This assignment is an INDIVIDUAL piece of work. It represents 100% of the module mark. Students are required to produce a word-processed report in three parts as detailed below.  

The context: You are employed by a consulting company. Your company has recently been approached by a North American company that is looking for new business opportunities overseas. One option that has been suggested to the board of directors is the soft drinks industry in Bangladesh. Your task is to evaluate the attractiveness of this industry. You are required therefore to carry out the necessary research to construct an analysis of the overall competitiveness and investment attractiveness of the soft drinks industry in Bangladesh. You should use a range of published sources of information in this task, such as books, academic journals, periodicals, web resources and relevant databases.

Part 1- Porter's National Diamond Analysis of Bangladesh Soft Drinks Market

With its entry into Bangladesh by the latter half of the 1980s, soft drinks have gained popularity among the public irrespective of age growth within a short span of time (Islam & Fatema, 2014). Currently, the Bangladesh soft drink market is regarded as the fastest-growing, highly competitive and volatile market in a developing country. This growth is attributed to the hot climatic conditions leading to the preference for soft drinks to quench thirst. This market is attractive and has good potential for companies to gain values and market share. It offers a great opportunity for soft drinks companies to enter the market and earn profits. 

For investing in the Bangladesh soft drinks market, the North American company to assess the market opportunities and country risk. In this case, Porter's National Diamond Analysis (Figure1) is carried out to determine whether any competitive advantage exists for the investor. This analysis would provide insight into various opportunities for investment in terms of competitiveness. The data collected for this analysis are current facts and the economic situation prevailing in the Bangladeshi market to reveal its attractiveness as a target country for foreign direct investment (FDI). 

1. Factor Conditions

The factors identified to be highly influencing companies in the Bangladesh soft drinks market are the availability of skilled labour, raw materials, infrastructure, quality and technology.

Human Resources

Bangladesh has a large working-age population, around 66% of the total population. However, the educational level varies (Figure 2), and under-education is a common feature. It is estimated that under education rates are significantly higher among young managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals at the rate of 65%, 62% and 92%, respectively. This clearly indicates that they lack education in the respective fields that are required for their jobs (ADB, 2016). Such a scenario would be highly likely to result in a middle-management gap which is pointed out as a major problem in the Bangladesh labour market. Training currently available in Bangladesh lacks market relevance due to dated curricula and technology used in training courses (ILO, 2015). Trainees who receive training in Bangladesh do not acquire skills to utilise new technology and industrial practices. Hence, the North American company has to make significant investments in the training and development of local employees.

(Some parts of the solution has been blurred due to privacy protection policy)