Course code and name: BUSM1222 - International Business
Assessment name: International Business Essay
Type: Individual
Weight: 60%
Assignment due date: Sunday, October 14, at 11:59pm
Length: 2,000 - 2,500 words
Feedback mode:
Feedback will be provided by/using a rubric designed by the course co-ordinator.
Assessment Declaration:
I declare that in submitting all work for this assessment I have read, understood and agree to the content and expectations of the Assessment declaration (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site..
Learning Objectives Assessed:
This assignment assesses Learning Objectives 1 and 2
Graduate Outcomes supported:
On successful completion of this course you will be able to:
1. Apply theoretical and technical knowledge to provide in-depth specialist and professional advice related to international business operations and strategy, cross culture management and ethical standards.
2. Critically analyse and synthesise information to formulate effective business decisions.
3. Apply an adaptive and collaborative approach to working with others in a variety of business and professional contexts.
Details:
Aims and background
Appropriate decision on internationalization strategy is more likely to occur when solid analysis of the firm’s and the target markets’ situation are in place. By studying a real world case, this assignment is designed to help you consolidate your understanding on international business strategies, entry modes in the current international business environment, the environment analysis associated with entry modes, and the strategic consideration behind entry mode choices. This activity also aims to sharpen your analytical skills and abilities for problem analysis and solving.

Structure of your Essay:
The key question for this essay is: “What are the key challenges for an MNC in the international business arena?-
Step 1:
You need to select a multinational corporation from this list: https://www.forbes.com/top-multinational-performers/list/5/#tab:rank (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.
Step 2:
Select one country where your company has invested in (in any foreign direct investment forms). Then, you will need to answer the following questions in your essay.

Part 1: Analysis of your Multinational Corporation (MNC) In this section you will need to present and analyse key data supporting the status of your company as a multinational corporation.
Question 1: Please explain your company’s profile as an MNC. Information such as its country of origin, the company's history, size of operation should be included.
Question 2 : Please use one learning point from topic 1 of this course (i.e. globalisation of business) to analyse the status of your company.

Part 2: Host Country Analysis You will need to focus on ONE factor from the host country that influences the internationalisation process of the firm. As we focus on politicaleconomy and sociocultural factors in the first part of this course (topics 2 and 3), we recommend you to answer the following questions in this section:
Question 3: What are the key country/regional factors affecting your firm’s choice of country? Why?
Question 4: Please use one theory from the course to support your argument(s). The application of some theories from this course (topics 4-6 such as Uppsala internationalisation theory, Eclectic paradigm, and Porter’s diamond theory can also be useful at this point.)

Part 3: Foreign Entry Strategies: In this section you will need to answer these questions:
Question 5: What is entry strategy performed by the company? Please use academic resources (i.e. journal articles) to explain the concept of the company’s entry strategy and its benefits/pitfalls. Please identify some constraints of the selected entry strategy. It is important that you combined points from academic sources (i.e. academic journal articles) and information from the company to analyse potential constraints of the entry. Points from topics 7 to 9 are important for you.

Part 4: MNC and its Impacts
Question 6: From the UN Global Compact Principles and/or Sustainable Development Goals , which area that your MNC will need to focus in their current and future business? Why? Points from topics 10 to 12 can help you to identify the relationship between MNCs and other stakeholders.
Guidelines
1. The core of this assignment is to assess your level of mastery of the subject matters and your analytical skills in relation to foreign market and MNC’s entry modes. Being descriptive is NOT appropriate for this assignment.
2. Keep the Introduction short (maximum 200 words ) and focus on the analysis.
3. Do not perform PESTEL/SWOT/ five forces analysis in this essay.
4. This is an international business essay. Please avoid marketing points/analyses in this essay.