For this assignment, assume that you work for a company that is planning to expand to sell its products internationally. To help employees better understand doing business in another country, you have been asked to create a report for other company employees that details the social and/or business customs of a particular country. You have been asked by upper management to write this informational report on one country to prepare employees so the company can move forward smoothly with its plans.
You will choose the country to research. You are to write a report that provides managers and employees with a summary and discussion of the social and business customs of the chosen country and their effects on marketing your product there. You will provide information in the report that will help management understand the challenges inherent in this international expansion, as they relate to business and social customs. You will also include recommendations, based on the social and business customs, for marketing your company’s product.
Since the expansion will involve a great deal of investment and resources, the integrity of your report is vitally important. Be sure that your report is accurate, well-researched, thorough, and attractive.
Directions:
• Choose a country in which you have an interest. Note that the groups within a class must choose different countries.
• Decide with your group what areas are important to include in the report. You do not have to be all-inclusive in your coverage; instead, choose what you feel is important concerning business and/or social customs, such as, for example, how business is conducted, meetings, socializing with business partners, gift-giving, etc.
• Research business practices and social customs for your chosen country. As a starting point, visit the ASU Library online and click on LibGuides. Find the ENG 302 guide and look at Intercultural Communication under Reports. Also, search online for library journals as well as newspapers and websites for pertinent information.
• Focus on the most important appropriate behaviors for someone new to that culture. Also, include information about behaviors that are inappropriate and that would negatively affect interaction in that country.
• Create a “reasonable real-world context” for this assignment by making up a fictional company and product; however, the report itself should be factual and accurate. You will do real research to develop the document rather than make up information so that the report is something that actually could be submitted within a real company. However, the focus of this report is on the social and business customs only. Although, in your recommendations, you should discuss marketing efforts within the social context of the country, you should not develop a full business plan.
• Include in the introduction any necessary background information and the reasons for the report.
• Visuals are an important part of the report. Use visuals, such as photographs, tables, and charts, when they help explain or clarify the information you are presenting. For example, it would be helpful to show visually how to bow in a report on Japan. You may also imbed or include links to videos and websites. The report should include at least five visuals.
• Include in the body of the report the text, subheadings, visuals, and internal documentation in APA or MLA style. Include an introduction and a final conclusion section.
• List references in correct APA or MLA format at the end of the report. For this report, you should use at least five references.
• Be very careful to avoid plagiarizing information. Plagiarizing material has substantial repercussions. Please see the syllabus for more information.
Other Things to Consider:
• Use a logical document structure – i.e., introduce your project before discussing details or offering a conclusion. Divide the report into logical, manageable sections.
• Use common language — even when describing technical concepts. Your report should be clear and understandable, written in language that the audience of your particular report would easily comprehend.
• As with other assignments, use Word to create your report.
• Since this is an internal document intended for employees, use a memo format. See the section on short reports and memos beginning on page 192 as well as the style card on memos in the back of the text.
• The report should meet the minimum word count requirement of approximately 2,500 words.
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