
weighing the double chlorid of platinum and potash as such, although he acknowledges that in the
gooch this weighing can be made with great accuracy.[213] He prefers to estimate the platinum in the
metallic state and uses for this purpose a platinum crucible the inside of which, half way up from the
bottom, is coated with a layer of platinum sponge, which is conveniently prepared by the decomposition
of a few decigrams of the platinum double salt by inclining the crucible and rotating it during the
progress of the reduction, using about a quarter of an hour in all. The platinum sponge produced in this
way greatly favors the decomposition of the double salt for analytical purposes. The decomposition of
the salt takes place quickly and quietly and at conveniently low temperatures.
When the decomposition is ended the crucible is strongly heated so as to hold the platinum sponge,
which is produced, together sufficiently to prevent its being removed in the subsequent washing of the
crucible by decantation. By the ignition at a high temperature necessary to secure this, the greater part
of the calcium chlorid is volatilized. After cooling, a few drops of concentrated hydrochloric acid are
placed in the crucible and if the slightest yellow color be shown the acid is evaporated and the ignition
repeated, with the addition of a little oxalic acid. In most cases the slight yellow color produced comes
from a trace of iron and will therefore appear again after the second ignition. The crucible is
subsequently washed by repeated decantations, finally with boiling water, and after drying is ignited and
weighed.
The advantage of this process is that without further trouble the reduced metal is completely freed of
any salts of the alkaline earths, etc., which have been carried down with it and also from any of the
uncombined sodium chlorid which may not have been washed out by the alcohol. In fact, the results
obtained in this way are nearly always lower than those obtained through the direct weighing of the
double salt, and the wash water which is first poured off contains, as a rule, traces of the alkaline earths
and almost without exception some sodium chlorid. Correction for the filter ash is unnecessary because
the ash is completely dissolved by the treatment received. The platinum sponge which is collected in the
crucible in this way is removed in case it does not adhere to the sides and the crucible is then ready for
the next operation.
265. Sources of Error in the Platinum Method.—In the comparative work done in the
determination of potash by the members of the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists there has
been noted, from year to year, marked differences in the data obtained by different analysts. Such
differences often are due to personal errors, or a failure to accurately follow the directions for
manipulation. Sometimes, however, they are due to sources of error in the processes employed. In the
platinum method these sources of error have been long known to exist. Chief among these is the
remarkable facility with which potash becomes incorporated with the precipitates of other bodies. The
character and magnitude of some of these errors have lately been studied by Robinson.[214]
Many precipitates occlude potash and hold it so firmly that it cannot be washed out with hot water
although the potash compounds present in the precipitate are perfectly soluble. It appears to be a kind
of molecular adhesion. Barium sulfate has this property of attaching potash molecules in a high degree,
and ferric and aluminic compounds only to a slightly less extent. To reduce the losses, consequent on
the conditions just mentioned, to a minimum, the sulfuric acid and earthy bases should be very slowly
precipitated, with violent agitation, at a boiling temperature.
Another source of loss in the platinum method arises from the use of a solution of ammonium chlorid
for washing the potassium platinochlorid precipitate. There is danger here, not only of the solution of the
impurities present in the precipitate, but also of a double decomposition by means of which some
ammonium may be substituted for the potassium in the washed product. In the official method,
moreover, there is danger of securing a final precipitate which may contain traces of calcium and
magnesium sulfates when these bodies are abundantly present in the sample taken for analysis. The
careful analyst must guard against these sources of error, but it is probably true that he will never secure
a practically chemically pure precipitate of potassium platinochlorid when working on the mixed
fertilizers found in commerce.
266. Effect of Concentration on the Accuracy of Potash Analysis.—Winton has also studied the
sources of error in the determination of potash as platinochlorid, especially with reference to the effect of
the concentration of the solution at the time of precipitation.[215]
He finds that the method of precipitating in concentrated solutions and drying the potassium
platinochlorid at 130°, depends for its accuracy upon the mutual compensation of three errors; viz., (1)
to the solubility of the potassium salt in eighty per cent alcohol, (2) to the presence of water in the
crystals which is not driven off at 130°, and (3) the use of a factor based on the wrong atomic weight of
platinum.
He finds, further, that the error due to the presence of water occluded in the crystals can be reduced
to a minimum, and the process of drying greatly simplified, by adding the solution of platinum chlorid to
the potash solution in a dilute condition, not exceeding one per cent in strength. The potassium
platinochlorid thus produced can be very effectively dried at 100°. The error due to the solubility of the
salt in eighty per cent alcohol can also be greatly reduced by using ninety-five per cent alcohol. The
error due to the wrong factor, based on the old atomic weight of platinum, viz., 0.3056, can be corrected
by using the factor based on the recently determined atomic weight of platinum, viz., 195, which is
0.30688.
267. Differences in Crystalline Form.—Winton has also observed a distinct difference in the
crystals of potassium platinochlorid when obtained from concentrated and dilute solutions.[216] When
platinic chlorid is added to a concentrated solution of potassium chlorid, a large part of the salt which is
formed is precipitated in a pulverulent state, the remainder being deposited on evaporation. After
treating with alcohol, filtering, and drying, the double salt is found in the state of a fine powder which,
when examined under the microscope, is found to consist largely of radiating crystals. The characteristic
form is one having six arms formed by the intersection, at right angles, of three bars. Numerous globular
cavities in the crystals are observed in which mother liquid is enclosed. For this reason the salt is not
easily dried at 100°, but when so dried loses additional moisture at 130°, and still more at 160°. The total
additional loss, after drying at 100°, from this cause may amount to as much as six-tenths per cent of
potassium chlorid.
When, however, the solution of the potassium salt is so dilute that no precipitate at all is formed on
the addition of platinic chlorid, the double salt is all deposited, as well as formed slowly, during the
evaporation and occurs exclusively as octahedra. These octahedra are comparatively free of cavities,
and give up practically all their moisture when dried at 100°. A method of procedure therefore for potash
determination, based on the above principle of the addition of the reagent to dilute solutions, and drying
the double salt produced upon evaporation, after washing with ninety-five per cent alcohol at 100°, and
using the factor 0.30688 for potassium chlorid and 0.1939 for potassium oxid, gives good results and is
regarded as better than any of the methods which prescribe the addition of platinic chlorid to highly
concentrated potash solutions.
268. Factors for Potash Estimation.—The factor now in use by the official chemists to convert
potassium platinochlorid into potash (K₂O) is 0.19308, and for potassium chlorid 0.3056.
Wolfbauer gives the differences which may arise by computing the potash from its platino-double
chlorid by the different values assigned to the atomic weight of platinum.[217]
The common factor used to obtain potassium chlorid from potassium platinochlorid is based on the
atomic weight 197.18 and is derived from the formula:
2(39.13 + 35.46) 149.18
= = 0.30557.
2 × 39.13 + 197.18 + 6 × 35.46 488.20
The variations arising from taking other assigned values for the atomic weight of platinum are shown
in the following table:
Factor for potassium Relation to factor 0.30557
chlorid from in per cent
Atomic
Determined or Potassium Potassium
weight of Platinum. Platinum.
calculated by platinochlorid. platinochlorid.
Platinum.
197.18 Berzelius 0.30557 0.75658 100.00 100.00
197.88 Andrews 0.30517 0.75390 99.86 99.65
195.06 Haberstadt 0.30690 0.76468 100.44 101.07
Seubert and
194.87 0.30700 0.76555 100.47 101.20
Clark
The factor 0.3056 is regarded as the best for the computation from potassium platinochlorid and
0.7566 from platinum. It is also suggested that it is better to make the computation from the reduced
platinum than from the double salt.
269. Recovery of the Platinum Waste and Preparation of the Platinic Chlorid Solution.—(1) By
Reduction in Alkaline Alcohol.—All filtrates containing platinic chlorid, all precipitates of potassium
platinochlorid and all residues of metallic platinum should be carefully preserved and the platinum
recovered therefrom by the following process: The platinum residues are placed in a large porcelain
dish. Since these residues contain a large amount of alcohol they should be diluted with about one-third
their volume of water, and when boiling treated with some sodium carbonate. The solid potassium
platinochlorids should not be added until the liquid is boiling, and then only little by little. The heating on
the water-bath is continued until the liquid floating over the platinum sponge is quite clear and only
slightly yellow. The liquid is then poured off and the reduced platinum purified by boiling with
hydrochloric acid and water. It is then dried and ignited to destroy any organic matter which may be
present. It is advisable to boil the finely divided platinum once with strong nitric acid, and after this is
poured off the solution of the platinum is effected in a large porcelain dish over a water-bath by adding
about four times its weight of hydrochloric acid, warming, and adding nitric acid, little by little. After the
platinum is in solution the evaporation is continued until a drop of the liquid, removed by a glass rod,
quickly solidifies. The crystalline mass which is formed on cooling is taken up with water and filtered,
and then a sufficient amount of water added so that each ten cubic centimeters will contain one gram of
platinum. The specific gravity of this solution is 1.18 at ordinary temperatures. Special care must be
taken that the solution contains neither platinous chlorid nor nitrogen compounds. If the first named
compound be present it should be converted into platinic chlorid by treatment with fuming hydrochloric
acid and a little nitric acid. The last mentioned compound may be removed by evaporating successively
with hydrochloric acid and water. If the platinic chlorid be made from waste platinum, the danger of
contamination with iridium must be considered. In such a case the platinum should be separated as
ammonium platinochlorid, which can afterwards be reduced as above indicated. A convenient test of the
purity of platinic chlorid solution is accomplished by the precipitation of a known weight of chemically
pure potassium salt.
(2) By Reduction in Nascent Hydrogen.—The platinum residues, filtrates containing platinum, etc.,
are collected in a large flask and evaporated in a large dish on a water-bath, and reduced by means of
zinc and hydrochloric acid to metallic platinum, the mass being warmed until all the zinc has been
dissolved. The supernatant liquid standing over the spongy platinum is decanted and the spongy mass
boiled twice with distilled water. The spongy platinum is then brought on a filter and washed till the
filtrate shows no acid reaction. The filter and platinum sponge are next incinerated in a platinum dish
and the residue weighed. The weighed mass of pure platinum is dissolved in hydrochloric acid, with the
addition of as little nitric acid as possible, and, after cooling, filtered. The filtrate is afterwards evaporated
in a porcelain dish on a water-bath to a sirupy consistence, taken up with water and filtered. To this
filtrate enough water is now added to make the solution correspond to one gram of metallic platinum in
ten cubic centimeters.
THE ESTIMATION OF POTASH AS PERCHLORATE.

270. General Principles.—By reason of the great cost of platinum chlorid analysts have sought for a
reagent of a cheaper nature and yet capable of forming an insoluble compound with potash.
Phosphomolybdic and perchloric acids are the reagents which have given the most promising results.
[218] The principle of the method with the latter salt is based on the insolubility of potassium perchlorate
in strong alcohol containing a little perchloric acid and the comparative easy solubility of the other bases
usually associated with potassium in water. The French chemists have stated that magnesia, when
present in considerable quantities, interferes with the accuracy of the results. Since in soil analysis
considerable quantities of magnesia are often found, this base, according to the French chemists,
should previously be removed when present in any considerable quantity, by the process described in
the first volume. Kreider, however, as will be seen further on, working in the presence of magnesia, did
not notice any disturbing effects caused thereby. The method is applicable to the common potash salts
of the trade and with certain precautions to mixed salts. As will be mentioned later on, sulfuric acid
should be previously removed and this is likely to introduce an error on account of the tendency of
barium sulfate to entangle particles of potash among its molecules and thus remove them from solution.
The barium sulfate should be precipitated slowly and in a strongly acid (nitric or hydrochloric) solution.
The loss, which is inevitable, is thus reduced to a minimum and does not seriously affect the value of the
numbers found. It is important to have an abundant supply of pure perchloric acid, and as this is not
readily obtainable in the market the best methods of preparing it are given below. The method, while it
has not been worked out extensively, is one of merit, and seemingly is worthy of fair trial by analysts.
The process is by no means a new one, but it will not be necessary to describe here its development
any further than to refer to the methods proposed by Serullas,[219] Schlösing,[220] Kraut,[221] and
Bertrand,[222] The method was fully developed by a committee appointed by the French agricultural
chemists in 1887.[223]
Wense has also described an improved method of estimating potash as perchlorate after the
removal of sulfuric acid and also a process of preparing perchloric acid by distilling potassium
perchlorate with sulfuric acid in a vacuum.[224] He was also the first who proposed the plan of rendering
potassium perchlorate insoluble in alcohol by dissolving a little perchloric acid therein.[225] The best
approved methods now known of preparing the perchloric acid and conducting the analysis will be
described in the following paragraphs.
271. Caspari’s Method for Preparing Perchloric Acid.—A hessian crucible about fifteen
centimeters high is filled with moderately well compressed pure potassium chlorate and gradually
heated in a suitable furnace until the contents become fluid.[226] The heat must then be carefully
regulated to avoid loss by foaming due to the evolution of oxygen. The heat is continued until oxygen is
no longer given off and the surface of the liquid becomes encrusted, which will take place in from one
and a half to two hours.
After cooling, the contents of the crucible are pulverized and heated, with vigorous stirring, to boiling,
with one and a half times their weight of water. By this process the potassium chlorid which has formed
during the first reaction is dissolved and is thus removed. The residual salt is washed with additional
quantities of cold water and finally dried. To remove the potassium salt from the crude potassium
perchlorate obtained as above, recourse is had to hydrofluosilicic acid. The reaction is represented by
the following formula: 2KClO₄ + H₂SiF₆ = K₂SiF₆ + HClO₄. In order to effect this decomposition the
potassium perchlorate is dissolved in seven times its weight of hot water and an excess of
hydrofluosilicic added to the boiling solution. The boiling is continued for about an hour until particles of
potassium perchlorate can no longer be detected with addition of water to compensate for evaporation.
On cooling the gelatinous potassium silicofluorid is deposited and the perchloric acid separated
therefrom as completely as possible by decantation. The residue is again boiled with water and a little
hydrofluosilicic acid and the clear liquor thus obtained added to the first lot. Finally, any residual
perchloric acid may be removed on an asbestos felt under pressure. The clear liquid thus obtained is
evaporated on a steam-bath to the greatest possible degree of concentration and allowed to stand in a
cool place for twenty-four hours, whereby is effected the separation of any remaining potassium
silicofluorid or potassium perchlorate. The residual liquid when filtered through an asbestos felt should
give a perfectly clear filtrate. In order to throw out the last traces of hydrofluosilicic acid and any sulfuric
acid present an equal volume of water is added, and while cold small quantities of barium chlorid are
successively added until the barium salt is present in a very slight excess. The clear supernatant liquid
is poured off after a few hours and evaporated until the hydrochloric acid is all expelled and white fumes
of perchloric acid are noticed. Any potassium perchlorate still remaining will now be separated and, in
the cold, sodium perchlorate will also be separated in crystals. The clear residue is again diluted with an
equal volume of water and any barium salts present carefully removed with sulfuric acid. The mass is
allowed to stand for one or two days, and is then filtered through paper and is ready for use. The purity
of the acid obtained depends chiefly on the purity of the hydrofluosilicic acid at first used. Hence to get
good results this acid must be free from foreign bodies. If an absolutely pure product be desired the acid
above obtained must be distilled in a vacuum.
272. Method of Kreider.—Kreider has worked out a simpler method of preparing perchloric acid
which will make it easy for every analyst to make and keep a supply of this admirable yet unappreciated
reagent. This method is conducted as follows:[227]
A convenient quantity of sodium chlorate, from 100 to 300 grains, is melted in a glass retort or round-
bottomed flask and gradually raised to a temperature at which oxygen is freely, but not too rapidly
evolved, and kept at this temperature till the fused mass thickens throughout, indicating the complete
conversion of the chlorate to the chlorid and perchlorate, which requires from one and one-half to two
hours: or the retort may be connected with a gasometer and the end of the reaction determined by the
volume of oxygen expelled, according to the equation
2NAClO₃ = NACl + NAClO₄ + O₂.

The product thus obtained is washed from the retort to a capacious evaporating dish where it is
treated with sufficient hydrochloric acid to effect the complete reduction of the residual chlorate, which, if
the ignition has been carefully conducted with well distributed heat, will be present in but small amount.
It is then evaporated to dryness on the steam-bath, or more quickly over a direct flame, and with but little
attention until a point near to dryness has been reached, when stirring will be found of great advantage
in facilitating the volatilization of the remaining liquid and in breaking up the mass of salt. Otherwise the
perchlorate seems to solidify with a certain amount of water and its removal from the dish, without
moistening and reheating, is impossible.
After triturating the residue, easily accomplished in a porcelain mortar, an excess of the strongest
hydrochloric acid is added to the dry salt, preferably in a tall beaker where there is less surface for the
escape of hydrochloric acid and from which the acid can be decanted without disturbing the precipitated
chlorid. If the salt has been reduced to a very fine powder, by stirring energetically for a minute, the
hydrochloric acid will set free the perchloric acid and precipitate the sodium as chlorid, which in a few
minutes settles, leaving a clear solution of the perchloric acid with the excess of hydrochloric acid. The
clear supernatant liquid is then decanted upon a gooch, through which it may be rapidly drawn with the
aid of suction, and the residue retreated with the strongest hydrochloric acid, settled, and again
decanted, the salt being finally brought upon the filter where it is washed with a little strong hydrochloric
acid. A large platinum cone will be found more convenient than the crucible, because of its greater
capacity and filtering surface. When the filter will not hold all the sodium chlorid, the latter, after washing,
may be removed by water or by mechanical means, with precautions not to disturb the felt, which is then
ready for the remainder. Of course, if water is used, the felt had better be washed with a little strong
hydrochloric acid before receiving another portion of the salt. This residue will be found to contain only
an inconsiderable amount of perchlorate, when tested by first heating to expel the free acid and then
treating the dry and powdered residue with ninety-seven per cent alcohol, which dissolves the
perchlorate of sodium but has little soluble effect on the chlorid.
The filtrate, containing the perchloric acid with the excess of hydrochloric acid and the small per cent
of sodium chlorid which is soluble in the latter, is then evaporated over the steam-bath till all hydrochloric
acid is expelled and the heavy white fumes of perchloric acid appear, when it is ready for use in
potassium determinations. Evidently the acid will not be chemically pure because the sodium chlorid is
not absolutely insoluble in hydrochloric acid; but a portion tested with silver nitrate will prove that the
sodium, together with any other bases which may have gone through the filter, has been completely
converted into perchlorate, and unless the original chlorate contained some potassium or on
evaporation the acid was exposed to the fumes of ammonia, the residue of the evaporation of a portion
is easily and completely soluble in ninety-seven per cent alcohol and its presence is therefore
unobjectionable. One cubic centimeter of the acid thus obtained gives on evaporation a residue of only
0.036 gram, which is completely soluble in ninety-seven per cent alcohol.
Caspari’s acid under similar treatment gave a residue in one case of 0.024 gram and in another
0.047 gram. If, however, a portion of pure acid be required, it may be obtained by distilling this product
under diminished pressure and, as Caspari has shown, without great loss providing the heat is
regulated according to the fumes in the distilling flask.
Some modification of the above treatment will be found necessary in case the sodium chlorate
contains any potassium as an impurity, or if the latter has been introduced from the vessel in which the
fusion was made. In these circumstances the hydrochloric acid would not suffice for the removal of
potassium, since a trace might also go over with the sodium and thus on evaporation a residue insoluble
in ninety-seven per cent alcohol be obtained. To avoid this difficulty, the mixture of sodium perchlorate
and chlorid, after treating with hydrochloric acid for the reduction of the residual chlorate, being reduced
to a fine powder, is well digested with ninety-seven per cent alcohol, which dissolves the sodium
perchlorate but leaves the chlorid, as well as any potassium salt insoluble. By giving the alcohol time to
become saturated, which was facilitated by stirring, it was found on filtering and evaporating that an
average of about two-tenths of a gram of sodium perchlorate are obtained for every cubic centimeter of
alcohol and that the product thus obtained is comparatively free of chlorids, until the perchlorate is
nearly all removed, when more of the chlorid seems to dissolve. This treatment with alcohol is continued
until on evaporation of a small portion of the latest filtrate, only a small residue is found. The alcoholic
solution of the perchlorate is then distilled from a large flask until the perchlorate begins to crystallize,
when the heat is removed and the contents quickly emptied into an evaporating dish, the same liquid
being used to wash out the remaining portions of the salt. When the distillation is terminated at the point
indicated, the distillate will contain most of the alcohol employed, but in a somewhat stronger solution,
so that it requires only diluting to ninety-seven per cent to fit it for use in future preparations. The salt is
then evaporated to dryness on the steam-bath and subsequently treated with strong hydrochloric acid
for the separation of the perchloric acid.
One cubic centimeter of the acid prepared in this way, on evaporation gave a residue in one case of
0.0369 gram, and in another 0.0307 gram, completely soluble in ninety-seven per cent alcohol, which
was then ignited and the chlorin determined by silver from which the equivalent of perchloric acid in the
form of salts was calculated as 0.0305 gram. By neutralizing the acid with sodium carbonate,
evaporating, igniting in an atmosphere of carbon dioxid till decomposition was complete, collecting the
oxygen over caustic potash, allowing it to act on hydriodic acid by intervention of nitric oxid, according to
a process soon to be published, titrating the iodin liberated, with standard arsenic and calculating the
equivalent of perchloric acid, after subtracting the amount of acid found in the form of salts, the amount
of free acid per cubic centimeter proved to be 0.9831 gram.
The whole process, even when the separation with alcohol is necessary, can not well require more
than two days and during the greater part of that time the work proceeds without attention.
273. Keeping Properties of Perchloric Acid.—By most authorities it is asserted that perchloric acid
is a very unstable body and is liable to decompose with explosive violence even when kept in the dark.
It is probable that this tendency to spontaneous decomposition has been exaggerated. It is not even
mentioned in Gmelin’s Handbook.[228]
The most concentrated aqueous acid has a specific gravity of 1.65, is colorless, fumes slightly when
exposed to the air, and boils at 200°. It has no odor, possesses an oily consistence and has a strong
and agreeably acid taste. It reddens litmus without bleaching it and is slowly volatilized at 138° without
decomposition. It is unaffected by exposure to the light, even the sun’s rays. It is not decomposed by
hydrosulfuric, sulfurous, or hydrochloric acids, nor by alcohol. Paper saturated with the strong acid does
not take fire spontaneously, but it deflagrates with red-hot charcoal.
The acid prepared by the method of Kreider has approximately the composition of the di-hydrate,
HClO₄·2H₂O.[229] Unless well evaporated, however, it is a little more dilute than is shown by the above
formula. The di-hydrate is quite stable and the more dilute acid can be kept for an indefinite time.
Kreider has kept the acid for six months and noticed no change whatever in its composition. Acid
containing one gram of perchloric acid in a cubic centimeter has been kept three months with perfect
safety. There is no reason why the strong aqueous acid should not be made a regular article of
commerce by dealers in chemical supplies, under proper restrictions for storage and transportation.
The strong acid made in this laboratory by the Kreider method has not given the least indication of
easy or spontaneous decomposition.
274. The Analytical Process.—The perchlorate process cannot be applied in the presence of
sulfuric acid or dissolved sulfates. This acid, when present, is to be removed by the usual methods
before applying the perchloric acid. Phosphoric acid may be present, but in this case a considerable
excess of the reagent must be used. The process, as originally proposed by Caspari and carried out by
Kreider, is as follows:[230]
The substance, free from sulfuric acid, is evaporated for the expulsion of free hydrochloric acid, the
residue stirred with twenty cubic centimeters of hot water and then treated with perchloric acid, in
quantity not less than one and one-half times that required by the bases present, when it is evaporated,
with frequent stirring, to a thick, sirup-like consistency, again dissolved in hot water and evaporated, with
continued stirring, till all hydrochloric acid has been expelled and the fumes of perchloric acid appear.
Further loss of perchloric acid is to be compensated for by addition of more. The cold mass is then well
stirred with about twenty cubic centimeters of wash alcohol—ninety-seven per cent alcohol containing
two-tenths per cent by weight of pure perchloric acid, with precautions against reducing the potassium
perchlorate crystals to too fine a powder. After settling, the alcohol is decanted on the asbestos filter and
the residue similarly treated with about the same amount of wash alcohol, settled, and again decanted.
The residual salt is then deprived of alcohol by gently heating, dissolved in ten cubic centimeters of hot
water and a little perchloric acid, when it is evaporated once more, with stirring, until fumes of perchloric
acid rise. It is then washed with one cubic centimeter of wash alcohol, transferred to the asbestos,
preferably by a policeman to avoid excessive use of alcohol, and covered finally with pure alcohol; the
whole wash process requiring from about fifty to seventy cubic centimeters of alcohol. It is then dried at
about 130° and weighed.
The substitution of a gooch for the truncated pipette employed by Caspari will be found
advantageous; and asbestos capable of forming a close, compact felt should be selected, inasmuch as
the perchlorate is in part unavoidably reduced, during the necessary stirring, to so fine a condition that it
tends to run through the filter when under pressure. A special felt of an excellent quality of asbestos was
prepared for the determinations given below and seemed to hold the finer particles of the perchlorate
very satisfactorily.
A number of determinations made of potassium, unmixed with other bases or non-volatile acids, is
recorded in the following table:
Potassium Potassium Error on Error on
Volume of Error on
chlorid perchlorate potassium potassium
filtrate. potash.
taken. found. perchlorate. chlorid.
Cubic
Grams. Grams. Grams. Grams. Grams.
centimeters.
0.1000 54 0.1851 0.0008— 0.0004— 0.0003—
0.1000 58 0.1854 0.0005— 0.0002— 0.0002—
0.1000 51 0.1859 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000
0.1000 50 0.1854 0.0005— 0.0002— 0.0002—
0.1000 48 0.1859 0.0000 0.0000 0.0000
0.1000 52 0.1854 0.0005— 0.0002— 0.0002—
Considerable difficulty, however, was experienced in obtaining satisfactory determinations of
potassium associated with sulfuric and phosphoric acids. As Caspari has pointed out, the sulfuric acid
must be removed by precipitation as barium sulfate before the treatment with perchloric acid is
attempted, and unless the precipitation is made in a strongly acid solution, some potassium is carried
down with the barium. Phosphoric acid need not be previously removed, but to secure a nearly
complete separation of this acid from the potassium, a considerable excess of perchloric acid should be
left upon the potassium perchlorate before it is treated with the alcohol. When these conditions are
carefully complied with, fairly good results may justly be expected. Below is given a number of the
results obtained:
(A) = Volume of filtrate. Cubic centimeters.

(B) = Potassium perchlorate found.
(C) = Error on potassium perchlorate.
(D) = Error on potassium chlorid.
(E) = Error on potassium potash.
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.
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.
No. 35, p. 63.
[208] Chemiker Zeitung, Band 18, S. 1320.
[209] Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol. 17, p. 85.
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.

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Strategic Management Creating

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1. We draw on Porter’s “diamond of national advantage” as a framework to explain the level of

A. THE GLOBAL ECONOMY: A BRIEF OVERVIEW

What Do People Need and Demand at the Bottom of the Pyramid?

 What is the implication of the example stated above?

 Can the bottom of the pyramid prove to be a profitable, long-term market?

STRATEGY SPOTLIGHT 7.1 provides an interesting perspective on international trade –marketing to

I. FACTORS AFFECTING A NATION’S COMPETITIVENESS

❑ How do these factors—individually or jointly—affect industries in countries with which you

Mexico’s Surprising Lead in Undergraduate Engineering Degree Programs

Hollywood Films Need Foreign Viewers

B. RELATED AND SUPPORTING INDUSTRIES

C. FIRM STRATEGY, STRUCTURE, AND RIVALRY

D. CONCLUDING COMMENTS ON FACTORS AFFECTING A NATION’S

II. INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION: A COMPANY’S MOTIVATIONS

❑ What are the implications of Exhibit 7.2 for international trade?

Potential benefits of international expansion include (with examples we discuss):

● attain economies of scale (Bombardier, IMAX)

New Balance Defies Conventional Wisdom

B. POTENTIAL RISKS OF INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION

Managing Rids at the Bottom of the Pyramid

1. Political and Economic Risk

III. ACHIEVING COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES IN GLOBAL

Defining a “Global Mindset”

A. TWO OPPOSING PRESSURES: REDUCING COSTS AND ADAPTATION TO LOCAL

● Customer needs and interests are becoming increasingly homogeneous worldwide.

Some of the risks of an international strategy include:

● A firm can enjoy scale economies by concentrating scale-sensitive resources and

Outsourcing’s Global Delivery Model

How a Chinese Company Wins on its Home Turf

● At times, local adaptations, even well intentioned may backfire.

The WPP Group—Insights on Transnational Strategy Concepts

J&J’s Decentralized Structure

F. GLOBAL OR REGIONAL? A SECOND LOOK AT GLOBALIZATION

Growth in Regional Trade Fuels Global Expansion

IV. ENTRY MODES OF INTERNATIONAL EXPANSION

Loctite’s Insights on the Selection of Distributors in International Markets

❑ What are some examples of successful (or unsuccessful) exporting?

D. STRATEGIC ALLIANCES AND JOINT VENTURES

Managing International Strategic Alliances

E. WHOLLY OWNED SUBSIDIARIES

Global Dispersion of Value Chains: Outsourcing and Offshoring

The Rationale for Offshoring

Inoculating Oneself Against Having Your Job “Offshored”

Another question that is likely to stimulate a lot of discussion may be:

alliances/joint ventures, or acquisition as the means to enter these markets? Potential

REFLECTING ON CAREER IMPLICATIONS

1. International Strategy: Be aware of your organization’s international strategy. What

4. Outsourcing and Offshoring: What activities in your organization can/should be outsourced or

MgCl₂ + 2KOH = MgO₂H₂ + 2KCl.

THE ESTIMATION OF POTASH AS PERCHLORATE.

2NAClO₃ = NACl + NAClO₄ + O₂.

(A) = Volume of filtrate. Cubic centimeters.

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