Fluent Essays

The Global Partner Summary assignment is a continuation of the Partner Resource Exploration discussion forum. You are to analyze the data you have collected on your New International Venture final paper thus far, and complete the follow steps: · Provide a two-to-four-paragraph summary of your international venture idea (for the New International Venture Final Paper in Week 6). Include an analysis of how you will utilize the host country resource partner for this paper. The resource partner is the person you contacted in the Partner Resource Exploration discussion forum. · Create a one-page formal outline of your New International Venture final paper. You may view this tutorial  Formal Outline  (Links to an external site.)  for help in creating an outline. Other additional resources you may use are  Getting Started With Mergent (Links to an external site.)  and  Business Insights: Global (Links to an external site.) . · Provide two to three SMART objectives or goals of the New International Venture final paper business venture. In your paper, · Summarize your international venture idea (for the New International Venture final paper). · Analyze how you will utilize the host country resource partner for the final paper. · Create a one-page formal outline of your final paper. · Create two to three SMART objectives or goals for the Final Paper business venture. The Global Partner Summary paper · Must be 400 to 500 words in length (not including title and references pages) and formatted according to APA Style as outlined in the Writing Center’s  APA Style (Links to an external site.)  resource. · Must include a separate title page with the following: · Title of paper · Student’s name · Course name and number · Instructor’s name · Date submitted For further assistance with the formatting and the title page, refer to  APA Formatting for Microsoft Word (Links to an external site.) . · Must utilize academic voice. See the  Academic Voice (Links to an external site.)  resource for additional guidance. · Must include an introduction and conclusion paragraph. Your introduction paragraph needs to end with a clear thesis statement that indicates the purpose of your paper. · For assistance on writing  Introductions & Conclusions (Links to an external site.)  as well as  Writing a Thesis Statement (Links to an external site.) , refer to the Writing Center resources. · Must use at least two recent credible sources in addition to the course text. · The  Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.)  table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a particular assignment. · To assist you in completing the research required for this assignment, view this  Quick and Easy Library Research (Links to an external site.)  tutorial, which introduces the University of Arizona Global Campus Library and the research process, and provides some library search tips. · Must document any information used from sources in APA Style as outlined in the Writing Center’s  APA: Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.)  guide. · Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA Style as outlined in the Writing Center. See the  APA: Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.)  resource in the Writing Center for specifications. Chapter 1 Globalizing Business21Founded in 1892, Coca-Cola first entered Africa in 1929. While Africa had always been viewed as a “back-water,” it has recently emerged as a major growth market commanding strategic attention. Of the US$27 billion that Coca-Cola would invest in emerging econo-mies between 2010 and 2020, US$12 billion will be used to beef up the plants and distribution facilities in Africa. Why does Coca-Cola show such a strong inter-est in a “deep dive” in Africa? Both the push and pull effects are at work.The push comes from the necessity to find new sources of growth for this mature firm, which has prom-ised investors of 7\% to 9\% earnings growth. In 1998, its stock reached a high-water mark at US$88. But it dropped to US$37 in 2003. Since 2004, the share price has rallied again, rising from US$43 to a new peak of US$90 in November 2014 (adjusted for a 2:1 share split in 2012). Can Coca-Cola’s stock reach higher? Its home markets are unlikely to help. Between 2006 and 2011, US sales declined for five consecu-tive years. Further, health advocates accused Coca-Cola of contributing to an epidemic of obesity in the United States and proposed to tax soft drinks to pay for health care. While Coca-Cola defeated the tax ini-tiative, it is fair to say that the room for growth at home is limited. In Europe and Japan, sales are simi-larly flat. Elsewhere, in China, strong local rivals have made it tough for Coca-Cola to break out. Its acquisi-tion of a leading local fruit juice firm was blocked by the government, which did not seem to bless Coca-Cola’s further growth. In India, Pepsi is so popular that “Pepsi” has become the Hindi shorthand for all bottled soft drinks (including Coke!). In Latin America, sales are encouraging, but growth may be limited. Mexicans, on average, are already guzzling 665 serv-ings of Coca-Cola products every year, the highest in the world. There is only so much sugary water one can drink every day. In contrast, Coca-Cola is pulled by Africa, where it has a commanding 29\% market share versus Pepsi’s 15\%. With 65,000 employees and 160 plants, Coca-Cola is Africa’s largest private-sector employer. Yet, annual per capita consumption of Coca-Cola products is only 39 servings in Kenya. For the continent as a whole, disposable income is growing. In 2014, 100 million Africans earned at least US$5,000 per person. While Africa indeed has some of the poorest countries in the world, 12 African countries (with a combined population of 100 million) have a GDP per capita that is greater than China’s. Coca-Cola is hoping to capital-ize on Africa’s improved political stability and physical infrastructure. Countries not fighting civil wars make Coke’s operations less disruptive, and new roads pen-etrating the jungle can obviously elevate sales. Coca-Cola is already in all African countries. The challenge now, according to chairman and CEO Muhtar Kent,will be to deep dive into “every town, every village, every township.” This will not be easy. War, poverty, and poor infrastructure make it extremely difficult to distribute and market products in hard-to-access regions. Undaunted, Coca-Cola is in a street-by-street campaign to increase awareness and consumption of its products. The crowds and the poor roads dictate that some of the deliveries have to be done manually on pushcarts or trolleys. Through-out the continent, Coca-Cola has set up 3,000 Manual Distribution Centers. Taking a page from its playbook in Latin America, especially Mexico, Coca-Cola has aggressively courted small corner stores. Coca-Cola and its bottlers offer small corner store owners deliv-ery, credit, and direct coaching—ranging from the tip not to ice down the Cokes until the midday rush to save electricity, to helping on how to buy a house after vendors make enough money. In Africa, US-style accusations of Coca-Cola’s alleged contribution to the obesity problem areChapter 1 Globalizing Business21Founded in 1892, Coca-Cola first entered Africa in 1929. While Africa had always been viewed as a “back-water,” it has recently emerged as a major growth market commanding strategic attention. Of the US$27 billion that Coca-Cola would invest in emerging econo-mies between 2010 and 2020, US$12 billion will be used to beef up the plants and distribution facilities in Africa. Why does Coca-Cola show such a strong inter-est in a “deep dive” in Africa? Both the push and pull effects are at work.The push comes from the necessity to find new sources of growth for this mature firm, which has prom-ised investors of 7\% to 9\% earnings growth. In 1998, its stock reached a high-water mark at US$88. But it dropped to US$37 in 2003. Since 2004, the share price has rallied again, rising from US$43 to a new peak of US$90 in November 2014 (adjusted for a 2:1 share split in 2012). Can Coca-Cola’s stock reach higher? Its home markets are unlikely to help. Between 2006 and 2011, US sales declined for five consecu-tive years. Further, health advocates accused Coca-Cola of contributing to an epidemic of obesity in the United States and proposed to tax soft drinks to pay for health care. While Coca-Cola defeated the tax ini-tiative, it is fair to say that the room for growth at home is limited. In Europe and Japan, sales are simi-larly flat. Elsewhere, in China, strong local rivals have made it tough for Coca-Cola to break out. Its acquisi-tion of a leading local fruit juice firm was blocked by the government, which did not seem to bless Coca-Cola’s further growth. In India, Pepsi is so popular that “Pepsi” has become the Hindi shorthand for all bottled soft drinks (including Coke!). In Latin America, sales are encouraging, but growth may be limited. Mexicans, on average, are already guzzling 665 serv-ings of Coca-Cola products every year, the highest in the world. There is only so much sugary water one can drink every day. In contrast, Coca-Cola is pulled by Africa, where it has a commanding 29\% market share versus Pepsi’s 15\%. With 65,000 employees and 160 plants, Coca-Cola is Africa’s largest private-sector employer. Yet, annual per capita consumption of Coca-Cola products is only 39 servings in Kenya. For the continent as a whole, disposable income is growing. In 2014, 100 million Africans earned at least US$5,000 per person. While Africa indeed has some of the poorest countries in the world, 12 African countries (with a combined population of 100 million) have a GDP per capita that is greater than China’s. Coca-Cola is hoping to capital-ize on Africa’s improved political stability and physical infrastructure. Countries not fighting civil wars make Coke’s operations less disruptive, and new roads pen-etrating the jungle can obviously elevate sales. Coca-Cola is already in all African countries. The challenge now, according to chairman and CEO Muhtar Kent,will be to deep dive into “every town, every village, every township.” This will not be easy. War, poverty, and poor infrastructure make it extremely difficult to distribute and market products in hard-to-access regions. Undaunted, Coca-Cola is in a street-by-street campaign to increase awareness and consumption of its products. The crowds and the poor roads dictate that some of the deliveries have to be done manually on pushcarts or trolleys. Through-out the continent, Coca-Cola has set up 3,000 Manual Distribution Centers. Taking a page from its playbook in Latin America, especially Mexico, Coca-Cola has aggressively courted small corner stores. Coca-Cola and its bottlers offer small corner store owners deliv-ery, credit, and direct coaching—ranging from the tip not to ice down the Cokes until the midday rush to save electricity, to helping on how to buy a house after vendors make enough money. In Africa, US-style accusations of Coca-Cola’s alleged contribution to the obesity problem are SMART Objectives Developing SMART Objectives One way to develop well-written objectives is to use the SMART approach. Developing specific, measurable objectives requires time, orderly thinking, and a clear picture of the results expected from program activities. The more specific your objectives are, the easier it will be to demonstrate success. SMART stands for Specific Measurable Attainable/Achievable Relevant Time bound Specific—What exactly are we going to do for whom? The “specific” part of an objective tells us what will change for whom in concrete terms. It identifies the population or setting, and specific actions that will result. In some cases it is appropriate to indicate how the change will be implemented (e.g., through training). Coordinate, partner, support, facilitate, and enhance are not good verbs to use in objectives because they are vague and difficult to measure. On the other hand, verbs such as provide, train, publish, increase, decrease, schedule, or purchase indicate clearly what will be done. Measurable—Is it quantifiable and can WE measure it? Measurable implies the ability to count or otherwise quantify an activity or its results. It also means that the source of and mechanism for collecting measurement data are identified, and that collection of these data is feasible for your program or partners. A baseline measurement is required to document change (e.g., to measure percentage increase or decrease). If the baseline is unknown or will be measured as a first activity step, that should be indicated in the objective as “baseline to be determined using XXX database, 20XX.” The data source you are using and the year the baseline was obtained should always be specified in your objective statement. If a specific measurement instrument is used, you might want to incorporate its use into the objective. Another important consideration is whether change can be measured in a meaningful and interpretable way given the accuracy of the measurement tool and method. Attainable/Achievable—Can we get it done in the proposed time frame with the resources and support we have available? The objective must be feasible with the available resources, appropriately limited in scope, and within the program’s control and influence. Sometimes, specifying an expected level of change can be tricky. To help identify a target, talk with an epidemiologist, look at historical trends, read reports or articles published in the scientific or other literature, look at national expectations for change, and look at programs with similar objectives. Consult with partners or stakeholders about their experiences. Often, talking to others who have implemented similar programs or interventions can provide you with information about expected change. In some situations, it is more important to consider the percentage of change as a number of people when discussing impact. Will the effort required to create the amount of change be a good use of your limited resources? Relevant—Will this objective have an effect on the desired goal or strategy? Relevant relates to the relationship between the objective and the overall goals of the program or purpose of the intervention. Evidence of relevancy can come from a literature review, best practices, or your theory of change. Time bound—When will this objective be accomplished? A specified and reasonable time frame should be incorporated into the objective statement. This should take into consideration the environment in which the change must be achieved, the scope of the change expected, and how it fits into the overall work plan. It could be indicated as “By December 2010, the program will” or “Within 6 months of receiving the grant,...” Using SMART Objectives Writing SMART objectives also helps you to think about and identify elements of the evaluation plan and measurement, namely indicators and performance measures. An indicator is what you will measure to obtain observable evidence of accomplishments, changes made, or progress achieved. Indicators describe the type of data you will need to answer your evaluation questions. A SMART objective often tells you what you will measure. A performance measure is the amount of change or progress achieved toward a specific goal or objective. SMART objectives can serve as your performance measures because they provide the specific information needed to identify expected results. Getting Started To develop SMART objectives, use the template below and fill in the blanks: By_____/_____/_____, ___________________________________________________ [WHEN—Time bound] [WHO/WHAT—Specific] from _____________________ to __________________________________________ [MEASURE (number, rate, percentage of change and baseline)—Measurable] Adapted from http://www.cdc.gov/dhdsp/state_program/evaluation_guides/pdfs/smart_objectives.pdf