Environmental Factors Influencing International Marketing Planning

Aim

ASSESSMENT ITEM 2: DESCRIPTION Aim: The aim of this assessment is to critically evaluate the environmental factors (political-legal, economic and cultural) influencing international marketing planning. You are assuming the role of a consultant who is asked to prepare a briefing document for the owner-manger of an enterprise. Instructions: Select a small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) based in Australia or Singapore and one (1) foreign market. A list of SMEs and markets will be made available on blackboard and you must select an option from this list (see the assessment section of the subject site). Definitions of SMEs vary. For taxation purposes, the Australian Taxation Office defines a small business as one that has annual revenue turnover (excluding GST) of less than $10 million. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) definitions are different, with a micro-business employing between 0-4 persons; a small business, between 5-19 persons; a medium business, between 20 and 199 persons; and a large business employing 200 or more persons. There are three main criteria to be considered an SME in Singapore. 1) Be registered and operate in Singapore. (2) Have a minimum of 30 per cent local shareholding (3) Company’s Group annual sales turnover should be not more than S$100 million OR Company’s Group employment size should be no more than 200 workers. In your selection consider the competitive advantages enjoyed by the foreign economies the company wishes to enter. The overseas market does not have to be completely new to the organisation, i.e., the organisation you pick may have a presence the country you wish to explore in your academic assignment. You are still free to select it, and if it is a large market, then you may be able to target a different region, province or even city. You should use the same SME and foreign market for the two assessments (Assessment 2 &3) since the second one builds on the analysis conducted for the first assessment. Prepare a report. Use credible, peer-reviewed sources of information (textbooks, academic journal articles, newspapers, marketing reports, data from Government bodies), with a minimum of five (5) references. Ensure the report is structured and includes headings and sub-headings. Report outline The report format should adhere to professional, report writing conventions, with: o Executive summary o Table of contents o Introduction o Company profile: a company profile should capture the scope of its operations - what it does; why it exists (i.e., its vision or mission statement if available), give some indication of its performance to date in the marketplace and reason for international marketing expansion. o Cross-country analysis: political-legal; economic and cultural. o Market potential analysis (growth rate, key trends, strength of competition) o Market entry strategy (i.e. entry mode recommended, such as exporting, franchising, strategic alliance, etc.). o Recommendation: go/no go decision; entry or delayed entry. Include a weighted score model. o References o Appendices. A weighted scoring model Include a table proposing a simple, weighted score for each of key variables, political-legal, economic and cultural. A weighted scoring model (or a weighted scorecard) is a technique used for weighing certain decisions. Create a table listing variables in one column. Make a value judgement as to which variable will carry the most weight. Assign a weight (out of 100%) to each variable. Then score the selected country on each of these variables to calculate the total score. This will help you recommend a go/no go decision. See assessment section of subject site for an example and refer to this link for template ideas https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHBD_en&q=Weighted+scoring+model+template&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwi488zDw6PxAhVVKysKHfiMAewQ1QIwGHoECBYQAQ&biw=1745&bih=881 References Use the APA (American Psychological Association) style of referencing. A minimum of five (5) academic references are required. Only work cited in the text should be included in the reference list. Personal communication should be cited, but should not be included in the list of references. Do not use a string of citations. Each reference should be characterised individually in the report and it should be clear to the reader that the citation/reference used is relevant and used correctly. Referencing guides for APA, 7th edition. See: https://libguides.jcu.edu.au/apa/socialmedia https://libguides.jcu.edu.au/apa Useful Information: Allow time to rewrite and proof-read the work and do a spell-check and a grammar-check. Always keep back-up copies of your work. Use 1.5 line spacing, justified text, margins: 2.5 cm; typeface: any type, 10-12 size, and number pages in the report. An executive summary and table of contents is required. The executive summary is not an introduction and should be a concise but complete summary of the entire report. Ensure a student name/number is on the assignment. Please refrain from using the “cut and paste” shortcut, where figures and tables are directly copied from textbooks, the lecture slides, blogs, etc, since the material is subject to copyright protection, and copied items are generally difficult to read and are not suitable for a professionally written report. Adapt/recreate useful items from scratch, citing the source of the data. Use headings and subheadings in the report. When using tables or figures, refer to the item by number: ‘… as shown in Figure 1.’ Each visual must be numbered and titled, and placed close to the paragraph where it is first referenced.