Global Business Plan Project – Section 2

In this course, you will be developing a global business plan as if you are proposing to begin a profit-seeking business with a foreign nation. Along the way, you will be researching and gathering information as you would if you were building an actual business.

For this first assignment, you will need to select of country of interest and a potential product to market. I’ll leave this up to you (but it cannot be the US).

During each week of this course, you will complete a section for your overall business plan as I want you to focus on each component and provide quality research. Perhaps you might seek to follow through with this endeavor someday and you will at least have an initial template for your idea.

This is a great deal of information to take in, so please be sure to read through everything fully including the background section in these instructions. This is not difficult nor too much work if you stay on top of each week’s due-outs.

This week, you will be working on section II, INTRODUCTION (SEE COURSE GLOBAL BUSINESS PLAN ASSIGNMENT OUTLINE FOR REFERENCE). We’ll go back to section I during the last week to wrap up your report with an executive summary which is why we’re starting on section 2.

In a word document, answer the following questions in the prescribed outline format (be sure to use a title page so I know what paper belongs to whom). I only expect a few paragraphs for each section, not a complete book. A paragraph is 5 – 7 complete sentences. Please use footnotes to show me the source where you researched the information from.

A. POTENTIAL MARKETS

Discuss one or more of the global business opportunities (see background reference page in these assignment instructions) in terms of:

1. a specific product or service, including customer benefits; and

1. a potential market—a country that would be appropriate for this business opportunity.

B. ABSOLUTE AND COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGES

Analyze for the presence of an absolute or comparative advantage that might be related to a business opportunity in the country where the item will be produced or sold. Describe how this analysis might influence the success of your proposed business idea. (For example, the availability of natural resources can make a business opportunity cost efficient.)

C. BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY ANALYSIS

Compare two or more proposed business opportunities based on factors such as foreign market potential, start-up costs, and foreign business risks. (For example, a proposal to construct new highways may be appropriate for a developing economy. However, the risks in this market are probably greater than in an industrialized nation.)

D. POTENTIAL COMPETITORS

a. Identify companies that:

Have business activities similar (or related) to the business opportunity you are proposing; and operate in the country (or countries) that you are considering for your international business enterprise.

E. COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES

Discuss the competitive advantages of these companies. (For example, some companies may gain a competitive advantage as a result of access to raw materials, others may gain an advantage through the use of technology for production and distribution or as a result of a well-known brand name.)

F. INTERNATIONAL STRATEGIES

Compare the international business strategies of these companies. Do these companies make use of standardized products and operating policies? Or, do they use a strategy that is adapted to various foreign markets? (Film is sold in standardized formats around the world while laundry detergents are adapted to clothes washing habits and water hardness.)

Upload your completed report into the GBP 1 dropbox provided.

Business Around the World Atlas:

(Works best with Firefox.)

Sample GBP – Take a look at the below example to see how the formatting should be set up in your report. You can copy all of the headings (A. POTENTIAL MARKETS, etc) but do not copy any of the material below:

A. POTENTIAL MARKETS

         The global business opportunity that I would be interested in is a solar power industry in Australia. The customer benefits include more cost-efficient than standard electricity and more environmentally friendly by using renewable energy. I felt Australia was an appropriate country for this business opportunity because it is a country that produces a large amount of sunlight annually. “About 35 percent of the continent receives so little rain, it is effectively desert. In total, 70 percent of the mainland receives less than 500 millimeters of rain annually, which classes it as arid, or semi-arid” (Deserts). Based on this information, I feel that a solar power industry would be an ideal global business opportunity to initiate in Australia. 

B. ABSOLUTE AND COMPARATIVE ADVANTAGES

           An absolute advantage could be presented by comparing solar energy to electricity. Not only does solar power save money for the customers by minimalizing their usage of electric company power, but it also reduces their use of fossil fuels with is a huge advantage of conserving resources and reducing CO2 emissions. Meanwhile, the comparative advantage of this product would be sunlight. This would be a very sustainable business because once the land has been purchased and all of the solar panels and other equipment were installed, all that is needed is sunlight which is free and abundant in Australia.

C. BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY ANALYSIS

           A potential foreign business risk in Australia is obtaining a large amount of property as a foreigner. Foreigners can buy property in Australia under certain restrictions. For example, “Non-residents must get approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) before they can buy a property… Check that you comply with FIRB requirements for approval. This usually takes at least two weeks and there is a fee to pay. However, you won’t actually get FIRB clearance until you have found a property to buy” (Buy). Also, purchasing land in the more populated areas of Australia will be much more on the expensive side. The cost per square meter can vary from $8,880 to $4,760 in Australia depending on the area. However, the risk is still less in comparison to some major United Kingdom cities where the cost per square meter can vary from $14,300 to $4,255.

D. POTENTIAL COMPETITORS

           The main competitor in the solar industry is coal power stations. However, while the costs of fuel are rising solar power is becoming more and more accessible and affordable making it a highly achievable and profitable business opportunity. Solar power is the future of energy as we know it. “There are now at least nine studies conducted during the decade that have analyzed how Australia can move from an electricity system based on polluting coal and gas to one powered by the sun, wind and waves” (Ison). The coal industry is a huge organization supplying most of the world’s energy currently but making the switch to solar energy is effective for the environment and the economy. “According to , between 30% and 45% of the country’s future energy generation will be local and customer-owned – in homes, businesses, and communities” (Ison). This fact provides further reasoning as to why solar energy is a fantastic global business opportunity at this point in time.

E. COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES

           The two largest competitive advantages in solar industry in Australia would be the amount of sunlight that Australia gets which could be used in generating energy and simply the fact that solar energy is still a new concept to the average citizen in Australia is highly predicted to quickly gain popularity in the future. While being a foreign business, you would lack the luxury of being considered local or inheriting any property in the country. However, the competitive advantages of the business opportunity are still being so widespread that the company would still become quite profitable even with competitive solar energy industries in the area.

F. INTERNATIONAL STRATEGIES

           An international strategy that could be utilized is purchasing land further away from major cities in Australia to have a better chance of buying the largest amount of land for the best price. The solar panels purchased from the company could still be transported and installed at the customer’s desired location. Another international strategy could be investing in the advertisement such as a billboard in a major city like Sydney, or fliers in the neighborhoods, encouraging positive feedback and reviews on social media platforms. Getting information out about how much money could be saved or how much guilt could be reduced from contributing to global warming by investing in the solar industry would be a significant international strategy in Australia. 

References:

“Buy a House in Australia Guide.” The Telegraph. Transferwise, .

“Deserts.” Australian Government, Geoscience Australia,

Ison, Nicky. “What would Australia look like powered by 100% renewable energy?” The Guardian. 2019, .