GUIDELINES FOR COUNTRY-CULTURE PROFILE & INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS EXPANSION ASSIGNMENT
(BUSINESS EXPANSION IN A FOERIGN CULTURE)
This assignment has 2 sequential parts:

Part 1: Select a country and prepare a country-culture profile of that country. This part involves completing the profile tables by providing data/information for each item (required data/information can be accessed on the internet by visiting certain official data banks/sources such as the World Bank, United Nations, and other international organizations). The following tables are focused on the four key environmental factors one needs to assess before expanding his/her business to a foreign country/culture (international business). These environmental factors are:
Economic Environment
Political Environment
Legal Environment
Cultural/Social Environment

Part 2: Once you complete the country-culture profile, write about your international business expansion project, focusing on the following issues:
First, you need to think about a business that you want to take (expand) to that (foreign) country. Keep in mind that businesses go international (global) either to market their goods/services or to produce their goods/services in a foreign country (in some cases, international expansion is designed to achieve both purposes). Describe the nature of your business and why you plan to take it international.
Second, you need to analyze each of the above four environmental factors (captured in the profile tables) to assess whether those factors are compatible with your business, i.e., whether they can support your business in that country. Basically, assess how likely it is that the planned international business venture in your selected country will succeed in light of the profile of those environmental factors present in your selected country.
In making your assessment of business success in your selected country, give extra attention to the cultural environment. That is, discuss the cross-cultural issues you will need to navigate and negotiate to insure your business success in that country and how you plan to manage those cultural challenges in your selected.

To facilitate this assignment, I am providing a sample paper/project one student in a previous class ; she did a great job. If you follow the pattern and quality of work represented in this sample, you will be in good shape. So go through the sample paper very carefully and use it as an invaluable guide to do your project.

NOTE: One popular and important international business adage is: “Think Globally, Act Locally.” In developing an international expansion project (and subsequently launching your international business venture), you have certainly fulfilled one part of the equation: thinking globally. Now the challenge is to successfully navigate and negotiate the 2nd part of the equation: acting locally (adapting to local cultural settings). This is where cross-cultural understanding and analysis comes in. In other words, your international business expansion project must carefully take into account the cultural environment in addition to other 3 environmental factors. So it is imperative that you integrate into your business project various ways to “act locally” in order to capture the cultural sensibilities of your selected country.

Country-Culture Profile Template
Some Basic Environmental Indicators
1. Economic Environment
Data/Info
Total population
42,610,981
Male total
21,002,761
Female total
21,608,220
Total labor force
18,631,592
GDP per capita
470.5 billion
Literacy