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BUSS 2067 International Business Environment
Assignment – Case Study Report
An International Business Plan
M&S Textiles Australia is a manufacturer of quality cotton fa
ics. Due to increased
competition from cheaper imported goods, the company is contemplating the
establishment of a manufacturing plant in Asia to reduce the cost of manufacturing
at home. The company has identified Bangladesh, Thailand, Philippines, and
Indonesia as potential countries for the establishment of the overseas manufacturing
plant. As a complement of the cu
ent production in Australia, this new facility will
supply products to customers around the world (include Australia), but it will not
sell products itself. The headquarters of M&S Australia is responsible for sales and
marketing at home and a
oad.
You, as the task force of International Business Department in M&S Australia, are
equired to choose ONE of these countries, and write a report to the Board of Directors.
In the report, you need to identify the advantages and disadvantages of operating in
that country. Based on your findings, some relevant strategies should be suggested to
enefit from the advantages and mitigate the disadvantages. The Board of Directors
will decide where the company will go.
When preparing your report, you are required to link your arguments to the course
content, and to use relevant data to support your suggestions such as why you would
select the country, why you would choose an entry mode, and how the new foreign
manufacturing plant would enhance M&S’s cu
ent sales, etc.
Students are allowed to complete this assignment either individually or in
a team of up to 5 students.
Both team-completed and individually finished reports follow the same
equirements.
An assignment group should only have students from the same tutorial class or
the same external class.
Grades of students in the same group are determined by the entire assignment
submission and the peer evaluation of group members.
The report will be due 23:30pm 29 April 2018
Marks
This assignment weighs 40% of your final marks of this course. Assessment of this
task follows Marking Guideline (Appendix 1). If you complete the assignment with
other students, your marks may vary in the assignment group, because other group
members will evaluate your contribution with a peer-evaluation form (Appendix 2)
Suggestions: Make a plan at the beginning of this study period
• Choose a country;
• Break the assignment down into tasks and divide amongst group members;
• Make a plan of a due date for each task;
• Fill in the form “Assignment Plan” (Appendix 3) and talk with your teacher
about the plan
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Requirements:
Format:
• Be aware that the assignment is in the style of a report (see an example on
page 3 and talk with your teacher if you are not sure).
• You may use both real information of M&S Textiles Australia and
“presumed” information to complement the real information for supporting
your arguments. Wherever “presumed” information is used, some reasonable
justification is required.
• This report must be prepared using 1½ line spacing in Times New Roman
12pt font.
• The report is to be 2,000 ~ 2,500 words in length. The word limit excludes the
executive summary and the list of references.
• All information resources used in your report must be dated no earlier than
2010, and no undated resources may be used. Prefe
ed resources are listed in
this webpage: http:
guides.li
ary.unisa.edu.au/c.php?g=169967&p=1634758
• The Harvard system of referencing is to be used. Failure to use or
adequately use the Harvard system of referencing will result in a grade of fail
eing awarded for this assessment.
• It is suggested to use 15 to 18 references in the assignment, although more or
less than this amount will not influence your marks.
“Executive Summary”:
• Provide an “Executive Summary” prior to formal sections (e.g., Introduction)
• The executive summary is not part of the word count.
• The executive summary provides an overview of the report. Hence, it should
state the purpose of the report (topic etc.), the key findings in the report, and
the key recommendations made in the report.
• The executive summary does not replace the introduction part of the report.
The introduction should still state the topic being covered in the report, and the
structure of the report.
General Expectations:
• The report should be well written and well referenced. Ensure that you follow
the Harvard referencing style as required by UniSA. Your report should
present a strong argument by identifying the key issues related to the topic.
• Taking a critical view, your report should highlight the positives and negatives
of the issue, and argue for which perspective you believe is stronger. This
should be highlighted in your recommendation in the report.
• Your arguments should be based on facts and evidence. So it is important that
you have used relevant reports, articles, and figures from reliable and
eputable sources, and appropriately acknowledged them. The quality of your
http:
guides.li
ary.unisa.edu.au/c.php?g=169967&p=1634758
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sources of information is important. As discussed earlier, please avoid using
sources like Wikipedia for information.
• Please thoroughly check your report to ensure that it complies with the
academic integrity requirements of the university. All submission will be
checked for plagiarism using text comparison software.
• In accordance with the Division of Business guidelines, assignments
submitted late without permission from the course coordinator will lead to a
penalty of 10% of the total possible marks for the assignment per day for each
day late, or part thereof, after the due date.
An Example of a Report Structure:
• You do NOT have to follow the example structure, but you may use it if you
cannot construct another one. For example, you may add an extra section to
discuss an issue that is very important for your group. Likewise, you may
emove one or several sections, if you do not think the issues of these sections
matter.
- This is an example only.
- Your report does NOT need to include all points in the example. Your
group is allowed to choose and highlight contents that are important for
you.
- Reports that have creative structures and innovative ideas will result
in better marks than those simply follow this example.
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Introduction and Background
Business Environment (Culture)
Business Environment (Ethics)
Business Environment (Trade)
Potential in Emerging Markets
……
……
Conclusion and Recommendation
Appendix 1
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Assignment Feedback
BUSS 2067 International Business Environment
Assignment: Group Report
Student Names: _____________________________________
_____________________________________
Key components of this assessment % Grade
Structure
A clearly written Executive Summary
A creative way to organize information and discussions
A good flow between sections
All references are complete, accurate and comply with the referencing
equirements.
20% HD
D
C
P1
P2
F1
F2
Discussion of the topic
Identifying key issues
Providing in-depth discussions
Using relevant data and facts to explain and justify your arguments
Arguing key issues by acknowledging the various perspectives
Applying relevant theories and concepts covered in the course.
Using high-quality sources of information (e.g., data, references,
quotation)
70% HD
D
C
P1
P2
F1
F2
Conclusion
Concludes strongly by building on the discussions and providing
meaningful recommendations.
10% HD
D
C
P1
P2
F1
F2
Summary comments:
Assignment Grade:
Appendix 2
BUSS 2067 International Business Environment
Confidential Peer Evaluation Form
Tutorial Day/Time:
Tutor’s Name:
Group Number:
Your name & Student ID:
As a confidential form, this evaluation will not be shared with other students.
The teaching team will keep all comments confidential, and use them for the
assessment only.
Your individual marks of the report will be adjusted, if your individual peer-
evaluation assessment is lower than 24 points (out of a total of 40 points).
Should you fall below an average of 24 points, you would receive only 60% of
the total marks allocated to your group report.
You are requested to indicate a point out of 10 for each criterion and for each
member of your group including yourself.
You should submit this form via assignment submission (learnonline) by the
due date. Failure to do so means that you think all group members equally
contributed to, and performed in, this assignment.
Group Members (Student ID) Yourself
Suggesting ideas [0~10 points]
Participating in group
activities (e.g., attendance at
group meetings, contribution to
discussions) [0~10 points]
Performing tasks (0~10 points)
Helping the group to work as
a team (eg. Communicating with
others, Timely completion of tasks)
[0~10 points]
TOTAL [0~40 points]
Comments: (If you give any member 7pts or less on any item, please provide reasons)
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Appendix 3 BUSS 2067 International Business Environment
Assignment Plan
GROUP NUMBER (Your teacher will complete this as Class No. & Group No.):
COUNTRY TO CHOOSE
TEACHER
Member Name Individual Task(s) Due Date
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2
3
4
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Please note that all components, including products and
ands of the M&S Textile Australia, as well as any other
website and material you may use for the BUSS 2067 International Business Environment, are protected by
trademarks and copyright