BBB4M - INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS PLAN



BBB 4M - INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS PORTFOLIO

International Business is extremely competitive. There are many different countries for investors to choose. However, there are limited resources with which they can do this. The more research an investor conducts on a foreign country, the greater the chances of success the investment will yield. Your task is to create a guide for Canadian investors on a particular foreign country, and provide detailed information on how a specific product has a competitive advantage over other countries. Your portfolio must include the following sections:

| | | |

|1. Background Information |4. Economic Information |7. Infrastructure Analysis |

| | | |

|2. Political Information |5. Cultural Information |8. Competitive Advantages |

| | | |

|3. Legal Information |6. International Information |9. Recommendations & Conclusions |

Any other information you feel will help investors better understand your country will only enhance your submission. You will be working on this guide throughout the semester. By the end of the course, you will have prepared a comprehensive paper on "Conducting Business with one of Canada's Trading Partners" plus detailed the competitive advantage of your trading country. This portfolio will be the basis of your final summative task in June.

It will be important at times to highlight important areas where your selected country drastically differs from Canada. This will not only help the investor create perspective but also act as a good foundation upon which to base your conclusions and recommendations. Don’t do this with every piece of information just those that you consider significant.

The IBP has two parts: the report itself and the presentation made by you at the end of the semester as part of your final summative task. The IBP is a work-in-progress. Each section will be covered in your final report. Since this is a report and not an essay, you may use headings but one subject must still flow into the next. You may also use tables at time to list pieces of information. The report must be properly referenced. This means that embedded references, placed in the body of the report, must coincide with the Works Cited List at the end of the report.

What follows is a more detailed look at each section of the IBP. Each part offers some advice as to what type of information to include. However, you are not expected to find all of these pieces of information AND you are expected to pad your report with other pertinent information that you find. A “Level 4” report will go above and beyond the information included here. Therefore consider this outline a blueprint rather than a step by step guide.

Background Information

Background information on a country gives an investor a starting point with which to study a foreign country. If this information fits the needs of the investor, they will continue to perform more research. Background information includes where the country is located, the main languages spoken, and other demographic information. Try to stick to information of relevance to “BUSINESS”. For your chosen country you must find out the following background information:

| | | |

|Map (Both globally and major topographic issues) |Major Religions & Languages |Natural resources |

| |Major economic events in recent history | |

|Percentage of Population Using Internet | |Literacy Rate |

| | | |

|Population density and growth rate |Life expectancy |Climate/weather conditions |

This section should also include a subsection of “Current Events”. Here you can summarize 2-3 recent articles involving your country and a “business” related concept. You should comment on not only the contents of the article but what it means to countries/companies considering doing business with your country. You may include/adapt the article you chose for your upcoming Newspaper Assignment.

Political Information

A country's political structure tells investors a lot about that country. Is the country democratic? Is there corruption in the government (i.e. RISK)? Who holds political office and how stable are they? Investors must carefully study these questions and their answers before choosing to invest in a foreign country. How many parties there are etc. and similar info is not necessary for investors. For your chosen country, you may find the following political information:

| | | |

|Historical background that impacts business |Current Political issues affecting business climate|Any tariffs, quotas, embargoes |

|environment | | |

| | | |

|Type of political and economic system |How is the government formed? |Stability of government? |

| | | |

|Military role in your country |Country's views on trade | |

Legal Information

The laws of a country are the principles, rules, and regulations that guide that country and its citizens. It is important for investors to understand the structure and enforcement of the laws before investing in a foreign country. Again you are looking for corruption and therefore RISK. For your chosen country, you must find out the following legal information:

| | | |

|How are laws made? |Any sign of corruption? |Laws on investments or trade |

| | | |

|Who enforces the laws and is there corruption |Child labour laws |Role and rights of women in society |

|there? | | |

Economic Information

It is the economic information of a foreign country that attracts Canadian investors. They must study the economic system of the foreign country and speculate whether all the economic information and indicators show that the country will be a desirable location for investment. For your chosen country, you should try to find out the following economic information:

| | | |

|Type of economic system |Currency vs. Canadian Dollar |Natural economic resources |

|GDP per capita | | |

|and GDP growth rate |Major Exports and Exporting Partners |Inflation rate (last 5 years) and what this means |

| | | |

|Major Importing and Importing Partners |Balance of Trade with Canada |Product Imported from .... and Exported to Canada |

| | | |

|Unemployment rate |Relative price of goods compared to Canada |Average Household Income |

For this section also consider the following questions:

Q = Have there been any recent major economic events in the country? (recession, etc.)

Q = Has Canada or another country attempted to assist this country in its economic development and its ability to take better advantage of international business? (Trade missions, etc.)

Q = If this country does not export anything to Canada, why?

Q = What are the working conditions, generally speaking, in this country? How do these conditions compare to Canada's? Explain.

Cultural Information

Most mistakes made by investors in the past have been because they have ignored or disregarded a foreign country's culture. The definition of culture is "the shared beliefs, customs, norms, and values that guide the everyday life of a group". Investors must study the foreign country's culture to gain insight into that country, its citizens, and how the country conducts business. For your chosen country, you must find out the following cultural information:

| | | |

|Languages spoken & in what setting |Business Negotiations |Specific products and services associated with |

|Business language |(style, types of conflicts & negotiating styles) |significant cultures or holidays |

|Acceptable & Unacceptable topics of conversation | | |

|Non-verbal communication | | |

|Use of humour | | |

| | | |

|Customs/Gift giving/ |Business Customs |Major National Holidays |

|Greetings |Tipping, gifts, time management |and Ceremonies |

Also consider the following question:

Q = What cultural factors must be taken into consideration before trade can improve with this country?

International Information

The world is becoming a global village where many countries interact with other countries on many different levels than they did in the past. There are many international agreements and organizations to which a country can belong. Investors must be aware of this as well as any disputes or regulations that these foreign countries have. For your chosen country, you must find out the following international information:

| | | |

|Membership in International organization memberships and what |International agreements |International disputes |

|that means | | |

| | | |

|Roles in international organizations | |Foreign relations with other countries |

Infrastructure Analysis

This section should focus on an infrastructure analysis (facts and explanations) of your selected country. Do they have the necessary infrastructure to support trade? (Communication & transportation networks, etc.) Any other information or considerations that you feel are necessary and important for potential investors (e.g., banking system, use of technology, ethics, environmental issues, international finance, global dilemmas such as terrorism {e.g., September 11, 2001}, and pollution. Also consider the following questions:

Q = Are there climate or transportation problems that need to be resolved before further trade can take place?

Q = Are there ongoing ethical issues that need to be addressed before more trade would be considered by either new companies or the ones already doing trade with this country?

Competitive Advantages

The purpose of this section is to focus on the competitive advantages your IBP country possesses over Canada and vice versa. The products are usually declared a necessity in many different countries. Some of these products may include energy resources, some types of foods, technology, human resources, health care, education, or different forms of transportation. Use your text (Chapter 4) to substantiate the basis of each competitive advantage (i.e. How was that advantage achieved?). Be sure to discuss specific industries that each country has an advantage in and why? Also consider the following questions:

Q = What benefits does Canada realize because it trades with this country?

Q = How does Canada market its products in this country? Have there been adaptations for the new country? Are Canadians comfortable here?

Q = Compare Canada's trade with this country with another, nearby country. Dollar value of trade? Products of trade?

Recommendations, Suggestions and Conclusions

THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT SECTION OF THE IBP. In this section of the guide, you are to use all the information that you have researched on your country and form a decision as to why Canadians should or should not invest in your country at this time. Your reasons should be solid and linked to the research you have conducted. Your conclusions should be supported and demonstrate the knowledge and understanding that you have obtained throughout this course. You DO NOT need to only discuss the positives…you are analyzing the country and not selling investors on it. This section should be started during your research process. You should start writing down what you think are major points as you discuss them. Some points (2 or 3) should be made by the time the conference takes place so they can be discussed to see if you are on the right track.

Work Cited

Appropriate list of resources is required. Embedded references are necessary in your report.

Evaluation

Report The IBP report ( /120) is included in the 70% Formative evaluation for this course. Evaluation is attached.

Presentation The IBP presentation is worth 10% of the course and serves as your rich summative task. It appears within the 30% summative evaluation of BBB4M.

Deadlines

Conference Completed by -- Tuesday, May 1st

➢ A 5- 10 minute discussion with me to ensure you are on the right track with your IBP.

➢ List of sources used to date (including websites)

➢ Organized notes of what you have completed so far (by section)

➢ Ideas for Recommendations and Suggestions

Conference is evaluated. Please consult the attached rubric for how you will be evaluated.

You must complete the conference by Tuesday, May 1st. It is your responsibility to schedule this conference. If you have not completed your conference by May 1st you will receive NO MARK. However, I will be happy to go over your IBP after this date.

Due Date Friday, May 25th

Presentations Start Thursday, May 31st

• Since the presentation is part of your final summative task you will require a doctor’s note if you are absent. Unless a doctor’s note is presented you will receive a ZERO.

Presentation Requirements

For the presentation, you are to assume that your audience represents members of an upcoming trade mission to the country that your are profiling. You must brief them. Your advice, facts, and strategies can make the difference between a successful trade mission and an unsuccessful one. Each presentation will be 15-20 minutes in length, including time for questions from the "trade mission" members. Presentations may take a variety of forms: power-point presentations, video, slide show, lecture with visual support, etc.

You must also learn how to say the following two statements in the main language of the country you picked:

1. Hello, nice to meet you.

2. I had a wonderful time! You must now come and visit my country.

Secondly, you must pick a staple food of your country. Determine the ingredients required for the preparation of the food – how easy it is to obtain the ingredients. You will be preparing the food from scratch and sharing it with the class during your presentation.

Finally, include any other cultural conventions (clothing, flags, customs, etc.) to display in the class to accentuate the culture of your country.

What Makes for a Good Report?

➢ Only include information that is significant to the country’s ability to trade internationally...don’t just find information on the country and use it.

➢ Don’t just list statistics, state significant ones and explain the positives/negatives of each. Every statistic must be significant.

➢ Each section of the report should be written from the “How does this information impact international business?” perspective

➢ Source all statistics (numbers, dates, etc.) with embedded references

➢ Source all work that is not in your words (sometimes you write what you would never say)

➢ Challenging or difficult words should either be defined....or DON’T USE THEM AT ALL!!!

➢ Include graphics, charts and visuals AND refer to them in the report.

➢ Too many embedded references OR too many things to source???....put ideas into your own words

➢ A report should be WRITTEN by you.....NOT ASSEMBLED by you (like a jigsaw puzzle of sentences)

International Business Portfolio Report Evaluation ~ BBB4M

Name: Country:

Trade Report on Country (Knowledge and Understanding, Thinking, and

Application 90 marks)

Each section of the report is evaluated using the following criteria:

← Breadth of analysis (wide coverage of material within topic)

← Depth of analysis (expanded on the merits of points using facts AND explanations)

← Applied and used course terminology often and accurately

← Emphasized impact of information gathered on international trade (i.e. not just list of facts)

← Avoided using information that was non-essential to the report

← Report complete with specific recommendations and risks

← Report contains concluding statements such as “Therefore” and “This means that…”

Knowledge and Understanding

- Background Information / 5

- Political Information / 5

- Legal Information / 5

- Economic Information / 5

- Cultural Information / 5

- International Information / 5

Total / 30

Thinking

- Infrastructure Analysis / 15

- Competitive Advantages / 15

Total / 30

Application

- Conclusions and Recommendations / 30

Total / 30

Overall Presentation of Report and Quality of Written Material

(Communication 30 marks)

Communication

- Title Page, Table of Contents and Works Cited

are neat, organized / 3

- Easily read font of appropriate size. / 1

- Good use of spacing and headings for

organization (not too cluttered or too spaced out) / 2

- Use of graphics, diagrams, pictures, charts and

tables to present information / 2

- Graphics used properly and are of good quality / 2

- Report is free from spelling and grammar mistakes / 10

- Used a high level of language (Course vocabulary) / 5

- Provided explanations of important or difficult

concepts/terms / 2

- Accurate use of embedded references for

factual information / 3

Total / 30

Total / 120

International Business Portfolio Summative Evaluation Presentation Rubric ~ BBB4M

| |Below Level (0-4 each) |Level 1 (5 each) |Level 2 (6 each) |Level 3 (7 each) |Level 4 (8-10 each) |

|Knowledge and Understanding|Shows no degree of |Shows a limited degree of |Shows some degree of |shows a considerable |shows an exceptional degree|

| |understanding of |understanding of |understanding of |degree of understanding of|of understanding of |

| |ideas/concepts/information |ideas/concepts/information|ideas/concepts/informati|ideas/concepts/ |ideas/concepts/ information|

| |or country |or country |on or country |information of country |of country |

|Thinking and Inquiry |-uses critical thinking |-uses critical thinking |-uses critical thinking |-uses critical thinking |-uses critical thinking |

| |skills to plan presentation|skills to plan |skills to plan |skills to plan |skills to plan presentation|

| |with no success (includes a|presentation with limited |presentation with some |presentation with |with exceptional success |

| |focus on the impact of the |success (includes a focus |success (includes a |considerable success |(includes a focus on the |

| |information on |on the impact of the |focus on the impact of |(includes a focus on the |impact of the information |

| |international business) |information on |the information on |impact of the information |on international business) |

| | |international business) |international business) |on international business)| |

| |-integrates researched | | | |-integrates researched |

| |ideas with no success to |-integrates researched |-integrates researched |-integrates researched |ideas with exceptional |

| |make recommendations and |ideas with limited success|ideas with some success |ideas with considerable |success to make |

| |conclusions (cites sources |to make recommendations |to make recommendations |success to make |recommendations and |

| |throughout) |and conclusions (cites |and conclusions (cites |recommendations and |conclusions (cites sources |

| | |sources throughout) |sources throughout) |conclusions (cites sources|throughout) |

| | | | |throughout) | |

|Communication |-uses academic language |uses academic language |-uses academic language |-uses academic language |uses academic language with|

| |with no effectiveness |with limited effectiveness|with some effectiveness |with considerable |exceptional effectiveness |

| |(tone, diction...) |(tone, diction...) |(tone, diction...) |effectiveness (tone, |(tone, diction...) |

| | | | |diction...) | |

| |-organizes thoughts and |-organizes thoughts and |-organizes thoughts and | |-organizes thoughts and |

| |creates coherence with no |creates coherence with |creates coherence with |-organizes thoughts and |creates coherence with |

| |effectiveness. |limited effectiveness. |some effectiveness |creates coherence with |exceptional effectiveness |

| | | | |considerable effectiveness| |

| |-uses oral communication |-uses oral communication |-uses oral communication| |-uses oral communication |

| |techniques (rhetorical |techniques (rhetorical |techniques (rhetorical| |techniques (rhetorical |

| |devices, voice projection, |devices, voice projection,|devices, voice |-uses oral communication |devices, voice projection, |

| |body language, eye contact,|body language, eye |projection, body |techniques (rhetorical |body language, eye contact,|

| |intonation, clarity) with |contact, intonation, |language, eye contact, |devices, voice projection,|intonation, clarity) with |

| |no effectiveness. |clarity) with limited |intonation, clarity) |body language, eye |exceptional effectiveness |

| | |effectiveness. |with some effectiveness |contact, intonation, | |

| | | | |clarity) with considerable| |

| | | | |effectiveness | |

|Application |-uses audio/visual aid(s) |-uses audio/visual aid(s) |-uses audio/visual |-uses audio/visual aid(s) |-uses audio/visual aid(s) |

| |with no effectiveness |with limited effectiveness|aid(s) with some |with considerable |with exceptional |

| | | |effectiveness |effectiveness |effectiveness |

| |-Displays little or no use |-Displays limited use of | | | |

| |of culture by implementing |culture by implementing |-Displays some use of |-Displays considerable |-Displays an exceptional |

| |cultural practices in the |cultural practices in the |culture by implementing |use of culture by |use of culture by |

| |presentation |presentation |cultural practices in |implementing cultural |implementing cultural |

| | | |the presentation |practices in the |practices in the |

| | | | |presentation |presentation |

|Total | |

| |/40 |

International Business Portfolio Conference Rubric ~ BBB4M

| |Below Level (0-4 each) |Level 1 (5 each) |Level 2 (6 each) |Level 3 (7 each) |Level 4 (8-10 each) |

|Knowledge and Understanding|- Very few or no notes and |- Presence of limited |- Presence of some notes|- Presence of considerable|- Presence of exceptional |

| |ideas addressing a wide |notes and ideas addressing|and ideas addressing a |notes and ideas addressing|notes and ideas addressing |

| |range of subtopics for the |a wide range of subtopics |wide range of subtopics |a wide range of subtopics |a wide range of subtopics |

| |report |for the report. |for the report. |for the report. |for the report. |

|Thinking and Inquiry | | | | | |

| |- no sources compiled |- limited sources and |- some sources and |- Considerable and quality|- Exceptional and quality |

| | |information compiled. |information already |list of sources and |list of sources and |

| |- No conference held. | |compiled. |information already |information already |

| | |- Poor quality of sources | |compiled. |compiled. |

| |- no recommendations or | |- Has started thinking | | |

| |conclusions have been |- has not started |about recommendations or|- Has started formulating |- Has started formulating |

| |thought of. |thinking seriously about |conclusions, but still |recommendations or |strong recommendations or |

| | |recommendations or |has not formulated an |conclusions |conclusions |

| | |conclusions. |clear and articulated | | |

| | | |conclusion | | |

|Total | |

| |/20 |

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