You are required to write an essay based on one of the following 15 multinational companies in which you include responses to the following eight tasks:

List of companies:

a. ABB

b. Airbus

c. Boots

d. British American Tobacco

e. Diageo

f. Dyson

g. Ernst & Young

h. Facebook

i. Holland & Barrett

j. Huawei

k. ING Group

l. Lenovo

m. Marriott

n. Royal Dutch Shell

o. Volkswagen

Tasks:

1) Introduce briefly the multinational company of your choice

2) Using the theory of foreign direct investment, identify the company's main drivers of accessing foreign markets and their buyers

3) Discuss the key external environmental issues (i.e. cultural, political, legal and financial/economic) impacting on the company when accessing foreign markets

4) Identify the key challenges and opportunities facing the company when doing business in emerging markets

5) Evaluate the international market entry modes adopted by the company

6) Comment on the company's structure and control mechanisms for its international business operations

7) Examine how one of the following activities has facilitated or hindered the company's international business operations

• Marketing

• Logistics

• HRM

8) Suggest one aspect that the company needs to develop in the future (you may refer to the section ‘The future of international business management').

Your critical evaluation should examine recent developments in the topic area and application of theory to business organisations. You need to use academic journal articles from the following journals (a minimum of four) alongside other references.

a. Journal of International Business Studies

b. Thunderbird International Business Reviews

c. The Academy of Management Journal

d. Journal of Emerging Knowledge on Emerging Markets

e. Harvard Business Review

f. Marketing Intelligence & Planning

g. International Business Review

h. Management International Review

i. Strategic Management Journal

j. Journal of World Business.