I need written discussion content script for my 10 minutes video. The assignment must not be more than 1300 words
Assignment: Expatriate briefing portion.
(Required assessment details and company and industry details are attached in the assessment overview files, don't bother about assignment 2 and assignment 3 details in the assessment file. )
Company and industry details:
The assignments are based on a chocolate manufacturing company called Villiers Chocolates Pty Ltd. This is a fictitious company - that is, it is not a real company, but has been made up for these assignments. Villiers is a small company based in the inner eastern suburbs of Melbourne. It is family owned, and has been operating at its present location since its establishment in 1948. It manufactures and sells chocolates of the very highest quality, modelled on the Swiss style of chocolate design and production.
The company was established in 1948 when Pierre Auber, then 28, migrated to Australia from his home village of Villiers in Western Switzerland. Pierre had studied food production and food service in Switzerland and had served an intense apprenticeship at a leading chocolatier in Neuchatel, the nearest city to Villiers. Frustrated by the challenging economic conditions of immediate-post war Europe and the conservatism of his profession there, he emigrated to Melbourne in 1948 to seek more freedom and more opportunities.
He started his first chocolate shop in an inner Melbourne suburb and met with immediate success. His high quality, well-packaged chocolates soon found an enthusiastic market and the company's growth began. His grandson, Robert, now owns and runs the company.
Villiers Chocolates now operates four shops in Melbourne, one in the city centre and three in upmarket suburban centres. It also has a substantial mail-order business, sending chocolates to customers all over Australia. This is difficult in Australia (because of the heat) as chocolates must not get too hot or too cold or they discolour and loose their attractive appearance, so chilled containers and reliable express delivery are required. To service this market, the company has developed patented technology that allows it to keep its products within a controlled temperature range for 48 hours, allowing shipping to most places in Australia without any heat-related damage.
The company has had a clear, two-pronged strategy since its inception: it focuses on the premium (high-priced) section of the market and it seeks to distinguish its products from its competitors through superior quality and superior presentation of all its products. It does not compete in the mass market and its products are not sold in supermarkets or similar venues.
It has an extensive product range, with all products being made in its own premises by its own staff. Its milk and most other ingredients are sourced from quality Victorian producers, and its cocoa beans (which it imports raw and roasts itself) are sourced from environmentally-certified (UTZ Certification) growers in several countries. The products include loose chocolates, chocolate bars, boxed chocolates, special occasion chocolates (eg, significant birthdays, weddings, Easter, Christmas, etc), gluten and egg free chocolates, corporate packages, novelty chocolates, drinking chocolate and so on. The company is very happy to work with customers to meet special orders. The products are not cheap but their consistently high quality and careful and stylish packaging generate good business, much of it repeat business.
Robert Aubert has personally selected and trained all his staff and he places great emphasis on the quality of the products and their presentation. He also emphasises to his staff the importance of being open to new ideas, of ethical behaviour within the company, and of enjoying working with the company - all values that his grandfather introduced to the company in 1948. The company has modern, well-equipped kitchens that have considerable capacity for increased production.
The company last year reported a net profit of $2.3 million on sales of $11.6 million. Sales have grown at an average rate of 10.9% over the past 12 years, with a large fall in both sales and profit in 2009 (due to the Global Financial Crisis) being fully recovered by 2011. Profit has consistently been around 25% of sales for many years, and the company has no debt.
Although the company continues to do well, the competition in Melbourne - indeed, in all Australia - is very tough as there are several other specialty, quality-based, chocolate manufacturers. Robert and his experienced senior management team have been contemplating expanding to other countries, perhaps using their patented controlled-temperature shipping technology to help. In the longer term - say 10-12 years - they are particularly interested in China and Japan - China because of the size of the potential market and Japan because of the sophistication and wealth of the market. However, they know very little about either, but they do know that both are challenging and difficult markets in which other companies have failed. So, as a first step they have decided to investigate the possibility of entering the market in the Republic of Korea - South Korea. They know that South Korea is different from both China and Japan, but they think that what they can learn from 5-10 years in Korea will greatly assist them in later entering the Chinese or Japanese market.
Senior management is therefore considering South Korea as a potential new market. They need a great deal of further information to make a decision on whether or not to enter this market. The senior management team has therefore asked the Marketing Director to prepare materials to inform senior management about this market and about how Villiers could enter it. In turn, the Marketing Director has asked a group of international consultants - you - to prepare these materials.
Your assessment tasks:
Your group is the team of (or you are the individual) international business consultant/s. You have three tasks:
1. to prepare, deliver and record on video a presentation on some aspect of international business in relation to South Korean business life or an issue relating to South Korea and world trade
2. to prepare a country profile as a written report. Your country profile will examine South Korea and its business environment from the point of view of Villiers
3. to prepare a recommended business plan and entry strategy as a written report
As consultants, you have discretion in advising which entry mode to choose, which strategies, structure, marketing approach and so on, for the company to take advantage of this business environment. You also have discretion on advising how much capital to allocate for entry into South Korea for Villiers.
For all three tasks you will report to the Managing Director of Villiers.
Description of the task:
The target country this Trimester is South Korea and the company is Villiers Chocolates, which is described in assessment document A - Assessment Overview.
For Assignment, you are to develop a presentation which will act as an information package to be used to brief an Australian manager about to be sent as an expatriate to the target country for an extended period. You must choose an issue covered in the first five topics of the Unit. Using these topics you are to develop the ‘information package' as a spoken presentation, with PowerPoint slides, recorded and submitted as a video file. The presentation is to critically analyse the issue you have chosen. The analysis needs to be grounded in theory but relevant to an expatriate manager in the field.
You may choose any issue covered in Topic 1 - Globalisation; Topic 2 - International Trade and Investment Theory; Topic 3 - The International Monetary System; Topic 4 - National Trade and Investment Policies, and Co-operation between Nations; or Topic 5 - Political, Economic and Legal Forces; Social Responsibility and Sustainability.
You may choose the whole topic or some part of it. A few examples of the kinds of issues you could choose are:
1) Globalisation: how has globalisation affected the target country, and how has the country responded?
2) International trade: how has the target country has developed its trade over the last 15-30-40 years?
3) Has the international monetary system made growth easier or harder for the target country in the last two decades?
4) Co-operation between nations: to what extent has the target country developed, or is it developing, close economic, political, social or cultural links with its neighbours? How do you see these links changing in the next decade or so?
Is it part of a trading block, or does it want to become part of one?
5) Ethics: evaluate the approach to ethics in business that is usually found in the target country.
Format of assignment:
You must present your ‘information package' as a recorded oral presentation as if you were a consultant delivering a live briefing to a small group of senior managers of the company. Please use a formal presentation style. PowerPoint slides, presentation tools and images should be of high quality. Your presentation should focus on clearly identifying the issue and explaining its relevance to the manager in his or her role in the new country.