International Business- Essay

Assessment Task 3 – Individual Essay (50%)

• Assignment type: Individual • Value: 50% • Link to CLOs: 1, 2, 3, 4 • Word limit: 2,500 words (excluding the title page and the reference list, 10% more or

less is allowed) • Due date: 19:00, Friday, Oct 9 (Singapore Time)

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Based on the choice of your MNE, answer the following questions. Please note that you need to demonstrate understanding of the theories covered in the course and you meet the necessary academic requirements in terms of conducting effective research, application of theories and concepts, problem solving skills and academic writing.

For this assignment, you need to choose one multinational enterprise (MNE) from the 2020 Fortune Global 500 list operating in one of the following industries*.

• Beverages

• Internet services and retailing

• Household and personal products

• Motor vehicles and parts

• Petroleum refining *The 2020 Fortune Global 500 list is available from https://fortune.com/global500/2020/. You must use the industry filter (not sectors) available at https://fortune.com/global500/2020/search/ to shortlist and choose your MNE. N.B. You are encouraged to conduct preliminary data search about the potential MNE to ensure that you can obtain relevant and recent information enabling you to conduct well- supported analysis.

Part 1: Introduction and your chosen MNE (approx. 800 words)

Q 1. Write the introduction to the whole paper (i.e. answers to questions 1-5). You should include the purpose, main findings, and the scope and the structure of your paper in the introduction. (You should write your introduction after you know the key findings and the structure of your paper. It is strongly recommended that you write the introduction when you have completed the main body). Q 2. (i) Provide a brief profile of your MNE. Information such as its country of origin, company history, its main products/services, countries of operation etc., should be included. (ii) What are core resources and capabilities of your chosen MNE? Which resources and capabilities do you think provide the source of competitive advantage for the company?

Part 2: Host country analysis (approx. 400 words)

For this part, you need to select one foreign market (the host country) your chosen MNE is operating in. You may not choose the countries you selected for the Group Report Assessment (Assessment Task 2) of this course.

Q 3. Analyse the current political situation of your selected host country. What opportunities and challenges does the current political situation create for your chosen MNE’s operation in the country?

Part 3: MNE’s strategy in the host country (approx. 1,100 words)

Q 4. Based on your understanding of the course topics, Strategy and Structure of MNEs and Entering Foreign Markets, analyse strategy and entry mode choices your MNE adopted as it entered and operates in the host country. Evaluate the benefits and pitfalls of the company’s decisions. If you were given the responsibility of managing your chosen MNE’s operations in your selected host country, what additional or alternative actions would you undertake? Provide justifications for your answer.

Part 4: Conclusion (approx. 200 words) Q 5. Write the conclusion to your whole paper. Your conclusion should include a summary of key findings and an evaluation of the importance of your case.

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Guidelines

• Make sure that you meet all the assessment requirements. Failure to meet the requirements may result in;

- loss of marks; - re-marking excluding the section of work which does not meet the requirement;

and/or - resubmitting all or part of the work.

• This is an academic writing assignment. You need to demonstrate your ability to investigate IB issues from real world situations, and present your analysis and arguments based on evidence. For this, it is important that relevant theories and concepts, and examples from the case are integrated in your analysis.

• You need to demonstrate critical thinking skills. Being descriptive is not appropriate for this assignment.

• You are expected to consult newspapers and popular press, and grey literature such as trade/industry/government reports and periodicals. You also need to use academic journals as sources for your analysis. Your essay should have at least six academic journal references to inform your key ideas.

Format Your essay must be formatted as per the requirements below:

• Cover sheet (available for download in the course Canvas page)

• Use 12pt font

• 1.5 line or double spacing

• Leave a line between each paragraph

• Use Harvard method for referencing

• Clearly indicate the question numbers. Use headings and subheadings where appropriate, but do not include the full questions in your essay as it will distort the word count

• The title page and the reference list are excluded from the word count.

• Your final submission must be in MS Words “.docx” or “.doc” format. If you

used Mac, make sure that you convert the “.pages” file into one of the above

formats before submission.