[SOLVED] International Business Management

 

International Business Management

 

You are tasked to study a detailed Country Analysis and Market Entry strategy for expanding international business to one of the following countries: China, India, Philippines, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Germany, France, or Italy. (Choice is yours)

In brief, you will analyze the political, economic, legal and cultural environment of the country; outline the challenges and opportunities of conducting business in that country and provide relevant guidelines and recommendations for entering the market.

You will be examining the country from every possible perspective. Areas you will consider include: Economic and business environment, political environment, cultural analysis, market opportunity, and market entry strategy recommendations.
You shall prepare the project and make a final presentation in class (about 20 slides), on the key learnings for that country.
Project should be at least a 10-‐page report 12 pt., Times Roman, 1.5 line spacing.
Presentation should focus on the most relevant and interesting points from each section. Creativity is encouraged in all presentations.
Use charts and graphs wherever possible, but explain them.
All your sources of information must be clearly cited in-text and referenced in a list at the end.
Your bibliography must include at least 8 published/referenced sources.
This is a business presentation; be sure to use headings and subheads as outlined. Your submission must follow the outline and sequence as below.
The report and presentation must be “professional” as if you are presenting to senior management, not as a casual essay or submission.

Country Snapshot Project Outline:

Title Page with student details
Executive Summary
This should be a about a page summary assessment of:
– The country’s economic political situation and risks (if any)
– The country’s current economic situation, opportunities, challenges and risks
– Whether the country represents a good opportunity for your products. And, do you recommend entering or not entering that market?
3. Body:
Political environment analysis:
a) Political system and structure
b) Stability of government
c) Future political risks, if any
d) Bribery and corruption risk/index

Economic and business environment analysis:
a) Demographics: Population, growth rate, distribution of population (age groups), rural vs. urban, cities vs. villages
b) Per capita income levels, wealth distribution
c) Major exports and trading partners
d) Business environment: Government attitude to foreign investment and trends, ease of doing business, trade regulations
e) Inflation levels, currency exchange rate; risks of devaluation versus the dollar
f) Education and literacy levels, availability of skilled labor, labor costs
g) Membership in regional economic and trading blocks
h) Legal system: Protection of intellectual property rights, enforcement of contracts

Cultural dimensions of doing business in the country:
This should be about a 1 to 2-‐page summary assessment of key guidelines for success when doing business in that country – how some of the cultural habits and differences are likely to impact doing business and the marketing and distribution of your product in that country, as well as marketing challenges.
a) Major religions, ethnic makeup and languages
b) Major sports, recreation
c) Major differences in beliefs, values, customs and behaviors, role of family
d) Unique business customs, etiquette and practices one should be aware of when doing business in that country (time and decision-‐making, meetings, negotiations, business relationships, dress code, status, gift-‐giving, etc.)
e) Unique aspects of written, oral and non-‐verbal communications
f) Describe the country’s culture using Hofstede’s model of cultural dimensions (Power distance – hierarchy, Individualism/collectivism, Masculine/feminine, Uncertainty avoidance, Time)

Market Opportunity Analysis – For your product
Identify a product opportunity (You cannot pick an existing brand). Why does the country represent a good market opportunity for your product? Rationale.
a) Market prospects
b) Current product usage habits
c) Competitive products on the market in that country
d) Retail distribution channels
e) Major advertising media used in the country
f) Total size of the market and market potential for your product
g) Target market and demographics for your product

Market Entry mode:
a) Suggest the most suitable market entry mode, e.g. exporting, licensing, franchising, joint venture, wholly-‐owned subsidiary, etc. Explain rationale.
b) Provide at least 2 recent examples/case studies of market entry strategies of other multinationals in that country that have succeeded or failed.

Conclusion:
a) Most interesting or fun facts about the country
b) Key challenges, risks, threats of doing business in the country

4. Bibliography/References:
This section will be a listing of all your research – your sources of information for the project. This must include at least 10-15 diverse sources, including relevant research using some of the business newspapers, magazines, and online databases.

5. Organization and Mechanics:
Paper should be well-‐organized, clear and easy to read, laid out effectively, using headings, sub-‐heads and bullets. Paper should be well coordinated among team members. Points deducted for grammatical and spelling errors.

Research Project Resources:
Fortune, BusinessWeek, and Forbes have many articles on companies featured in most cases. These publications can all be found in Business Source Premier. See the “Finding Specific Business Magazines or Journals” tab in your course’s LibGuide for steps on how to find business journals or magazines in selected databases.
You can access industry reports in Mergent Online and Business Insights: Essentials, and you can find industry financial & market reports in BizMiner as well.
Business Publications and Websites:
(a) Bloomberg Business Week – Full text accessible in Business Source Premier
(b) Bureau Economic Analysis – www.bea.gov
(c) Conference Board Review – www.tcbreview.com
(d) Fast Company – Full text accessible in Business Source Premier or ABI/Inform Complete
(e) Forbes – full text accessible in Business Source Premier
(f) Fortune – full text accessible in Business Source Premier
(g) Inc. – full text accessible in Business Insights: Essentials
(h) Sales & Marketing – www.salesandmarketing.com
(i) Wall Street Journal – full text accessible in ABI/Inform Complete
(j) Organization chart wiki – http://www.cogmap.com/
(k) A useful site for information on organization culture – http://www.glassdoor.com/index.htm
(l) Company analysis – http://www.glassdoor.com/index.htm
(m) Business culture guides – http://www.executiveplanet.com/index.php?title=Main_Page
(n) Business etiquette – http://www.international-‐business-‐center.com
(o) Cultural insights – http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/country-‐profiles.html
(p) GlobalEdge