Lecture I
Guidelines for Case Write-ups
and Final Projects
General Guidelines for the
Case Write-up
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Executive Summary (limit it to one page)
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Background Analysis
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Industry Analysis / Global Competitive Environment
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Company’s Administrative Heritage / SWOT Analysis
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Issue(s) – Problem Statement
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Decision Alternatives
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Recommendation
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Implementation
(Font size –12, double-spaced, 15 page limit,
excluding appendices
Some notes on Implementations
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Action plans and short-term objectives
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·
Evaluation and Control (1 page)
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Performance measurements (critical
success factors)
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Update (if identifiable company)
Group Case Evaluation
Oral Presentation (60 points)
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Coordination
Issue(s)
Presentation
Monitoring of the Class Discussion
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Written Report (100 points)
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Organization / Structure
Research
Analysis
Proposed Resolution
MBA 270 Projects - 1
Choose a company – Intel, Motorola,
Toyota,Yahoo,Google..(subject to instructor’s
approval)
Part I.
- History/Background
- Internationalization ( basic data)
- International Expansion Strategies ( see Lec.#2 – slides 18 and
19)
- Core Competency ( may have evolved over time)
MBA 270 Projects - 2
Part II
Analysis (then and now)
Essential points to be covered

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Strategic orientation/mentality/administrative heritage
Company’s structure of its international
operations/organizational configuration
Control and coordination (HQ-Subsidiaries relationships,
control approach, mechanisms of coordination and control)
Evaluation and Update
Final Project Evaluation
Oral Presentation Coordination
Presentation
Monitoring of Class Discussions
Written Report
Organization/Structure
Research
Analysis
Sample Midterm essays from the past
( 3 slides – 1)
DFIs from developed nations have been shifting among
different markets in recent years. Analyze this
phenomenon from (1) the driving forces, limitations,
and countervailing forces of MNCs’ globalization, and
(2) the changing international political and economic
environment in the 90’s.
Changing Trading Partners -2
Trade Theory, Theory of Comparative
Advantage…
Theories: Countries differ in climate, factor
endowment, innovative capabilities,………
Actual trade patterns: similar/industrialized
countries
History - 3
V. Reitman, “US Firms Turn to the Developing World”, WSJ, A2. 8-493
R. L. Hudson, and J. S. Lublin, “Power at the Multinationals Shifts to
Home Office”, WSJ, B1, 9-9-94
WSJ, 9-25-96 ……”Total DFI/95, $315 billion, up 40%, 90% of this
increase could be attributed to MNCs from the developed
countries to the developed world…..1/3 of the 100 largest MNCs
are US companies………most important DFI location for US MNCs
– Europe…)
Go to Paul Krugman’s web-page.
(http://web.mit.edu/krugman/www/ )
Sample Midterm Essay
Midterm, Fall 2002
Take-home essay (40 points) Pertaining to
the issues complicating the structuring of
multinational companies' organizations (slides
#2 and #3 of Lecture Notes No. 4), use a
company as an example and discuss how
it could be re-structured to develop these
capabilities accordingly.
Sample midterm essay - new
Samual Palmisano argues that the old
concept of MNE is outdated ( Foreign Affairs,
2006). Use Bartlett and Ghoshal’s
organizational topology to discuss how their
transnational management model has
successfully projected the evolution of crossborder management in the past ten years.
Recognize a few names
(look for their publications in the past 3 years)
Thomas Friedman
Joseph Stiglitz
Samuel Huntington
Francis Fukuyama
Neill Ferguson
Thomas Barnett