BUSI 2701/Assignment # 2 – Business Report – Company Analysis
You are an analyst in the Industry Department of the government of a developing nation (for this assignment, the particular country is not important). Like many developing nations, the majority of your workforce is unskilled to semi-skilled, and your country is trying to develop an industrial base which will provide jobs and help raise the standard of living of the population. However, your government is wary of letting companies set up operations in your country that might harm, or treat unfairly, the country, its people or its resources. A number of companies have recently petitioned your government for permission to set up operations in your country (see list of companies provided on cuLearn). You have been asked by the Minister of Industry to analyse your choice of any one of the companies on the list provided.
The Minister is a very busy person so it is important that the report be written in a clear and concise manner. It will be judged on the factual information it contains, the clarity of your argument and the depth of your analysis. Please note that you should not try to gather data which supports only one side or the other of whether or not to give the company permission to proceed. Rather, you should gather all the pertinent data and let your analysis guide you to the best recommendation.
The report is to be five (5) to seven (7) pages (doubled spaced, Times New Roman, 12 pt font, 2.54 cm margins) plus title page and endnotes (i.e. references collected on a separate page at the end of the document). The title page must contain your name, student number and the company you have chosen from the list provided. The first half page (maximum) of the report will be an executive summary of the report’s highlights and your recommendation. The remainder of the five to seven pages will cover the material noted in the rubric below with marks allocated as shown. You must number the pages in your report. You should use the items listed in the rubric (left-hand column) as headings in your report. Submit your report into the electronic dropbox in cuLearn as a MS Word file (i.e. .doc or .docx file) with your last name in the file name.
The report must cite at least six different sources. Information sources could include the globalEDGE Website referred to at the end of each chapter in the Hill/McKaig textbook (http://globaledge.msu.edu), Factiva (through the library), Business Source Complete (through the library), Forbes Global 2000 (http://www.forbes.com/global2000/), the company’s own websites and annual report, the list of databases uploaded on culearn, business journals, business newspapers, and business websites, etc. Be wary of relying too heavily on any one source, especially a company’s own websites as they will most certainly put a positive spin on all of the company’s activities. Do not use Wikipedia. Ensure that all data is cited. Similar to Assignment # 1, the endnotes/citations are to be in APA Style. Check the following library link for help with citations (https://library.carleton.ca/help/citing-your-sources).
In this report, there should be few if any quotes. If you do use a quote, ensure that it is in quotation marks and properly cited. If a quote is not in quotation marks and properly cited, it is plagiarism. MS Word has an endnote insertion tool which works well. You do not need to include a bibliography after the endnotes.
If the report is longer than seven pages, or the executive summary is longer than half a page, only the first seven pages, or half page respectively, will be read and graded. If you wish, you may include appendices at the end of the five to seven page report but these will not be allocated specific points.

Please note that Carleton University offers a Writing Tutorial Service through the Student Academic Success Centre which provides free face-to-face sessions to help you with your writing. This may be especially helpful for those for whom English is a second language. Information can be attained on their website (www1.carleton.ca/sasc/writing-tutorial-service/).
Assignment #2 Rubric

Items / Headings Item % of Grade Description % of Grade
Executive Summary 10 This should be a concise and very well written summation of the summary and conclusion/ recommendation. Maximum length one-half page.
Company Description 10 Should include: the industry or industries the company operates in, the size of the company in annual revenue and workforce size, where the company is headquartered, where the company has operations, the types of goods and services the company provides, how stable and successful the company seems to be, and any major news stories about the company over the last few years.
Company’s International Strategy 15 Should include: the company’s strategy (in your own words), particular regions in which it concentrates, where it does research and development activities (R&D) and why you think it chooses these regions/countries, who the company’s competitors are, what the company’s major strengths and weaknesses seen to be, and does its strategy seem to be succeeding.
Company’s Marketing Approach 15 Should include: where the company sells its products and why you think it chooses these regions/countries, product/service marketing strategies especially with respect to the level of standardization or customization of products/services for different markets, distribution channels and communications methodologies the company uses in different countries.

Company’s Logistics Approach 10 Should include: where it produces goods and services and why you think it chooses these regions/countries based on country factors, technological factors and product factors.
Company’s Human Resource Management (HRM) Approach 10 Should include: any information relative to the company’s approach to HRM in international settings and how this may affect its impact on operations in your country.
Summary 15 An analysis of the risks and benefits inherent in allowing the company to do business in your country. This section must be a logical distillation of most important facets of the previous sections.
Conclusion 5 Your recommendation regarding your country allowing the company to set up operations in your country. This section must be a logical follow-on from the summary of risks and benefits, and state the key rationale for your recommendation..
Presentation: Spelling, grammar and clarity of writing. This is in recognition of the negative credibility impact on an executive reader of a poorly written document. 5
Accurate use of Chicago style citations/endnotes and use of at least six sources. 5
Total=90 Total=10

BUSI 2701
Assignment # 2 – Company List for Winter 2016

You are to pick one of the following companies as the subject of your company analysis for Assignment # 2.

Company List:

• Walmart
• Ikea
• Tim Hortons
• Royal Canadian Mint
• Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC)
• Renault-Nissan