TRident bus401 module 4 case +slp +discussion 2018

Module 4 - Case

MARKET SELECTION AND FOREIGN ENTRY MODE

Assignment Overview

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.

Assignment Expectations

• Answer the assignment questions directly.
• Stay focused on the precise assignment questions. Don’t go off on tangents or devote a lot of space to summarizing general background materials.
• Make sure to use reliable and credible sources as your references. Articles published in established newspapers or business journals/magazines are preferred. If you find articles on the internet, make sure they are from credible sources.
• Reference your sources of information with both a bibliography and in-text citations. See the Student Guide to Writing a High-Quality Academic Paper, including pages 11-14 on in-text citations. Another resource is the “Writing Style Guide,” which is found under “My Resources” in the TLC portal.

 

Module 4 - SLP

MARKET SELECTION AND FOREIGN ENTRY MODE

For your final SLP, pretend that an American corporation hired you to write a report on whether or not they should enter the country that you have been researching for your Modules 1-3 SLP assignments. You have already done a lot of research on many of the cultural, financial, legal, and political aspects of doing business in your country, which you can use as part of your overall recommendation. However, you also need to consider other factors, such as the potential size of the market that your country has to offer. If your country has very few consumers, then it will not be a wise decision to enter the country no matter how strong the legal or political system.

One resource to use for your report is Michigan State University’s Market Potential Index (http://globaledge.msu.edu/mpi/2014). This index focuses mostly on various aspects of the size or growth of the consumer market in each country, which should provide some valuable information in making your recommendation. But don’t rely just on this index. Do some additional research on factors that you think make your country an attractive or unattractive market for an American company and use some of de Kluyver’s (2012) guidelines on country selection as part of your paper.

When you have finished your research, write a 2- to 3-page paper with the following information:

1. What are the positive aspects of your country that would make it an attractive market for an American corporation? Consider all of the main factors that you researched regarding your country for Modules 1-3 plus additional research for Module 4 on market potential.
2. What are the negative aspects of your country that would make it an unattractive market for an American corporation? Consider all of the main factors that you researched regarding your country for Modules 1-3 plus additional research for Module 4 on market potential.
3. Overall, what is your recommendation for the American company that hired you to write this report? Do the positives outweigh the negatives? Or vice versa? Explain your reasoning.

SLP Assignment Expectations

• Answer the assignment questions directly.
• Stay focused on the precise assignment questions. Don’t go off on tangents or devote a lot of space to summarizing general background materials.
• Make sure to use reliable and credible sources as your references. Articles published in established newspapers or business journals/magazines are preferred. If you find articles on the internet, make sure they are from credible sources.
• Reference your sources of information with both a bibliography and in-text citations. See the Student Guide to Writing a High-Quality Academic Paper, including pages 11-14 on in-text citations. Another resource is the “Writing Style Guide,” which is found under “My Resources” in the TLC portal.

 

Discussion

Entry to India

 

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In this final discussion, I want to take a humorous look at one form of foreign market entry—outsourcing to India. You can of course find various articles on this topic, but let’s end the class on a fun note and instead take a look at the movie Outsourced. The movie was made in 2007 and directed by John Jeffcoat. In general, students have been able to find the movie free online but the links change from time to time. At “press time” this link worked:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=why31NMoEfE

Try to watch at least the first 20 minutes. Does this movie give you an idea of the challenges of entering a foreign market through outsourcing? Do the cultural differences shown in the movie seem to be consistent with what you’ve read about in the readings so far in the class? Do you think the director made at least a somewhat realistic movie about outsourcing to India?

If the link no longer works, see if you can find the movie online somewhere else. There is also a TV series based on the movie. See if you can find the first episode. At “press time” this link worked:

http://www.nbc.com/outsourced/video/pilot/n1727

In general, the TV series should be easier to find than the movie, but it is a lot sillier, so first try to find the movie. If all else fails, try to find an article about a Westerner working in India. Your professor might also be able to find an alternative topic for this discussion.

Keep in mind that this movie relates not only to the concept of foreign-entry mode but also the concept of cross-cultural management and the expatriate culture shock that you were reading about in Module 1. So make sure to include references to any relevant sources from the Module 1 or Module 4 background readings.

For those of you who end up watching the full movie, please write a review for your classmates to help them decide whether or not they want to finish the movie (no spoilers in your reviews though…). 

 

Summary and Reflection

 

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Which two modules did you find to have the most direct application to current job or future career goals? Which two modules do you think had the least application to your current job or future career goal? For example, if you are planning a career in human resource management you would probably find Module 1 to be the most useful.