Last Minute Research Paper

Dr. Korovyakovskaya

BUSA 3145-01 – Global Business Issues

Country Research Project Description and Guidelines

Throughout the semester, each team will monitor and collect data on the country’s social, political, economic, and infrastructural dynamics that impact a company’s decision to do business there (either to source or sell there). This research project will culminate in a written report and a presentation by each group at the semester’s end.

This is a group project and students are free to choose their own group members. Groups can be of any size, up to 5 members.

The purpose of the project is to prepare students to conduct macro-level assessments for a company. Presentations will be performed at the end of the course term online in the form of YouTube videos. Because this project involves group work, everyone in the group needs to participate and do their part to make the project a success.

Please select a country and state in what industry your hypothetical company operates in.

With that industry in mind, conduct your research on the country and a possibility of doing business there (either to source or sell there).

Please use sources cited under Additional Readings and Sources of Information at the end of each Study Guide posted in D2L, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) http://www.bea.gov, GlobalEDGE Data Finder http://www.prb.org/DataFinder/Geography.aspx?loct=3, CIA World Factbookhttps://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/rankorderguide.html, and other sources to help you in your research. Please answer ALL questions below.

1. Name of the country and its brief history from the time it was formed until the present day.

2. Demographics and Culture

a. Size of population

b. Rate of population growth

c. Official and other (minority) languages

d. Religion and religious practices

e. Education system

f. Literacy rate, recent changes in the literacy rate

g. Health (overall health of the population, healthcare systems, etc.)

h. Demographic trends (e.g. high rates of immigration to developed countries, high levels of cultural assimilation of immigrant to this country, increase in minority population, etc.)

3. Geography

a. geographic location

b. climate

c. biodiversity

d. natural resources

e. other pertinent data

4. Political system

a. type of political regime (presence/absence of democracy)

b. how long this regime has been in power. Reasons it came to power.

c. major political parties and their influence on country politics

d. name of the President/King/Queen and his/her influence on country politics

e. foreign relations

f. administrative divisions

g. role of the Army in country’s domestic and international affairs

h. other pertinent data

5. Political Economy of International Trade. Discuss the main instruments of trade policy, including

a. Tariffs

b. Subsidies

c. Export/import policies and quotas

d. (voluntary) export restraints, embargoes, if any

e. administrative policies

6. Economy (current state, recent crises and their influences)

a. Country currency

b. Conversion rates into US dollar and Euro

c. Trade blocks the country is in (NAFTA, MERCOSUR, etc.)

d. Role of International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank and any other international organizations in the country’s economic life, if applicable.

e. Level of economic development

f. Labor conditions, minimum wage, Consumer Price Index (CPI), levels of poverty, social classes/social hierarchy

7. Traditions/customs one needs to be aware of when doing business with this country

8. Your conclusion. Based on the data and analysis above, would you recommend your company to do business with this country? Would you build your company’s facilities there? Would you outsource some of your functions using the country’s resources? If yes, what will you outsource? Would you sell your products there? If yes, do you need to do any modifications to your products to better suit local tastes and preferences? Any other considerations.

Written DOCUMENT RUBRIC

Your Project Cover Page should include the following:

· Names of all team members

· Include the title of the Project

· Name of the course

· Submission date

The body of the Project should be formatted as follows:

1. Font size and style: Times Roman, 12-point font size (black type) and single-spaced

1. Margins: Top, Bottom, Left, and Right must be set at 1.00

1. Please Justify your text/paragraphs

1. Please bind the B-Plan or have it done in another presentable format. It is a professional document.

1. Sources/references used should be cited in APA format. Please cite your sources in order to give credit to the original author and to avoid plagiarism (grade of “0”).

1. Avoid the use of contractions (i.e., use cannot instead of can’t; cannot is one word).

1. Avoid the use of slang words and/or phrases.

7. Avoid the use of the word “you”; instead, use “one” or “a person.”

8. Avoid the use of text language: lol, u, rotf, rotfl

8. Instead of using the same word or words to begin your sentences, please vary your sentence structure. Use the synonym command in MS Word.

11. PLEASE SPELLCHECK YOUR WORK BEFORE SUBMITTING IT TO ME! If you

need help with proof reading, please see someone in the Writing Center or related

facility.

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