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IBS 240: Term Project

· Requirement of 10-12 pages (double space with 1” margin on all sides)

· Must cite all sources – work must be original not plagiarized (Use MLA Format).

You are an entrepreneur (based in the US) who is exploring means to expand your business to another country. Your goal is to study the feasibility of setting up your business in the selected country. The product/service may be new or existing as long as it is not already being sold in your host country.

1. Step one: (5%)

a. State the study objectives

b. Discuss who you are in terms of your company, where you are located, how many employees you have etc. This is to give you some authenticity. You can make up all the info or base it on a small existing company. What is your product(s) and/or service(s)?

2. Step two: (35%)

a. Select a host country to expand your business – why did you select this country?

b. Discuss the business environment in the following contexts:

· Political & Economic including trade agreements (10%)

· Legal & ethical (10%) …… Learning Outcome 1

· Social & cultural (15%) …. Learning Outcome 2

For your analysis, you are required to use any two of the following cultural dimensions (Chapters 4-5):

1. Hofstede (include home and host country’s comparison charts)

2. Globe

3. Trompenaar

· Demographic environment of this country.

· Use established facts and figures.

3. Step three: Based on the above analysis and your research, explore: (15%)…. Learning Outcome 3

a. Major opportunities for doing business in the host country (e.g. population base, economy, need for the product/service)

b. Major challenges (e.g. competition, infrastructure, government policies, culture, legal environment)

4. Step four (10%)….. Learning Outcome 3

a. Select, describe and justify your entry strategy (Chapter 9). You need to select one and it must be in compliance with local host country laws and culture.

5. Step five: (10%)

a. Your final decision – to go ahead; decide against it; or to postpone entering the market.

b. Discuss 3-4 critical success factors that will contribute to positive outcome of the project

Please remember this is a feasibility study in International Management. You need to use concepts from various chapters and show your understanding and your learning during the course.

I need to read about your ideas and your perspectives

Format of the report

1. Cover page with your name and project title

2. All pieces must be titled and separated e.g.

a. Introduction

b. Study objectives and The home company (step 1)

c. The host country and its business environment (step 2)

d. Opportunities and challenges for doing business

(step 3)

e. Entry strategy (step 4)

f. Our decision – do we want to go into the country or not

(step 5)

3. Cite your sources using MLA format

PROJECT ASSESSMENT RUBRIC

Assessment Criteria	Excellent	Average	Under-performing
Step 1 (5%)	States clear and precise study objectives. Factual information about the company	Lack of clarity of each aspect of the study objectives and company details	Diluted information about the company
Step 2 (35%)	Student displays complete understanding of the host country business environment in the following context: political, economic, legal & ethical, social & cultural. Analysis of the cultural dimensions, based on 2 of the 3 models	Analysis is satisfactory but lacks depth and detail. Some research support, of the analysis, is evident	Analysis does not demonstrate basic understanding of the subject. Research is poorly done and presentation is poorly written.
Step 3 (15%)	Student shows thorough understanding of aspects related to opportunities and challenges of doing business in the host country, emphasizing all the key aspects as detailed in the brief.	Analysis is satisfactory but lacks depth and detail. Some research support, of the analysis, is evident	Analysis does not demonstrate basic understanding of the subject. Research is poorly done and presentation is poorly written.
Step 4 (10%)	Well-articulated and sound justification of the entry strategy	Entry strategy seems appropriate but not well articulated and justified	Poorly stated and justified entry strategy
Step 5 (10%)	Student demonstrates analytical decision making capability. The key success factors (3-4) are well articulated.	Analysis is satisfactory but lacks depth and detail. Key success factors (1-2) are not clearly articulated	Analysis is poor and shows no understanding of key success factors.
Presentation (10%)	Project is well-formatted and appropriately organized. Appearance inspires readership.	Project is adequately organized and formatted but lacks inspiration. May have few basic presentation issues.	Project is poorly organized and lacks cohesive flow throughout. Many required component parts missing.
Research, proper MLA Citation (5%)	10+ pieces in total. Source materials are high quality, timely, relevant, and show significant effort in their acquisition. All sources properly cited in MLA format in text and in Works Cited	7-9 pieces. Source materials are mostly high quality, relevant and show effort in their acquisition. Most sources properly cited in MLA format in text and in Works Cited	< 6 pieces. Few quality sources. Sources are not properly cited using MLA format
Writing Quality (10%)	Cohesive business writing that is clear, concise and professional. Few, if any grammatical errors, no spelling errors.	Cohesive business writing that is clear but may lack professionalism. Some grammatical and/or spelling errors.	Poorly written with unacceptable amount of grammar and spelling errors.