Assignment Instructions

All assignments must be submitted ONLINE via my.wbs by 7pm UK time on the date displayed against this assessment.

Please ensure that you have inserted a completedassignment coversheet, which must be included as the first page of your script. This should include your Student ID number, but not your name.

Word Limit

2,500 words

Word Count Policy

WBS has a school-wide policy on word counts.  This is strictly enforced to ensure consistency across

modules and programme. You can find more information about this policy in your Student

Handbook under Academic Practice -4i. Word count policy.

This is a strict limit not a guideline: any piece submitted with more words than the limit will result in the excess not being marked.

Academic Practice

Please ensure you read the full guidelines forAcademic Practicein the Undergraduate Handbook    and ensure you understand it. If in doubt, please seek clarification in advance of your submission . This includes important information on:

•    Cheating, plagiarism and collusion

•    Correct referencing

•    Using internet sources in assessments

•    Academic writing

•    English Language support

•    Word count policy

When you submit this assignment online, you will be required to tick a declaration box indicating that the work involved is entirely your own. Each assignment will be put through plagiarism software to identify any collusion or inadequate referencing of materials used from different sources.

We would consider taking action if your work:

1. is too reliant on the words of particular authors (rather than presenting your ideas in your own  words), if the essay uses the ideas or words of an author without referencing them or putting their words into quotations (plagiarism).

2. suggests that you have worked very closely with another student or students (unless explicitly asked to do so by your Module Leader/Tutor) (collusion).

3. includes unreferenced work that you have previously submitted for any accredited course of study (unless explicitly asked to do so by your Module Leader/Tutor) (self-plagiarism).

Extensions and Self-certification

Late submissions will incur a penalty of 5% for every 24 hour period after the due date and time, i.e. this begins one minute after the submission deadline (beginning at 7.01pm).

Requests for specific extensions (of up to 15 days) which are typically for longer and more serious  concerns must be submitted via my.wbs ideally 72 hours BEFORE the deadline. Extensions can only be approved if you clearly detail your circumstances and provide supporting documentation (or a

reason as to why you cannot provide the supporting documentation at the time) as set out in the

Mitigating Circumstances Policy.

Self-certification is a university-wide policy whereby you are permitted an automatic extension of 5 working days on eligible written assessed work without the need for evidence. WBS permits self-     certification for all types of written, assessed works such as essays and dissertations. It is not             permitted for exams, course tests, or presentations.

You can self-certify twice within each year of study, starting from the anniversary of your course       start date. This will cover all eligible written assessments that fall within the self-certification period,

as long as they have not previously had an extension applied. To find out further details about the

self-certification policy please see:https://my.wbs.ac.uk/-/academic/20778/item/id/1244460/.

If you wish to self-certify for an extension of 5 working days, please select 'Self-certification' in the   Extension Type field. If you wish to request a longer extension than 5 working days, please leave the Extension Type as 'Standard'.

Your assignment instructions begin below.

Please only answer ONE question out of three.

Question 1:

You are a chief advisor to an incoming Minister for Industry, Investment and Trade for a country of your choice. The minister has little knowledge of issues on foreign direct investment and would like to have an overview of the benefits and limitations that it brings to a country and would like you to write a report for them.  The report should cover the following aspects:

•   A brief overview of inward FDI flows into the chosen country over (roughly) the last

10 years (20%).

•   The arguments for why foreign investment would be positive for the country (40%) .

•   Any reasons why some of the stated benefits of FDI might not be realised (40%) .

OR

Question 2:

You have been hired as a consultant to a Jaguar Land Rover that is looking to establish a manufacturing hub in Southeast Asia.  They have shortlisted four countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Conduct an analysis on the four countries and give a        recommendation on which country Jaguar Land Rover should select and whether the          company should acquire an existing plant in the country or set up a greenfield investment.

OR

Question 3:

You have been hired as an international business and culture consultant to United Biscuits.   They have plans to further expand its presence in China, by opening a research and development and manufacturing plant in China, after taking a low-risk strategy in the county previously. While the company is a subsidiary of the Turkish company Yıldız Holding and part of Pladis Global since being acquired in 2014, United Biscuits still retains its headquarters in  the UK and the parent firm in Turkey and has delegated the overall responsibility for Chinese expansion of United Biscuits to the UK senior management team. However, the UK  senior management team are worried about the cultural difference between the UK and China and are not sure if they should increase their operations in the country. They have asked you to write a report on the cultural and psychic distance factors between the UK and China, and for your recommendations to the company. The report will be split into two parts:

1)   An overview of cultural and psychic distance factors between the UK and China and to what extent this would impact United Biscuits (40%).

2)   Drawing on examples of other FMCG companies operating in China, what                 recommendations would you give to United Biscuits about expanding their current operations in China?  How could the company overcome potential cultural issues   with employees, businesses, and consumers?  (60%)