individual project

Individual Project Instructions

MGMT 338

You have been hired by Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE: CMG) as they are considering

expanding internationally by opening locations in a new country. Chipotle has already opened

some locations in Canada, Germany, France and the U.K., but they believe opportunities exist in

other countries as well. As such, Chipotle has asked you to compare two countries on a number

of factors and then make a recommendation as to which country they should expand into.

Per Yahoo Finance:

Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates Chipotle Mexican Grill

restaurants. As of September 30, 2020, it operated approximately 2,700 restaurants in the United

States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. The company was founded in 1993

and is headquartered in Newport Beach, California.

Your paper and presentation should clearly address the following steps, in order.

Section 1: Formal Institutions: Identify the political system, legal systems, and economic

systems in both countries. Then discuss which country would be more attractive to enter looking

at each of these three systems and why.

Section 2: Informal Institutions: Identify the dimensions of culture that you believe may exist in

each country (Hofstede’s Value Dimensions) and be sure to explain your selections based on

specific data/information you find. Because you are considering whether to set up operations in

one of these countries, you may hire local employees, you may try to sell to customers in each

country, etc. Then, make a recommendation on which country would be more attractive to do

business in based on these value dimensions and explain why.

Section 3: International Trade & Trade Barriers: Identify the GDP for both countries. Identify

at least one tariff and at least one non-tariff barriers that each of these countries have in place, and

be sure to explain why these trade barriers may apply to what you will be exporting. Then, make

a recommendation on which country would be more attractive to sell into (export) and why based

on these countries’ GDPs and trade barriers.

Section 4: Foreign Direct Investment (FDI): Identify two potential ownership advantages and

two potential location advantages for each country. Be sure to explain why each advantage

(details) specifically applies to each country. Then, make a recommendation on which country

would be more attractive to invest in (FDI) and why based on these specific advantages.

Section 5: Foreign Exchange: Identify the current exchange rate between each country’s

currency and U.S. Dollars. Speak to whether these exchange rates have remained constant over

time or if they appear to fluctuate significantly. Then, make a recommendation on which country

would be more attractive to invest in based on this information.

Section 6: Regional Integration: Identify any major trade agreements both countries are members

of. For instance, the United States is a member of NAFTA.

Section 7: Entering Foreign Markets: Equity versus non-equity methods of entry – based on

what you have learned in steps 1-6, make a recommendation on which country to enter as well

as what specific method of entry to use and why.

Section 8: Post-Entry Recommendations: Based on what you have learned in sections 1-7, in

order to successfully do business in this new country moving forward, make at least two specific

recommendations to improve the marketing and human resources functions of your operations in

this country.

Countries to Analyze:

1. South Korea or Russia

2. Spain or Australia

3. Brazil or Italy

4. Japan or India

5. Turkey or Switzerland

6. Thailand or Belgium

7. Nigeria or Argentina

8. Ireland or Philippines

9. South Africa or Denmark

10. Finland or Vietnam

11. Peru or Greece

12. Austria or United Arab Emirates