Business Project Management: A Joint Venture Case Study

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Managing a Successful Business Project
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Executive Summary
The project starts with the project plan, which has provided a brief idea of entire project and
the topic of the research as well. In the part, the aims and objectives have been formulated
along with forming the budget, allocation of resources, identification of scope and limitations
of the project. In addition to this, the plan has highlighted the risks and timescale of the
project. After the plan is prepared, the research project has been prepared. In the research
project, a brief introduction of the topic has been provided along with the rationale. The
relevant literature has been reviewed and gaps has been identified. After the review of
literature, primary quantitative method has been used to collect data through surveying the
employees of Green Tree Inn. After the data has been analysed, the conclusion and
recommendations have been provided.
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Table of Contents
Task 1: Project Plan...................................................................................................................4
Task 2: Research Report............................................................................................................8
Reference List..........................................................................................................................25
Appendix..................................................................................................................................27
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Task 1: Project Plan
1. A brief explanation of the proposed topic and why you have chosen it
Joint Venturing is the most significant way of entering international markets. With the
advent of globalisation, the businesses are more inclined towards expansion and generating
more profits and increasing their productivity. Hence, the common and suitable way of
entering the international markets is through joint business venturing. Joint business
venturing is defined as the contract between two organisations, which proposes to work
collaboratively towards the same goals in order to achieve mutual benefits for the
organisations (Tsang and Yamanoi, 2016). The topic for this research project is identification
of risks and benefits of joint business venturing in order to enter the international markets.
The hotel chain Green Tree Inn in China desires to expand in United Kingdom and forms
joint venture with renowned hotel chain in UK. Since, Green Tree Inn is regarded as the
leading hotel chain in China with good customers and strong market share. It is planning to
enter the international market forming joint venturing. UK economy is quite stable, which
provides suitable business environment for the new businesses to grow and expand.
Therefore, the Green Tree Inn proposes joint venturing for its international expansion.
2. An aim and objectives for your proposed research
Research aims
The aim of the proposed research is to understand and identify the risks and benefits of joint
business venturing to enter the international markets
Research objectives
The objectives of this research are as follows:
 To understand the aspects of joint venturing of organisations to expand in the
international market
 To identify the benefits of joint venturing in context to Green Tree Inn to expand in
the UK market
 To identify the risks of joint venturing faced by Green Tree In to expand in the UK
market
 To recommend ways to mitigate the risks and challenges of joint venturing faced by
Green Tree Inn
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3. A brief discussion of the scope and limitations of the project
Scope of the research
 Included scope: The proposed project would enable the researcher to understand
about joint venturing of business in relation to benefits of expanding in UK market.
The researcher through the review of literature and quantitative analysis shall be able
to identify the potential benefits and risks, which the organisation Green Tree Inn
shall be exposed to while expanding in UK market. These aspects are expected to be
covered in the process of research.
 Excluded scope: It would be difficult for the researcher study much literature and
identify ways to resolve the risks because the qualitative and secondary data is not
being collected, which could have provided the researcher with more comprehensive
knowledge. This shall impose difficulty to the researcher to formulate a conclusive
statement.
Limitations of the research
The limitations of the proposed research are as follows:
 The data collected through quantitative method is limited and is not enough for
providing appropriate conclusive statement or hypothesis.
 The researcher cannot study the existing literature, which could have provided
comprehensive and detailed data for generating the hypothesis for the research.
 The set budget and time is one of constraints for the researcher to carry out the
process of research.
4. Resources and cost considerations
Activities to be Implemented Stipulated time Costs Required
Per Hour (in €)
Overall Amount
(in €)
Assessment of the required
resources for implementation of
the project
20 hours 5 100
Allotment of the human and
financial resource
10 hours 2.5 25
Collection of data through the 20 hours 50 1000
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primary quantitative method
Analysis of the collected data 80 Hours 15 1200
Evaluation of expected risks
which can affect the progress of
the project
12 Hours 4 48
Final documentation of the
project
24 Hours 5 120
Final Amount = 2493
Table 1: Resources and cost considerations
5. A Gantt chart or work breakdown structure to provide timeframes and stages for
completion
Work Breakdown Structure
Activities Beginning
Date Duration End Date
Selecting of the research topic 01-03-2019 2 03-03-2019
Formulating aims and objectives 03-03-2019 2 05-03-2019
Gathering and allocation of resources 05-03-2019 1 06-03-2019
Review of literature 06-03-2019 2 08-03-2019
Selection of methodology 08-03-2019 1 09-03-2019
Preparing questionnaires 09-03-2019 2 11-03-2019
Collecting data 11-03-2019 10 21-03-2019
Analysing data 21-03-2019 5 26-03-2019
Generating Conclusion 26-03-2019 3 29-03-2019
Documentation 29-03-2019 1 30-03-2019
Final Submission 30-03-2019 1 31-03-2019
Table 2: Work Breakdown Structure
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Gantt chart
Selecting of the research topic
Formulating aims and objectives
Gathering and allocation of resources
Review of literature
Selection of methodology
Preparing questionnaires
Collecting data
Analysing data
Generating Conclusion
Documentation
Final Submission
1/3/19 11/3/19 21/3/19 31/3/19 10/4/19
Figure 1: Gantt chart
6. A risk registers covering the main risks with the proposed research
Risk Overview Types Implication Chances of
Occurrence
Consequences Mitigation
strategy
Time
constraints
High Difficulty to
complete the
project with
the set time
Low Collection of
data might
require more
time
More time
must be given
for collection
of data
Financial
constraints
High Budget is very
low for the
project
High Research
Failure or
incomplete
research
Allocation of
resources to
each activity
Inaccurate
data collected
Low Formulation of
incorrect
conclusive
statement
Moderate Data re-
evaluation
Evaluating
data prior to
analysis
Table 3: Risk Register
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Task 2: Research Report
Chapter 1 Introduction
International business expansion has been noted to grow at rapid pace and it is quite
successful as well. With globalisation, international business expansion has reached new
heights and joint venture is one of the methods contributing to this expansion (Hittet al.,
2016). Joint venture can be regarded as the collaborative contract between two or more
business, which aims to work towards the attainment of the same goal and objectives. The
organisations are entering joint venture, which helps them to expand as well as generate more
profits and maximise their productivity. Joint venturing has several benefits as well as risks,
which the organisation entering the collaboration faces. However, it must be noted that the
market in which the organisation is expanding is also important because it affects the new
business. In addition to that, the business with which the new organisation is collaborating
also imposes risks to it. In order to tackle this businesses form formal agreement document,
this helps them to maintain their business policies.
In this research project, as discussed earlier the organisation willing to expand internationally
is Green Tree Inn in China. It is one of the leading hotel chain in China and one of the best
organisations operating within the hospitality industry of China. This hotel chain is
expanding to enter the market of United Kingdom. In United Kingdom, it is entering the joint
venture withHoliday Inn. Green Tree Inns was founded in the year 2004 and is headquartered
in Shanghai, China. The group of hotels has been regarded as the sixth largest franchise
company across the globe and it is known to own five brands of high quality. Alex Xu
founded this hospitality group with the vision of establishing business hotels. It also operates
in United States. Over 2600 properties is known manage, control and franchise with this
hospitality group (Sheth, 2017).
It shall enter joint business venturing with Holiday Inn in United Kingdom. Holiday Inn is a
renowned name in the hospitality industry of UK. It is founded by the U.S motel group and
was owned by British. It is consideredas the largest hotel chains across the world. It is
headquartered in Denham, Buckinghamshire. At present, the hospitality chain has around
1173 hotels and with approximately 214,000 rooms, as per the statistics of the year 2018. The
hospitality chain serves in two types- high and full plaza type hotels and low and full type
hotels. It is also the subsidiary of InterContinental Hotels Group. Since, it is noted to have
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good market share and brand name in hospitality industry, Green Tree Inn is willing to
collaborate with this hotel chain in order to enter the market of UK.
Rationale
This research topic is selected because with the advancement of technology, more and more
businesses desire to expand in the international market. Further, the hospitality group Green
Tree Inn plans to form collaborative venture with UK based Holiday Inn. The organisation
selects to expand in the market of UK because the economy is quite stable and favourable for
the new businesses to flourish. Moreover, the organisation shall more scope in the nation, as
the tourism and hospitality industry of UK is rapidly growing and it is favourable for growth
of the organisation. Further, the nation shall provide the organisation with better resources for
its development and successful operations (Søndergaardet al., 2016)
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Chapter 2 Literature Review
International expansion and advantages
According to Williamson and Wan (2018), the emerging economies across the world are
showing great interest in international expansion, as it is advantageous for the growth of the
business. As the authors states successful international expansion provides the businesses
ownership advantage, which helps them to build dynamic capabilities. The authors focused
their research on the China’s emerging economies and its desire to expand internationally. In
their opinions, the multinational organisations expanding internationally have many
advantages- one being the ownership advantage. The other advantages are development of
technology usage within the organisation and enhancement of brand equity of the
organisation. Therefore, it can be pointed out that the organisations are willing to expand in
the international markets for attaining profits and market share.
Joint venturing for international expansion
In the opinions of Yan and Luo (2016), the multinational organisations are forming joint
ventures for expanding in the international markets because there is rush for these companies
to make direct foreign investments, which shall enable them to maximise their profitability
and productivity. The governments of the developing and underdeveloped countries play a
vital role in encouraging businesses to form joint venturing with any foreign firm because it
shall contribute in growth of the economy. Further, the firms opt for joint venturing because
it is one of the best methods of international expansion. In other words, it gives access to the
organisation to overseas market, which shall also result in foreign company being able to
access the local market, which is noted to be beneficial for the economy of the nation.
Benefits of joint venturing
According to Dinu(2016), joint venturing has several risks as well as benefits. Businesses of
every size and type can expand internationally through joint venturing. The notable benefits
of joint business venturing, as pointed out by the authors, are access to the new markets and
networks of distribution. Further, it reduces the barriers for the organisation to enter new
market. It allows the organisation to grow without borrowing any money or asking for any
external investment. It also enables the organisation to enhance its capabilities through
knowledge and expertise. Moreover, the firms have the benefit of sharing the risks with its
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partners, which otherwise would completely fall upon the one company. Therefore, these
benefits encourage more and more organisation to form joint ventures.
Risks and challenges of joint venturing
As per the opinion of Romeliet al (2016), joint venturing imposes some crucial risks to the
organisations entering in this partnership business. The major risk, which joint venturing
imposes on the organisations, is economic risk. If the joint venture is successful, it shall affect
the economy of the nation. However, other risks and challenges faced by the organisation in
joint venture are differences between formed objectives of both the nation, which can be due
to lack of transparency or due to communication gaps. Further, when one firm is working
collaboratively with any foreign firm, cultural difference and difference in the management
style is an obvious risk, which can affect the alliance. Apart from these risks, the firms also
faced lack of sufficient support from the partner management. Therefore, these are some of
the common risks faced by firms entering joint venturing.
Ways of mitigate the risks of joint venturing
According to Zirape and Warudkar, (2016), joint venturing comes with many risks and
challenges. However, the firms entering in a joint venturing can always follow some specific
ways to mitigate the risks and challenges. The way it can mitigate the challenges and risks is
by forming an effective management structure. If the management structure is effective, it
shall help the companies to operatesystematically. Further, the firms can adopt risk
management techniques to tackle the challenges. Apart from these ways, the organisations
can form a joint venture agreement, which shall be formal document for avoiding differences.
Moreover, the firms must improve their communication and make the system more
transparent, which shall be effective in reducing communication gaps.
Literature gaps
From the above review of literature, it can be stated that there was several gaps, which the
researcher encountered during the process of study. The first gap, which was identified, was
the lack of relevant information on the ways to mitigate the challenge and risks involved in
joint venturing. The second gap is repetitive information found in the journals, which did not
provide the researcher with much relevant information. These were the major gaps found in
the process of reviewing literature.
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Chapter 3 Methodology
Research methodology is considered as the integral part in every research, as it consists of
significant elements of the research. In conducting a research, it is important to follow certain
specifications, which makes the research systematic and more specific. These specifications
help in achieving objectives and aim of the research. The major elements of the methodology,
which is essential for the research, are research approaches, research design, philosophy of
the research, methods of data collection and analysis, ethical considerations, sampling
techniques for determining the sample size of the survey respondents and the limitations of
the research, which tend to impose difficulties for the researcher (Kumar, 2019).
Research design
The two types of research design are exploratory and explanatory designs. These two types of
research designs are distinctive and have different purpose. The exploratory research design
has the purpose to generate insights in relation to any specific situation. It explores the
research questions and it does not provide any conclusive statement or hypothesis. On the
contrary, the explanatory research design forms the foundation of the research process. It is
noted to provide a conclusive statement or hypothesis as an answer to the research questions.
Hence, it is pointed out that for this particular research, explanatory research design has been
used, which shall help to draw conclusion to the research questions (Mackey and Gass,
2015).
Research philosophy
The research is usually based on the assumptions made by the researcher and it is the
philosophy of the research, which reflects the assumptions. The research philosophy is noted
to be affected by the practical implications, which can affect the assumptions made by the
researcher. Moreover, the research philosophy is of four types- Positivism, Pragmatism,
Realism and Interpretivism. For this proposed research, Positivism research philosophy has
been used. Positivism philosophy complies to the factual knowledge by observation method.
The purpose of this aim is to explain and predict. According to this philosophy, the research
is structured and it can consist of large number of samples. Thus, this philosophy has been
used for this particular research (Quinlanet al., 2019).
Research approach
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