Since a project is an endeavour, that is temporarily defined, that is it has a defined beginning and duration most often constrained by time, finding and deliverables. It is usually undertaken to bring about added value to an organisation. For an internationally expanding organisation, it must have a well defined operational structure as well as market entry strategy in order to complete internationally. An organisation that has expanded internationally has learned to garner its inherent strengths especially.
EXTERNAL FACTORS
I.
Cultural factors- for better working relationships an organisation first has to identify the cultural factors if they present opportunity or risks (JIST, 2003).
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II.
Environmental factors; the impact of the organisations activities on the environment, whether positive or negative, foreign country environmental laws, and their impacts on its activities.
III.
Political risks- whereby in countries where insurrections are bound to happen, the organisation's response i.e. specific insurance.
IV.
Foreign legal environment, whether the laws of the overseas region allow for repatriation of profits or not and the strength of the legal system if they can arbitrate in financial or trade disputes.
INTERNAL FACTORS
I.
Capital
-Whether the firm has enough capital or financial resources (cash flows) to undertake foreign projects.
II.
Foreign market entry.
Whether to enter the foreign market (direct foreign investment) or not enter into a partnership, dealership or local subsidiary for ease of management (Snow, 2007).
III.
Management structure
How the firm organises itself for better management or whether the use of local expertise has better or use of expatriate services.
IV.
What scale or magnitude of operations should the organisation be involved in and to what level, visa-vie the shareholders money In conclusion, the project portfolio outline will guide the organisation in identifying its strengths, weaknesses and opportunities that can arise in the areas of operations. This can guide the stakeholders on how, where, and when to venture into further investment keeping in mind the returns on capital.
References:
JIST. (2003). Your career and life plan portfolio (2nd Ed.), Indianapolis, IN: JIST
Publishing, Inc.
Snow, R (2007) Preparing the Portfolio: For an Assessment of Prior Learning, New
York, Booksurge Llc.
