Outsourcing Manufacturing: Country Selection for Computer Components

QSO 321 Module Five Assignment Guidelines and Rubric

Overview

As globalization has become increasingly common, so has the importance of analyzing opportunities to create value through outsourcing the supply chain. In this assignment, you will create a checklist to help determine which country might be the best location for parts of your organization’s supply chain.

Scenario

You are a consultant who specializes in helping U.S.-based businesses expand into new international locations. You have a new client who is looking to outsource their company’s manufacturing of hard drives and computer memory. It is your job to assist in selecting the new locations. The company is extremely focused on quality, sustainability, and equality, and your client would like these attributes upheld in the new manufacturing locations.

Your task is to evaluate two of the following countries:

• India
• Mexico
• Thailand

Then recommend one country that you believe would be the most suitable for the company’s new manufacturing facility and one country that you consider the least suitable.

Directions

Evaluate both countries being considered for a new manufacturing facility through exploration of course and outside resources. Then, recommend the most and least suitable location based on the company’s attributes and requirements.

Specifically, you must address the following rubric criteria:

• Sustainability Measures and Environmental Regulation: Describe sustainability measures and regulations in each country and analyze how they may work well with or create conflict or tension with your U.S.-based company.
  • Consider examples such as regulations around pollution, water, and power sources.
• Cost and Workforce: Briefly describe each country’s workforce for the creation of computer components and the cost of that labor.
  • Consider examples such as workforce education levels, the overall cost of labor, types of manufacturing available in the country, and the existence of a specialized workforce that can create computer components.
• Government Regulation: Briefly describe the overall regulatory environment of each country. Take the most likely mode of entry into consideration for each country.
  • Consider examples such as the types of manufacturing operations allowed in the country, the labor regulations, and the overall business regulations.
• Intellectual Property: Briefly describe the risk of intellectual property being stolen by creating a manufacturing location in each country.
  • Consider examples such as each country’s reputation when it comes to intellectual property, intellectual property regulations, and any other legal protections for intellectual property.
• Reputation: Briefly describe the ways an organization can face reputational risk through outsourcing its manufacturing to each country.
  • Consider examples such as if and why other organizations have closed manufacturing locations in each country, how your organization’s customer base will view manufacturing in each country, and the protections each country provides to its workforce and the environment.
• Recommendations: Based on your evaluations of the key attributes and requirements, recommend one country that is the most suitable location for your client’s new manufacturing facility, and one country that would be the least suitable location. Support your recommendations with evidence from your evaluations and the course resources.

What to Submit

Submit this assignment as a 500- to 750-word Microsoft Word document. Sources should be cited according to APA style.

Module Five Assignment Rubric

CriteriaExceeds Expectations (100%)Meets Expectations (85%)Partially Meets Expectations (55%)Does Not Meet Expectations (0%)ValueSustainability Measures and Environmental RegulationExceeds expectations in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative mannerDescribes sustainability measures and regulations in each country and analyzes how they may work well with or create conflict or tension between the U.S.-based companyShows progress toward meeting expectations, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include providing further analysis of noted sustainability measures and regulations in relation to the scenario or providing more examples of sustainability measures and regulations as part of the analysisDoes not attempt criterion15Cost and WorkforceExceeds expectations in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative mannerBriefly describes each country’s workforce for the creation of computer components and the cost of that laborShows progress toward meeting expectations, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include providing a more detailed description of each country’s workforceDoes not attempt criterion15Government RegulationExceeds expectations in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative mannerBriefly describes the overall regulatory environment of each country, taking the most likely mode of entry into consideration for each countryShows progress toward meeting expectations, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include providing additional information about each country’s regulatory environment or most likely mode of entryDoes not attempt criterion15Intellectual PropertyExceeds expectations in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative mannerBriefly describes the risk of intellectual property theft that may occur from creating a manufacturing location in each countryShows progress toward meeting expectations, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include more accurately estimating the risk intellectual property theft from each countryDoes not attempt criterion15ReputationExceeds expectations in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative mannerBriefly describes the ways an organization can face reputational risk through outsourcing its manufacturing to each countryShows progress toward meeting expectations, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include providing better or more examples of the reputational risk relevant for each countryDoes not attempt criterion15RecommendationsExceeds expectations in an exceptionally clear, insightful, sophisticated, or creative mannerRecommends one country as the most suitable location for the client’s new manufacturing facility and one country as the least suitable, supporting each recommendation with evidence from the assignment evaluations and the course resourcesShows progress toward meeting expectations, but with errors or omissions; areas for improvement may include providing a stronger supporting rationale for the recommendations or incorporating more relevant evidence into the recommendationsDoes not attempt criterion15Clear CommunicationExceeds expectations with an intentional use of language that promotes a thorough understandingConsistently and effectively communicates in an organized way to a specific audienceShows progress toward meeting expectations, but communication is inconsistent or ineffective in a way that negatively impacts understandingShows no evidence of consistent, effective, or organized communication5Citations and AttributionsUses citations for ideas requiring attribution, with few or no minor errorsUses citations for ideas requiring attribution, with consistent minor errorsUses citations for ideas requiring attribution, with major errorsDoes not use citations for ideas requiring attribution5Total:100%

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Struggling with where to start this assignment? Follow this guide to tackle your assignment easily!

Step-by-Step Guide: Structuring and Writing Your Country Evaluation for Outsourcing Manufacturing

Step 1: Understand the Assignment and Scenario

• Carefully read the scenario: you are a consultant advising a U.S.-based company on selecting a manufacturing location for hard drives and computer memory.

• Note the company’s key priorities: quality, sustainability, and equality.

• Identify the countries you are evaluating (India, Mexico, Thailand). You will select one as most suitable and one as least suitable.

Step 2: Create an Evaluation Framework

• Use the rubric as a checklist for your analysis.

• Include the following categories for each country:

  1. Sustainability Measures and Environmental Regulation

  2. Cost and Workforce

  3. Government Regulation

  4. Intellectual Property (IP) Protection

  5. Reputation

Step 3: Research Each Category for Each Country

• Sustainability Measures and Environmental Regulation: Look for laws on pollution, energy sources, water usage, and waste management. Note potential conflicts or alignment with your client’s sustainability goals.

• Cost and Workforce: Find labor costs, workforce skill levels, availability of specialized workers, and manufacturing capacity. Highlight how this affects the client’s priorities for quality and equality.

• Government Regulation: Investigate business regulations, labor laws, and manufacturing restrictions. Consider how the most likely mode of entry (e.g., joint venture, wholly owned subsidiary) will be affected.

• Intellectual Property: Assess risks for IP theft or infringement. Include laws, enforcement reliability, and past incidents.

• Reputation: Consider public perception of outsourcing to this country, workforce protections, environmental compliance, and historical company experiences.

Step 4: Analyze and Compare Countries

• Organize your research into a table or checklist for easy comparison.

• Highlight strengths and weaknesses of each country in each category.

• Include evidence and references from your research and course materials.

Step 5: Make Recommendations

• Based on your analysis, recommend:

  • Most suitable country: Explain why it aligns with quality, sustainability, and equality priorities. Use evidence from your evaluation.

  • Least suitable country: Explain limitations or risks. Highlight potential conflicts with company values or operational challenges.

Step 6: Write Your Paper

• Structure your Word document:

  1. Introduction (1 paragraph): Explain the purpose of the assignment and the company’s goals.

  2. Country Evaluations (2-3 paragraphs per country): Discuss each category using research. Include comparisons where appropriate.

  3. Recommendations (1-2 paragraphs): Clearly state your most and least suitable countries, supported by your analysis.

  4. Conclusion (1 paragraph): Summarize findings and reaffirm your recommendations.

• Keep the word count between 500–750 words.

Step 7: Cite Sources

• Include APA-style in-text citations for all data and sources.

• Include a reference list at the end. Use credible sources such as government websites, industry reports, and academic articles.

Step 8: Review and Edit

• Ensure clarity, flow, and professional tone.

• Double-check alignment with rubric criteria to maximize your score.

• Verify APA formatting and correct any citation errors.

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