Please work with the Philippines.
International Marketing – Country Analysis Project Instructions
The goal of this assignment is for students to directly apply concepts learned in the class by providing an in-depth business, economic and cultural analysis of a specific country of their choosing. It is assumed that by the end of the course, you are very well aware of international trade laws and agreements as well as issues regarding government interactions. Hence, this analysis will be extremely consumer focused but also requires a section concerning business and government interactions. After completing the report, you should have a much more thorough understanding of what the average person is like in the country, what needs are currently being provided for them, and have knowledge of current competition in the market. Hence, this analysis will allow you to develop a much more effective market entry strategy in the region.
The paper should be submitted via the assignment dropbox on D2L as follows:
Style: Times New Roman, 12-point, double spaced
Length: At least 10 pages are required not including the cover page, references, or appendices
File type: Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) or Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) file
All submissions will be scanned for plagiarism via Turn-it-in software and if any part of your paper is plagiarized you will automatically receive a zero on the paper. The content of your paper can come from any reputable source such as a major business publication or website, a government site, or a professional association website. The information you find also needs to be as current as possible. You can access a wide variety of business publications via EBSCO host, a search engine in the Millersville Library Website. The information concerning the country history, background, and economics is very easy to find, as this information is routinely gathered, but the other sections could be more difficult. It is strongly recommended that you begin to search for sources early in the course so you can make sure you have sufficient information to write your paper.
COUNTRY SELECTION
It is recommended that you choose a country that you are interested in personally or have been to and therefore have some experience with outside of the United States. When you decide on the country that you would like to use for your project, you must make a post on “Country Analysis Project” topic indicating your choice. Once you choose a country and post it on the discussion board, it cannot be changed and it cannot be taken by another student. Be sure that you can find sufficient information about the country before you make your decision.
COUNTRY ANALYSIS PAPER
Cover Page
Country History and Background
Country Economics
US Brands, Products and Services
Domestic Brands, Products and Services
Cultural Differences in Comparison to the US
Business and Government Etiquette
Recommendations for US Managers
References
Appendices
The cover of your report should have your name, the date, the name of the country you have chosen as well as a visual. This section is not included in the page count.
Country History and Background
The focus of this section is to provide basic information about the chosen country that will be used as a foundation for the rest of the report. Every country has its own rich and diverse history; however, for the purposes of this report, only basic information is required. Critical information such as how long the country has been established, its type of government, its type of economic structure (agricultural, industrializing, industrialized, post industrialization), language, and infrastructure (internet access, public transportation networks etc.) should be discussed. This section should be approximately one page in length.
Country Economics
In this section, an overview of the country’s current economic situation will be analyzed. This is extremely important information for businesses who are thinking about entering into the country as they must know if the average consumer boasts the spending power to purchase a product or service that they offer. Hence the most critical information here will be income distribution. Additional information of importance are economic statistics concerning GDP, unemployment, inflation rate, trade balances, public debt, savings rate, consumer sentiment (if measured in that country) and average income/income distribution. Compare the information you find here to the current United States economic statistics. This section should be approximately one page in length however it should also refer to a number of graphs and tables in the appendices.
US Brands, Products and Services
Provide an overview of the major products, services and brands created by US firms that are available to the average consumer in this country. Be sure to highlight not just the product availability but also its usage, particularly highlight differences between how consumers in the country use the product versus how it is used in the US. For example, in the United States, soda is viewed as a normal everyday beverage for consumers who consumer it, in many European countries it is viewed as a special treat and is therefore purchased much less often and in lower quantities. Discuss as many of these usage differences you can identify. This section should be approximately 1-2 pages in length.
Domestic Brands, Products and Services
Focus only on brands, products and services created by firms in the chosen country. It is particularly important to note products and services that are currently NOT offered (or at least not very popular) in the United States. Discuss how these domestic products may make it difficult for foreign entry into the market. For example, in the US peanut butter is an extremely popular food that many firms have tried to bring into Italy, and taste tests have shown that a number of Italians do like the product. However, growth in peanut butter sales has been extremely weak in the region because Italians heavily prefer their domestic product, Nutella. Interestingly, the opposite is true as well. US consumers like the taste of Nutella but generally won’t give up peanut butter for it. The products are used in a very similar fashion, and are available in each region, but consumers have formed their taste preferences and are largely unwilling to try the competing product. Hence, Nutella is a niche product here in the US while peanut butter is a niche product in Italy. Changing these preferences would be risky and requires a long-term marketing commitment. This section should be 1-2 pages in length.
Cultural Differences in Comparison to the US
This section is extremely broad as culture involves a great deal of beliefs and behaviors and each country boasts a wide variety of people all with different goals, motivations, personalities and opinions. However, the focus here is on discussing how the average citizen from your chosen country is different from the average US citizen. Hence you should discuss anything that reflects those differences such as religious/spiritual beliefs, political beliefs, differences in education, upbringing, social mobility, influences of businesses, levels of nationalism or anything else you find that you believe is a significant difference should be offered here. This section is the core of your report. It should be extremely well researched and should be a minimum of 3 pages in length not including visuals in the appendices which are to be referenced as well.
Business and Government Etiquette
In this section, your focus is on how to interact with business people and government officials in your chose country. Any major difference between this country’s and US business and government interactions can be discussed. For example, you can talk about the following issues: how are you expected to dress, is it acceptable to talk about business on your first meeting, is it ok to speak informally or is it expected that you always use peoples proper title, do government officials expect to be paid or offered a favor for allowing your business into the country, is it ok to use comparative advertising, are there products (such as leather) that you shouldn’t use or give as gifts etc. This section should be 1-2 pages in length.
Recommendations for US Managers
This is the final written portion of the paper and should focus on integrating what you have learned about the country in order to formulate actionable recommendations for the manager of a US company looking to enter this market. Detail which products you think could sell effectively in the region, and offer basic insights into how they should be marketed. This section should be approximately one page in length.
References
In this section, you should cite all of your references. You may use any major writing style (APA, MLA, Chicago) but make sure you consistently use the same style throughout the paper. This section is not included in the page count.
Appendices
Appendices are required for this report and should include a number of visuals, charts, tables and graphs that supplement the discussion offered in the written section. Appendices can vary greatly in length but in general should contain at least 5 pages of information. This section is not included in the page count.
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