International Business

Objectives:

The internationalisation process is an important business phenomenon. In recent decades, more and more companies have started to operate outside their domestic markets. There are also new technologies and systems that foster the growth of internationalisation of firms from all countries around the world. It is, therefore, important for us to comprehend the nature of internationalisation process of business.

In this task, you are asked to perform an international business analysis. In doing so, you will need to understand some international business theories from this course. Also, you must be able to apply what you learn from the course to this task. This task, hence, will help you to be able to ‘learn’ and ‘apply’ key international business theoriesfrom the course to ‘real-life’ multinational corporations (MNCs).

What do I need to do?

The key question for this essay is:

“What is the internationalisation process of company…… in (industry and country)?

Step 1:

You must select an MNC from the Fortune’s Global 500 MNCs. This is the link to the list:

http://fortune.com/global500/

 Please select a company and industry that you are keen to learn from/about them.

Step 2:

We understand that MNCs operate in many countries across the globe. For the sake of focus and comprehension in international business, you are required to select only ONE country that your MNC has already entered. There is no limitation in terms of entry time. Hence, if you are interested in the historical perspectives, you can choose the case from the past and analyse them (i.e. case from 1980s). On the other hand, if you are interested in the current IB situation, the case from current era will help you to understand what is currently happening in international business.

At this stage, you are required to analyse the host country and identify specific country factors that influence the company’s internationalisation process. (DO NOT PERFORM PESTEL/SWOT/5 FORCES). Theories from topics one, two and three will be useful at this stage.

Step 3:

Then, you need to analyse the internationalisation of the company. In doing this you can follow the following points:

-          Overview of the company as an MNC

-          Internationalisation process of the firm (how? why? with whom? key challenges?)

-          Reflections (What have you learnt?)

-          References

Note: Theories from topics four to ten will be useful for your analysis.

Words count: 2,500