Describe the topic and state the research question; define your main constructs. Briefly describe your personal or professional interest in the topic. List the resources you consulted for information (e.g., research literature databases such as MEDLINE or CINAHL, Google Scholar, university libraries, etc.)
Pret a Manger (which means “ready to eat” in French) is a British fast food restaurant chain known for its very friendly staff and relatively healthy food. While the majority of its restaurants are in the U.K., it also has a heavy presence in the eastern United States. While the restaurant is successful in the U.K. and in American cities such as New York and Chicago, it has had only limited success in other countries so far. In 2002, it tried to expand to Japan in a joint venture with McDonald’s, but ultimately this venture failed and it withdrew from Japan by 2004. Now it is currently entering China with restaurants in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Clearly, Pret a Manager is intent on international expansion, but given its failure in Japan, it of course needs to carefully plan its expansion strategies. Before writing your paper, make sure to carefully review the concepts of target markets and market selection from de Kluyver (2012) as well as the discussion of advantages and disadvantages of different foreign entry mode decisions in Carpenter and Dunung (2012) and Rajagopal (2009). Once you have finished reviewing the basic concepts of this module, do some research on Coupang. Below are a couple of articles to get you started, but news on Pret a Manger seems to change by the day so try to find some more recent articles in addition to reading these two articles: Junqian, X. (2014, October 3). Pret a Manger prepares for sandwich battle. China Daily. [ProQuest] Sanchanta, M. (2004, March 30). Pret a Manger retreats from Japanese market. FT.Com. [ProQuest] Case Assignment Suppose you have been hired by Pret a Manger to come up with an international strategic plan. Write a 4- to 5-page strategic plan for Pret a Manger that addresses the following issues: 1.What country or countries should Pret a Manger enter next (beyond the five countries they already operate in)? Explain your reasoning for this selection based on criteria from the background materials including de Kluyver (2012) and articles on Pret a Manger. 2.What mode of entry should Pret a Manger use to enter this country or countries that you chose? For example, should they use a joint venture, franchising, a greenfield strategy, etc.? Refer to the concepts from Carpenter and Dunung (2012) and Jeyarathmm (2008) in your answer, and cite some articles on Pret a Manger.
Suppose you are a consultant who travels the world to make predictions about exchange rates for your clients. You have been hired to go to a foreign country to make a prediction about whether the value of the currency in this country will go up or down. When you arrive in this country, the first thing you notice is that everything is very expensive compared to what you are used to in the United States. Some items such as soft drinks or bottled water cost twice as much as what you pay at home. You also find that the economy in this country is starting to shrink a bit, and several foreign-owned businesses are moving out of the country. Would you tell your client that you expect the value of the currency in this country will increase or decrease? Explain your reasoning, and make references to Agarwal (2009) in your answer. 2.Suppose a small manufacturing business purchases 90% of its raw materials and supplies from Japan. It is a very specialized business and has no place other than Japan to purchase its materials. Thus, if the value of the Japanese currency goes up compared to the dollar, profit margins will go down since it will cost the company more to purchase its supplies. What methods do you think would be best to manage this risk under these circumstances? Refer to at least one of the required readings from the background materials in your answer. 3.Consider a large multinational consumer product company with operations in all major advanced and emerging economies. Now suppose the value of the Indian and Brazilian currencies drops dramatically and the value of the Mexican peso increases dramatically. What kind of strategic changes in marketing and/or location of production facilities do you think this company should take given these new exchange rates? Explain your reasoning, and make references to Avadhani (2010) and Shackman (2015) in your answer.
you will looking at two completely different companies that sell completely different types of products. However, both companies have strong international potential. As you saw in the background materials, different types of products lead to different types of strategies regarding standardization or adaptation and whether you decide to become a global, multi-domestic, or transnational corporation. The first business you will look at is Yogurtland, a California-based frozen yogurt franchise with 300 locations. Most of the company’s locations are in the United States and Australia, but it has also opened up a small number of locations in Mexico, Venezuela, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates. The company has been successful in part because of customer satisfaction with the flavors, and in part because its self-serve model allows for local franchise owners to open up a new location at a relatively low cost. The second business to look at is Micromax, an Indian smartphone company that is starting to expand internationally. The smartphone business is a notoriously tough market with dominant competitors such as Apple and Samsung. Micromax is the largest local smartphone company in India and is second only to Samsung in the Indian smartphone market. Micromax has recently started to expand to Russia and is hoping to expand to other countries as well. Given the high price of smartphones from Apple and Samsung, there may be room for a lower priced competitor in the global smartphone market. Once you have finished your research, write a 4- to 5-page paper answering the following questions: 1.What kind of strategy do you recommend if Yogurtland continues its international expansion? Would you recommend product standardization or localization? Which overall strategy would you recommend—transnational, multi-domestic, or global? Explain your reasoning and apply the concepts from Carpenter and Dunung (2012) and Jeyarathmm (2008). Make sure to cite some articles on Yogurtland as well. 2.What kind of strategy would you recommend for Micromax’s international expansion? Would you recommend product standardization or localization? Which overall strategy would you recommend—transnational, multi-domestic, or global? Explain your reasoning and apply the concepts from Carpenter and Dunung (2012) and Jeyarathmm (2008).
Suppose a British computer company has a top secret manufacturing technology. They are expanded overseas to China and Bangladesh to establish new factories using this secret technology. What kind of staffing policy do you think they should use when hiring managers for their new factories? Should they emphasize parent country nationals in their hiring? Host country nationals? Third country nationals? Explain your reasoning and cite Rao (2010) as part of your answer. 2.An American beverage company is planning an expansion both to France and to India by merging with some local companies in these countries. Based on Hofstede’s measures, which of these mergers would be easier to manage? What type of global selection approach to hiring do you think would be used in France and India—ethnocentric, polycentric, or geocentric? Explain your reasoning, and cite Rao (2010) as part of your answer. 3.Bob Smith is the CEO of an American company. All of his employees, even entry-level employees, call him “Bob” rather than “Mr. Smith.” He has an open-door policy where any employee can stop by his office to share their concerns. While Bob is approachable, he is also quick to reward employee performance through pay raises or bonuses and quick to punish poor performing employees with suspensions or even termination. Now Bob is planning on opening a new branch of his company in South Korea. Which of Bob’s practices may have to change in the Korean office? Refer to Hofstede’s dimensions and to Carpenter and Dunung (2012) as part of your answer. 4.Rick is an American corporate executive who gets assigned to the company’s China branch. His first month in China is really difficult for him. He is frustrated when people don’t know English, is shocked by the non-Western restroom facilities, and can’t handle most of the food served in the restaurants. After a few months he starts to learn the language a bit and makes some friends with some local residents. How does Rick’s first few months differ from the four-step “U-shaped” curve discussed in Rao (2010)? What techniques discussed in Rao (2010) could Rick’s company have used to help prevent his initial culture shock?
