Assignment: "Mistine: Direct Selling in the Thai Cosmetic Market"

• To help you better understand the concepts of Marketing Analysis, you will be asked to complete a case study for each weekly assignment. To prepare for this level of analysis, first read "How to Analyze a Case" in the W1 lesson folder.

This Week's Case

"Mistine: Direct Selling in the Thai Cosmetic Market" (located in textbook appendix)

After reading, reviewing and analyzing the case study write a paper on the current positon and strategies of strategic planning of Mistine. Within your paper be sure to answer the following questions:

1. Based on the SWOT analysis provided in the case, what are two or three factors that Mistine should stress in its strategic planning as it looks to continue growth and dominance in the Thai market?

2. How can Mistine match its strength with its market opportunities to create competitive advantages moving forwards?

3. How can Better Way stay on top in Thailand while it looks to expand internationally?

4. How does Mistine strategies compare to Mary Kay Cosmetics in the US?

The requirements below must be met for your paper to be accepted and graded:

• Write between 750 - 1,250 words (approximately 3 - 5 pages) using Microsoft Word in APA style (download an APA sample paper from the Purdue OWL here).

• Use font size 12 and 1" margins.

• Include cover page and reference page.

• At least 80% of your paper must be original content/writing.

• No more than 20% of your content/information may come from references.

• Use an appropriate number of references to support your position, and defend your arguments. The following are examples of primary and secondary sources that may be used, and non-credible and opinion based sources that may not be used.

1. Primary sources such as, government websites (United States Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, United States Census Bureau, The World Bank, etc.), peer reviewed and scholarly journals in EBSCOhost (Grantham University Online Library) and Google Scholar.

2. Secondary and credible sources such as CNN Money, The Wall Street Journal, trade journals, and publications in EBSCOhost (Grantham University Online Library).

3. Non-credible and opinion based sources such as, Wikis, Yahoo Answers, eHow, blogs, etc. should not be used.

• Cite all reference material (data, dates, graphs, quotes, paraphrased statements, information, etc.) in the paper and list each source on a reference page using APA style.