Reference no: EM132265093

Task: To be performed individually

Word limit: 1500 (excluding the reference list)

This first assignment provides an opportunity to reflect on some important themes covered in the first four lessons. While it is relatively short it still counts for 20% of the unit marks - part of the assignment learning outcome is to promote skills in clear and concise writing - please therefore do not exceed the word limit - anything >10% over the word count will be ignored.

Assignment description

Vietnam is one of the larger emerging and developing market economies EDME, which provide some of the biggest growth opportunities for international businesses. However, decision making in such markets is fraught with risk and much of this risk stems from poor quality of information upon which decisions are made. Enhancing the quality of such market information is therefore of paramount importance to the business manager.

Obtaining and collecting market information in EDMEs like Vietnam poses significant challenges for companies. This assignment requires you to select three of these generic challenges and discuss them in relation to Vietnam. For each you must briefly describe the challenge; consider the risk it poses to effective decision making; and suggest ways that the risk might be reduced or overcome.

NB. Some of the early lesson activities will help you to progress with this assignment. Also before starting the assignment please read the associated resources on Learnline.

Purpose

The assignment will:

· Get you thinking about a contemporary and growing concern for managerial decision making relating to EDMEs - specifically Vietnam.

· Develop your understanding of decision making risks and the barriers to reliable market information.

· Require you to critically evaluate the implications of these barriers and determine ways to overcome them.

· Help develop skills in desk research (library and Internet search), collating, presenting and interpreting information, as well as the ESSENTIAL SKILL of accurate referencing.

· Develop your skill in writing concisely and to the point.

Assignment tasks

EDMEs such as Vietnam present the international business manager with many potential barriers to obtaining reliable and accurate market information. These include:

· Availability and reliability of secondary information

· Availability and reliability of primary research suppliers

· Selecting appropriate data collection methodologies

· Research costs variations

.AND a host of related macro and environmental differences relating to:

· Political and legislative issues

· Basic infrastructure

· Cultural differences

· Social and market structure differences

· Communication and technology difficulties

· Accessibility

In this assignment you are must first choose three potential challenges relating to gathering market information and conducting market research in Vietnam. For each you should describe the challenge; consider the risk it poses to effective decision making; and suggest ways that the manager might overcome the challenge and reduce this risk.