Shawn McMurran
Professor of Mathematics, shares her course design for MATH 3100 Mathematical Thinking: Communication & Proof. Professor McMurran's course design is an excellent example of using a single, clear point of entry into your online course space, as well as a personalized virtual office.
Click the photo below to access an overview of the LMS design.
Megan Zane
Lecturer of Philosophy, shares her course design for PHIL 3001, Philosophy in the World, developed as part of the Summer 2020 Writing Intensive Faculty Learning Community.
Nicole Dabbs
Our featured course design this month is KINE 3700, Statistics in Kinesiology, by Nicole Dabbs, Associate Professor of Kinesiology, developed as part of the Summer 2020 Writing Intensive Faculty Learning Community.
Ranfeng Qiu
Associate Professor of Management, shares her International Business Project Assignment, developed as part of the Writing Intensive Faculty Learning Community.
MGMT 405 - INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS OPERATION REPORT
Description of the project report
This report needs to be completed based upon the analysis and conclusions of the first investment environment analysis project. Again, you represent a consulting group which has been retained by the board of directors (BOD) of a large, highly diversified multinational corporation (MNC). The New International Investments Group of this MNC has contracted you to conduct a comprehensive investment analysis in order to make a smooth entry and/or to optimize the current business operations in a specific host country. You can discuss a new, first time entry of the firm into the host country, or the existing activities and challenges the firms might be facing in the host country. You are expected to apply the knowledge and research capabilities gained in MGMT 405 by analyzing a "real world" international business case, and to make final recommendations to the firm’s BOD.
Selection of a firm:
You are encouraged to select a firm which is of most interest to you, or the one which most resembles the one in which you plan to begin your career. The firm is not necessarily large and mature. The internalization of small/medium firms in their early stage is becoming an increasingly popular topic to discuss nowadays.
Target Audience:
Again, the presentation should be directed toward the firm's BOD. Please keep in mind that board members are extremely busy individuals who are not very willing to have to "dig" for the information. It is your task as consultants to distill the available information and present it in an easily digestible format.
Format
Your team will turn in a comprehensive case report to the BOD. This report should contain a thorough, yet concise, analysis of the firm researched. The main focus of the case analysis report should be on the entry and/or operations in a particular host country which should be of interest to the firm’s BOD. Please limit your report narrative part to 15 pages, double-spaced, using Times New Roman 12 font and 1’-1’ page margin. You may add additional pages for appendix and references if needed.
Research Guidelines
Your goal will be to provide the firm with the most relevant factors and recommendations regarding their entry and/or international operations in the host country, so that the firm can make a well-informed international business decision. Your case can be addressed from one of the following two approaches:
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The new entry to the host country, or
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The established/ongoing international business operations in that host country
The following are some of the major points to research and address in the final case report. Again, this is not a comprehensive list. At the same time, you do not have to address each and every one of these factors in your report:
1. Background/Introduction
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Basic description of the firm profile
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The firm’s current international presence (if any), such as international business
strategy, structure and supply chains, etc. -
A summary of the main conclusions in your investment environment analysis which you
have taken in the project PART I (midterm project) and that are most relevant to your final project.
2. Case Analysis Body
- For the international entry, you may want to discuss:
- The mode, speed, timing and scale that the firm may adopt in the host market entry o How the firm adjusts its value chain activities (i.e. R&D, production, marketing, distribution, service, etc.) to adapt to the local market
- Potential risks and how the firm responds to such risks
- The strategic role of this entry in the firm's global market
- For the international business operations analysis, you might want to address:
- The firm’s current value chain activities in the host country (i.e. R&D, production, marketing, distribution, and subsidiary management, etc.).
- How this affiliate fits into the firm’s global map (the strategic role this affiliate is playing within the whole firm).
- Difficulties and risks that the firm is encountering in the host market
- What change the firm should make, or what action the firm should take to respond to the challenges in the host country.
* Please note that you do not need to cover all items listing in this section. Again, it is your responsibility to present the information that is most relevant to the conclusions and that will help the BOD make their decisions.
3. Main Conclusions and Recommendations
- Recommendations on the market entry or business operations in the host country.
You will need to integrate the information by providing a recommendation of action. Remember that your recommendation is targeted at the firm’s BOD. Your final recommendation should follow logically from the information presented in previous sections. The goal of the report is not to arrive at THE correct answer, but rather to provide a logical recommendation based on the firm/country/industry analyses.