Marketing 480

                                                     International Marketing

                                     Project Guidelines and Evaluation Criteria
                                                                                                                         Dr. Z. S. Demirdjian
For your group report (double-spaced, typewritten, 8-to-15 pages long), you need to:
l. Select a company which has a product or service to sell overseas.
2. Prepare a preliminary report on the feasibility of "going international" into a specific country (which will be assigned to you later).
3. Use the same report for a 12-minute oral presentation to the class.
In order to help you prepare the report, the following guidelines are suggested:
For a given company, each group will be assigned a country and be asked to prepare a preliminary report on the feasibility of "going international" with a specific product (branded), commodity, or technical know-how (a service) into the foreign country.
In this report, you will have to make the following four major managerial decisions:
I. EVALUATE FIRM'S POSITION AT HOME: Decide whether your company should go abroad (by looking at the international    environment  for opportunities for your offering and by evaluating your company's mission, objectives, strengths and weaknesses).
         A. Need for product by overseas market
         B. Readiness of company to go international
            1.Company Mission

            2.Company Objectives

           3.Strengths

          4.Weaknesses

II. ANALYZE FOREIGN OPPORTUNITIES AND THREATS: Decide whether to go international into your assigned country (by analyzing for opportunities and threats in light of the macro environment (uncontrollable) found in this country):
A. Financial forces
B. Economic and Socioeconomic forces
C. Physical forces
D. Sociocultural forces
E. Political forces
F. Legal forces
G. Labor forces
H. Competitive and distributive forces

III. PLAN THE MARKETING STRATEGIES: Decide on how to enter this market (foreign country), given the threats present in this country, suggest and support your decision on a mode of entry.
A. Entry strategy
B. Product strategy
1. Same product
2. Modified product

IV. PLAN THE CONTROL OF OPERATIONS: Decide on how to manage the foreign operation in the assigned country
A. Strategic plans
B. Organizational design
C. Control and staffing

V. GROUP ORAL PRESENTATION: Use the same report for a 12-minute oral presentation to the class.
Grading Procedure:                   Section I is worth 10 points
                                                Section II is worth 45 points
                                                Section III is worth 15 points
                                                Section IV is worth 10 points                                    
                                                Section V is worth 20 points

                                                          Total: 100 points
Evaluative Criteria:
To increase objectivity, your report will be evaluated in terms of the following criteria:
                              A.   Coverage:       inclusion of important areas
                              B.   Presentation:    how effectively your ideas are communicated.
                              C.   Organization:   how well your thoughts and material are arranged.
                              D.   Research:        how well the important areas are researched.
                              E.   Objectivity:      how realistic you are in your plans and expectations.
                              F.   Consistency:    how your plans and strategies conform to your company mission and objectives.
                              G.   Creativity:       how well you attempt to plan and implement your business activities in innovative ways.
                              H.   Quality:           how neatly the report is prepared; spelling, grammar, etc. are kept at a minimum.

After reading this guideline, if you still have any further questions, please jot them down below (we shall soon get together and try to clarify or answer your questions):
1. 2.3. 4. etc.