Mohammed Shafiq Hanif 100134260 International Entrepreneurship 6GN502Vic Curtis Assignment 2 Individual Report Word count - 1498

Presentation The international entrepreneurship assignment one criteria, was to create an international market entry strategy for Curry on Cooking for entry into two new markets. The criteria of the assignment allowed for entry strategies to be created for one European Union (EU) country and one non EU country. Our team consisted of me Mohammed Shafiq Hanif, Sheraz Gill and Emily Jane Dix. Me and Sheraz were already familiar with each other as we had previously taken part in a similar group task together on two previous occasions, on the other hand both me and Sheraz had not worked with Emily before. As I was familiar with Bruce Tuckmans forming, storming, norming and performing model and Belbins team roles, I decided that taking a step back was the appropriate approach. The first stage was appointing a leader but this didnt happen as no one wanted to take the role, so our team became partially self directed but within the forming process Emily took on the responsibility and allocated tasks for me and Sheraz to do. I think my role within the group was team worker as I did whatever task Emily and Sheraz where struggling with but in general Emily took it upon herself to go the extra mile. As our group only consisted of three people and we got on really well, we missed out the storming and norming stages and went straight to performing, we did the majority of the work in one day as we had agreed to a time and a place to complete it. Our main objective was to create a market entry strategy for Curry on Cooking; this strategy had to help them expand into new markets along with expanding their target consumers. Also this strategy had to remain complimentary to their business strategy and still targeting their beloved British Expatriates in the new markets. This was done as a means to expand into a consumer base that they Curry on Cooking already familiar with whilst trying to expand their brand. In reflection this goal probably wasnt the best as we were trying to tick all the boxes leading to the objectives becoming muddied, and also lead to the presentation becoming over simplified as we tried to cram in as much information as possible. The majority of the theoretical frame works that were used were ones I have already used before and very familiar with, in this instance there was a slight variation in how they would be applied so the decision was made to exclude ones that would take up too much time to go through on our presentation. The initial frameworks that were used were the swot and tows, we though these would be appropriate for Curry on Cooking as it help them identify their strength, weaknesses, opportunities and threats and create strategies to best capitalise or minimise their strengths and weaknesses. We thought this would be appropriate for international entrepreneurship for the reason mentioned above. The second theoretical frame work that we used was segmentation, targeting and positioning (STP); we used this framework differently to how it would normally be used. Instead of finding a new target segment we identified their current consumer base and how Curry on Cooking targets and positions their products to reach British ex patriots. The decision was made to use this theoretical frame work due to our main objective of being complimentary to their current business strategy and to find their target consumers in the additional two countries. This frame work was appropriate for international entrepreneurship as it helps to identify a consumer segment, how to make strategies on how to serve the segment and how to position the products to best get the attention of the consumers. As international entrepreneurship involved taking a big financial risk and is time consuming this process help mitigate the risks involved, we used it more as a basic analysis for the purpose of making sure the additional countries had Curry on Cookings target segment and the means to distribute the products to them.

The third model that was used was the funnel model; this was used to identify the countries for expansion. This model was the most appropriate for international entrepreneurship as it helps us to sort through many countries to find the best ones for our objectives. Along with this we used the STP process and various criteria to sort through countries. My personal opinion for this model is that its helps international entrepreneurs choose the best business idea and concentrate on it and again it help the risk of choosing a weaker or irrelevant idea. One of the final ones used was Hofstedes cultural dimensions; this was used to identify social barriers but the countries selected and the countries that Curry on Cooking already operate in have similar social structures. This frame work would be very suited to international entrepreneurship as it helps identify social barriers to entry and provides more qualitative information on how to communicate with the targeted consume segment. The last frame works that were used are the 4cs and 4ps, both of these where chosen as we could not agree on which on was better. I though the 4cs was better as it suited Curry on Cooking business style better, to me the company seemed more informal and less bound to rigid business structure. These frame works are suited to international entrepreneurship as they help target the chosen consumer with the right product, right price and proper promotion. In closing I feel the presentation could have been a lot better if we concentrated on finding a new target segment and were not trying to tick all the boxes, the information would not have been watered down we could have used the frames works for better effect. Self reflection This is the third time I have studied an entrepreneurship module, the difference being this one labelled international entrepreneurship. Surprisingly there was relatively little information that was new to me. Also this had a good mix of marketing frame work which I have also studied twice previously; even the information that doesnt fit into these two categories of information I have previously studied in different modules. In summery for the majority of the information I was given, I had studied previously. My response to this was very negative as I stopped attending lectures and seminars, looking back now I have realised this was a mistake and I missed out on the activities the lecturer had prepared for the purpose of expanding my real world knowledge. Evaluation of frameworks and models The models and frameworks within this module are still very important and serve a specific purpose, the marketing based ones such as swot and tows are used for maximising opportunities and minimising weaknesses by helping to create strategies. The downside of these two frame works is that they are only as good as the information used in them; it can over simplify elements affecting or within an organisation, there is difficulty identifying elements that fit within the criteria and doesnt take into account aspects that are not under the organisations control such as tax and inflation etc. Other than these aspects as long as it is used with common sense and as a guide I dont see an issue with using it as a tool to aid in development. The marketing mix uses a combination of four elements that best meet the consumers needs but critics of the marketing mix mention that the model is fundamentally flawed and bias in favour of corrosive price promotion. And favours advertising cost efficiency over sales-growth effectives. Finally critics say the marketing mix only helps with first time purchases rather than repeat sales; repeat sales is what an organisation would want. This is one of the reasons we integrated the 4cs as we thought it would suit Curry on Cooking strategy better. Finally Hofstedes cultural dimensions is a cross cultural analysis tool, we used it to uncover social barriers that may have a negative effect on product promotion. There are many critiques of Hofstedes work such as; The method in which the dimensions where formed are not appropriate for cultural analysis His studies make the assumption that all people within the nation hold the same belief systems Culture is not bound by borders or nationalities The dimensions are too few and oversimplified Despite this information I think Hofstede is still relevant for the purposes a basic cultural analysis.

Conclusion In summery my time studying international entrepreneurship was of little benefit to me as I feel that most of the information was regurgitated from other modules. The one positive thing I learned was from Curry on Cookings product. Being of South Asian heritage I found her product to be a complete rip-off as one can purchase 1kg of curry powder for 7.99, but somehow the business works. This has given me the motivation to start my own EBay shop selling tradition oil based perfumes.

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