INDIVIDUAL

ASSIGNMENT
2018

MARCH 11

INDIVIDUAL WRITTEN REPORT

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 INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT
Navigating Foreign Market Entry: The Vital Role of SME Managers
in Firm and Product Readiness

“The backbone of SMEs' success is not just their products or services,

but the leadership and vision of their managers”

SCENARIO
Engaging in the global marketplace through exporting is a popular choice for over 90 percent of firms,
especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), due to its relatively low commitment. However,
despite its allure, exporting poses significant challenges, particularly for newcomers or novice exporters
who often lack essential foreign market knowledge, data, and experience. The complexities of exporting
to countries with different business practices, languages, cultures, legal systems, and currencies can be
intimidating for SMEs.

Despite these obstacles, exporting is often seen as the easiest mode of entry into foreign markets, given
its myriad benefits. Yet, it is not without its hurdles. Statistics reveal that a staggering 60% of Malaysian
SMEs attempting to export fail, mainly due to insufficient export readiness. Additionally, many non-
exporter SMEs are hesitant to embrace exporting as a growth strategy due to perceived barriers. News of
SMEs struggling in various aspects is spiralling on social media. Such spiralling news on social media
can be seen as followed:

‘SMEs struggle to tap on demand in post-pandemic rebound’ – FreeMalaysiaToday (FMT)

‘SME Association says industry struggling to find skilled workers as underemployment increase’ –
MalayMail
‘Employment survey: Eight in 10 SMEs polled struggling to compete with multinationals in hiring
talent’ – MalayMail
'Half of Malaysia's SMEs not digitally ready' – NST
‘Facing unique challenges in the world of the SME’ – Gulf News

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Equipping exporters with awareness of potential challenges in international markets is crucial, as it fosters
both their mental and physical preparedness for success. By acknowledging and addressing these
challenges head-on, SMEs can navigate the global marketplace more effectively and unlock new growth
opportunities.

TAKS
Assuming you are currently employed as a senior manager at an SME with no prior experience in
international business, and the firm has ambitions to enter foreign markets. The owner of the firm has
assigned you the responsibility of assisting in achieving this goal. Specifically, you are tasked to conduct
comprehensive research and investigation into the barriers and challenges encountered by many SMEs
when attempting to penetrate foreign markets through exporting. Furthermore, you are expected to
propose mitigation strategies aimed at facilitating the firm in overcoming these barriers and challenges
effectively. Subsequently, you should facilitate the firm in developing strategic solutions tailored to
address each specific challenge. This involves incorporating approaches such as market segmentation,
localization strategies, strategic partnerships, cultural competency training, and leveraging digital
platforms for international marketing and distribution. Your ultimate objective is to equip the firm with
practical and actionable strategies to mitigate risks and enhance the chances of successful entry and
sustainable growth in foreign markets. This indicates that you should equip yourself as a senior manager
of the firm to ensure that you have the ability, knowledge, and skills to assist the firm to step into the
completely new environment.

WRITTEN REPORT GUIDELINES

For the final written report, please follow these guidelines.
1. Font: Times New Roman
2. Font Size: 12
3. Spacing: 1.5
4. Each question must be written using UPPERCASE LETTERS and BOLD.
5. Answers provided must be in LOWERCASE LETTERS.
6. Texts must be in JUSTIFY setting.
7. CITATIONS and REFERENCES of reference if there are any additional sources are referred to support
the answers.
8. APA STYLE of reference if there are any additional sources are referred to support the answers.
9. CAPTIONS INSERTION (examples are as below) if there are any:
10. There is no page number limitation.

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11. Table
It must be placed on top of the

Table 1: Country Description

Name Time Distance

XX BB TT
YY NN TT

12. Figure

Figure 1: Container Port

It must be placed at the bottom of the figure.

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13. Please provide cover page as follow:

ASSESSMENT 2

INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT
(WRITTEN REPORT)

‘Navigating Foreign Market Entry: The Vital Role of SME

Managers in Firm and Product Readiness’

By

SITI NUR’ AINA EDLYANA SH MOHAMAD IZWAN

998877

April 2024

14. Submission: SOFT COPY in the PDF form (Portal).