Continuation of order # 288900005 PROJECT 4: DEVELOPING AN INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS PLAN START HERE Building on the global industry comparative analysis you did in Project 3, develop a business plan for your organization to operate in a new country. Analyze the new country first as a site for certain value-chain activities, and second as a market for your organization’s products. Note that the term products will refer to products, services, or a combination of the two. Your business plan should include a marketing strategy and an entry strategy. Also take into consideration the requirements of accounting and finance. Develop market share estimates and revenue projections using historical data from your organization in the United States and your own research into market size, pricing, and unit sales for the industry in the selected country. Estimate the investment required for relocating one or more activities of your organization’s value chain from the United States to the selected country. Also estimate the time needed for your organization to break even. Provide the assumptions behind your projections and assessments of both short-term and long-term risks. You will have three weeks to develop the business plan for Gustavo. Be sure to give yourself adequate time for each of the 10 steps of this project. STEP 1: PREPARE TO DEVELOP YOUR ORGANIZATION’S INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS PLAN Equipped with the knowledge and skills gained from previous projects in this course and from preceding courses in the MBA program, you are now ready to put your international strategy all together in a business plan. Review the types of international strategies and their components as you begin this work. STEP 2: CHOOSE A LOCAL ALLIANCE PARTNER AND AN ENTRY STRATEGY Develop an entry strategy for Gustavo of about 6–7 pages in length. The strategy you develop should incorporate the components described here and in Step 3. As you begin to develop an entry strategy, first perform the following assessments: • Analyze your site as both a market for your products and as a site for certain value-chain activities. • Short-list and profile potential partner company candidates. • Determine what company you will select for partnership or alliance. Evaluate the benefits this partnership would bring to your organization’s market position or profits. • Detail the pros and cons of three market-entry modes. Which entry mode would you recommend and why? How does your chosen mode fit your organization’s goals and objectives? For help in answering these questions, review Modes of Entry Estimate the financial investment required for the selected entry strategy. When you have begun your entry strategy and chosen a local alliance partner, continue to the next step, where you will determine your organization’s degree of fit with the selected country. STEP 3: DETERMINE THE ORGANIZATION’S DEGREE OF FIT WITH THE COUNTRY The next step in developing your entry strategy is to determine your organization’s degree of fit with the selected country. Answer the following questions in your entry strategy: • How would you make the strategic alliance work? Regulations and laws governing different types of business entities vary considerably from one country to another. What kind of legal business entity do you recommend for your organization in the country of operation? What will be the impact of certain country laws on this type of business entity? • What are the operational roles and activities of the partners? Design an organizational chart for operations in the country. Explain why you have chosen this organizational structure. • What will be the likely impact of the country’s culture and geography on your organization, the value-chain activities that are being relocated to the country, and the growth in sales of your organization’s products in the country? Review Globalizing the Management Model for depth of understanding. You may submit your entry strategy (Steps 2–3) in the box below for feedback. In the next step, you will begin your marketing strategy. Use the following filename protocol: review the competencies below, which your instructor will use to evaluate your work. A good practice would be to use each competency as a self-check to confirm you have incorporated all of them in your work. STEP 4: DEVELOP A MARKETING STRATEGY Now that you have developed an entry strategy and determined your organization’s degree of fit within the selected country, you will create a marketing plan In addition to relocating certain activities in the value chain to the selected country, Gustavo wants to evaluate the country for its suitability as a market for your organization’s products. Review Target Markets for help with this evaluation. Develop a 6–7 page marketing strategy for the industry in which your organization belongs. Your marketing strategy should incorporate the components described here and in Steps 5–6 below. The first step in developing your marketing strategy is to identify and assess the following components: • your organization’s main competitors in the country • the actual and potential size of the market • market and segment growth • market and segment profitability • underlying costs and cost structure • distribution systems channels When you have addressed these components in your marketing strategy, continue to the next step, where you will assess the characteristics of your organization’s potential customers in the selected country.
