Location, location, location! | Geography homework help

Location, location, location!

“Location, location, location” is a hallmark of the real estate industry, but have you ever thought about how that motto pertains to the situation of other industries? If you were going to start a new business that required specific types of people, talents, and resources, how would you decide where the best place would be? In today’s technological era, the location of a new plant relies on many important factors to ensure success and return on investment. In this week’s Application Assignment, you will become one of those executives researching a new location and consider how the local geography could make or break your business.

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To prepare for this Application:

• Review pages 129-134, 138-139 in The World Today.
• Consider the changing industrial and economical geography of North America, and how manufacturing and urbanization affects the surrounding economy.
• Reflect on what factors a CEO would consider when deciding on where to situate a new plant.

The assignment:

• Compose a 2-page essay in which you answer the following from the perspective of a chief executive of a successful young company that manufactures software for the newest, high-speed computers:
  • Where would you locate your company in North America and why?
    
    
  • What factors are priorities that you will consider when deciding where you will locate your factory, such as educational resources, skilled labor workforce, proximity to other important locations, communication systems, connection to global networking, geographical risks, recreational opportunities, etc.
  • Create a “short list” of three possible sites in North America and present the factors that justify why each is a desirable location.
  • Choose one location from your “short list” in which your decision is built upon the most impor­tant locational variables for your plant and its highly-skilled workforce. Explain why you consider this location to be the best, and what results you expect from locating your plant there.