EB3803 Assignment 2 - Individual Problem Solving Report (60%)
ITEC (www.itecsi.com) is a Spanish Information Technology company with a number of years in the IT industry. In the last two years, ITEC has developed a new online business opportunity – successfully selling franchises of its ‘Portal de tu Ciudad’ (www.portaldetuciudad.com), roughly translated as ‘Your City Portal’ within Spain. The websites offer complete information about everything that goes on in various cities and the company provides the franchisees with everything to develop their business. They offer:
◦ Training
◦ In-depth experience and know-how
◦ Initial help with marketing the portal
◦ Initial equipment to get the clients started
....and many other benefits
(see - http://www.portaldetuciudad.com/www/paginas/te-ofrecemos.asp)
The company claims to be the market leader in Spain for this particular segment and therefore it still needs to maintain its position in the domestic market. However, it now wishes to expand its operations into the UK.
Brief:
As a student of business management, you have been invited to write a report to the management team to address the strategic issues facing the company as it embarks on international expansion.
You need to carry out the following tasks in order to complete the assignment:
• Carry out an analysis of the company and the market it intends to enter. When completing the company analysis we suggest you use the appropriate analytical tools discussed in Semester 1
• Devise a strategy you would recommend them to follow. When you devise the strategy it should be presented using the classification (four components of strategy) we have covered in Semester 2. You should also make references as to how the structure and use of management systems would support this international strategy
In order to carry out these tasks, you will need to analyse the company website (you can use web translators such as ‘Google’ and ‘Bing’ to roughly translate the Spanish into English when necessary). You should also examine the competition. Look at the websites of companies who are in the same industry - one company you could look at is www.belladesign.co.uk.
The company has left the brief open to you as it wants to see if you can show entrepreneurial flair. You do not have to stick with the ‘franchise’ model but think carefully about costs.
They do not wish to be contacted until the report is complete.
DO NOT simply explain theory…USE theory!
Report Requirements
Length: Not more than 1, 500 words
Deadline: 8th April, 2011
Handing in the assignment
Submit the soft copy of your assignment to eLearn with WebCT website as follows:
1. Login to eLearn using your ID and password
2. Find IBC Year 3 site (EB3803 Assessments folder)
3. Click on the link Assignment 2 Report
4. Submit one copy of your Report
Complete one Assessment Feedback Sheet (available from your tutor or eLearn Module Pages) and attach it to your assignment. You MUST sign the declaration.
Submit the hard copy of your assignment to your Tutor’s IBC Year 3 Assignment Box next to the Department Office (FY32) in Fylde Building.
Criteria for Marking Case Study Report:
You will be assessed on:
content : quality, appropriacy, accuracy and detail of analysis (60%)
language: use of Business English (20%)
presentation: style, layout etc. appropriate for a business report (20%)
Mark bands are based on the following criteria:
Content: the report should be a convincing document appropriate to the context of International Management in a multicultural setting. Students must demonstrate that they have carried out a thorough analysis and reported on the particular areas of management strategy, structure and systems using appropriate analytical tools and management related frameworks with practical observations and recommendations in a ‘business-like’ manner.
Language, Lexis & Grammar: Business English: language should be clear, relatively formal, factual & informative, register appropriate to purpose, style and content and demonstrate an understanding of the terms and concepts. Evidence of control of tenses, word order, subject-verb agreement, cohesive devices and use of appropriate parts of speech (e.g. nouns vs. adjectives) will be taken into consideration.
Presentation: The report should be appropriate to the context i.e. an analytical, informative, accurate and professional account. Writing conventions for business reports should be followed, e.g. executive summary, clearly numbered sections with headings and subheadings. Reports must be word-processed and should look like a convincing professional document.
Font size should be 12-point; margins at least 2.5 cm and line spacing 1.5-2.
Every assignment must be clearly identified.
The following details must be on the front of the assignment: name, student ID, assignment title, module code/title, tutor’s name, date of submission.
Learning Outcomes
The following marking criteria will be used in conjunction with the learning outcomes specified for the module.
mark range EB3803: Marking Criteria for Case Study Report
70+ Excellent work Content: A convincingly professional document demonstrating clear analysis of issues with excellent use of International Business theory. Demonstrates a highly analytical approach resulting in excellent and highly appropriate final recommendations.
Excellent level of use of appropriate analytical management tools and frameworks clearly referenced to literature sources.
Excellent understanding of the nature of management practice in a multicultural context.
Language: Excellent range of appropriate vocab and quite complex grammatical structures accurately and appropriately used, minimal number of errors.
Presentation: professional-looking layout; all writing conventions for business reports are followed correctly.
60-69% Good to very good work Content: A professional report demonstrating clear analysis of issues with good use International Business theory. Contains a good evidence of an analytical approach resulting in very good and appropriate final recommendations.
Very good level of use of appropriate analytical management tools and frameworks clearly referenced to literature sources.
Very good understanding of the nature of management practice in a multicultural context.
Language: Good range of appropriate vocab and fairly complex grammatical structures used accurately, with only very occasional inaccuracies.
Presentation: generally professional-looking layout; writing conventions for business reports are followed correctly
.
50-59% Average to reasonably good work Content: A reasonably well written report with some analysis of issues showing reasonably good use of International Business theory. Some evidence of an analytical approach resulting in good and appropriate final recommendations.
Average level of use of analytical management tools and frameworks clearly referenced to literature sources with occasional lapses.
Reasonable understanding of the nature of management practice in a multicultural context.
Language: Fairly appropriate range of vocab and grammatical structures used mostly accurately; some inaccuracies in the use of vocab. but not impeding understanding.
Presentation: generally good layout; most writing conventions for business reports are followed correctly.
45-49% Fairly weak. Content: Content of the report not completely appropriate. Limited evidence of an analytical approach. Final recommendations are not entirely appropriate.
Analytical management tools and frameworks sometimes used inappropriately and not always clearly referenced to literature sources.
Limited understanding of the nature of management practice in a multicultural context.
Language: Limited range of vocab and grammatical structures and a significant number of mistakes in the use of these.
Presentation: writing conventions for business reports are sometimes not followed.
40-44% Weak. Content: Content is generally not appropriate for the context. Very limited evidence of an analytical approach. Final recommendations are generally not appropriate.
Analytical management tools and frameworks frequently used inappropriately and often not clearly referenced to literature sources.
Very little evidence of understanding of the nature of management practice in a multicultural context.
Language: Limited range of vocab and grammatical structures and many errors in the use of these.
Presentation: writing conventions for business reports are often not followed.
0-39% Fail. Content: Very little evidence of ability to carry out analysis and to write in appropriate business style, and extremely limited evidence of understanding the issues involved in international Management practice. Content very poorly organised, not following report conventions in significant ways.
Language: Extremely limited range of vocab. and structures and many errors with these.
Presentation:/ not up to standard.
0% no attempt made or plagiaris