Assignment:
International Dimensions
Approach this assignment as if you have an unlimited budget. Your boss wants you to decide if it would be possible to enter into a new market to produce and either sell or export your product. Review the points below and determine whether the country you chose would be suitable for investing in to produce your chosen product. Begin with the Hofstede cite as not every country has data. Remember that you could determine that this country is not suitable for investment, there is not a wrong answer, just simply back up your opinion with the facts. The building blocks for any good economy are the two economic laws of Equity and Efficiency, so once you have chosen your country review the technology, institutions, and infrastructure. Think about what fills the proverbial learning curve gap with the 5 economic questions.
Have fun and remember that this could be any product or industry so be creative. For example, one student did a report on Mexico but her product was education. In Mexico public education ends at 7th grade. Her product was to produce education/vocational training 8th-12th grades with a Public Private partnership between the Mexican government and companies like Ford who do a tremendous amount of production in the country. Think about how this may work or what may stand in the way of accomplishing this plan and apply this to your own project.
Visit Geert Hofstede's web site at https://geert-hofstede.com
· Click on Culture
· Review the Six Dimensions (6D of National Culture) under the Culture tab.
· Click on Research and VSM and think about a country you want to do business in.
· Click Dimension and Data Matrix and select the Excel file to get your country specific data.
· Describe in your paper the dimensions of the country you selected and define what the dimensions mean and reflect about the national culture of that country.
· Based off your research do you believe the country would be considered an open or closed economy. Defend your point.
· Note that you may not choose a developed country.
Visit the Central Intelligence Agency's website at www.cia.gov
· Click on the World Factbook
· Select your chosen Country
· Give a detailed report on the infrastructure that you would use in the production of your good or service
· Give a detailed report on your target population (median income, education, birth rates, religion, ethnicity, etc.)
· Give a detailed report on the resources of the country that you plan to use in the production process (Land, Labor, Capital, and Entrepreneurial Talent)
· Give a detailed report of the country's Rule of Law and political system (Property Rights?)
· What are the country's current economic issues? (Trade unions, Free trade zones that you will take advantage of in production)
· What stage of the Business Cycle (Trade/Market Cycle) is your country/industry in? Defend your position.
Other great sites that offer economic insight are the World Trade Organization's website at www.wto.org, or the United Nations' website at www.un.org
Choose an Industry & Product (Be creative it can be anything)
· Are there enough resources in the country you selected to get your goods to market?
· Define and explain the type of company/industry (Oligopoly, Monopoly, Monopolistic Competition)
· Define and explain your product (unique, differentiated, or identical).
· Define and explain your supply chain in terms of costs of production.
· Define and explain your production methods. (Will you use more labor, capital, exploit resources?)
· Define and explain what market your product is intended for (general, mass consumption, or niche)
· Define and explain whether or not you would choose this country based on the research you have conducted and explain your decision based off of your research. Remember the answer may be NO!
Report Format:
Type a minimum of a 6 page written report including the following:
· Cover Page (1 page)
· Report (4 pages) Single-spaced with annotation for citations, font size 12 no larger than Ariel, complete paragraphs (minimum of 5 sentences), spelling error free & grammatically correct. In some sections you may use bullet points when reviewing the infrastructure and institutions of the country. Illustrations and Graphs are great but they do not count toward the text requirement.
· Citation (Bibliography) (1 page) in MLA format.