4 S BSB 119 Global Business Country Analysis

4 S BSB 119 Global Business Country Analysis Report Semester One 2018 You are a consultant to Queen’s Petfood, an Australian firm based in Queensland. Your task is to analyse the socio-economic, political and business environments of China and the United Kingdom and produce a formal report regarding which is the better country to which to begin exporting. Your report will conclude with a country recommendation, and justification for your selection based on a weighted index. The task guidelines, submission details and criteria sheet are available in Blackboard as well as a Frequently Asked Question file and a library presentation. 1

Writing a Reports are documents that provide people with information to make decisions or solve real problems. 1. Define the audience (Queen’s Petfood) and problem (which is the better export market). 2. Gather the necessary data and information. 3. Interpret the data. 4. Organise the information. 5. Draft, edit and proofread the report. The BSB 119 report is an analytical report with research, discussion and conclusions leading to your choice of country. This choice will be supported by a weighted index 2

Report Structure Title page Table of Contents 1. 0 Introduction 2. 0 Socio-economic Environment 2. 1……………. 2. 2……………. 3. 0 Political Environment and Risk 3. 1 ………. . 3. 2 ………. . 4. 0 Business Environment 4. 1 ………. 4. 2 Market Potential 5. 0 Country Choice 6. 0 Conclusion List of References Note: No need for an Executive Summary and no Appendices 3

Gathering Data and Information What information might you include ? Some ideas to get started. Socio-economic Environment Snapshot of the economy, strengths and challenges, major economic indicators such as % change in GDP (already completed in Assessment One), unemployment and inflation trends. You could include some social/demographic data as well such as population and GDP per capita. Political Environment Political system (briefly), current government priorities and challenges, trade relationship with Australia. Political risk factors such as levels of corruption and political stability. Business Environment The Ease of Doing Business ratings (plus Trading Across Borders and Enforcing Contracts from same World Bank site? ), quality of infrastructure, potential for online business? Include broad features of the business environment but give priority to features most relevant to market potential for pet food. 4

Some respected sources QUT library databases � Passport GMID has country profiles, pet care and pet food reports � Marketline Advantage has country analysis and pet food reports � PRS Country Data has risk profiles but you need to download their methodology. � EIU Already used for Assessment 1. Has unemployment data in Demographic menu. Inflation is included as % Change in Consumer Prices. Also has brief Country Outlooks. Available as general online sources � Transparency International – corruption perception ratings and rankings � AUSTRADE and DFAT (very polite and diplomatic –don’t overuse) � The Handbook of Country Risk http: //www. coface. com/Economic-Studies-and-Country-Risks � World Bank (doingbusiness. org) � Heritage Foundation - Index of Economic Freedom � World Economic Forum Competitiveness report. Complement research from quality sources such as these with general industry sites useful for information about consumer trends in pet ownership and care. (Note: you do not need to research competitors. ) 5

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Analyse and Interpret Process your information for your reader by analysing and interpreting and applying it to your client’s situation. Don’t just describe. Group information into logical, manageable categories and use headings and subheadings. An example of good analysis: “Since 2010, Country X has moved to increase trade more so than Y. Tariffs on manufactured goods have been reduced by up to 40% (GMID, 2017 b) and legislation passed to protect trademarks and copyright (Heritage Foundation, 2017). These are both important considerations as the lowered tariffs mean Acme’s Model ABC, most suited to the environment there, would earn profits and Acme could defend legally any infringement of intellectual rights. In comparison, Country Y’s tariffs and evidence of copyright infringements make it a less attractive option ” Integrate your analysis so your client can see comparisons. While you will have information for each country, avoid having a whole long section on China and one for the United Kingdom followed by a statement such as “ Comparing these then, ……. . is the better choice. ” Usually, in the economic, political and business discussion, you can make broad links to your client’s plans while the Market Potential section will have more focused links. 8

Plan and integrate your visuals � Use figures and tables to emphasise important information and summarise complex data. Visuals allow us to foreground or emphasise important information that might be easily buried in blocks of text. � Make your own visuals and include information for both countries in the same table or graph. � Round figures to one or two decimals eg. A population of 10, 497, 211 is written as 10. 5 million. � � GMID database pet food sales are in Chinese and UK currencies so use their ‘currency converter’ so you can compare sales in US dollars. Research forecast and historical data to indicate trends. EIU Database provides both but finding variables can be tricky. For inflation, look for DCPI Consumer prices (% change pa: av). � Summarise the main point of the visual before you present the visual itself. After the visual, evaluate the data and discuss its implications. Weak: Listed below are the results. Better: As Figure 4 shows, trends in pet ownership indicate …. . � Tables and Figures are numbered separately ie. Table 1 or Figure 1 (graphs are called figures). 9

How many visuals? Five or six graphs or tables would be enough. Two expected visuals are % Change in GDP which you have from Assessment One and the Weighted Index. Suggestions: a small table of socio-economic data or a time line graph of an economic variable …. Or a table from GMID data for the pet care industry, pet food sales and predicted % growth. (Remember to convert sales from yuan and pounds to US dollars. ) …. . Or summarise political risk in a table China United Kingdom Source Handbook of Country Risk Country risk B Business risk B Country risk A 3 Business risk A 1 Ratings from A to E Coface (2017) Transparency International ? ? ? Score from 0 (very corrupt) to 100 (very clean) ? ? ? Political Risk Service World Economic Forum Competitiveness Index Ranking of 140 countries WEF (2017 -18) Democratic Freedom Ranks from 1(free) to 7 (unfree) Freedom House (2017) 10

Report components Title page: � Concise and explicit title. � Person who authorised the report (Prepared for…. . ) � Name and position of author. (Prepared by …. . ) � Date. Table of contents: � List section titles, headings, subheadings exactly as they appear in the report and provide page numbers Introduction. Begin with the context: Having the potential for increased production, Aus. Max has engaged Data Demons to analyse potential export markets. Preliminary research has identified China and the United Kingdom as possible markets. Purpose statement: (What does the report aim to do? ) This report analyses the economic, political and business environments of China and the United Kingdom, and assesses their potential as export destinations for pet food. Include a very brief description of the firm and their products. 11

Report components � 12

Country Choice and Conclusion Country Choice: Summarises the key findings for both countries, and explains and justifies your choice. Don’t introduce any new information here and there’s no need for references. This is YOUR analysis and explanation based on your earlier sections. . Explain succinctly which variables you’ve included in the weighted index and why, as well as some reasons for the weightings you gave them. Place your weighted index next and follow this with your choice of country and the reasons for it. Conclusion: Because you have already concluded (decided and justified) your choice, the Conclusion to the BSB 119 report is usually very brief. It signals the end of the report. You might like to include an action/s the firm needs to take next. List of References: Use APA referencing (Note: In completing your country analysis report, you’ll sometimes use the same source twice or, more particularly, different sections of databases. For in-text citation, writers use lower case letters (a, b, c, …) in the body of the report after the date of the source. So instead of writing : Very low growth in wages is affecting overall consumption (GMID: Japan Country Profile, 2016), though coffee sales are predicted to rise, particularly for fresh and premium products ( GMID: Coffee in Japan, 2016), You can use this: Very low growth in wages is affecting overall consumption (GMID, 2016 a), though coffee sales are predicted to rise , particularly for fresh and premium products ( GMID, 2016 b). Then in your List of References you indicate the section: � GMID Database. (2016 a). Japan Country profile. Retrieved from. . . add the URL 13

What is a weighted index? Buying shoes 1. Decide what variables/factors will influence your decision. 2. Decide how important each factor is and weight them so the total is 100%. 3. Score each pair /10 against each factor. 4. Multiply the score by the weighting and add up the weighted scores. Table 1. Weighted index for shoe purchase. Weighting Pair A Score/10 Pair A Weighted Score Pair B Score/10 Pair B Weighted Score Style Cost Colour Durability 40% (. 4) 9 3. 6 5 2. 0 35% (. 35) 3 1. 05 8 2. 8 15% (. 15) 2 . 3 8 1. 2 10% (. 1) 7 . 7 4 . 4 100% Total: 5. 65 Total: 6. 4 So even though pair A are more stylish and you think they will last longer, you choose pair B because they fit your budget better and you like the colour much more. 14

Things to keep in mind … � Read the FAQ file which is updated regularly. Send further queries to bsb 119@qut. edu. au � Use good quality sources as the centre of your research and analysis. Avoid general “Ask me Anything” type online sites and also sites such as Trading Economics where it’s difficult to assess their credibility. � Aim to have all research completed early to leave time for your analysis, writing and editing/proofing. Many of the suggested sources are dense and detailed and need time to uncover information you can include. � Make tables for specific purposes. Putting a border around a page of text (to help keep within the word count) doesn’t make an effective table. � Aim for balance. You don’t need to argue that one country is better than the other in all respects. � Discuss your ideas and what research you’ve uncovered with friends and classmates but write the report yourself. Never send your work to another student or ask to read theirs before you submit. ******************** 15