Project 5: Creating an International Business Plan
Start Here

Before you begin Project 5, take two minutes to watch this course touchpoint video.

Scenario

You continue to provide promising global strategy advice for MediCorp, Inc. The company has been so pleased with your contributions to their strategic planning and development that they would like you to assist with a new endeavor. Leveraging their strength in manufacturing genetic testing devices, MediCorp now wants to diversify their offerings and expand within the field of medical devices. This is a large field that extends to a myriad of products. MediCorp has asked you to identify a medical device that the company can use as a vehicle for expanding into another country. Choose from the list of medical devices and countries provided and note your choice in the ‘Project 5: Choice of Medical Device and Country’ discussion area.

Choose a country as a location for MediCorp’s expansion and create an international business plan that guides the company’s operations in that country and grows MediCorp’s business within the selected device’s NAICS industry subsector. You will need to employ one of the strategy selections from your simulations in Projects 3 and 4 to develop a strategy that examines MediCorp’s potential customers, business operations, financial projections, and implementation metrics. As this client’s business grows, Maryland Creative Solutions CEO, Jillian Best, emphasizes that it is critical for you to provide clear and concise analysis in your reports to MediCorp. She remarks, “Success with these reports could mean big things for MCS as well as for each of you. Let’s finish strong.”

Introduction

Building on the lessons from your Capsim simulation and your analyses of MediCorp, Inc. in the global and local markets, you will now craft an international business plan that calls on you to devise a marketing strategy, develop financial projections, and create a strategy implementation plan for the company to market a new product in another country by relocating one or more activities from MediCorp’s value chain in the United States to your selected country.

You will have two weeks to develop your international business plan.

To get started, Click Step 1: Assess the Characteristics of MediCorp’s Potential Customers in the Selected Country.

Project 5: Creating an International Business Plan
Step 1: Assess the Characteristics of MediCorp’s Potential Customers in the Selected Country

Email

Subject: Marketing Plan
From: Jillian Best, CEO, MCS
To: You

Hi,

Let us continue crafting an international business plan for another country.

First, select a country from the list in the discussion area as a new market for MediCorp to expand into, and decide on a medical device from the list that MediCorp can use to drive expansion. To help with your analysis of the industry, you will need to identify the NAICS code for the industry subsector to which your selected device belongs. Then, begin to develop a six- to seven-page marketing strategy for MediCorp.

As you begin your marketing strategy for MediCorp, first analyze the characteristics of the company’s potential customers in the new market and address the international cultural differences.

I’ll send additional instructions shortly about how to analyze MediCorp’s own characteristics and how those characteristics will influence this marketing strategy.

Thanks for your hard work!

Jillian

When you have assessed the characteristics of MediCorp’s potential customers for your selected medical device in a country, continue to the next step, where you will work on expanding MediCorp’s product base in the selected country by accounting for MediCorp’s mode of entry.

Project 5: Creating an International Business Plan
Step 2: Develop a Marketing Strategy

Email

Subject: Marketing Strategy

From: Jillian Best, CEO, MCS

To: You

Now that we know more about MediCorp’s potential customers, we need to examine some key attributes of the company to adequately prepare it for international expansion.

Include the following components in your marketing strategy:

• selection of new medical device for MediCorp to introduce in the selected country
• MediCorp’s main competitors in your selected medical diagnostics devices industry in the selected country
• market and segment growth of your selected medical device over the next three years in your selected country.
• Where does MediCorp add value as a way of gaining a competitive edge?
• Recommendation of relocation of one or more activities from MediCorp’s value chain in the United States to your selected country, using Porter’s Value Chain analysis.
• the legal business entity to market the products in the country (review Modes of Entry for help)
• impact of the country’s legal, ethical, and cultural standards on MediCorp’s operations in the country (review Governance and Accountability for more information)

Jillian

By the end of Week 9, submit your six- to seven-page marketing strategy to the dropbox located in the final step of this project. (This milestone submission is optional, but useful if you would like feedback.) Your marketing strategy should include all components outlined in Step 1 and Step 2.

Then, continue to the next step, where you will consider the client’s financial projections and the accounting standards in the selected country.

Project 5: Creating an International Business Plan
Step 3: Make Financial Projections in the Selected Country

As you continue to work on your international business plan prepare market share estimates for MediCorp’s medical device in the selected country and revenue forecasts for the next three years.

This analysis will form a portion of your final international business plan. In the next step, you’ll examine another element of the business plan, strategy implementation.

Project 5: Creating an International Business Plan
Step 4: Prepare Strategy Implementation Plan

The next step is to specify the major factors to be tracked for strategy implementation using the four perspectives of the balanced scorecard: the learning and growth perspective, business process perspective, customer perspective, and financial perspective.

Next, you will combine your marketing strategy and your financial, governance, and implementation analysis into a final report.

Project 5: Creating an International Business Plan
Step 5: Complete Your Final Business Plan

INBOX: 1 New Message

Subject: Final Business Plan

From: Jillian Best, CEO, MCS

To: You

It’s been a pleasure working with you on this project. I’m looking forward to seeing the final deliverables.

The international business plan should be 10–12 pages, excluding cover page, executive summary, reference list, and appendices. Any tables, graphs, and figures should be included as appendices. Your plan should have one-inch margins and be double spaced in 12-point Times New Roman font. In-text citations and references should abide by APA format. The plan should be organized using headings and subheadings to improve its readability.

Your final international business plan should include the components outlined in the international business plan template.

Congrats!

Jillian

Your final international business plan should include key findings from your marketing strategy (Steps 1–2) and financial projections and strategy implementation (Steps 3–4). It should also include an executive summary

Submit your final business plan to the dropbox located in the final step of this project. Then proceed to the next step.

Project 5: Creating an International Business Plan
Step 6: Complete Skills Gap Analysis

As you push through your final report deliverables, you are contacted by your MCS leadership coach, Rebecca Sterling.

INBOX: 1 New Message

Subject: Skills Gap Analysis
From: Rebecca Sterling, Life & Leadership Coach
To: You

I hope you are well,

I’m reaching out to let you know that MCS’ Human Resources department is conducting a post-project self-evaluation of your skills. Using the same skills gap analysis file that you completed in Week 1, please self-evaluate your own project-related knowledge and skills accounting for you growth during your tenure within our organization.

The skills gap analysis will help you identify the skill areas you have enhanced by completing your recent assignments and will reflect any changes in the way you see the importance of those skills to your career success.

Thank you for your attention to this request. Looking forward to hearing of your progress. I’m sure you’ll be surprised by your how far you’ve come.

Sincerely,

Becca

Select the Project 5 worksheet in the bottom left of the skills gap analysis file you used in Project 1. After completing your self-evaluation, take the time to deeply assess your progress by writing a 400- to 500-word reflection that describes two to three gaps you worked to reduce over the past 10 weeks and discusses whether and how much you improved. Also think back on the learning activities you pursued to help you develop course competencies.

By the end of Week 10, submit your final skills gap analysis to the submission dropbox located in the final step of this project.

Project 5: Creating an International Business Plan
Step 7: Complete Leadership Development Plan

INBOX: 1 New Message

Subject: LDP
From: Rebecca Sterling, Life & Leadership Coach
To: You

Hi again,

Looking ahead, it is useful to continually reflect on your leadership goals, the ground you have covered to accomplish them, and the steps you still must take.

In a final measure to assist you with your career objectives, please fill out the attached leadership development plan (LDP) template. This document captures your career goals and skill development needs and asks you to consider your personal impact on your organization’s performance.

Thanks in advance for completing and submitting this LDP. I believe it will be a useful tool for you as you move forward with your career.

Sincerely,

Becca

Attachments:

Leadership Development Plan

Submit your leadership development plan to the dropbox located in the final step of this project. Satisfactory completion of both the skills gap analysis and leadership development plan are required to pass this project.