Communications CEO and VP, Human

Communications

CEO and VP, Human Resources

The Malaysia Project

To determine the best approach to opening a hotel chain in Malaysia.

Country Overview: Malaysia is a nation in Southeast Asia, and is the 9th-largest tourist destination in the world by number of foreign visitors. The country is divided between peninsular Malaysia, where draws include the cities of Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Melaka and offshore beach resorts. The other parts of Malaysia are on the island of Borneo, most notably Sabah and Sarawak. There are both cities and ecotourism opportunities in Borneo.

Audience: The audience for this report will be the senior executive team of the company, who will hear details about the opportunities and risks inherent in operating in Malaysia. The audience will need information specific to the country that will make them to make the decision whether or not to pursue opening a chain of hotels in the country. The audience is knowledgeable about our business and only needs to learn about Malaysia.

Topics to Investigate: There are several key topics. The economic environment is important, including the role of government in business in Malaysia, and the shape and size of the tourism industry. Unique cultural factors must also be analyzed as they will affect the business decision. In addition, the competitive environment should also be analyzed, to understand the best way to exploit the opportunities presented by the Malaysian market.

Methods and Resources: Given the breadth of topics that need to be covered, a wide range of sources will need to be used to gather this information. These include primary sources, secondary sources and trade publications. An example list is presented following:

CIA World Factbook. (2013). Malaysia. CIA World Factbook. Retrieved April 8, 2013 from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/my.html

Hofstede, G. (2013). Malaysia. Geert Hofstede. Retrieved April 8, 2013 from http://geert-hofstede.com/malaysia.html

Heritage Foundation. (2013). 2013 Index of economic freedom. Heritage Foundation. Retrieved April 8, 2013 from http://www.heritage.org/index/ranking

Transparency.org. (2013) Global corruption perceptions index. Transparency.org. Retrieved April 8, 2013 from http://www.transparency.org/country#MYS

GMA News. (2013). Malaysia spending P6.6M to bring tourists back to Sabah. GMA News. Retrieved April 8, 2013 from http://www.transparency.org/country#MYS

UNWTO.org. (2013). Tourism indicators. UN WTO. Retrieved April 8, 2013 from http://www.unwto.org/facts/menu.html

Regit. (1996).

Hotel industry in Malaysia. Regit Sdn Bhd. Retrieved April 8, 2013 from http://www.regit.com/malaysia/industry/industry.htm

Inside Malaysia. (2012). Tourism & hospitality. Inside Malaysia. Retrieved April 8, 2013 from http://etp.pemandu.gov.my/upload/Inside%20Investor%20-%20Tourism.pdf

Ng, a. (2012). Hotel sector in for steady growth. The Star. Retrieved April 8, 2013 from http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/4/16/business/11096929&sec=business

Grossniklaus, D. (2013). Malaysia: Hotel indicators on the upside. Hotel News Now. Retrieved April 8, 2013 from http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2012/4/16/business/11096929&sec=business