MBS661 Assessment 1 – International Business Plan Proposal & Presentation

ASSESSMENT DESCRIPTION

You need to undertake an international business plan project throughout the semester. This assignment is to facilitate you in achieving unit learning outcomes 1, 2, 3,4,5,6 and 7. The international business plan project will be undertaken in a group of 2-3 depending on the size of the class.

In sessions 1 & 2, you will negotiate with other students to form a team based on common interest. The instructor may restructure the groupings when it deems necessary. The team need to select a team coordinator in the following weeks and inform the instructor of the name and student ID of the coordinator and team members no later than the end of session 2. The team coordinator liaises with team members to organize team meetings for the project. The Instructor may restructure the groupings or makes alternative arrangement when it deems necessary.

The assumption of the project is that you are now working for a company which plans to enter a foreign market and asks you to develop a business plan for the overseas business expansion. The company’s information should be accessible on internet. You are advised to choose a company in an industry that you are familiar with or an industry where you plan to work after your MBA study. You must discuss your chosen company and chosen markets with the instructor. You must choose a foreign country market that the company HAS NOT entered yet. You may find the GlobeEDGE website useful in searching for information about the target country market: https://globaledge.msu.edu/.

You need to submit a written proposal of your business plan in Microsoft Word format via LMS on no later than 3 days after Week 5 session, 5pm. Team coordinator should submit the proposal on behalf of the team. The proposal should be approximately 1,500 words in length. Word count needs to be identified on the first page. Also, the first page should include the names and student IDs of all team members. Pages should be numbered. There should be a Table of Contents. An assignment cover sheet must be attached to the assignment.

The proposal should include 1) basic information of the chosen company and its current business model; 2) comparison of three new potential markets and your choice of the market for the company to enter, including PESTLE analysis; 3) SWOT analysis; 4) proposed strategy; and 5) proposed entry mode (if you choose exporting, you must supplement it with another entry mode). Limited use of GenAi is allowed in 1) search for the company information and 2) search for the information of the three target country markets. All use of GenAI must be cited/referenced/acknowledged.

In Week 7, the coaching session, there is a simulation of Board meeting: you are required to present the proposal of your business plan using powerpoint to the Board of Directors of your company, while other students and the instructor will act as members of the Board of Directors to provide feedback on your proposal. The duration of the presentation should be 15 minutes followed by Q&A. After the presentation, you need to respond to the comments and questions from the Board of Directors. You will receive the mark and written feedback on your business plan proposal and presentation within two weeks after your presentation.

HOW TO SUBMIT

Team leader to submit via LMS.

HOW IT IS ASSESSED (summary)

You will be assessed on these key criteria:

1. Ability to explain why the company chooses to enter the target country market including business model analysis and SWOT analysis (8%);
2. Ability to recommend strategy and entry mode appropriate for the company in the chosen market, and explain the rationale for your recommendations (8%);
3. Oral and written presentation skills, editorial care and referencing, including time management in presentation (4%)