Reference no: EM133687251 , Length: word count:2500

Students will write a report delineating the Internationalization story of a selected business (local or international) and present a feasibility report for future entries into new countries. This is a collaborative consulting project involving students and businesses seeking to understand a firms Internationalizations journey and challenges and evaluate future business opportunities internationally. Students assess the current internationalization status of a firm and recommend specific business opportunities in a new market and develop a feasibility consultancy report with recommendation for pursuing that opportunity for the participating company.

Identify a business and interview them on zoom on their internationalisation strategies past, present and future and write their Internationalisation story. Put on an International Business Consultant's hat and advice the company/ business (Australian Business or your home country Business) on their next Internationalisation destination by preparing a detailed International Business feasibility report for the business explaining why and how this recommended country could be their next best internationalization location.

YOUR TASK:
The student will research and identify the relevant political, economic, cultural and competitive aspects of a prospective country-market relevant for entry/expansion for the participating business. The aim is to analyse these factors and assess them in light of fit with the firm's capabilities and develop an International Business feasibility report for entry into a new country.

The students are required to conduct an interview and learn about the company's current internationalisation status, products, positioning, competitive strengths and future desired outcomes in order to formally scope the project. After which students engage in broad data collection and analysis concluding in a detailed business development feasibility report to be submitted at the end of the semester

The report will explore diverse internationalisation challenges on matters related to legal, tax and accounting, HR and Industrial relations, culture compliance, institutional constraints (government), property acquisition, patents, product piracy and intellectual property laws and counterfeiting and modes of entry. Please note an international business feasibility report is not a business plan. A feasibility study is an investigative process that seeks to determine the viability of a business venture in a new location. It is conducted before a business plan is even considered.

Benefits for Involved Companies
The companies that participate will benefit in several ways. Besides gaining access to international business development consultants (You -The Participating student ) they can expect completion of a detailed International Business feasibility report with some of the following tasks:

Assessment of market potential
Industry analysis and competitor matrix

Market research
Analysis of importation regulations including tariffs and import requirements and those related to legal, tax and accounting, HR and Industrial relations, culture compliance, institutional constraints (government), property acquisition, patents, product piracy and intellectual property laws and counterfeiting and modes of entry
Interview Questions for the participating firm:
Tell us about your business/company ? What does your business do?How many countries do you operate in ? If only Australia, do you have plans for internationalisation?
If you do operate internationally, can you please tell us how did your internationalization journey start ? Which countries do you operate in at the moment ? How many countries do you have your presence in at the moment? What products do you sell in each of these markets ? Why did you think about going international?
Tell us about your internationalisation inception and process at each of the locations/countries ? What were the antecedents, motivation and triggers for internationalisation ? Proactive or reactive ? For resources ? raw materials ? staff ? bigger markets ?
How did you identify your first location (country) and mode of entry ? Who helped start the process ?
Tell us about the networks that helped you internationalise ? Suppliers ? Previous customers ? Employers ? Competitors ? Relatives ? Friends ? previous work mates ? Market research ?

What entry modes are you utilizing at the moment? Why ? Which country would you like to expand your business to next ?
Tell us about the challenges you had with regards to Internationalisation in each of the countries you operate in ? HR, Legal, Tax, Accounting, Industrial relations, property, culture, institutional and regulatory challenges. Political, Social, Cultural, economic, technological challenges as well.
What capabilities should a business built before internationalising ?

What lessons have you learned that you would you like to share with us ? What advice would you provide to
companies intending to internationalise ?Which country would your business
like us to explore for your next internationalisation strategy for your feasibility report?

Nature of the Assignment:

The assignment is research based and requires the student to gain knowledge about using varied research sources. The assignment will develop critical thinking and analytical skills and enable students to synthesize information and develop informed views. This assignment requires students to explore and apply an advanced body of knowledge in a range of current contexts in Diversity Management, Cross Cultural Management/Business or Cross-Cultural Leadership/International Business/ Management discipline. Discuss with your unit coordinator for guidance if necessary. Start the project with conducting a brief research on the topic to advance the theoretical knowledge and develop your cognitive skills in the discipline.

Students will identify one or two theories from the vast knowledge in the area and investigate their research informed by these theories. The report will end with a conclusion section and draw outcomes, implications, strategies and conclusions for the business in context. Please note that the time available to you is limited, so please keep the scope of the research limited and commence the research and writing work as soon as possible as the individual report is an important part of your unit. Sample assignments from past semesters can be seen on ilearn.

Please prepare your research report using the following guidelines:
Format: All files should be submitted as a Word document: Times Roman, Font 12.
Article Length: Articles should have a max length of 2500 words. This excludes bibliography, title page and table of contents page if any.
Article Title: A title of not more than eight words should be provided.

Title Page
o The project title, student Name & ID, unit name/code, tutorial class, tutor's name For Example: The Internationalization story of McDonalds Name- Jack Smith ID Number 00234156
• Table of Contents
o List main sections of the report (avoid too many levels of sub-sections)
o Choose self-explanatory section titles

1. Executive Summary (Word recommendation is for directions only and not mandatory)
o A one-page summary of the report, written as a series of short paragraphs or in point form, outlining:
• Your chosen organisation's strategic position and industry environment.
• A description of what issue the report is about (problem/opportunity.
• Your recommended strategy

2. Introduction
o Why you are writing this report and to whom are you writing for (i.e., client)
o Outline the next steps on how your report progresses (the roadmap taken as the report proceeds)
o What are the key objectives, results/findings/solutions this reports aims to present?

3. Current Situation
o Current status - consider all risks in the recommended country: Political, Cultural, Social, Legal, Economic and their impact on business .
o Literature review/theories/frameworks relevant to the topics/issues etc. Must cite a minimum of 6 academic sources i.e., research article, business report, book, news/magazine article using Harvard referencing style

4. Body of Report
o Analyze the strategy/strategies identified
o Provide supporting evidence and arguments for your recommendation
o Apply theories, concepts, and frameworks
o Note: Students will identify one or two theories from the vast knowledge in the discipline of International Management and investigate their research informed by these theories. Can integrate various theories/concepts.

5. Discussion
o Compare and evaluate different solutions/strategies
o Evaluate your recommendation, strategy/solution against what has been done in the past by the client, by other companies/industries in similar situations. Present a competitor analysis for the company.
o Note: Convince the reader that your recommended strategy is a good one. Acknowledge the validity of alternative strategies during contingencies and should situations or environment change

6. Conclusions
o A concise summary of your findings, recommendations and solutions and their managerial implications .
Bibliography
o List all the references referred to in the report. Use the Harvard system of referencing, carefully checked for completeness, accuracy and consistency. You should cite publications in the text using the author's second name(Adams and Brown, 2006) citing both names of two, and (Adams et al., 2006), when there are three or more authors. At the end of the paper a reference list in alphabetical order should be supplied.
MUST
• Not exceed 2500 words (Excluding executive summary, title page and table of content. references bibliography and appendices)
• Follow the section word limits.
• Line spacing: single
• Font size: 12