OverviewA manufacturing company is considering opening a facility outside of the home country with the goal to reduce product cost. You are to provide a report with detailed analysis of the impact of this business decision. Specifically, you are expected to capture the essence of the economy of the foreign country the company is moving to, evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of establishing a production operation in that country, and discuss the impact of cultural difference between the home and the foreign country on the business.
Page 1 of 6 School of Management — MANU2470 Assessment 1: Report Word limit: 2000 words (+/– 10%) Length: N/A Assessment Type: Report (individual) Due date: Sunday of Week 3 at 23:59PM (Melbourne time) Weighting: 30% Overview A manufacturing company is considering opening a facility outside of the home country with the goal to reduce product cost. You are to provide a report with detailed analysis of the impact of this business decision. Specifically, you are expected to capture the essence of the economy of the foreign country the company is moving to, evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of establishing a production operation in that country, and discuss the impact of cultural difference between the home and the foreign country on the business. Learning Outcomes CLO 1 Establish your theory on how globalisation of the world economy and the continually changing nature of international trade affects nearly every aspect of business decision making in technological firms. CLO 2 Explain the differences between the operation of domestic and international firms especially in relation to the complex competitive nature of global markets. Page 2 of 6 Assessment details Background Caterpillar is world leader in production of heavy machinery. The Caterpillar components are made in more than a hundred manufacturing plants in the world. In the US alone, there are 51 manufacturing facilities. There are 12 manufacturing facilities in European countries, several in Asia (India, China and Indonesia), South America (Mexico and Brazil), and in South Africa. The world headquarters of Caterpillar is located in Peoria, Illinois. Most R@D activity is based in Peoria. In 2016 Caterpillar decided to start a major reorganisation that included closing more than 30 facilities in the US to reduce the cost of production, and opening new facilities. Some analysis suggests opening new facilities in Nigeria for special track-type tractors, track type loaders, and another one in Malaysia for articulated dump trucks. Tasks 1) Analyse and discuss the development and growth of the company worldwide. Discuss organisation and major challenges that company has faced during its long history. Caterpillar is a well-known, world-leading manufacturer of machinery. A large amount of publications, analytical, research articles and reports are available. 2) Analyse the situation in Malaysia and in Nigeria as the convenient locations for the new facilities. The main part of your analysis should be related to the cultural specificity of these two countries. The analysis must also take into account general geopolitical characteristics of Malaysia and Nigeria. The preferred sources are WordBank data, IMF data, OUN data, OECD data and research articles. 3) Discuss the importance of cultural differences between Malaysia and Nigeria and the risk for the company as a result of cultural differences. Your report needs to be clearly written, well structured and well presented. You should acknowledge all sources used and provide references where appropriate. References must be presented in approved standard form (e.g. Harvard) and the reference list Page 3 of 6 Academic integrity and plagiarism Academic integrity is about honest presentation of your academic work. It means acknowledging the work of others while developing your own insights, knowledge and ideas. You should take extreme care that you have: Acknowledged words, data, diagrams, models, frameworks and/or ideas of others you have quoted (i.e. directly copied), summarised, paraphrased, discussed or mentioned in your assessment through the appropriate referencing methods, Provided a reference list of the publication details so your reader can locate the source if necessary. This includes material taken from Internet sites. If you do not acknowledge the sources of your material, you may be accused of plagiarism because you have passed off the work and ideas of another person without appropriate referencing, as if they were your own. RMIT University treats plagiarism as a very serious offence constituting misconduct. Plagiarism covers a variety of inappropriate behaviours, including: Failure to properly document a source Copyright material from the internet or databases Collusion between students For further information on our policies and procedures, please refer to the University website. Assessment declaration When you submit work electronically, you agree to the assessment declaration. Referencing guidelines You must acknowledge all the courses of information you have used in your assessments. Refer to the RMIT Easy Cite referencing tool to see examples and tips on how to reference in the appropriated style. You can also refer to the library referencing page for more tools such as EndNote, referencing tutorials and referencing guides for printing. Submission format Upload as one single file via the assignments submission page within Canvas. Use [RMIT Harvard/APA 6th ed./ AGLC3/ Vancouver— SELECT ONE] referencing style for this assessment. https://www.rmit.edu.au/students/student-essentials/rights-and-responsibilities/academic-integrity https://www.rmit.edu.au/students/student-essentials/assessment-and-exams/assessment/assessment-declaration http://www.lib.rmit.edu.au/easy-cite/ https://www.rmit.edu.au/library/study/referencing http://www1.rmit.edu.au/library/referencing Page 4 of 6 Working as a group Many courses require you to work in a group to complete various assessments. It is the collective responsibility of all group members to actively contribute and complete any project. If any individual is unavailable during this time, the group will need to adjust responsibilities to allow for the work to be completed. It is recommended that students elect a group leader to take responsibility for this. Working in a group requires consistent interaction and communication. This should be done within Canvas, Google Hangouts, email etc. Should any individual be unavailable for an extended period of time, it is the responsibility of the group members, or group leader, to advise their tutor to discuss the situation. This should be raised as early as possible if students wish to apply for an extension or special consideration. Only one copy of a group assessment needs to be submitted, however all group names must be added to the report submission. For further information about understanding group work, visit RMIT Learning Lab. https://emedia.rmit.edu.au/learninglab/welcome Page 5 of 6 Assessment Criteria Criteria Ratings Pts Data collection and summary of the country’s situation Selects comprehensive and highly relevant data that are industry specific, reliable and reasonably unbiased. Utilise highly appropriate sources in a variety of formats (i.e., books, journals, electronic sources). Summary and interpretation of data are well presented, reasonable and accurate. Selects generally reliable and industry specific data. Identifies mostly appropriate sources in a variety of formats (i.e., books, journals, electronic sources). Summary and interpretations of data are presented reasonably well. Selects few reliable and industry specific data. Occasionally some data are irrelevant. Identified some relevant sources, but also includes irrelevant sources. Interpretations of data somewhat aid comprehension, and summary is slightly unclear. Selects very few reliable and industry specific data. Some data are irrelevant. Identified very few relevant sources, and includes irrelevant sources. Summary and interpretations of data are incomplete or inadequate. Selects data that are irrelevant and unreliable. Insufficient data was obtained and/or sources lack validity. Interpretations of data is missing or completely wrong. Summary is incomplete or imprecise. 3 to>2.39 pts 2.39 to>2.09 pts 2.09 to>1.79 pts 1.79 to>1.49 pts 1.49 to >00 pts 3 Selection and analysis of appropriate factors Identifies general and industry specific factors. Provides clear, thorough and accurate analysis of the impact of general and industry specific factors. Identifies most general and industry specific factors. There are some minor omissions in identification. Presents minor errors in the analysis of the impact of general and industry specific factors. Identifies some general and industry specific factors. There are minor omissions in identification. Presents some errors and inaccuracies in the analysis of the impact of general and industry specific factors. Identifies some general and industry specific factors. There are major omissions in identification. Presents errors and inaccuracies in the analysis of the impact of general and industry specific factors throughout the report. Fails to identify general and industry specific factors. No analysis of the impact of general and industry specific factors. Major errors and inaccuracies in analysis. 11.99 to >10.49 pts 10.49 to >8.99 pts 8.99 to >7.49 pts 7.49 to > 0 pts 15 Evaluation of risks Identifies and evaluates all important aspects of risks. Accurately estimates the likelihood of the risks, and their effects. Identifies and evaluates most aspects of risks specific to the country. Estimates the likelihood of the risks and their effects. Identifies and evaluates some aspects of risks. Estimates the likelihood of the risks and their effects. Identifies and evaluates few aspects or risks. May be able to estimate some of the likelihood of the risks and their effects. Have minimal or no ability to identify or evaluate risks. May inaccurately estimate the likelihood of the risks and their effects. 6 to >4.79 pts 4.79 to >4.19 pts 4.19 to >3.59 pts 3.59 to >2.99pts 2.99 to >0 pts 6 HD D C P N 15 to >11.99 PTS Page 6 of 6 Conclusions/ Recommendations Conclusions and recommendations are clearly derived from data analyses. Effective recommendations, solutions and plans of action are provided. Discussion of key conclusions and recommendations are presented and supported by data. Effective recommendations, solutions and plans