GROUP PROJECT

Worth 20% of final grade

Late Submission Policy

This assignment is subject to the Late Submission penalty policy, namely 5% per day for three days.

This page will close and will not allow further submissions after this Late Submission period has expired.

In the event of an emergency situation preventing you from submitting within this time frame, special permission must be obtained from your instructor. Documentation substantiating emergency is required. In such a circumstance, if the extension is granted, the professor will reopen the submission function for you on an individual basis.

Please do not email your submissions to your professor, either before or after the due date; all coursework should be submitted through the online course (Moodle).

Overview

This project will be developed in four parts. Each part will have some submission due each unit according to the schedule below. While only the final submission will be graded, failure to submit any part on-time will be reflected negatively in the grade:

Part 1 (by the end of Unit 3): Students will be assigned to a group, which will meet online and brainstorm a strategy (Ungraded)

Part 2 (Unit 5): Groups will submit a Learning Team Charter, which presents a breakdown of the project. This includes who is researching what, who is responsible for what in the packaging of the information, and a list of the researched sources (2%)

Part 3 (Unit 7): Groups will submit a draft of their information, but not their recommendations (3%)

Part 4 (Unit 9): Groups will submit their final package, including their recommendation about whether to enter the Chinese market or not, incorporating feedback from Parts 2-3. Groups must also complete a Peer Evaluation Form and submit with their final package. (15%)

Background Information

You have been asked by the President of Tim Hortons Inc. to provide a consulting (advisory) service. Tim Hortons is considering opening its line of restaurants in China and is looking for a feasibility study that will include macroeconomic analysis and estimates of market potentials for THI products.

There is a strong interest from investors in Hong Kong because there are a large number of Canadians in that state. Hong Kong, a former British colony, operates as an autonomous state but it is part of China. Opening THI restaurants in China can be considered as a two-stage process: (1) first open in Hong Kong and then (2) move into China.

Hot on the heels of the success (or perhaps trying to show you can improve upon a less-than-satisfying performance) of your first foray into the assessment of macroeconomic conditions of a country (i.e., your research essay), you have decided to join forces with three of your peers to take it to the next level. You have formed a small consulting company and are bidding on a major project with a major client - Tim Hortons Incorporated (THI).

THI has issued a challenge asking for recommendations on whether they should or should not strengthen their investment in one of the fastest-growing economies of the world: the People's Republic of China (China).

Project Main Task

Your team will consider the macroeconomic environment of China and its trends, and then examine the feasibility of establishing a formal presence for Tim Hortons within the boundaries of China. If you recommend that THI should enter this market, then you must also list the various steps that it should take to ensure its success. Should you recommend that the market is not suitable, then you must present a strong argument as to why.

As a further twist, your team will have some competition. Other teams will be given the same opportunity to prepare their recommendations on the same project using the same case study as a starting point, so you need to find a way to find, select, and package your information that will be the most engaging, creative, and persuasive. THI will hire the most convincing group to help them in the broader project.

Some Questions to Consider as you Approach Your Research

1. What is the state of the economy? And how does it have any bearing on your analysis? Collect the latest available data on nominal GDP, real GDP, per capita real GDP, unemployment rate, inflation rate, interest rates, exchange rate(s), and any other important macroeconomic data.

2. At what stage of the Business Cycle is China presently in? Is there an inflationary or recessionary gap?How is it important for your analysis?

3. What kind of fiscal and monetary policies is China following presently?Expansionary or contractionary?And how is it important for the THI?

4. How stable is the exchange rate in China? How is the stability of the exchange rate important for China?

5. How easy is the fund transferable to China?

6. What kind of fiscal and monetary policies is this country presently following?Expansionary or contractionary?

Required Materials

Review all the required chapters from the course textbook:

Textbook

University of Minnesota. (2016). Principles of macroeconomics. University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing. https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/principles-of-macroeconomics

Appendix B: Extensions of the Aggregate Expenditures Model

Article

Business journal databases from Yorkville U Library

Database

Data about the China economy is available from various reputable internet sources including the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Mundi, FRED, etc.