MODES OF OPERATIONS IN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS When pursuing international business, an organization must decide on one of the suit able modes of operations included in Figure 1.1. In the following sections, we discuss each of these modes. MERCHANDISE EXPORTS AND IMPORTS Exporting and importing are the most popular modes of international business, especially among smaller companies. Merchandise exports are tangible products goods that are sent out of a country; merchandise imports are goods brought into a country. Because we can actually see these goods as they leave and enter the country, we sometimes call them visible exports and imports. The athletic shoes that an Indonesian plant sends to the United States are exports for Indonesia and imports for the United States. For most countries, the export and import of goods are the major sources of international revenues and expenditures.