Guide for
International Business Essay:
Internationalisation of Business
Prepared by Associate Professor Natt Pimpa & IB Team
Objectives:
The internationalisation process of multinational corporations is complex. In recent decades, more and more companies have started to operate outside their domestic markets. There are also new technologies that promote the growth of internationalisation of firms from all countries around the world. It is, therefore, important for us to be able to comprehend the nature of internationalisation process of business.
In this task, you are asked to perform an international business analysis. In doing so, you will need to understand some international business theories from this course. This assignment will help you to be able to learn and apply key international business theories from the course to real-life multinational corporations (MNCs).
Type: Individual
Value: 50% (length: up to 2,500 words)Structure of your Essay:
The key question for this essay is:
What is the internationalisation process of company in (industry and country)?
Step 1:
You need to select a multinational corporation from 2015 Fortunes GLOBAL 500 MNCs list (http://fortune.com/global500/). We suggest you to think of your future career and industry that you are interested in while selecting a company from the list. Although it is not mandatory, we encourage you to select an MNC from an emerging country (such as Brazil, Russia, India, China, Indonesia, South Africa, UAE, Vietnam, Malaysia, South Korea, members of AEC or Mercosur).Step 2:
Select one country where your company has invested in (in any foreign direct investment forms). Then, you need to analyse the internationalisation of the company. In your essay, you will need to follow these instructions.
1) The Analysis of your Multinational Corporation (MNC):
In this section you will need to present and analyse key data supporting the status of your company as a multinational corporation. It is highly recommended that you use key academic sources to illustrate and explain the concept of MNC in this section.
Key data supporting the status of your company as an MNC and its world ranking
Using key academic sources to explain the concept of MNC (MNC topic)
Competitors in international market2) Host Country Analysis:
You will need to focus on ONE factor from the host country that influences the internationalisation process of the firm. As we focus on political economy and socio-cultural factors in the first part of this course, we recommend you to answer the following questions in this section:
What is the key factor from the host country that promotes the internationalisation process of your firm? Why?
Please use one theory from the course to support your argument(s). The application of some theories from this course: Uppsala Internationalisation theory, Eclectic paradigm, and Porters diamond theory can also be useful at this point.
3) Foreign Entry Strategies: In this section you will need to answer these questions:
Explain entry strategy/strategies performed by the company. Please use academic resources (i.e. journal articles) to explain the concept of the companys entry strategy and its benefits. (Entry strategies topic)
Please identify some constraints of the selected entry strategy. It is important that you combined points from academic sources (i.e. academic journal articles) and information from the company to analyse potential constraints of the entry. strategy.
4) International Business Impacts and Contributions:
What are the major contributions of your MNC to the host country?
From the UN Global Compact Principles, which area that your MNC will need to focus in their current and future business? Why? (CSR)Tips
1. The core of this assignment is to assess your level of mastery of the subject matters and your analytical skills in relation to foreign market entry strategies. It is important that you can integrate key international business theories from the course to your analysis of an MNC in this assignment.
2. Do not perform PESTEL/SWOT/ five forces analysis in this essay.
3. This is an international business essay. Please avoid marketing and general management points/analyses in this essay.
Other requirements
A minimum of six (6) academic journal articles must be read and cited.
The assignment must be well-structured and well-presented.
The clarity of expressions together with the appropriate use of grammar, spelling and punctuations are important to maintain.
Any use of comments, information, data or quotations from others (books, journals, newspapers, web etc.) must be cited using Harvard referencing style.
The 12 point font in Times New Roman should be used throughout. Appropriate spacing (1.5 lines) and margins on all sides (at least 2 cm) need to be maintained.
Number each page.
Essential Information
This is an individual assignment (50%)
Length of this essay should be between 2,000-2,500 words (including country analysis).
Theories from the course (BUSM1222 International business) MUST be incorporated in your analysis
Marking criteria is available from the learning hub.
We focus on the quality of reference. Make sure you combine both academic and industrial or trade information. Please use, at least, six academic journal articles to form your arguments.
The clarity of expressions together with the appropriate use of grammar, spelling and punctuations are important to maintain.
Any use of comments, information, data or quotations from others (books, journals, newspapers, web etc.) must be cited properly.
The 12 point font in Times New Roman should be used throughout. Appropriate spacing (1.5 lines) and margins on all sides (at least 2 cm) need to be maintained.
Number each page.
Due dates for submission for this essay (country analysis and the full essay) will be discussed in the class.
This link will be useful for your writing, referencing and academic style presentation https://emedia.rmit.edu.au/learninglab/content/writing-skills