International Business Plan and Analysis - Paper Guide only

* Assignment 2

Assessment 2: (Individual assignment): International Business Plan and Analysis (60%)

(Up to 3,500 words - excluding references and appendices; Due date: TBA)

This activity is a platform to sharpen your analytical skills in international business. In this assignment, you are to choose a real organisation for an in-depth case study and prepare an international business plan for the organisation. The organisation of your choice can be small, medium or large in terms of size, but needs to be involved in international business for the purpose of this task. You will be connected to the industry by getting primary and/or secondary information from the organisation. The focus of this task is on 'international' management of the organisation. You, thus, are expected to provide new ideas to improve the international performance of the organisation.

The following steps are designed to help you prepare and complete this assignment.

Step 1: Investigating the Challenges in International Business

In this project, you need to collect data from the organisation (of your choice) regarding international management issues and challenges. The data can be collected from:

1) Personal interview with key informants (from an organisation) who involve in international management (i.e. manager/director/ and/or operator in the international business industry).

2) Annual report and business analyses from the organisation.

3) Website and publications from the organisation

4) Other secondary sources

When collecting the data, you may use some of the following questions (but not limited to) to explore the issues.

- What do you see as the global issues challenges of the organisation?

- How to manage those challenges?

- How is globalisation affecting management activities in your organisation?

- If you were the CEO of the organisation, what would you do to support the effectiveness of your organisation in the international management context?

- What do you see as the future of the organisation? Why?

Step 2: Developing the Business Analysis and Plan

A good business plan relies largely on sound analysis of the internal situation and external environment of the organisation. The following is a guideline providing the potential areas you might need to think about and to analyse in developing your business plan.

Area 1: Identification of the organisation and the product or service, understanding the problem that it solves or the need that it meets. Why is it cutting-edge? (Business concept and the product). Explain your organisation and its operation: Identify key actors and roles of each actor.

Area 2: What are the international competitive advantages of the organisation?

Area 3: Market Analysis: market size, performance and potential; identify a potential foreign market that the organisation is likely to enter into and analyse the possible entry mode(s). Why this entry mode (including the analysis of the political and economic situation of the potential foreign market)?

Area 4: The Data. What kind of data you collect for this task?

Area 5: International challenges for the organisation

Area 6: Key international strategies (focusing on relationship among challenges and strategies): What international strategies, international HR ideas, international management could be used?

Step 3: Writing the International Business Analysis and Plan (Content and Format)

(Up to 3,500 words, excluding references and appendices)

The following contents need to be covered in your final submission.

1) Introduction: It should provide a clear introduction of your project. It should be written in a concise and logical style (no longer than two pages for this assignment).

2) Study method: what kind of data that you have collected and used for this case study? Why?

3) Organisational Analysis - The organisation and its Products (or Services):

* Who are they? An Overview of the Organisation

* What do they offer? Its products and services need to be explained very carefully in plain language so that a non-specialist can understand it.

* What aspect of 'international business' that the organisation is conducting?

* Organisational strengths and weaknesses?

4) International Market Analysis:

* This needs to address issues such as the customers, market size, competition and competitive edge, existing market share and strategy, pricing strategy, sales force and distribution, advertising and promotions strategies.

* Key (Local and) International market Challenges and how do they threaten the organisation.

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