Overview:
This is a group presentation seeking to consider various country, market specific factors that may positively or negatively impact an organization's activities within the chosen country/market. This is not meant to be a comprehensive analysis of all the potential factors, but is aimed at encouraging students to identify potential opportunities and threats that may arise from international markets. Students should:
- Identify and discuss a country or geographic market on which to focus.
- Identify and discuss the areas pertaining to the micro and macro environments.
- Identify & utilise pertinent areas including micro & macro environmental factors to discuss the potential for positive & negative impact on a (hypothetical) business operation within the chosen country/market.
- Use appropriate presentation technologies, techniques and methods to convey their ideas.
Groups should be 5 people. All team members should present and have contributed equally to the presentation's development.
Presentations should be 15-20 minutes in length, and use whichever presentation tools (PowerPoint, posters, videos) are deemed appropriate to convey the key points of the country analysis.
The following may be included (please note that this is just a recommended list and students may choose to focus more on one area than another. The consideration is not the breadth of consideration but the depth):
Socio-cultural analysis
Customs, traditions, manners and habits (example- food, clothing, superstitions, etc.)
- Core values, norms, attitudes relating to foreign and domestic products
- Social institutions (family life, educational institutions, class systems, etc.)
- Aesthetics (colours, music, symbolism)
- Business customs (protocols, greetings, keeping time, space, gift-giving, hospitality, negotiations)
- Evaluation of the country using Hofstede's four dimensions. Comparison to the UAE business culture.
Economic analysis
- Population (total population, age distribution, population density)
Income (GDP, GDP per capita, average family income, distribution of wealth, inflation, etc.)
- Infrastructure (types/modes of transportation and communication systems, availability)
- Tariffs, Quotas and other trade restrictions
Legal and Political analysis
- Intellectual property rights (government attitudes towards, patents, copyrights, trademarks, etc.) Political ideology
Stability of government
Type of economic system
Type of legal system
- Legislations, regulations, special rules about conducting business in the country
Competitive Environment analysis
- The threat of new entry: How best can the company take care of the threat of new entrants?
- Supplier power: what is the power of suppliers in this industry? How will their actions affect costs, supplies and developments?
Buyer power: there may be few buyers for the product, which could mean that they would drive down prices and dictate business terms.
Threat of substitutes: Is there a substitute for this product? What is the likely possibility of this and what is its impact?
Competitive rivalry: all the four forces may come together to produce this force. How intense is competitive action, can it be countered?