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You are a consultant hired by a UN committee to recommend a location for a future industry/factory in a developing country. The UN committee has given you a list of 10 possible countries from which to choose. You will recommend the country in which this industry/factory is to be built and your recommendation will be based on the statistics given in this assignment AND any other information you may wish to collect about the countries. You may use information you find in other sources such as almanacs, atlases, Third World Guide, encyclopaedias, or on-line sources such as InfoNation, GeoPedia® or the atlas on our course pages. A chart of statistics for each of the 10 countries is given out in class.
As you know from the development unit of the course, there are 4 recommendations for development in LDC’s. These recommendations are given to ensure the success of any development project in developing countries. Your job is to suggest an industry/factory which produces a product. For that industry to produce that product, write a list of requirements it will need to run successfully. ( eg. transportation, market, energy, raw materials, labour force, etc.) ( you may obtain some ideas from examining the statistics or from encyclopaedias/books on various types of industries)
After you have completed your list of requirements for your industry/factory, examine the statistics more closely and select those statistics which would be relevant to your industry/factory. Give some explanation for your choice of statistics. (1/2 to 1 page in length)
Complete the method for obtaining an index of development potential. This index will help you make a recommendation to the UN committee for which you work. One method for obtaining an index of development potential:
1) Select the statistics which will be most relevant to you in recommending the country in which your industry will be located.
2) For each of the chosen statistics, calculate the data as a percentage of the data for the top country in the list for that statistic. (you will assign 100% for the top country for that statistic, all other countries will be less than 100%)
3) Set up a table with the statistic name along the top and the list of 10 countries along the side. Enter the relative percentages for each statistic in the table.
4) Add the relative percentages across to obtain a total relative percentage for each country from all the statistics chosen.
Below is an example:
Relative percentages: Percentages normally display the relative importance of different items within a single entity; eg. Canada's female population is 51%. Relative percentages are used to compare the relative importance of different entities with regard to a single item. For example, the world's major producers of bauxite, the raw material for aluminum are:
Country 000(tons) Australia 40697 Guinea 16500 Jamaica 10921 Brazil 8750 India 5000
The technique of relative percentages assigns a value of 100 to the country with the highest bauxite production, in this case Australia. Production from the other countries is then calculated as a percentage of this Australia value. Therefore the relative percentage for Guinea would be 16,500 divided by 40697 times 100% = 40.54% and so on.
1) Make your country recommendation to the UN committee using the index of development potential you have calculated in Part 2. You may also suggest second and third choice countries if your first choice country has other relevant information which would make it unsuitable. You may also include other information you have gathered about the countries which would affect how readily this new company would succeed such as the type of government, the amount of national debt, possible conflicts, etc. (1/2 to 1 page in length)
2) From your textbook on the different strategies governments can use to help encourage industrialization, and from atlases or other map sources, choose a location (be specific) within the country you have chosen which would be the most beneficial for that company. (If you wish to include a map of the country showing where the industry will be located, please do so.) Explain your choice of location by referring to your notes on appropriate technology and the 4 recommendations for development in LDC’s. (1/2 to 1 page in length)
3) Explain if there will be any spin-off effects from the company you chose (eg. other industries locating nearby because of your chosen company, social services improvements, etc.) and any possible drawbacks that may have to be overcome before the company becomes successful. (eg. cultural obstacles, climatic factors, etc.) (1/2 to 1 page in length)
You may write this in the form of a letter or a report. (please include your index of development potential chart)
EVALUATION:
PART 1 10 marks
PART 2 10 marks
PART 3 30 marks
____________________
TOTAL 50 marks
I will be looking for:
a) originality in the choice of industry/factory
b) how appropriate is the technology used in your choice of industry
c) how you have chosen your statistics to provide you with your index of development potential rankings of the countries
d) how accurately you complete the method of country ranking
e) how clearly you explain your recommendations to the UN committee
f) a clear explanation about the location within your chosen country and any spin-off effects of this company and any possible drawbacks that may have to be overcome
g) how well you present your information (eg. style, flow, spelling, grammar etc.)
This Take-Home exam is due on Friday, January 16, 1998 before 2:45 p.m.
If you know you will not be able to submit your work on the due date, make sure it is submitted BEFORE the due date. Late submissions will only be allowed with a doctor’s note. Notes from students on waiver are unacceptable. A mark of zero will be given for late exams without a doctor’s note.