International Business Challenges

2016-1 Challenges

Option 1: Real-life Business Challenges presented by X-Culture Partners

● Forcier Consulting, USA/Egypt/Somalia/Sudan/South Sudan – PDF Instructions  icon-download 
FAQ database   icon-download 
Services: Development program effectiveness assessment
Challenge: Business expansion to new locations in Africa, market research.
Forcier is already one of the biggest research companies operating in Africa and working with governmental and non-governmental development agencies such as the US Government, UNICEF, World Bank, Gallup Inc., UNESCO, Red Cross, and others. Although it already operates in more countries than most of its competitors, Forcier still covers only several of many African countries. It seeks help with developing a strategy for expanding into new markets, including suggestions for best ways to hire researchers in those markets, estimates for operating costs, review of cultural and legal challenges of conducting research in those countries.

● Innospark, Lithuania – PDF Instructions 
FAQ database  icon-download 
Product: Educational toys for children
Challenge: New market expansion, new product features, marketing and promotion strategy for the new market. The company is doing well in its domestic market and is ready to expand into new markets. It is seeking help with developing a market expansion strategy, including promising market identification, entry mode, cost-effective product promotion and marketing, and staffing decisions.

● Polaris Industries, USA/India – PDF Instructions  
FAQ database   
Product: ATVs, snowmobiles, motorcycles, electric utility vehicles.
Challenge: New market expansion, new product features, marketing and promotion strategy for the new market. The company is doing well in its domestic market and is ready to expand into new markets. It is seeking help with developing a market expansion strategy, including promising market identification, entry mode, cost-effective product promotion and marketing, and staffing decisions.

● Willowy, USA – PDF Instructions – PDF Instructions  
FAQ database   
Product: Silk breastfeeding covers
Challenge: New market expansion plan.
The company is doing well in its domestic market and is ready to expand into new markets. It is seeking help with developing a market expansion strategy, including identification of new promising markets, optimal market entry mode, cost-effective product promotion and marketing, and staffing decisions.

● Social Learning Solutions, USA – PDF Instructions – PDF Instructions  
FAQ database    (updated March 7)
Product: Mobius SLIP peer-to-peer learning platform
Challenge: New market expansion plan.
The company is doing well in its domestic market and is ready to expand into new markets. It is seeking help with developing a market expansion strategy, including identification of new promising markets, optimal market entry mode, cost-effective product promotion and marketing, and staffing decisions.


Option 2: Choose Another Company

You can choose any other company that seeks new markets and is interested in a market expansion strategy proposed by an X-Culture team. It can be any company – large or small – as long as you can complete the following steps by the Milestone 3 deadline:

1. Find a company that might be interested in your team’s new market entry plan. Your entire team must agree to develop a plan for the company.

2. Contact the CEO or a senior manager of the company, explain what X-Culture is and how it works, what your team will be doing, and confirm that they company is interested in working with your team.

3. Email the name, email address, and phone number of the senior manager to admin@X-Culture.org so we can contact the company and confirm their interest.

4. If a company senior manager confirms their interest, an X-Culture admin will work with the company and the team to develop a set of company-specific Challenge Instructions that will detail the questions and deadlines for your team.

5. Optional: For newly-added companies with especially interesting challenges, the challenge may be added to our mail challenge list and made available to other teams.

Please know if we cannot contact the company top management and confirm their interest in partnering with X-Culture, your team will NOT be approved for Option 2.

 

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