Assignment

Overview

The final project for this course is the creation of a global strategic analysis that provides a strategic plan for the internationalization of a firm. The final project for this course requires students to select an international publicly held company and complete a strategic analysis of that company in a variety of areas pertaining to global strategic management.

The scenario: You have been hired as a consultant at the company you have been researching. This final report is an in-depth look at the corporate management based on your detailed research completed throughout the semester. This paper is designed as a full report with recommendations that the executive team will use to enhance the existing strategic management. The final product represents an authentic demonstration of competency because the analysis represents the pragmatic application of concepts and tools used in formation of corporate-level global strategic planning.

Main Elements

Your analysis should include, at a minimum, the followingeight components:

1. MNE Overview and Key Strategic Background

1.1. Characterize the chosen firm (e.g., firm's scale, strategic business units, scope of products and markets, diversification type, current financial and strategic performance trends (5-year max) with a brief comparison to industry trends, market shares, etc.)

1.2. Describe the current international operations of the firm (e.g., geographic distribution of operations and their contributions to firm performance)

1.3. What are the recent strategic initiatives (and their motivations) of the firm?

1.4. Briefly analyzethe MNE's domestic and international rivals (a representative top challenger for each is fine)

2. Strategy Tripod Part One:Industry Conditions (Opportunities and Threats)

2.1. What are the top five foreign markets for the MNE's industry?

2.2. Compare and contrast the five forces affecting the MNE's industry. Note critical factors to each and critical differences in the MNE's domestic and foreign markets.

2.3. Which functions in the industry value chain are key to competitiveness for your MNE? How well do they address the industry's key success factors and key drivers of change?

2.4. Assess the strategic fit of the MNE's generic competitive strategy with industry conditions.

3. Strategy Tripod Part Two: Internal Resources and Capabilities (Strengths and Weaknesses)

3.1. Analyze the value, rarity, imitability, and organizational (VRIO) aspects of the firm's core resources and capabilities within its value chain functions. Do any competencies reach the "core" or "distinctive" level over rivals?

3.2. How well do these capabilities and resources support the MNE's generic strategy choice?

3.3. What resources and capabilities should the firm augment or develop to improve its future global competitiveness?

3.4. Should the firmacquire, outsource, orbuild these resources internally?

4. Strategy Tripod Part Three: Institutional and Cultural Conditions

4.1. How are formal and informal institutions setting the "rules of the game" for the MNE's direct and indirect international operations?

4.2. Using Hofstede's five dimensions of national culture, how will the MNE's domestic cultural norms compare to those of its foreign partners or subsidiaries?

4.3. Which is currently a greater concern-cultural or institutional distance?

4.4. What are your recommendations for the firm's future IBS to leverage its exposure to these various "rules of the game"?

5. Entrepreneurship and Internationalizing the Firm

5.1. How effectively has the firm managed the five "entrepreneurial strategies" in its growth?

5.2. Are there institutional or industry-based conditions affecting entrepreneurship opportunities?

6. Internationalization: Where, When, Why, and How

6.1. From the institution-based and resource-based views, does the firm possess "overwhelming resources and capabilities to offset its liability of foreignness"?

6.2. How do the firm's strategic goals align with the location-specific advantages of its global footprint?

6.3. Assess the advantages and disadvantages of management's entry mode choices and entry timing.

6.4. Which diversification strategies have been used? Have they contributed to performance?

6.5. Has performance benefited from international acquisitions orcollaborative strategies?

6.6. What are your recommendations for the MNE to pursue future complementary strategic options?

7. Internationalization: Strategy, Structure, and Learning

7.1. Which of the four strategy/structure configurations is used?

7.2. Considering the three legs of the strategy tripod, evaluate the "strategic fit" of the MNE's strategy/structure configuration to its IBS goals.

7.3. Does this approach offer any innovation or learning advantages over the approaches of the MNE's top rivals?

7.4. Has the firm internalized any knowledge management or learning capabilities that maybe leveraged between developed and emerging economies?

8. Strategizing Governance and Corporate Social Responsibility

8.1. Has the MNE developed firm-specific capabilities to differentiate on corporate governance dimensions?

8.2. From the stakeholder-based view, what is a CSR initiative that will directly impact the competitiveness of the MNE?

*** Requirements of submission: Written components of project must follow these formatting guidelines: 1.5 spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, one-inch margins, and APA-appropriate citations. The final global strategic analysis should range between 12 to 20 pages, not including the cover page, financial statements, bibliography, and other resources.