2- International Business

MGT 436 – International Business
Country Report Requirements

The purpose of the country report is to help students to understand the culture of the country as it relates to doing business in the country. The report should also form the basis for a recommendation to upper management as to whether your hypothetical firm should begin to do business there, preferably with a physical location. A comprehensive profile of the country must include the items listed below. Feel free to include any additional topics you find necessary to include.

The country that I’m doing is St. Lucia.

1. Executive Summary – WRITE IT LAST! BUT PUT IT FIRST IN THE DOCUMENT THAT YOU SUBMIT
2. Introduction:
a. Provide an outline of the content of your presentation.
b. Include an introduction that provides a brief overview of the country. If you have photos, embed them into the document where appropriate.
3. Background and Culture
a. Provide a description of the country’s history, focusing on the important and relevant historical points. How is this information important to know and how it relate to doing business there?
b. Provide a description of the cultural similarities and differences between your home country and your subject country; and the way these differences and similarities affect doing business in that country.
i. Discuss Hofstede’s Model of National culture as it applies to your subject country. Include the scores for each dimension in a table as it is easier to read.
ii. Which of the dimensions are the most relevant dimensions?
iii. Where are their major differences in the dimensions with the U.S.?
iv. You will find more detailed information about Hofstede’s model here: https://geerthofstede.com/training-consulting/online-lectures/
c. Discuss the country’s level of industrialization, dominant religions, and prevailing views about education.
d. Discuss whether social inequality exists in the country and how it affects doing business there.
4. Business Environment
a. Describe the country’s business environment.
b. Describe the concerns the country has about Foreign Direct Investment AND foreign companies operating there. How would a US firm operating in the country address these concerns?
c. Discuss any ethical dilemmas a manager of a multinational corporation would face doing business there and how they should be handled.
d. Provide a description of the communication and other problems foreign managers may face and how to address them.
e. Does the country face trade sanctions from the US or any other country? If so, how does this impact doing business there?
f. What is the political climate in the country and what impact does it have on multinational firms doing business there?
g. Create a chart or table that depicts the important country statistics (use globalEDGE, Country Insights)
h. Describe the country’s membership in one or more trading blocs (trade agreements with other nations), including the type of trade agreement.
5. Conclusion
a. Summarize key points of your paper.
b. Summarize your recommendations for multinational managers (especially from the USVI or the mainland) seeking to operate in the subject country.
6. Format
a. Provide an Executive Summary as the third – fifth pages of the document. Write it LAST!
b. Cite all sources (in-text with a References page) in APA format.
c. No more than 10 pages, excluding the cover page and References.
d. Include page numbers.
e. Provide a table of contents as the second page of the document.