INT 113 Final Project Guidelines and Rubric

Overview The final project for this course is the creation of a country analysis PowerPoint presentation that will answer the following prompt: What country-specific information is important in the consideration of market entry? How do cultural differences impact business communication and decisions?

Your assessment for this course will require you to place yourself in the role of an international business professional. Imagine you work for an organization that has decided it wants to enter a foreign market, but has not settled on the region or country. Your boss has received the directive to research some countries for market entry and, in turn, has asked you to select a country and perform a country analysis for market entry. Your boss expects you to present your research and general recommendations for market entry.

Keeping this scenario in mind, select a country other than the United States for your research. When selecting a country, consider the following:

? What countries have you visited? ? What countries would you like to visit? ? Does your company maintain a presence in another country? ? What is your heritage?

Once you have selected your country, you will begin your research on the relevant forces—including cultural, political, and economic—that could impact business operations and decisions. You will then determine your final recommendations, communicating all in a PowerPoint presentation. The research will be communicated in presentation format, giving you the opportunity to practice business communication skills.

Checkpoint submissions will be posted within Modules Three and Six, which will allow the opportunity for you to upload your project-in-progress for a participation score. You should follow the Final Project Guide and use research incorporated into the weekly discussions to complete the checkpoints. Project elements will be covered in the weekly discussions to scaffold learning and ensure quality final submissions. Your comprehensive final PowerPoint presentation will be submitted in Module Seven.

In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:

? Apply macroenvironment business research to an analysis of international market conditions ? Analyze the dimensions of culture as they apply to and inform market analyses and business communication ? Examine market entry strategies and multinational business practices applicable to global organizations in preparation for market entry ? Articulate the impact of forces of global trade for informing international business opportunities and determining risks

Prompt Your country analysis should answer the following prompt: What country-specific information is important in the consideration of market entry? How do cultural differences impact business communication and decisions?

Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed in consideration of your country of choice:

I. Introduction and Country Choice A. Rationale: Select your country and share why you chose your specific country for further analysis. B. Location: In what region is your country located? Is the country landlocked or does it have water access? Describe the geography of the region

and include a map for visual impact.

II. Macroenvironment: Address the following with respect to your chosen country. A. Sociocultural Environment

i. Country Composition: What are elements of country composition that impact business decisions? Consider literacy rates, urbanization rates, heavily populated cities, age structure, major religions, and educational data.

ii. Values and Communication: How do cultural values shape communication and behaviors? Highlight cultural norms that align with Hofstede’s and/or Trompenaars’s cultural dimension models. Outline major languages and nonverbal communication. For example, you could include nonverbal cues, physical contact, and body language.

iii. Business Etiquette: What are some behaviors in business that are driven by culture? Highlight five rules of business etiquette that are pertinent in the region. For example, consider gift giving and greetings.

iv. Observation Deck: In what ways do sociocultural elements apply to business practices and market entry? For example, highlight cultural issues that impact marketing or consider the following areas: employment, consumer demand, managerial approach, and business etiquette.

B. Political–Legal Environment i. Government and Ideologies: Who is the ruling political party and leader? Has there been a recent change in ruling parties? Does a large

opposition group exist? ii. Corruption: How do unethical practices impact business? What are three measures of corruption that characterize risks in the market?

Explain your findings. iii. Trade Regulations and Legal Considerations: What are four measures of government influence on trade and employment? Consider

sanctions, tariffs, labeling requirements, restricted items, or other barriers to trade, minimum wage rates, employment-discrimination laws, or environmental regulations.

iv. Observation Deck: How would a company apply political and legal information to market-entry decisions and business practices? Make an observation regarding political and legal risks or opportunities. For example, consider safety risks, additional costs, industry barriers, high corruption rates, risky ideologies, and so on.

C. Economic-Infrastructural Environment i. Economic Measures: What are some economic measures and development data that impact business? Include data on interest rates,

unemployment, inflation, GDP growth rate, exchange rates against the USD, exchange rate regime, GDP, labor force, major industries, and FDI rates.

ii. Trade: Describe the important aspects of trade in your country of choice. Specifically, answer the following questions: a. Trade partners: Who are the most significant trading partners? What percentage of trade do they fulfill? b. Imports: What are major imports to the region? c. Exports: What are major exports to the region? d. Trade agreements: What are some important regional trade agreements (RTA) impacting the country? Who are the members of the

agreement? iii. Transportation and Telecommunication: How does infrastructure impact trade? Identify major airports, seaports, railway stations,

internet users, mobile providers, and the Logistics Performance Index rating. iv. Observation Deck: What economic and infrastructural elements apply to multinational business practices and market entry? For