Level 7 International Strategic Management Individual Assignment Brief | UoS

How to submit (University of Salford)

You must submit your report via Turnitin.

As the assessments will be marked anonymously, please put your student ID number - not your name – on the front page of your submission.

Assessment Task Details and Instructions

You must structure your report in the same order as the weighted assignment tasks set out below.

Word count

The total word count for the report is 4000 words (there is no +10% or -10% allowance for the word count); an indicative word count for each task is provided below. NB Task 1 is quantitative and therefore not included in the word count. 

The word count also excludes the following:

• cover page
• contents page
• references
• tables
• diagrams
• appendices

Abstracts / executive summaries are not required and will not be marked if included.

Background to Assignment

The planet is becoming more urban. By 2030, more than five billion people — about 60 per cent of the world population — will live in cities.
We are also becoming more mobile and more connected. New technologies and business models are pushing aside the privately owned automobile and other less efficient modes of transportation.

Whether from autonomous vehicles, the electrification of transportation, shared networks of cars, scooters and bicycles, or the advent of 5G wireless, the world of mobility is changing almost daily. Nowhere will that transformation be felt more acutely in the coming decades than in the world’s major cities, where increased urban density and congestion make the tasks of creating and maintaining urban transport systems ever more complex.

This is why developing and improving urban mobility is a top priority for cities around the globe. If a city cannot move its people, goods and data efficiently, it is difficult to see how it thrives. Three broad technological trends will be primarily responsible for reshaping urban mobility in every city — digitisation, automation and electrification. The sharing (or collaborative) economy, a fourth trend, has led to new business models in which the mobility service provided is more important than its ownership.

SEAT, S.A. is a Spanish automobile manufacturer with its head office in Martorell (near Barcelona), Spain. The firm has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of Volkswagen Group since 1986. The firm is strategically repositioning itself from a vehicle manufacturer to a provider of shared mobility services (i.e. where users pay for transportation only when they need it, rather than owning a personal vehicle that is not used most of the time), especially in increasingly crowded urban areas. As stated by Luca De Meo, the firm’s Chairman:

“We are convinced that vehicles will become the second largest connected platform after the mobile phone and we will have the chance to integrate them into a rich ecosystem. This transformation forces us to innovate and move beyond the scope of being just a carmaker, stretching our value chain towards new mobility services, platforms and data businesses”. As part of this repositioning, SEAT has identified ‘compact urban mobility’ (i.e. short commutes less than 10 kilometres within the city environment, using a small vehicle) as a core area for strategic development.
The firm unveiled its ‘Minimό’ concept vehicle at the 2019 Mobile World Congress to demonstrate.

SEAT’s vision of the ‘compact urban mobility’ of tomorrow. Integrating the fields of electrification, connectivity and shared mobility, the ‘Minimό’ is a 2-passenger quadricycle primarily intended for business-to-consumer free-floating carsharing providers* that has been designed to:

• have a considerably smaller ecological footprint (3.1 square metres) than a normal car (7.2 square metres) while providing safe, agile travel and easy parking
• release zero emissions due to its all-electric powertrain
• reduce the operating costs of carsharing providers by 50%, as the integrated battery-swap system means the vehicle rarely needs to be taken to a recharging point
• provide a convenient and smooth digital user experience for users based on hyperconnectivity with built-in 5-G technology
• allow the vehicle, in the future and subject to further development of autonomous technologies, to pick up the user when requested, thereby solving one of the main car-sharing user pain points.

Delayed due to the global pandemic and global semiconductor chip shortage, the ‘Minimό’ will now enter into production in February 2024, leaving the firm with only 12 months to decide which city from across the globe will be most attractive for the product launch.

SEAT’s international strategy team have already undertaken some initial desktop research and has identified London (UK) and Singapore as potentially attractive markets for the product launch of the ‘Minimό’.

As an external consultant, you have been commissioned by the team to evaluate which of these 2 potential city-level markets is more attractive to launch the ‘Minimό’ vehicle into and to then analyse the more attractive city-level market in greater detail.

* Two of the main Types of Business-to-Consumer Car-Sharing models are:

Round-trip Station-based carsharing – the user only has the choice of a round trip, picking the car up at Station A and returning it to Station A when they are finished. Those who plan trips ahead of time or are looking for a car at a specific time would benefit from these services.

Free-floating carsharing (e.g. car2go, Gig or DriveNow) – the user can see which cars are available within a set operating area on a mobile app and choose the one closest to them. Once the user is finished using the car, they can drop it off the car at any location within the set operating area, saving time and avoiding unnecessary trips. Those who are spontaneous and decide last-minute that they need a car would benefit from these services. SEAT intends to sell its ‘Minimό’ vehicle to business-to-consumer free-floating car-sharing providers. 

NB the differences Between Car-sharing, Ride-sharing and Ride-hailing: 

Car-sharing = ‘I rent a car to drive now and park it when I’m finished; someone else will rent the same car later and drive it’.

Ride-sharing = a customer (rider) shares a vehicle with other riders.  It is not personal transportation, as the vehicle is shared with other riders and will make stops to pick up other riders.

Ride-hailing = when a rider “hails” or hires a personal driver to take them exactly where they need to go. The vehicle is not shared with any other riders, nor does it make several stops along a route. The ride is booked and paid for through a smartphone app with a transportation network company (TNC) such as Uber.

Assignment Tasks

Overview of Assignment Tasks

• Comparative evaluation of 2 markets + identification of the most attractive market to enter
• 5-forces analysis of competition in the car-sharing industry in your chosen city
• Identification of the company’s most relevant internal value-adding activities to support entry into your chosen city
• Evaluation of relevant modes of entry into your chosen city + recommendation of the most suitable mode of entry for the company
• Evaluation of the potential for the SEAT ‘Minimό’ vehicle to create Shared Value

Task requirements:

1. To identify which city is the most potentially attractive destination for the launch of the SEAT ‘Minimό’, you are required to undertake a comparative evaluation of what you believe to be the most relevant country-level (i.e. macro-environmental) factors and city-level (i.e. socio-economic and urban mobility readiness) factors for London (UK) and Singapore*.

• Task 1 must be presented in table format and must be no more than 8 pages in length.
• Your tutors will provide you with a template for the tables for Task 1; you must use this template for Task 1.
• Country-level macro-environmental data should be recent, quantitative and obtained from appropriate sources (refer to the list of Useful Data Sources, which your tutors will provide you with).
• City-level socio-economic and urban mobility readiness data should be quantitative and obtained from the Urban Mobility Readiness Index (refer to the list of Useful Data Sources, which your tutors will provide you with).
• A weighting and scoring system should be used for each factor for each country/city to show whether each factor is more or less attractive for the company. These scores should then be totalled for each country/city to arrive at a score of overall attractiveness for each country/city.
• Also refer to the Assignment Task 1 Briefing slides and Task 1 Guidance Notes when preparing this task (your tutors will provide you with these).

Singapore is a sovereign island city-state; as such, both country-level macro-environmental data and city-level socio-economic and urban mobility readiness data are readily available as per the UK / London.

Worth 20% of the overall mark; not included in the word count

2. Apply the 5-Forces model to critically analyse the competitive environment of the car-sharing industry in your chosen city. 

• Remember that you can present a summary of key points in a table or diagram.
• A SWOT analysis is not acceptable.
• You must apply the 5-forces model to the city you found to be most attractive in Task 1; no mention of the less attractive city must be made in Task 2.
• Refer to the Assignment Task 2 Briefing slides when preparing this task.

Worth 20% of the overall mark; 1000 words

3. Using the Value Chain model as a point of reference, identify and discuss which of SEAT’s internal value-adding activities will be most relevant in supporting SEAT to launch the ‘Minimό’ into your chosen city. 

• Remember that you can present a summary of key points in a table or diagram.
• A SWOT analysis is not acceptable.
• Refer to the Assignment Task 3 Briefing slides when preparing this task.
• Refer to the list of Useful Data Sources that your tutors will provide you with.

- Worth 20% of the overall mark; 1000 words

4. Critically evaluate the various modes of entry that are relevant to SEAT and recommend, with justification, the most suitable mode of entry that will enable the product launch of the ‘Minimό’ into your chosen city to be a success for the company. 

• Remember that you can present a summary of key points in a table or diagram.
• Refer to the Assignment Task 4 Briefing slides when preparing this task.

- Worth 20% of the overall mark; 1000 words

5. Evaluate the extent to which you believe the SEAT ‘Minimό’ vehicle has the potential to create Shared Value; support your answer concerning relevant Shared Value concepts.

• Refer to the Assignment Task 5 Briefing slides when preparing this task.
• Refer to the list of Useful Data Sources that your tutors will provide you with.

- Worth 20% of the overall mark; 1000 words

Assessed Intended Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this assessment, you will be able to:

Knowledge and Understanding

• Demonstrate an understanding of the wider context of international strategy and the macro-environment of international business.
• Evaluate the relative attractiveness of one or more potential foreign markets to enter.
• Strategically analyse the industrial and internal value-adding environments of firms.
• Critically evaluate different modes of entry to expand into new foreign markets.
• Demonstrate a critical awareness of the potential for firms to create shared value as part of their international strategy.

Key Subject-Specific Skills

• Develop your self-awareness of the international environment of business and the potential opportunities and challenges that may arise.
• Apply theoretical models and frameworks to real-world situations.
• Advance appropriate and justified recommendations based on analysis and critical evaluation.
• Reflect upon the wider role of business in society.

Module Aims

• To provide contemporary insights into the wider context of international strategy and the macro-environment of international business.
• To develop the ability to evaluate the attractiveness of one or more potential foreign markets.
• To develop the ability to undertake strategic analysis of the industrial and internal value-adding environments of firms.
• To develop the ability to critically evaluate different modes of entry to expand into new foreign markets.
• To develop a critical awareness of the potential for firms to create shared value as part of their international strategy.

Feedback arrangements (University of Salford)

“The purpose of feedback is not to provide students with a benchmark between passing and failing but to identify strengths and where there is room for improvement and development” (Assessment and Feedback for Taught Awards Policy). 

You can expect to receive the provisional mark and feedback for this assessment 15 working days after submission. Feedback will normally be provided via Turnitin.

All marks will be ratified at the appropriate Board of Examiners following internal and external moderation.

Please note that being dissatisfied with your results does not constitute grounds for an academic appeal.

Support arrangements (University of Salford)

• You can obtain support for this assessment by attending the assignment briefing and assignment Q&A sessions as detailed in the module delivery schedule on Blackboard.              
• 1-2-1 Academic Support Meetings: You can book an individual 1-2-1 meeting with your academic support tutors at any time during your studies to discuss your academic concerns. Academic support tutors can help you with academic queries such as planning and organising your assessments, finding sources, referencing, writing academically, to avoiding academic misconduct, etc. To book a 1-2-1 meeting send an email to Sami Safadi: s.safadi1@salford.ac.uk,  Laura Becerra: l.l.becerra@salford.ac.uk or Kris Deng
• If you experience any technical difficulties when submitting the final version of your assignment, please contact the Digital IT Service Desk: Digital-ITServicedesk@salford.ac.uk or telephone 0161 295 2444.

askUS (University of Salford)

The University offers a range of support services for students through askUS. 

Assessment Criteria (University of Salford / Robert Kennedy College)

• The marking team will refer to the marking rubric for the assessment; this can be found at the end of this document.

Academic Misconduct (University of Salford)

You must ensure that you observe and engage in good academic practice when undertaking any piece of assessment on your programme. 

The University takes a serious view of all acts of academic misconduct. Such acts are considered dishonest and as attempts to gain an unfair advantage. Acts of academic misconduct can take many forms. They are likely to fall into one or more of the following categories:

• Unauthorised use of Artificial Intelligence – you are not permitted to use Artificial Intelligence for this assignment
• Plagiarism - taking the work of another person or source and using it as if it were one’s own
• Self-plagiarism (or double submission) – resubmitting previously submitted work on one or more occasions (without proper acknowledgement), including work submitted at a previous institution
• Collusion - working with others on tasks that should be carried out on an individual basis
• Falsifying experimental or other investigative results
• Contracting another person to produce a piece of assessed work
• Producing a piece of assessed work for another person
• Bribery

Suspected misconduct will be addressed by the University’s Academic Misconduct Procedure. 

If you are unsure as to what constitutes good academic practice, you are strongly advised to complete the following learning packages:

• What is academic integrity, and why is it essential for your degree?
• Introduction to Referencing
• Creating References Using APA 7th Edition
• Demonstrating Good Academic Practice

Marking Criteria (Rubric) for International Strategic Management Assignment