Assessment in this Unit consists of three linked assignments. Between them, they assess all components of the Unit in as realistic a manner as possible. You may do the assignments individually or as a member of a group of at most four students. We suggest that you choose the group option, and we urge you to remain in the same group for all three assignments. There is no examination in this Unit. The assessment is based on the case of a fictitious (meaning that it is not real – it is made-up for these assignments) Australian multinational company seeking ways to enter into a new international market – the target country. Details of the company and the foreign market are given in Section 3 below. First Assignment: Expatriate Briefing Type: Group (maximum 4 members per group) or individual Due date: Monday 15 December 2014 at 11.59pm by online submission Time limit: Maximum 10 minutes if individual, 20 minutes if group Value: 20% Format: Oral presentation recorded on Camtasia or similar software in mp4 format Second Assignment Profile: PESTEL scenario Type: Group (maximum 4 members per group) or individual Due date: Monday 19 January 2015 at 11.59pm by online submission Word limit: Maximum 3000-4000 words*: Country Value: 40% Format: Formal written report Third Assignment: Entry Strategy and Organisation Type: Group (maximum 4 members per group) or individual Due date: Monday 16 February 2015 at 11.59pm by online submission Word limit: Maximum 3000-4000 words* Value: 40% Format: Formal written report Hurdle Requirements All students must submit each piece of assessment. If the assignment is completed in a group, each student must submit the section that they contributed to the assignment of about 1000 words for the Second and Third Assignments. For the First Assignment each student must appear presenting on the video for approximately his or her share of the total of 20 minutes. 2. The Assignments As noted above, all three assignments can be completed either in a group or individually. A group may be of up to four members. If you choose to do your assignments in a group, then you should stay in the same group for all three assignments. The Unit Chair recommends students to do the assignments in a group due to the workload involved. If you work in a group students can work individually to collect, assemble and write-up data. Each student's sections should be collated with others, and the discussion and presentation of the data should be undertaken as a group. Each assignment will be assessed as a complete and coherent presentation/paper. 2.1 First Assignment In the first half of the Unit, we address the issues involving both international and national environments that may influence the way firms conduct business globally. We cover various topics such as: Globalisation; International Trade and Investment; The International Monetary System; National Trade and Investment Policies, and Co-operation Between Nations; Cultural, Social, Political, Economic and Legal Forces influencing International Business. For the First Assignment, you are required to fully understand at least one of those six topics discussed in the first half of the Unit. Your task is to develop an information package that critically analyses one of those issues relating either to international or to national (host) business environment that may impact on the target firm's international expansion. The objective is for your "information package" to be used to brief the target firm's CEO about the feasibility to develop a new market to the target country. You must present your information package as a video of a spoken presentation, as if you were an International Business Development Manager delivering a short briefing to your CEO with the aim of convincing your CEO to expand and invest your firm business to and in the new country. The video needs to be submitted online by the due date, using camtasia or similar software that presents it in mp4 format. If you complete the assignment individually, your video presentation must be no less than five minutes long and no more than ten minutes. If you are in a group, your video must be a total of no less than 10 minutes long but no more than 20 minutes. Each member of the group must appear in the video for an appropriate time: if 2 in the group each must speak for 5-8 minutes, if three then each has 5-6 minutes, and if 4 in the group then each must speak at least 3 but no more than 5 minutes. 2.2 Second and Third Assignments Assignments 2 and 3 require you to develop an international business plan for the target Australian company considering entry into a target country - the company and country details are given in Section 3 below. The Second Assignment will cover economic, political, foreign direct investment, financial, legal and socio-cultural factors in particular, as addressed in the first six topics of the Unit. Based on this material and on your wider research, the assignment will present a current (2014) scenario, plus a forecast based on this scenario for four years hence, 2018. The scenario is to examine the target country from the viewpoint of the given company. The Third Assignment will build on material from the second assignment by covering issues relating to the firm's international business strategy, potential market, industry and competitor analysis, modes of entry and other relevant factors addressed in topics 7 to 11 of the Unit. Based on this material and your wider research, the assignment will present a current (2014) scenario, plus a forecast based on this scenario for four years hence, 2018. The Third Assignment must include a market analysis, industry analysis, competitor analysis and SWOT analysis relevant to the company and industry parameters that would justify the international business expansion strategy. This must be combined with the analysis of the environmental material in the Second Assignment to provide recommendations for the case company to develop and implement its international market entry strategies in mid-2015. As a postgraduate student you are expected to read widely. You should demonstrate a sound grasp of the International Business Management literature and draw on a range of theoretical concepts and frameworks to inform and reinforce your discussion and analysis. A requirement of the second and third assignments in particular is to use a variety of good quality source information (including daily or periodic media, business databases, journal articles, professional reports and the internet). Use of the textbook and other academic sources will be necessary but NOT sufficient to complete the assignments adequately, as that material is dated in terms of the detail of the environmental factors and does not provide the level of detail required of the environment in the selected market. You need to put the context of this assignment into the current real world. It will be acceptable for both assignments to make realistic and reasonable assumptions to enhance the material, which is provided below as company and industry parameters. These assumptions are a matter for your judgement, but it is a requirement that you report your assumptions in an Appendix to each assignment, together with some brief justification of them. As an example, it may not be possible to obtain enough detailed information about competitors in the industry to allow you to provide a substantiated argument for your strategy, structure or mode of entry decisions. You might then make (and report) assumptions, which allow you to provide support for your argument. As another example, you may wish to assume that your company has enough financial capability to execute their international strategy. The following table provides you with a summary structure of the content requirements of the three assignments.