Questions and Topics We Can Help to Answer
Instructions:
Write a 3 page Executive Summary that summarizes the entire paper based on the following criteria.
Strategy project assignment: Entry Strategy and Structure for Walmart to expand to Vietname
Resources:
Foreign Market Entry Modes
Executing Strategy Through Organizational Design: https://saylordotorg.github.io/text_mastering-strategic-management/s13-executing-strategy-through-org.html
Assignment Overview: In this assignment, the team will recommend an entry strategy, consisting of a business structure (entry vehicle) and organizational structure for your client company to enter and operate in the selected country. The business and competitive strategies developed in Weeks 6 and 7 are the strategic objectives you will want to accomplish through the entry strategy you develop this week. The team will (a) write a formal paper proposing and comparing two potential entry vehicles (the legal structures) that will allow the client company to accomplish the strategic objectives and (b) design the organizational structure showing who will implement the strategic objectives.
Assignment Objectives (1) The team will propose and compare two different business structures and recommend the one that is better able to realize the team's recommended risk mitigation and opportunity exploitation strategies and is consistent with the client's rationale for expansion (which you identified in your company profile).
(2) For the one recommended business structure, the team will create a supporting organizational structure, and will specify the roles and responsibilities that will ensure that the strategic recommendations will be implemented. The organizational chart will show the costs of each person required to implement your proposed strategic activities..
(3) Because most international expansions require some form of alliance with a local organization, any such alliance will be described in both the business structure and the organizational structure.
Note 1: Business structures have inherent advantages and disadvantages; but your responsibility is to assess the advantages and disadvantages of the potential business structures specifically in terms of how effectively they meet your client's strategic objectives. (e.g., an inherent disadvantage of contracted manufacturing as a business structure is that it risks loss of intellectual property; but if your company is manufacturing a commodity item, it has no intellectual property at risk, so that is not a disadvantage for your company).
Note 2: You will develop a marketing plan next week, but include in your organization structure who will be responsible for marketing and sales. You may modify the organizational chart next week if you determine that your marketing plan will need more or different roles. But you need at least a functional place holder to start.
Assignment Requirements and Format of the paper:
I. The Introduction to this paper should consist of (a) statement of purpose (b) description of the company and its industry, (c) the product/service that will be entered in the new country; (d) description of the target country and why it was recommended as better opportunity than the other country (use the summary information from your week 4 country selection paper); the target Buyer and the size and growth of the target market.
II. The body of this paper (approximately 20 pages,double spaced) will:
A. Summarize
• The company's expansion goals (section 2 of your draft business plan, from company profile)
• All the strategic objectives you have recommended in weeks 6 (competitor strategy) and 7 (business strategies) ( and as you have entered into sections 11 and 12 of your draft business plan ).
B, Propose 2 potential entry (business) structures that could meet the recommended strategic objectives and are consistent with the company's expansion goals. For each proposed lbusiness structure:
• Describe the structure of the business (the “ entry vehicle” e.g., joint venture, distributorship, contract, franchise, license, sales agent, branch office, Strategic Business Unit --SBU; or direct export with no in country presence)
• EXPLAIN why each structure is being considered (i.e., each must meet at least one of the most critical strategic objectives or you would have no reason to consider it)
• Specify any alliance partner or relationship with an in- country organization (e.g., distributor, joint manufacturer or marketer) by name if possible or at least by descriptive requirements
• Specify the strategic value of the alliance to your client AND to the alliance partner (the strategic "fit") ;
§ What the alliance partner will contribute to your client's success;
§ What the alliance partner will gain (why would it enter such an alliance)
C. Compare the advantages and disadvantages of each businessstructure, specifically how well each will help to realize the strategic objectives you have identified . and recommend one as the better entry vehicle.
D. For the recommended entry vehicle (business structure):
• Specify the organizational structure needed for successfully operating the business (who does what, and where they are located) and show on an organizational chart.
o the client company's headcount requirements
§ Show all people your client company will need to implement this strategy. whether they are to be employees or contracted human resources, or borrowed resources from headquarters..
§ Show all contracted human resources by dotted line connection to the management role responsible for managing, evaluating, and contracting for those services.
§ show the client company's costs for each role in this proposed organization
§ indicate start up cost and year one of operation, as two numbers: ($ / $ )
§ Your organization chart should show who will do marketing and sales. You will develop a marketing plan next week (detailing who will do what and materials/supplies needed) .
o the alliance organization's headcount and relationship to the client organization
• Describe in text the roles and responsibilities of each headcount in the organization
o state salary per employee and number of those employees needed, as represented in each ($/$) box of the organization chart.
o for headquarters people, determine how much time each devote to this project and equate that time to dollars to show on your organizational chart.
• Specify where the organization will operate and develop the costs of any facilities required for implementing this strategy(e.g, manufacturing or assembly plant, office space, showrooms, equipment needed)