MMN130618 Contemporary Issues in Business (CIIB), Coursework Assignment, GCU, UK

1.0 Assessment

To test the achievement of the learning outcomes, students are required to submit two reports: 

I. Group report on the host country risk analysis based on the contemporary issues in international business and
II. Individual report on the application of AAA (adaptation, aggregation, and arbitrage framework in the context of contemporary issues in international business.

1.1 Coursework 1 - Group report on host country risk analysis

In groups of 3-4 students, select a multinational company (MNC) that is operating in at least three different countries. Select three different important contemporary issues in international business.  Then analyse the risk of doing business in those three countries based on the three contemporary issues that you have selected using the market penetration grid matrix taught in Lecture 5..  Finally make recommendations for the company based on your risk analyses for the countries. The word limit is 3000 (+/- 300) words.  Any content beyond the word limit will not be marked.

i.  Introduction (250 words): Clearly state the chosen multi-national (MNC) company and the business it is doing. Present the reason for choosing the three potential counties to be analysed and the contemporary issues.
ii.  Contemporary issue-1 (CI-1) (600 words): Explain how the CI-1 supports or discourages the business in the host countries.
iii.  Contemporary issue-2 (CI-2) (600 words): Explain how the CI-2 supports or discourages the business in the host countries.
iv. Contemporary issue-3 (CI-3) (600 words): Explain how the CI-3 supports or discourages the business in the host countries.
v.  Market penetration grid (700 words): Apply the market penetration grid taught in the lecture 5 to analyse the risk of doing business in the host countries.
vi.  Recommended actions/conclusion (250 words): Based on the analysis in the previous section, offer the managerial implications. 

Please note that your claims must be supported from the literature or the researched data. Further, you need to submit the Peer Assessment Review form (please see Appendix-B) along with your team report. Maximum points a student can get is 10 points. A penalty of 10 marks will be imposed if the Peer Assessment Review form is not presented along with the group report. If any issues arise among the group members, solve the issues by having a meeting among the group members. If group cannot solve the issue, please contact your module tutor and then the module leader.

1.2  Coursework 2 – Individual report on AAA framework

Choose a MNC (different from the MNC chosen for the group task) and apply the AAA (adaptation, aggregation, and arbitrage) framework. The report should have the following sections. The word limit is 1500 (+/-150) words.  Any content beyond the word limit will not be marked.

i.  Company background (150 words): Briefly present the nature of the business, size of the company, values, mission and vision statements, value creation and business model and the number of countries the company is operating.  
ii.  Adaptation (375 words): How is the company pursuing the adaptation to respond to the needs in the host countries? Is adaptation helping the company to be successful or achieve the industry above average returns on their investments? 
iii.  Aggregation (375 words): How is the company pursuing the aggregation to achieve economies of scale? Is aggregation helping the company to be successful or achieve the industry above average returns on the investments? 
iv. Arbitrage (375 words): How is the company leveraging the differences in the markets or nations to perform better? Explain with the relevant data and evidences.
v. Balancing strategies (225 words): Which two strategies will you suggest the company to pursue and why?