TERM PROJECT GUIDELINES

INSTRUCTOR: 

 

 

WARNING!!!

Plagiarism will not be tolerated. I have resources at my disposal to detect     plagiarism. Do not “cut and paste” from the internet! AT     THE VERY LEAST, YOU WILL GET A “0” IF YOU ARE CAUGHT PLAGIARIZING.

OBJECTIVES: Companies engaged in international business routinely conduct due diligence surveys of potential overseas markets prior to entry.  This project is designed to give you hands-on experience in pre-entry research and analysis of foreign markets.

PROJECT REQUIREMENTS:

1. You must first select a country of your choice – EXCEPT the U.S. or ARUBA. Aruba is prohibited because I’ve already provided you a sample copy of a project done on that country.

NOTE: The sample Aruba paper provided is meant to give you a general idea of what I am expecting. It is NOT to be interpreted as being a “perfect” paper.

2. Submit a written report of your findings using the following format:

I. INTRODUCTION (5 points)

Provide a brief description of the physical characteristics of the country.  Include:

· Location

· Size

· Topography

· Climate

II.  SOCIOECONOMIC AND CULTURAL FACTORS (20 points)

· Size and average age of population

· Languages spoken

· Level of education of labor force

· Level of employment

· Ethnic breakdown

· Major religions

After identifying the primary challenges being addressed, describe how the company is keeping pace with its competition and the role in which managers play in the day-to-day operations. USE the Case Study-Facebook, Inc. as your case for this discussion board question.

The attached contains information on the Facebook Case Study. The attached is ONLY an abstract describing the company and a potential case study problem.  Students should conduct research on this company in order to analyze a realistic situation. see attached

Case Study 1: Statistical Thinking in Health Care
Due Week 4 and worth 150 points

Read the following case study.

Ben Davis had just completed an intensive course in Statistical Thinking for Business Improvement, which was offered to all employees of a large health maintenance organization. There was no time to celebrate, however, because he was already under a lot of pressure. Ben works as a pharmacist’s assistant in the HMO’s pharmacy, and his manager, Juan de Pacotilla, was about to be fired. Juan’s dismissal appeared to be imminent due to numerous complaints, and even a few lawsuits over inaccurate prescriptions. Juan now was asking Ben for his assistance in trying to resolve the problem, preferably yesterday!

“Ben, I really need your help! If I can’t show some major improvement or at least a solid plan by next month, I’m history.”
“I’ll be glad to help, Juan, but what can I do? I’m just a pharmacist’s assistant.”
“I don’t care what your job title is; I think you’re just the person who can get this done. I realize I’ve been too far removed from day-to-day operations in the pharmacy, but you work there every day. You’re in a much better position to find out how to fix the problem. Just tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.”
“But what about the statistical consultant you hired to analyze the data on inaccurate prescriptions?”
“Ben, to be honest, I’m really disappointed with that guy. He has spent two weeks trying to come up with a new modeling approach to predict weekly inaccurate prescriptions. I tried to explain to him that I don’t want to predict the mistakes, I want to eliminate them! I don’t think I got through, however, because he said we need a month of additional data to verify the model, and then he can apply a new method he just read about in a journal to identify ‘change points in the time series,’ whatever that means. But get this, he will only identify the change points and send me a list; he says it’s my job to figure out what they mean and how to respond. I don’t know much about statistics — the only thing I remember from my course in college is that it was the worst course I ever took– but I’m becoming convinced that it actually doesn’t have much to offer in solving real problems. You’ve just gone through this statistical thinking course, though, so maybe you can see something I can’t. To me, statistical thinking sounds like an oxymoron. I realize it’s a long shot, but I was hoping you could use this as the project you need to officially complete the course.”

“I see your point, Juan. I felt the same way, too. This course was interesting, though, because it didn’t focus on crunching numbers. I have some ideas about how we can approach making improvements in prescription accuracy, and I think this would be a great project. We may not be able to solve it ourselves, however. As you know, there is a lot of finger-pointing going on; the pharmacists blame sloppy handwriting and incomplete instructions from doctors for the problem; doctors blame pharmacy assistants like me who actually do most of the computer entry of the prescriptions, claiming that we are incompetent; and the assistants tend to blame the pharmacists for assuming too much about our knowledge of medical terminology, brand names, known drug interactions, and so on.”

Discuss on foreign markets for diversification.

Speculate on one (1) specific area in which the next Triennial report may show a significant change. Explain how you arrived at your conclusion. Given the global financial system referenced in this article, what obligation do commercial banks with foreign exchange exposure have in building consumer confidence rate how the banks are doing in this regard. Support your responses with evidence or an example. Should all commercial banks be treated the same when it comes to the risk they pose to the U. S. and global financial systems?

Speculate on one (1) specific area in which the next Triennial report may show a significant change. Explain how you arrived at your conclusion. Given the global financial system referenced in this article, what obligation do commercial banks with foreign exchange exposure have in building consumer confidence rate how the banks are doing in this regard. Support your responses with evidence or an example. Should all commercial banks be treated the same when it comes to the risk they pose to the U. S. and global financial systems?

In anticipation of Mary’s request for comparative analysis, it will be useful at this time to do some research. You know that you can obtain the financials of companies within the same sector or Standard Industry Code as Apix Printing (e.g., commercial printing), and that the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Standard Industry 2012 code for Apix Printing is presently 323111. Use the FINC615 Library Guide to search for two other companies in the same industry as Apix Printing.

When you get to work the next day, you see the following e-mail from Mary:

Here is the list of financial ratios you asked for. I need you to explain the computation of each and compute these for Apix’s results for the financial statements you are using for the PowerPoint presentation. Also, compare Apix’s 2-year trend results to that of two other firms in the sector. Indicate how each of Apix’s ratios differ, and indicate whether the two other companies’ ratios or Apix’s ratios are indicative of better performance.

Explain the computation for each of the following, and compute each for Apix and two other companies in the same industry as Apix Printing:

• Current ratio
• (Long-term) debt to equity ratio
• Gross margin percentage
• Net profit margin percentage
• Return on equity percentage

Present your findings of the above data in a table. Add a paragraph that summarizes your results, indicating whether investors would find the financial analysis results of Apix competitive as compared to rivals in the sector. Be sure to include both positive and negative trends in your analysis.