Global Management Studies GMS 691:
The Asian Business Environment
Winter 2018
GMS691 is NOT a course to study business history, we analyze current business
environment and form strategies for the future. you must base your analysis on data
and information mostly within ONE Year.
Clarification on the list of country/business sector
There is a Group Presentation and a Group Comprehensive Report, each one requires
a country/business sector to work on. For your benefits, please claim the same country/
business sector for both.
The difference is: (1) for Group Presentation, you research on the selected country/
business sector, give a thorough overview of it, SWOT, without go into particular
product/service. (2) Comprehensive Report, focus on a particular business opportunity
in the selected country/business sector and form a market entry & operations strategy.
Group Assignment Instruction
1. Presentation (Group of four people, 10%)
A list of a country & its major business sectors is posted in Course Documents, and
each group claims one for the presentation. You will be required to make a 12-15-
minute presentation followed by 5-minutes of Q&A session. Your topic presentation
likely will match the country (countries) covered in class the day of your presentation.
There may be more than one presentation in each session. In your presentation, you
need to do a sufficient research on SWOT of the business sector. You need to prepare
PowerPoint slides with essay notes.
You will also prepare three questions to ask the class following your presentation. These
questions would be based on your analysis of your selected topic, and should help in
generating a class discussion.
In addition to the presentation, you will submit to D2L (on the day of the presentation):
(1) Presentation PowerPoint slides, 10 slides of content, excluding cover and thank you
slides; and (2) A short essay (2- page minimum, 1.15 spaced typed, not a simple repeat
of your PPT), SWOT analysis of your selected business sector in a country covered by
GMS691.
Your group will be evaluated on the (1) Presentation – your understanding of the topic
and the clarity of your presentation; (2) Usefulness of the questions and whether they
helped to generate discussion in the class; and (3) Submitted essay report &
PowerPoint file.
2. Comprehensive Project Guidelines (Group, 40% in total)
Purpose
This assignment focuses on the applied side of the course theme. It makes it possible to
familiarize one’s self with strategic planning and decision making in global business and
with the applied information sources that are available to managers for researching
foreign markets – in this case Asian markets. The project must focus on the practical
application of the concepts learned in the course.
Project Proposal (5%)
You will make a proposal where you will clearly indicate the country/business sector
and the market opportunities that you will investigate. A list of country & its major
business sectors is posted in Course Documents, each group can claim one to do. If
you are interested in one not listed, please consult the instructor for permission. Only
one group is allowed on one business sector in a country. Please select your country/
business sector as soon as possible. The selection is granted on FCFS basis.
Once the proposal is accepted it becomes the “contract” for this assignment –
therefore, ensure you choose a feasible project! Select an industry and market that are
of interest to you, conduct thorough research on them, and propose what Canadian
firms/investors can do to benefit mutually.
This project requires considerable legwork, creativity, and know-how. A good
understanding of chosen market opportunity is essential, and effective teamwork is a
must. Assigning specific duties to each team member beforehand, and specifying
deadlines for various stages, can help greatly in making the project a success.
Reminder: the research for the comprehensive project will focus on applied information
concerning your chosen business sector, market, and any practical issue related to
them.
Secondary research is a cornerstone of success for this project. We are fortunate in
Toronto to have access to ample information for global business, including standard
library sources (e.g. magazines, books, UN, EU, IMF, WTO, etc. publications);
government departments (e.g. DFAIT, Industry Canada); and embassies, international
and trade organizations, think tanks, and so on. Feel free to use information from the
Web, but if you do, (a) do not let the medium obscure the message (posted information
often is of dubious quality, and you are responsible for assessing the credibility of what
you use); and, (b) be mindful to not drown your target reader and yourselves in useless
information (a list of 2,457 Web “hits” does not prove that one has done “research”!).
Content, Organization, and Approach (comprehensive report 30%)
1. The comprehensive proposal must include enough information to enable the reader
to assess the merits of the proposed project. Typically, it will specify the team members’
names and duties, whom the team represents (e.g. management, consultants), productmarket choice and rationale, timetable, and include an outline of the intended approach,
specific information sources and expected results.
2. As with any similar task, the comprehensive project itself should begin with
gathering and analyzing information and proceed to setting objectives, establishing
criteria and evaluating alternatives, and recommendations. The final report should
include an Executive Summary, Table of Contents, References, and, normally, the
following main sections (not necessarily in this order – the exact topics, and the
sequence, should be chosen depending on the nature of the project):
a. Introduction of the selected market (business sector/industry description, background
of major competitors, problem statement, etc.)
b. Rationale for selecting the chosen market and analysis of it (environment,
opportunities and threats, markets, buyer/seller characteristics)
c. Objectives, limitations, criteria
d. Competitiveness of you as a Canadian firm/investor to enter selected market
e. Selection of and rationale for chosen mode of entry into the target country
f. Segmentation within the chosen market/industry, target market selection
g. Marketing plan (products/service, price scheme, places and promotion)
h. Action plan, timetable, budget (how/when/at what cost/etc. will strategy be
implemented)
There is a “Group Comprehensive Report Evaluation Guideline” in Course Documents,
the requirements there are not different or contradictory to requirements above. The
guideline clarifies further the above requirements, so please use both of them for your
report.
Format
The proposal should be between three to four pages long (minimum, maybe longer if it
is necessary), 1.15 spacing (not 1.5), font size 11, all inclusive.
Comprehensive Report: There is no maximum length limitation for the final project
report itself (but avoid excessively lengthy appendices with information of marginal
value), minimum is 20 pages of content, excluding cover page, appendix and reference.
Same font and spacing requirements as the Proposal.
PowerPoint (5%)
There is no presentation in class, the PowerPoint file is to summarize the major points
in your comprehensive report. The presentation should be designed so as to highlight
the elements of the project and need not be structured as the written report. The
presentation format leaves considerable room for creativity, within reason.
Requirements: 10 slides, excluding cover and thank you slides.