How does the production of a single product often involve multiple countries today? Illustrate your answer with an example of an MNC spreading production across nations.
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-26 13:25 · grounding rag
Model Answer
Today, production of a single product is spread across multiple countries, with each country contributing based on its advantages.
Example: A large MNC producing industrial equipment:
- Designs products in research centres in the USA
- Manufactures components in China (cheap manufacturing)
- Assembles products in Mexico and Eastern Europe (close to markets)
- Customer care is handled through call centres in India (skilled, English-speaking workforce)
The finished products are then sold globally. This division of the production process across nations results in 50–60% cost savings for the MNC.
Source: Chapter 4 — Production Across Countries
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Explanation
- Examiners expect one clear example with countries named and roles specified — the industrial equipment MNC from the textbook is the ideal choice.
- Use the exact countries and functions from the passage (USA → design, China → components, Mexico/Eastern Europe → assembly, India → customer care). Vague answers lose marks.
- The key concept to state is that production is divided into parts and spread globally — this is what "interlinking of production" means.
- At 3 marks: one introductory line + the example broken into points = ideal length. Do not write more.