*Please see textbook page 626: The Country NotebookA Guide for Developing a Marketing Plan for more detailed discussion of each of the parts of this project.
PROJECT COMPONENTS
The Country Project is designed to provide the students with experience in analyzing a country’s cultural and economic environment and experience in developing a marketing program for a specific product. The project requires that the student select a country and submit a series of five reports. The first report is determining the country and the product/service to be exported. The second report is a general survey of the country’s culture. The third report covers the economy of the country including a thorough analysis of the distribution and marketing systems. The fourth report is a market audit and competitive analysis of a country market for a specific product. The fifth report students develop a preliminary marketing plan for a product under consideration for marketing in the country they have selected.
Students should view the project from the perspective as if they represent a large multinational company planning to expand operations to a new country. The task is to analyze and tentatively propose a marketing program for the company’s product in a foreign country. After a complete analysis the student will determine to market the product or not to market the product. Under these circumstances, the value of a decision not to market the product in the country is as important as a decision to market. Normally 20 percent of students elect not to market their products. The only word of caution given to students who might elect not to market the product is to be certain that their market analysis is adequate and that they can justify their decision based on the data collected.
The reports include a heading on each page (i.e. date, student name, name of report), page numbers (bottom middle) single spaced paragraphs and double spaced between paragraphs written in style Times Roman 12 pitch. Citations and References are APA guidelines. The length of the reports are as follows: Part 1 is one page; Parts 2-5 are between three to four papers. Reports have a page limit since most students find enough information to write substantially more than 15 pages. This forces the student to organize, analyze and then present only the most important material from a marketing perspective.
Guideline for Cultural Analysis Part 2
Before a marketing manager can determine if it is necessary to adjust to the environment or to determine what adjustments would be appropriate, it is necessary to understand the environment. This is particularly true of the culture of a country.
While students frequently encounter difficulties in obtaining cultural information, the problems almost always can be overcome in a satisfactory manner. The information suggested in the outline provided in the textbook deals with some of the key aspects of the culture and is relevant to the latter part of the project involving the development of the marketing plan. Throughout the Country Project, students are encouraged to report the facts which they have identified and to analyze the facts in terms of likely marketing implications of such information.
As a final task in preparing the cultural analysis report, students are asked to write a one to two page (maximum length) essay on what it is like to be a citizen of the country under study. The purpose of the essay is to force the students to reflect on the country’s culture as a whole and to draw together their observations.
NOTE: The outline is a checklist of what you could include in your report. If you want you may use bullet points. However, you must write in complete sentences. Section headings are encouraged as this helps me easily identify the focus of individual sections of your report. At the conclusion of this outline you are asked to write an executive summary. However, instead of the executive summary, I am asking you to write an essay on “what it is like to be a citizen of” the country under study. The length of the report is as follows: Answers to Outline Questions (found in your textbook p. 625 see “The Country Notebook): 3-4 pages not including references; followed by an essay of 1 page “what it is like to be a citizen of” the country under study; conclude with references. While researching your country project you will obtain a large amount of information from a variety of sources. Your job is to condense and only keep what is important as I stop reading after 4 pages!
