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Topic:
Amazon (http://www.Amazon.com/
; https://www.amazon.com/p/feature/qj2fb38w5m9h6z8) is an American electronic commerce and cloud computing company based in Seattle, Washington. Imagining that you are the team appointed by Amazon to provide a business report for the company on one of its existing host country markets. You are asked to analyse the internal and the external strategic environments, examine the participation strategy that the company used to enter the host country, review the company’s performance so far in the host country market, forecast further development potential in the host country market, and advise the company on its future investment strategies in the global market.
5000 words
Group Report Assessment Criteria
Focusing on the Group Report Brief (30%):
· The extent to which your report focuses on the brief, identifying and examining key issues associated with the question
Quality of Research (20%):
· Coverage of core texts
· Evidence of appropriate and substantial wider reading
Quality of Analysis (30%):
· Application of theoretical understanding to support analysis
· The extent to which the work provides evidence of independent critical analysis
Cogency, Structure and Presentation (20%):
· Coherence of the report’s structure, writing and presentation
· The extent to which the report logically and coherently examines the subject with sufficient breadth and depth
· Full referencing and comprehensive citation
A copy of the Group Report Mark Sheet can be downloaded from the My Learning.
Your Group Report will be marked against this mark sheet.
Group Report Brief
Your Group Report must follow this brief:
1. Introduction
Summarise the whole report in terms of its purpose, data collection methods, major findings, suggestions / conclusion, limitations, and report structure.
2. Company and Host Country Strategic Environment Analysis
You will have three main tasks in this chapter: 1) Critically evaluate different internal and external strategic environment analytical tools. 2) Analyse Apple’s internal environment by using proper internal strategic environment analytical tool(s). 3) Select a host country for Apple (you can find a list of the host countries in the company’s website; you can choose any country in this list except for USA, which is the home country in this case). Analyse this country’s contemporary strategic environment for Apple by using proper external strategic environment analytical tool(s). When you choose a country, you need to consider the availability of the data that you need for the analysis.
(For literature on analytical tools, you may find the following chapters useful, referring to Learning Resources section of this Module Handbook: Lasserre’s book Chapter 6,Parboteeah and Cullen’s book Chapter 5 and 6. For further reading: Richard Lynch’s book Chapter 3)
3. Entry Strategy in the Host Country
In this chapter, you will need to complete the following two main tasks: 1) Identify the initial market entry mode(s) that the company used when it firstly entered the host country. You should be able to find such information in the company’s website. 2) Explain why the company chose such entry mode(s). To do this, you will find the following two sorts of information useful – a) the advantages and the disadvantages of different entry modes, and b) the internal and the external environment of the company during the time when the company firstly entered the host country. Here, you will only need to outline the key influential factors in the internal and / or the external environments that you believe influenced the company’s entry mode decision at that time. DO NOT writes another strategic environment analysis here.
(For literature on market entry modes, you may find the following chapter useful, referring to Learning Resources section of this Module Handbook: Lasserre’s book
Chapter 7. For further reading: Charles Hill’s book Chapter 4 and 14)
In this chapter, you will need to review the company’s performance in the host country. Ideally, you should review the company’s performance from the year it entered the host country to the present. To complete this chapter, you will need to find factual based information to support your evaluation. Thus, you should search different databases to find out relevant data on the company’s performance, do a proper data analysis, and then draw a conclusion on the company’s performance so far. You will find the following four types of information helpful: 1) financial performance,2) market share, 3) sales, and 4) corporate social responsibility. To do the analysis, you can consider the company’s annual growth on the above aspects, as well as compare the company’s performance on the above aspects with its major competitors’ or the industrial average in the host country during the same period of time.
(The workshops will help you on data search and analysis)
5. Company Development Forecast
To complete this chapter, you will need to use the information from chapter 2, 3 and 4. The information from chapter 2 and 4 should have provided you with enough knowledge on the host country market as well as its future development trend; with this information you should be able to make a judgement on the company’s future growth in the host country market. The information in chapter 3 can help you predict the company’s next move in terms of market entry mode strategy. To complete this chapter, you will need to: 1) identity the key influential factors (come from chapter 2, 3, and 4) which you believe will influence the company’s future development in the host country market, and explain how they would impact on the company; and 2) forecast the company’s development in the host country market in the next 5 or 10 years; again you can discuss it from its financial performance, market share, sales, corporate social responsibility, and etc. in the host country.
6. Recommendation on Business Strategy
Based on your discussion in chapter 2, 3, 4 and 5, provide some proper recommendations on the company’s current business strategy in the global market.
This can be, for instance, increase or withdrew the investment in certain countries; develop new market, new product, new strategic alliance, and etc. You should always explain why you give certain recommendations (that means your recommendation should be reasonable).
(For implementation planning suggestions, you may find the following chapters useful, referring to Learning Resources section of this Module Handbook: Lasserre’s book Chapter 4, 5, 5, 9. 10, 14 and 16. Parboteeah and Cullen’s book Chapter 7, 8 and 9)
7. References
8. Appendix (if you have any)
You should present your essay professionally by following the instructions below:
a) A maximum of 5500 words (excluding reference list and appendix)
b) Word processed on A4 paper with a font size of 12
c) Leave 2.5cm (1 inch) margin on both the right and the left side of the page
d) Use 1.5 line space
e) Number pages continuously
f) Label all tables, figures, and so on
g) You should use the Harvard System of Referencing for your references. For information on this please refer for example to (a copy of this file can also be found in My Learning): http://ezproxy.mdx.ac.uk/login?url=http://www.citethemrightonline.com
h) Make sure you have a cover page on your group report with the following information:
ü All the team members’ full names
ü All the team members’ student numbers Your group number
ü The module title and code
ü Your Seminar Tutor’s name Your group report title
ü Date of submission Word count
i) Each group member should fill out and attach the Group Feedback Report Form to the Group Report (see Appendix 2 of this handbook, you can also download a copy of the form from My Learning).
Submission is via Turnitin in My Learning. Please do not submit them to your Seminar Tutor or Teaching Assistant.Co-ordinators submit one copy to Turnitin. Please print the Turnitin confirmation that you have successfully submitted your coursework. Please be aware that Turnitin can get very busy near the submission time, so try to aim to submit your work earlier.
Viva Guidelines
Topic: Your viva is an opportunity for you to demonstrate your individual contribution to the group report, and your grasp of the content of the report as a whole. It is a mini-interview, during which you will be asked to explain aspect of the section of the group report that was written by you, and to explain some other content in the report. Therefore you must be familiar with all of the sections of the report in order to pass the viva.
Assessment dates: In seminars in Learning Week 21-24. You will know your viva date soon after you start the module.
Group Report Viva Assessment Criteria
Ø The quality of the answers to Seminar Tutor’s questions on your Group Report (100%)
o Assessed Individually
A copy of the Group Report Viva Mark Sheet can be downloaded from the My Learning. Your Group Report Viva will be marked against this mark sheet.
Group Report Viva Brief
1. The purpose of the viva is to exam whether you fully understand what you and your teammates have written in your Group Report.
2. The seminar tutor will ask you two questions in the viva, and you must answer both questions. One question will be on the section(s) you write or are mainly responsible for. The other question will be on the sections that your teammates write or are mainly responsible for. Thus you must be very familiar with and understand every section in your Group Report.
3. It is highly recommended that, when you answer Seminar Tutor’s questions, you use the information and evidence from your group report (including any sections in your group report) to support your argument.
Feedback & Advice
You can obtain feedback and advice on your work/progresses via the Module Leader,
Seminar Tutors and Teaching Assistants:
Ø Your Teaching Assistants will provide individual support with your study in this module. It is your responsibility to contact your Teaching Assistant if you wish to have extra support.
Ø If you wish to discuss any issues on global business strategy, you can upload your question(s) to My Learning (in the Discussions section); the Module Leader will then address your question(s) in the following lecture.
Ø Your preliminary marks and generic feedback on your “Question of the Week” presentations will be available on My Learning (in the Mail section) soon after each presentation.
Ø You will receive your preliminary marks on your two online tests immediately after each test.
Ø Before the deadline of Group Report, you will have opportunity to ask feedback on your draft. It is your responsibility to contact your Seminar Tutor and /or Teaching Assistant for the feedback.
Ø After group report submission, your coursework will be marked with generic feedback. Your Group Report preliminary marks and the generic feedback will be available on My Learning (in the Mail section) soon after the coursework marking is finished. If you wish to have a face-to-face feedback on your coursework, you can request a meeting with your Seminar Tutor and/or Module Leader and /or Teaching Assistant.
Ø Your Group Report Viva preliminary marks and generic feedback will be available on My Learning (in the Mail section) soon after your viva.
Ø Preliminary marks are unconfirmed marks, as grades can only be confirmed at the assessment board, and these marks may change.
Deferral
The deadline for all the assessment is fixed and missing it results in a Fail grade being awarded. You may submit extenuating circumstances to the UniHelp desk when coursework is submitted late. Please note that there is no such thing as an extension. A student may, however, apply for a deferral, through the UniHelp desk where the student has documented good cause to defer. Deferral will mean taking the next assessment; it does not mean handing in the current work later on.
Re-assessment
If you fail the module (fail grades are 17, 18, 19, 20 with an overall mark between 0% and 39%) you are eligible for a re-sit. You will be re-assessed in the assessed component(s), which you have failed.