Oakland University
School of Business Administration
MIS 648
COUNTRY PRESENTATIONS AND REPORTS
Index:
Schedule (another webpage)
Structure and Content of the Report
Checklist for the Presentation
Specific Guidelines for Recommendations
This year, we will focus our attention on a set of emerging and potential "tigers" from various regions of the world: Africa, Latin America, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia and the Middle East. The focal countries will be Nigeria, Uganda, Venezuela, Mexico, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Vietnam, the Philippines, Turkey and Tunisia. Each group should look seriously at the influence each focal country has in its region. Each group should carefully contrast the situation in the large focal country with a larger or usefully different country in that region. For example, Mexico could be contrasted with the US; Vietnam could be contrasted with China; Tunesia, with Morocco(or Spain); Nigeria with another oil-producing country and the Czech Republic with Slovakia. These are only suggestions; groups may select their own contrasting countries. The point of looking at contrasting countries is to draw lessons about the focal countries: what is there about them that make them unique or interesting from an investment point of view?
Return to top
CIA Factbook:
http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html
Most countries have tourism websites and official government websites, too.
Below are some links that GOOGLE returns, but you will have to find your OWN
information on IT in each country. Click on ž
below, where specified, for country-specific pages in ISWORLD, an international
association of IS academics. These pages mostly link to sites of academic
interest. I've provided a link to a business etiquette website, but there
are many more.
Czech Republic http://www.czechcentrum.cz/
Mexico http://www.mexico-trade.com/table.html
Nigeria http://www.nigeriabusinessinfo.com/
Philippines http://bworldonline.com/BW090705/today.php
Turkey http://www.turkishembassy.org/businesseconomy/
Tunisia http://www.tunisie.com/BusinessInfo/
Uganda http://www.einnews.com/uganda/newsfeed-UgandaBusiness
Ukraine http://www.ukrainebiz.com/
Venezuela http://latinvestor.americaeconomia.com/country/venezuela.htm
Vietnam http://www.vietnamtrade.org/
Developing Countries in General ž
Business Etiquette G
Return to top
Structure and Content of the Report
In groups of three to five[1], you will produce a report (max. of 10 pp double spaced, exclusive of title page and bibliography) on IT investment possibilities in a country of your choice chosen from among a list posted on the course website. You will write a report detailing information about the country that would be relevant to those wishing to invest in, install technology in, outsource some aspect of technology-enabled business to, or move into IT markets within this country. The report itself is due towards the end of the course and will be made available to all course participants for their future reference and presumably economic enrichment. Each group will also make a maximum 45-minute presentation to the class on the country, focusing on those factors you believe to be relevant to IT investment activities. These presentations are to be done using PowerPoint (or equivalent) and must be emailed to Dr. Licker by the due date, to be posted on the course website. A schedule of presentation dates will be made available at the second class (see course timetable). Each presentation must include a one- or two-page summary/agenda to be handed out in class. Note that each group must also select a contrasting country (generally) within their focal country’s region and contrast the situation in that country with the focal country’s situation, so we can learn more about the region. Do not select a contrasting country that will also be or has also been a focal country!
The report may use any source of information you have at your disposal. Remember, however, that your sources must be cited and all of us in the class reserve the right to challenge you on your assumptions, your “data” and your conclusions. The paper and the presentation are in the service of answering this question:
What is the likelihood that investment in some aspect of the global IT supply and value chains would be profitable or successful for all of the parties participating in this investment in this country (and by extension, region)?
Central to this question are several factors:
1. Characteristics of the country itself (demographics, culture, sociology, geography, language, education, economics, politics, etc.) and its region
2. Characteristics of the IT industry in the country
3. Characteristics of the economy as it relates to the IT industry
4. Characteristics of the national business model(s) relevant to investment pertinent to the major question.
Please note that the four points above provide an excellent guide to organizing your presentations and papers.
You MUST refer to models mentioned or developed in this course to argue your points. This can only enhance the value of your report (and raise you higher in the esteem of the marker).
Return to top
Checklist for the Presentation
In order to make the presentation as interesting as possible for the class, please make sure you address at least something from each of the following categories for every country discussed. Remember that you are supporting your argument about investment, so don't mention things that don't relate to your arguments. For example, religion MIGHT be relevant or it might not be, but make sure it is relevant before discussing it. "General interest" is not what this presentation is about. Note: You must show us at least one English-language website and one non-English-language website from your target country during your presentation and say something about these websites (admittedly you might have difficulty with the non-English-language website!) and e-commerce in that country.
1Economic picture (examples: GDP, Gini, primary industries, trade, debt, etc.)
1Socio-cultural picture (examples: Language, social structures, politics, education, etc.)
1Physical picture (Geography, weather, location, topography, transportation)
1Basic demographics (age distribution, literacy, health, etc.)
1Technology scene (industry, training, penetration, teledensity)
1IT industry strengths and weaknesses (investment)
1E-commerce picture (Prevalence of websites, usage, examples of websites)
1IT industry producer characteristics
1IT industry consumer characteristics
1Sample of IT industries
1Business climate of country and region
1Potential business opportunities evaluated (some
aspect of the supply chain, for example, or some business sector).
1Why investing in this country would be different
from investing in the country you have chosen to contrast it with.
Return to top
Please limit your papers to 10 pages of text in the body, exclusive of title page, acknowledgements, bibliography, and supporting appendices. Text should be created in 12-point type, with 1" margins all around and page numbers. Some leeway is allowed. The basic principle is that the paper should be readable. ALL PAPERS ARE TO BE SUBMITTED ELECTRONICALLY (such as copyright or files too large. DO NOT SEND .ZIP files as our mail server will block these attachments -- rename the file extension to something else, such as *.TXT -- and let me know! -- if you have to zip your files).
Return to top
Specific Guidelines for Your Recommendations
In your paper and presentation, you are well advised to follow these suggestions if you want to have a good, critical paper making useful, credible recommendations for investment:
1. Every fact must tie in somehow to your recommendations
2. Each recommendation must be supported by facts, reasoning, expert opinion.
3. Your recommendations must apply at the individual business level rather than to the country or an industry as a whole. You can talk about the investment climate and the economic environment of the country, but this must apply to businesses.
4. You must make explicit arguments (rather than just present information and leave us to draw conclusions) showing how recommendations are the right ones because of facts (or data or general knowledge, etc.).
5. Using the models from the course is useful, but remember what these models are for. Some of them are useful only at the country level (sort of background); others apply at an industry level; still others apply to individual businesses or even business units or IT shops.
6. In addition to discussing only manufacturing (i.e., making things), please note that investment can be of at least FOUR types:
a. Sales or distribution offices (i.e., selling or distributing things made elsewhere)
b. Manufacturing (i.e., making things there for global consumption)
c. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI, i.e., buying into an existing business)
d. Outsourcing (i.e., including local firms in your company’s global supply chain).
A country might score well on one or more and poorly on the rest.
7. Your bibliography must cite all sources of information. Internet sources are useful, but not always trustworthy. Various economic development agencies issue regular reports on developing countries and you should have a look at these reports (UN, USAid, CIDA, World Bank, etc.)
A suggestion might take the form of this sentence:
"Country X would [/not] be a good place to [sell things/make things/buy into/outsource to] in the following kinds of things: [hardware / software / telcoms / teleservices / etc.]." Since this is a potentially long list, you should restrict yourself to the obvious winners and losers and then tell us why. If you do this according to the suggestions above, your paper will entertain, illuminate, provide wisdom and receive a very high grade.
This page was last updated on September 6, 2005.