Country Project Report : FIJI
Students will conduct research on an assigned country and complete a report about the country including the following information:
Political environment
Political system (provide a score as well as information about the scale, state where the country lies on the continuum discussed in class, and justify your assessment with reasoning and additional information where relevant)
Political risk (provide a score – make sure it only relates to political risk and not other factors such as economic, financial, or legal risk)
Economic environment
Economic system (provide a score as well as information about the score, state where the country lies on the continuum discussed in class, and justify your assessment with reasoning)
Level of development (state the level of development using class terms, provide data on the indicators discussed in class, and use indicator data to justify your assessment)
Economic risk (suggest a risk level such as low, medium, or high given data on all the indicators of economic risk discussed in class, justifying the level of risk based on data)
Cultural environment
Cultural dimensions (provide scores for at least four dimensions and explain what these scores imply given the definitions of the dimensions)
Cultural norms (mention at least two norms related to business etiquette in the country)
Trade environment
Give examples of at least two trade barriers and/or government incentives for FDI in the country
State the main exports and imports in the country
State the main trading partners
Mention major bi- or multilateral trade agreements, including regional economic integration agreements if applicable
Assessment: based on your research, assess the international business environment in the country for a U.S. company
What are the main opportunities and challenges of conducting business in this country?
Would this be a good place for a U.S. company to enter? Why or why not?
This report should be 2-3 pages (excluding references and appendices of tables or figures; double-spaced in 11-12 point font, printed single sided, page numbered, error free, and stapled together). Please use headers and sub-headers for different sections and write the body of paper using full sentences.
Data should be used (and explained) to justify your points. If data is not clearly available, use the data you have found to try to glean information about the country. Use in-text citations for all points that are not your own, referencing appropriately in APA format. Please also use permalinks to reference database sources (see the country project resources webpage on Brightspace for more details).
Note that direct quotes suggest you do not understand the material and therefore should not be used or should be kept at a bare minimum – paraphrase points instead.
I strongly recommend using charts, figures, and the like to show relevant data. In this case, you can include appendices (labeled one per page) that are referenced in the text (e.g. “see Appendix 1”). Be sure to include in-text citations for the data in the appendix. These appendices do not count towards the page limit in the text.
Please submit the final version by the beginning of class on the day on which it is both as a hard copy (printed single sided in 11-12 point font and stapled together) and a soft copy submitted as either a Microsoft Word or .pdf file (the only file types supported by Brightspace) to the appropriate Turnitin.com link on Brightspace. A soft copy does not replace a hard copy, or vice versa. Both a hard and soft copy of the report must be submitted by the beginning of class on the day on the due date to receive credit.
Grading is based both on content (i.e. covering the appropriate material and demonstrating an ability to apply course concepts) as well as process (e.g. formatting, clear and logical organization, lack of spelling and grammatical errors, using APA format for in-text citations and references, and using permalinks for database references).
Recommended resources to research your country are posted on Brightspace under the “Country Project” module. I strongly recommend you view these. You may also find it helpful to communicate with Colleen Lougen, our School of Business library liaison, to find additional information. I also strongly recommend you visit the School of Business writing assistant (see the “Writing & Researching tips” folder under “Course Resources” in the Course Orientation module on Brightspace for more details).
Plagiarism is a serious, punishable offense. As discussed more in depth in the SUNY New Paltz’s Academic Integrity Policy (see the “Campus Policies” link in the syllabus), plagiarism refers claiming others’ work as your own, intentionally or unintentionally. This includes both directly quoted statements and any paraphrased information that does not properly cite the source. Each phrase or sentence that has ideas that are not your own should have an in-text citation and include quotes where needed to avoid plagiarism. If a paper is found to contain plagiarism, typically the student will receive a failing grade for the course for an initial offense and be expelled for a second offense. You should know how to properly cite material, by not only referring to the author(s) of the text whose ideas and information you are using, but also using quotation marks or indentations for direct quotes. If you have questions about how to properly reference, please see me.
To enable you to check your work for direct quote plagiarism, I am permitting you to check your assignments for direct quote plagiarism before the final deadline. You may submit them to the appropriate link in the “Country Project” folder on Brightspace. If you wish to overwrite older versions, these files must be sent from the same email address and have the same filename to avoid being considered plagiarized. The latest version before the due date will be used by the instructor to check for direct quote plagiarism. Note that Turnitin.com only checks direct quotes and does not cover lack of citations for paraphrased work; both are plagiarism issues. Both “direct” and “indirect” forms of plagiarism are plagiarism and will be penalized accordingly.
