INTB2200 D01 INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT
Winter 2022 Final Exam Instructions
Comprehensive Review of Business Case
The Case
The case for the final exam is “Homeland Foods: The Sweet Fruit of Growth” (Ivey
Publishing production ID: 9B20A075). The easiest way to find the case is to type in the
Publication code 9B20A075 in the “Search” box at https://www.iveycases.com. Note that you
might have to register an account and then, of course, pay for the selected case. You will then be
able to download the case right away. Feel free to Google search for additional information about
the company and the industry (e.g., engineering services outsourcing market), as well as
anything you want to know about related countries/regions. Remember though that you will need
to cite sources of information at the end of your case report, in a separate page (any reasonable
format such as APA format is good for reference), for anything other than those mentioned in the
assigned exam case. You may use any proper format of reference such as APA style, including a
web access link if necessary. No citations are needed for information from the case and the
textbook, obviously, and you don’t have to create in-text references.
Instructions
We have included a total of thirteen chapters from the textbook in this course, some covering
more learning points than others. For the final exam, I would like you to identify 10-15 key
learning points or theories and apply them to the case assigned above by providing a
comprehensive review of the company’s international operations. These learning points should
reflect a reasonable balance across chapters, spanning a minimum of five chapters. For each
learning point, you need to identify it clearly with a short phrase (see examples below), and
indicate which chapter it comes from. Note that you are allowed to combine two points together
(still count as two) when presenting your analysis, whenever more efficient or appropriate.
It is up to you how much space you want to allocate to each point, or each combination of points.
Your analysis, however, should be put on a maximum of five pages, double-spaced, 12 point
Times New Roman font, one inch (2.54cm) margin on all sides. Any text beyond the fifth
page (other than cover page, tables, figures and references, if you choose to have any) will not be
graded. Please include your student ID in your file name. Late penalty will be applied as
indicated in the course syllabus.
To help you better structure your analysis, I would suggest you to focus on the following three
components under EACH section, whether you focus on one learning point in that section
or combine two points in that section.
First, you will identify one or two learning points clearly (label them by numbers 1, 2, 3, etc. so
the graders can easily track how many points you have identified and for which point(s) you are
analyzing the company in that section), and then use 1-2 short sentences to explain the focal
learning point (or points, if it is a combination of two), so people understand what it is from an
international management perspective.
Second, critique or comment on the company’s practices and operations with respect to that
particular learning point(s) that you have just identified. If the case does not have any
information about the company in that aspect and you cannot easily find information in external
search, please use this section to comment on common practices of firms in the same industry
with respect to that particular learning point(s). For example, how firms in, say, automobile
industry manage foreign subsidiaries in terms of international expatriates in general?
Third, provide brief recommendations for the firm as to what actions they need to engage in
along with the learning point(s) in order to become more competitive in terms of profits growth
or market growth or reduction of business risk. The recommended actions should be as specific
and clear as possible, not to propose broad recommendations such as going to more countries.
Please ensure you organize your learning points in separate paragraphs/sections, with subtitles if
that helps, so as to make it easier for the grader to track your thoughts and grade each point (or
each combination) separately. It will also be easier to quickly count how many points you have
identified and what they are exactly. Please note that, once you reach the minimum of 10
learning points, the number of points won’t matter much anymore; it is the quality of analysis
and writing that matters most after that. At the same time, never underestimate the importance of
having a clear structure in presentation. It is difficult to sore high if the grader cannot follow you
and does not understand well what you put up there.
To give you some ideas about the learning points and theories, they may include such things as
value chain, host country cultural/norm environment, firm internal resources and capabilities,
comparative national competitive advantage, location advantages, entry modes, strategic
alliance, multinational strategy, as well as multinational organizational structure and
international HR management.
If you still don’t grasp the idea, you may get some clues by looking into the learning objectives
in each unit or chapter. It is important to note that you may identify a very different list of points
or perspectives than these examples, as it is natural that people have different take-aways from
the same chapter or same case. However, highly generic terms, such as competitive advantage or
human resources management, won’t be acceptable as learning points, because those terms either
tell little about the nature of international management or don’t reflect underlying theories or
arguments, only suggesting broad topics. Some learning points you identify may not be very
relevant to the exam case and you may want to focus on those points that are more relevant so
you can develop recommendations that is required as one of the three components.
Deadline
Please submit your exam report to the designated folder on UMLearn before 10pm on April 30,
2022, CDT.
Good luck!
