2005IBA FAQs
How do I format the report?
See 2017 Report Template for Report 180306 final.docx
How should I pick my client's business?
Look at the economic information for your assigned country- what are the key imports/exports? This will help you narrow your focus in terms of the type of business activity with the assigned industry.
How do I approach the environmental analysis?
Within your industry, you should research your country- the history, geography, economy, technology (incl infrastructure), legal system, political system, etc.
You can pick the specific business in which your client operates (e.g. mining- gold, copper, diamonds, coal, etc. Agriculture- tobacco, beef, wheat, coffee, etc. Transport- car manufacturing, ship building, logistics management, etc).
I have a question regarding the "history" section in the environmental analysis: A lot of the historical elements in my assigned country were talked about in the political section of my report as most historical events in my assigned country relate to the laws that protect the indigenous people. Therefore, do I need to talk about this again in the history section? Or can I just leave this part out?
If you have covered “history” already, is it best to say it was addressed in the section on political analysis.
Are we creating an environmental analysis on the chosen country and comparing what is similar and is different to the Australian environment?
Yes
If some of the topics of the analysis are not relevant to the chosen industry and country, could I leave them?
It is hard to imagine why a topic (apart from History) would not be relevant.
For the environmental analysis, do we have to identify one thing out of each topic or could we have as much information as we could research?
Keep the word limit in mind as you address each aspect of the environmental analysis.
During the workshop today, we went through the Hofstede insights website to compare two countries that we had analysed, however could we use the graph as something that we could refer to in the report?
The graph could be placed in the report
In the lecture yesterday, one of the students mentioned whether we could use dot points instead of using a table to label the Hofstede culture analysis, however if we use dot points would they be included in the word count?
Any table is not included in the word count. It is best to avoid using dot points in a report
For the sources, could we use news articles to refer to recent news that may relate to the chosen industry?
Yes, a few would be acceptable. You will be finding your material online- e.g. government websites (Austrade, DFAT, Europa, ASEAN and equivalent sites for your assigned country ), PCW, World Bank, CIA World fact book, Hofstede, Corruption transparency index, and any conferences. You do not need to use academic journal articles for this report. There is no need to find business reports.
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For the international business case analysis, so the purpose of the assessment is to analyse if the industry would be suitable to operate in the selected “environment” country and to state if there are any connections to the Australian context, would that be correct?
It is best to review the purpose of the task as described in Assignment 1. You will be provided with the industry and the country. Your task "as an International Management Consultant (IMC) is to examine the suitability and viability of establishing a business in an international location.'
I was researching for some examples of an International business case analysis on the internet, however most came up with a case study. Is there a difference between the case study and the case analysis?
As per the question below, your task is to conduct an environmental analysis to provide your client with insight into the suitability of establishing a particular business (eg., mining) in a specified country.
Regarding the International business case analysis, I would like to confirm whether we are creating a business in the given industry in the chosen country.
No, you do not have to create a business
My chosen industry is XX and chosen country is YY, therefore do I create a business for the client who sells XX for instance …in YY, would that be correct?
A: Yes
The marking criteria indicate that I should compare Australia and the assigned country. Do I make this comparison across ALL environmental aspects of just when discussing culture?
A: If you are aiming for a HD, within each topic area you would make a statement about how this compares to Australia. E.g. "In contrast to the Australian political system...... " OR "Similar to Australia,...... "
How many references do I need? What sorts of references should I use?
A: You will be finding your material online- e.g. government websites (Austrade, DFAT, Europa, ASEAN and equivalent sites for your assigned country), PCW, World Bank, CIA World fact book, Hofstede, Corruption transparency index, and any conferences
You do not need to use academic journal articles for this report.
While there is no minimum number of resources required, I would suggest you use a variety of sources and at least 8-10. Some students use up to 20 sources for their country to give their client the best insight into the country and region.
You will be required to use appropriate sources for your information and reference these using APA or Harvard referencing style. Appropriate sources include scholarly articles, the media, and government, business or industry websites.
Am I looking at the general industry I was assigned?
You should create a specific business that operates within that industry. So if your client's industry is health, you may explore establishing a hospital, developing medicines, etc. You would FOCUS on only ONE organisation within that industry. Your client's business should NOT be based on a real-life organisation; you are to develop the idea.
Do I discuss the environmental aspects in general?
You will discuss and analyse the environmental aspects in general AND in the context of your chosen business (assigned industry).