Apply your understanding of international business, market selection and entry modes to a specific company (which will be allocated to you) and recommend a new market to enter, the optimal entry mode and any other relevant particulars.
You will need to utilise both theoretical knowledge and necessary frameworks/tools relevant to the assessment alongside strong consideration of practical issues and potential obstacles. You need to apply your research skills to find information and literature on the allocated company and potential markets. You are expected to also address the impact of relevant current issues, such as the shift in trade patterns due to the Covid-19 pandemic and other trends.
Required Elements
– Formal Report Structure
– Focused on a company which has been agreed with the tutor/UC or has been assigned to you by the tutor/UC
– Recommendations of a new market to enter with an entry mode to use
– Process Log (Self-Assessment) using the provided template on the BREO Shell as Appendix A (approx. 300 words)
– Reflection on the Assessment process using a reflective model (recommended to use Gibbs or Kolb) as Appendix B. (approx. 300 words)
Recommended Elements
– It is strongly recommended that your report contains consideration of at least some of the following unit concepts, models and topic areas to support your recommendations and develop your argument.
– Political risks
– Legal systems
– Cultural distance
– International supply chains
– Economic and trading blocs
– International marketing
– FOREX and currency risks
There will be a Checkpoint before Week 8 of the unit where you will be expected to discuss your approach and ideas for the assessment with the tutor. This will use the Assessment 2 Checkpoint Template document on the BREO shell and you are expected to record the feedback given on the Process Log.
Additional Guidance
1. The balance between market analysis and the actual planning/recommendations– ensure that your submissions are balanced with regards to analysis and recommendations. For example, do not use a lot of space summarising the analysis, at the expense of developing your recommendations and considering potential issues.
2. Vagueness – planning needs to be very specific; stating that you will entry country X using entry mode Y is not enough. You need to explain the rationale behind your choices, the academic tools/frameworks used, the issues that you took into consideration and also demonstrate that you have given some thought to the implementation and implications of your recommendations.
3. Academic content – you are expected to include academic material into your report rather than relying upon online sources alone. You need to demonstrate an understanding of the theoretical background of international business through your citation of relevant academic content.
4. Executive summary – an executive summary should be written in a way that allows the executive who reads it to know what the problem is and how it is to be solved. Essentially, it is a summary of your problem statement, objectives and how to achieve them (i.e. how to solve the problem).
5. Secondary data use – Analysis should be supported with secondary data (from the literature). You should demonstrate wider reading and acknowledge the sources of your information, both in the main body and in your bibliography. Information pertaining to the potential markets and selected company should be sourced from reliable sources rather than through general web search, you should speak to an Academic Librarian if you require assistance with this.
6. Presentation and structure – to achieve an excellent grade, your presentation needs to be immaculate – this includes numbering tables, referencing correctly etc. Do not present a lot of data and information in tables as appendices. Data or statistics that refer directly to your discussion in the main body, should be presented in the main body. Tables and figures – tables and figures need to be numbered and each should have a title that is self-explanatory. Your analytical content must be high, demonstrating critical thinking and the ability to apply relevant marketing concepts
7. Word limit – 3,000 words. This will exclude the executive summary, reference list, title page, table of contents and the appendices. Please, note that your cover page must have your Full Name and ID Number.