Brazil Assessment You work for a Japanese car manufacturer. Your company has decided to build a new car assembly plant in Brazil. They have not decided which of the five regions of Brazil to build it in.

Why Brazil? There is a pool of skilled and cheap labour that has been working in car manufacturing for the last 50 years. However, they are not evenly distributed throughout the country. Local governments in Brazil have supported the building of car plants by covering up to 50% of their set-up costs. In Brazil there is plenty of electricity for factories. There is a good supply of steel – but it is not evenly distributed. More roads are constantly being built to previously inaccessible towns. Brazil has had no wars with any of its neighbours in its recent history. There is no history of labour problems such as long strikes. Lower health and safety standards reduce costs.

Look carefully of the aerial photo of a car assembly plant above. Why do you think this is a good location for the plant? Share your ideas with your teacher.

You are part of a team of four managers who all have specific requirements. The four managers are: 1. Personnel Manager - responsible for finding a cheap but educated work-force 2. Transport Manager - in charge of getting raw materials to the factory and distributing the finished cars 3. Production Manager - in charge of finding an area with a tradition of industry 4. Sales Manager - responsible for finding a market (people to buy the cars) for the finished cars.

Every week for the next few weeks you will take on the role of one of the managers. As that manager, you will complete tasks and produce a short report outlining which of the five regions you would chose to build the factory in. You will therefore produce FOUR mini reports. NOTE – the four managers don’t have to agree NOTE – there is no right or wrong answer FINAL NOTE!!! – the Brazilian government is very supportive. They particularly want to encourage industry to develop in less developed regions. The final part task will require you to take into account the views of the four managers and make a final decision as to where you are going to build the factory.