Explain how cultural and socioeconomic status may affect the transition to adulthood featured in your chosen case study.
Category: Business
Compare the different entry modes that firms use to enter foreign markets.
Once a company has decided to move into a new foreign market, they must first weigh up the potential benefits and costs. If foreign market entry is being considered, the organization’s strategic mission, vision, and values, will drive the choice of market entry mode. In this assignment, you will have the opportunity to apply research to recommend a course of action for a given business scenario regarding foreign market entry considerations.
Scenario: You are the owner of a small U.S. based coffee distributor. You sell not only coffee but also related products such as branded mugs. For the past 3 years, your company’s branded coffee mugs have been produced and sold in Norway through a licensing agreement with Norwegian firm Drikke AS through its “Kaffekopp” subsidiary. The Drikke AS CEO, Espen Foldnes, recently visited you and revealed that his firm was about to acquire its leading rival in the Norwegian market, and, as a result, wants to sell its Kaffekopp unit. CEO Foldnes has approached your firm with two proposals.
First, Drikke AS is willing to sell you its Kaffekopp subsidiary outright. This would represent an acquisition for you in the Norwegian market.
Second, suppose the two firms cannot agree on terms for a purchase of Kaffekopp. In that case, Drikke AS is willing to sell its licensing agreement back to you, which will effectively allow you to formulate a new strategy for your company in Norway.
Identify one advantage of acquiring the existing subsidiary and maintaining production in Norway.
Identify one disadvantage of acquiring the existing subsidiary and maintaining production in Norway.
Explain one advantage of repurchasing your licensing rights in Norway.
Explain one disadvantage of repurchasing your licensing rights in Norway.
Describe the most advantageous method for establishment of a new production subsidiary in Norway through ONE of the following entry modes:
establishing a Greenfield venture
exporting your American-produced mugs to Norway
franchising to another firm
re-licensing to another firm in Norway
Summarize your final decision based on the available options. Be sure to provide support for your choice.
Utilize at least three external sources as part of your research. Sources might include your textbook, a website recommended in a past journal, discussion, assignment, or any other academically credible resource found in the university library. Only sources cited within the body of the paper should be included in the reference list.
Your informative essay should be a minimum of 500 words and include a title page, introduction, main body, conclusion, and APA-formatted reference list. For assistance writing a paper or formatting a reference list in APA format, please see the “Academic Writer” link under “Academic Tools.”
Parent company’s marketing and sales department
1) Prepare a Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentation with audio of no fewer than 12 and no more than 15 slides with speaker notes, and 3–4 bulleted points per slide, summarizing either:
A. An improvement to an existing product or service you have envisioned in the role of a product specialist at a company. You will present to the parent company’s marketing and sales department manager that produces the product or service.
OR
B. An environmental initiative you would like to propose to your local town council for consideration. It can concern air quality, waste recycling, water quality, mitigation of embankments or lake areas to prevent floods, etc.
2) Make sure that your recorded audio explanation is clear and concise, and addresses the appropriate audience such that the listener has sufficient information to initially approve your proposal.
Publicly traded merchandising companies
Research and find the most recent 10K filing for two publicly traded merchandising companies of your choice. You can search for 10-K annual reports using SEC.gov or by visiting the website of the company, directly, and searching for the “investor relations” materials. Make sure you use the latest available annual report for the companies which you choose and make sure the 2 companies are in the same type of industry (for example Home Depot compared to Lowes; Nike compared to Under Armour; Walmart compared to Target are some good examples).
Upon completion of your research, draft your initial response by answer the following questions:
Give an overview of the company selected and describe the types of products that are sold by the company you researched.
For your selected two companies: Compute the accounts receivable turnover ratio and the number of days sales in accounts receivable for the last (latest) two years and the two companies you researched and show the bases of your calculation as part of your initial response. Comment on your results. For example
What is the trend(s) in the accounts receivable turnover ratio and the number of days sales in accounts receivable for both companies?
How do they compare to each other?
Which is more effective at collecting their accounts receivable faster?
Implementation plan
Focus on the implementation plan, which includes considerations for ethics, recruitment practices, and a plan for how you will collect your data. Please note that you will not explain how to analyze your data in this section, but rather how you will go about collecting the data.
The following components must be addressed:
• Explain how you will ensure your research is conducted in an ethical manner
• Include a copy of an informed consent that will be included for participants of your research proposal project (see pp. 202–203 for a sample)
• Explain how you will recruit participants for your study, and how your recruitment process will remain ethical. Be sure to address any incentives (if applicable)
• Explain what quantitative data you will collect and how you will go
Company’s current financial condition and how they compare to the industry averages
Using the same company and annual reports that you chose for your Week 1 – Discussion Forum, Reading and Using the Annual Report Case Study,
Calculate the current ratio and quick ratio for the latest two years and obtain the industry average ratios from the Mergent OnlineLinks to an external site. database, available through the UAGC Library, or use another outside resource of your choice, and then analyze the results. Be sure to show our calculations.
The Mergent OnlineLinks to an external site. database is accessible through the University of Arizona Global Campus Library. This database contains industry reports and market research on more than 1,300 United States industries. The reports provide key data, financial ratios, and benchmarks, plus industry forecasts. Mergent Online allows comparisons between a chosen company and industry best practices. If needed, review the How to Find Industry Ratios and Averages Using Mergent OnlineLinks to an external site. tutorial on how to use the Mergent OnlineLinks to an external site. database.
Discuss what each of these ratios tells you about the company’s current financial condition and how they compare to the industry averages.
Identify the major causes of any changes in these ratios and discuss your assessment of the company based on these changes.
Review the balance sheet and the notes to the most recent financial statements and identify any contingent liabilities.
Discuss whether or not you agree with how the company chose to treat each contingency on the financial statements (i.e., recorded vs. disclosed but not recorded).
Discuss the effect on the financial statements of the company’s treatment of the contingency.
Discuss whether the contingent liabilities change your assessment of the company.
Experience of completing the implicit bias test
was your experience of completing the implicit bias test? Which test did you choose, and why?
What self-awareness themes have emerged so far in Week 1’s Discussion and this week’s activities?
Identify a population that you are not comfortable with or would like to know more about; this could be a population represented by the implicit bias test you took, but it does not have to be.
Why might you feel discomfort or want to know more about this population? Consider your origins of thought, socialization into your culture and family, and any biases you may have.
The “Case Challenges” on Fedex
Case 8: FedEx
Between 1969 and 1971 Fred Smith secured S90 million in financing to launch Federal Express, a service that initially provided overnight and second-day delivery to 22 major cities in the United States. “FedEx”began deliv-ery in 1973, and the company enjoyed immediate success. FedEx was the first major air transport firm to implement a hub-and-spoke system, with all packages flown to a cen-tral location (Memphis) each night and redistributed by air to final destinations in the predawn hours. The airline shift from parcels to passengers and the strike at UPS in 1974 all contri bated to the firm’s early market-share gains. FedEx went public in 1978. By the late 1980s, FedEx had begun to move interna-tionally, purchasing Tiger International (also known as Flying Tigers) and carriers in Japan and Italy. In 1989, Fed& doubled its international volume. In 1995, FedEx cre-ated Latin American and Caribbean divisions and became the first US express carrier to offer direct flights to China. In 1996. FedEx introduced the first Internet-based shipping management system, known as interNetShip. A UPS strike in 1997 sent 850.000 packages a day to FedEx, creating more opportunities for the firm. In 1998, FedEx averted a pilot strike of its own, prompting the company to outsource more of its flights. In 2000, Federal Express adopted its nickname. “FedEx,” as its official company name. FedEx acquired Kinko’s in early 2004 to serve a broader array of shipping and office-related needs, particularly those of small busi-ness owners: stores were renamed FedEx Office in 2008. In 2007. FedEx acquired its Chinese partner. DTW Group, and launched the first one-day guaranteed service in China later in the year. FedEx expanded its presence in Mexico in 2011 with its acquisition of Servicios Nacionales Mupa S. de CV. Today, FedEx provides transportation, e-commerce, and supply-chain management operations. including worldwide express delivery, ground small-parcel delivery. small-quantity freight delivery, and supply-chain manage-ment services. FedEx remains the world’s leading express delivery company, with more than 60.000 drop-off loca-tions. 650 aircraft, and about 85,000 vehicles and opera-tions in 220 countries. FedEx has even partnered with the US Postal Service to provide air transportation for postal express shipments, an arrangement that allows FedEx to utilize post offices as critical package drop-off locations. FedEx ships more than 6 million packages per day. In 2019, FedEx opted not to renew its contract with Amazon that helped the online retailer bridge the “last mile” be-tween warehouses and consumers. Founder Fred Smith remains the CEO and owns approx-imately 6% of FedEx shares. Smith is known as a popular and savvy leader, both inside and outside the tympany.
Case Challenges
- Do FedEx and UPS offer the same delivery services, or has each chosen to focus on different forms of delivery andior customer needs? Explain.
- The Internet has alleviated the need for overnight delivery of many documents. Nov has FedEx survival and even pmspered amid this key technological change?
- Should FedEx be partnering with a key competitor and protected government entity the US Postal Service? Why or why not?
Aaker’s model
Your own Brand Personality:
• Using Aaker’s model, what are the important components of your brand personality?
• Does your current brand reflect the personality you wish to project?
The Ansoff Matrix
• Using the Ansoff Matrix what are the key opportunities?
o Do Nothing
o Market Penetration?
o Product Development?
o New Markets?
o Diversification?
o Related / Unrelated?
• What are the key risks associated with the above options?