MT220 Unit 1 Discussion Board Post Example

Course	MT220 Global Business
Unit	Unit 1
Paper type	Discussion board post
Length	About 400 words, 2 pages double-spaced
Format	APA 7 discussion post
School	Purdue University Global
Program	BS in Business Administration
Updated	October 2026

Free sample paper for MT220 Unit 1

Forty Emails From Colombian Growers: A Unit 1 Discussion Board Post Testing a Motive to Go Abroad

MT220 · Unit 1 Discussion Board Post

Posted by [Student Name]

Cascade Drum Works, its figures and the classmates are composite and illustrative; the sources cited are real.

What this part is doingQuestioning the obvious motive in the lead sets up a post that weighs evidence instead of cheering for expansion.

Initial Post

Cascade Drum Works is a composite shop of [22] people in Tacoma that builds 12-kilo drum roasters, priced around [$41,000], for specialty cafes. Domestic orders have barely moved in three years because fewer new cafes are opening, and its welding crew sits idle about one day in five. In the past year it received about [40] unsolicited inquiries from Colombian coffee growers, mostly from the coffee region around Manizales and Pereira, where more farms now roast part of their own harvest to sell under their own names.

Sorting the motives helps. On the push side are slowing domestic demand and idle capacity. On the pull side are the inquiries and a market where growers want to capture more value from their beans. Hill and Hult (2019) note that firms often go abroad to use spare capacity and to follow demand that appears in foreign markets, and both are present here.

The trouble is that inquiries are cheap. Forty emails is not forty buyers, and nobody at Cascade speaks Spanish or has been to Colombia. Johanson and Vahlne (1977) argued that firms usually internationalize in small steps, learning about a market before committing resources, because the knowledge they lack is the largest risk.

Forty emails is a reason to find out more, not a reason to ship a container.

My conclusion is that the inquiries justify a small, cheap test, such as a trade fair visit and a quote to five serious buyers, rather than a commitment. Which would you trust more as a signal, inquiries or a signed order?

Reply to Devon

Devon, your bakery equipment example sold abroad because a distributor came looking. That is a stronger signal than inquiries from end buyers, because a distributor has already judged the market. Would Cascade be wiser to find a Colombian distributor first?

Reply to Rana

Rana, you argued idle capacity alone justifies exporting. I agree it lowers the cost of trying, but Johanson and Vahlne (1977) would say idle welders do not teach Cascade how Colombian growers buy. What would the firm need to learn before its first sale?

References

Hill, C. W. L., & Hult, G. T. M. (2019). International business: Competing in the global marketplace (12th ed.). McGraw-Hill.

Johanson, J., & Vahlne, J.-E. (1977). The internationalization process of the firm: A model of knowledge development and increasing foreign market commitments. Journal of International Business Studies, 8(1), 23-32. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.jibs.8490676

What the MT220 Unit 1 assignment asks for

The first MT 220 board usually asks why a company would expand internationally, often for a company you name or a composite one. Most prompts want the motives identified and weighed, commonly sorted into push motives from the home market and pull motives from the foreign one, and a judgment about whether they justify going abroad. A strong post treats a motive as evidence to be tested rather than a reason to cheer. One or two sources on internationalization should be applied to the case. Naming the market the interest came from is fine, though the country choice usually belongs to Unit 2. Keep the opening post to a few paragraphs in first person, ending with a question. Replies, often two, should press on one specific point a classmate made rather than agree.

How the MT 220 Unit 1 example is put together

The post opens with the firm's size, product, price and the flat domestic orders, then the forty inquiries and why growers are asking. A paragraph sorts the motives into push and pull and cites Hill and Hult on why both draw firms abroad. The next paragraph turns skeptical: inquiries are cheap, and nobody at the firm speaks Spanish. Johanson and Vahlne's argument that firms learn before committing frames the doubt, and the highlighted line says the emails are a reason to find out more. The conclusion proposes a small test and asks which signal classmates would trust. One reply contrasts end-buyer inquiries with a distributor's approach, and a second questions whether idle capacity alone teaches the firm anything about its buyers.

MT220 Unit 1 rubric: what earns full points

Discussion grading here usually looks at whether motives are identified correctly, weighed critically and supported with a source. Listing push and pull motives earns base credit; testing whether they justify expansion earns more. The internationalization source should explain the post's caution, as the step-by-step model does here, rather than sit at the end. A concrete proposal, such as a low-cost test, shows judgment. Short paragraphs, clear writing and APA 7 entries for Hill and Hult and for Johanson and Vahlne are expected. Replies are graded on engagement: each should take one claim from a classmate's post and push it further, ideally with a question tied to the course readings.

MT220 Unit 1 help: mistakes that cost points

Weak first posts list reasons to go global in general and never apply them to a firm. Another frequent problem is treating any foreign interest as proof of a market. Some writers choose a target country too early, before the motive is established. Others cite a source without letting it shape the conclusion. Replies often agree warmly and add nothing. If you work for a company with no international sales, ask why not; the answer often makes a strong post. Small firms make especially good examples because their motives are easy to see. Tell our writers about the company and the foreign interest it has seen, and they can help weigh the motives and propose a sensible first step.

Get an MT220 Unit 1 example written to your instructions

Tell us which company your Unit 1 prompt names, or note that the choice is still yours, and paste the discussion instructions with the rubric. A custom post ranks that firm's reasons for going abroad, replies included when your section scores them, and returns within 24-48h. The first is free, and a motive you already favor stays on top if the evidence holds. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.

More MT220 papers and BS in Business Administration samples

MT220 Unit 1 questions, answered

Does the Unit 1 post have to name a specific company?

Most MT220 prompts expect one, and a named firm makes the motives testable. A small or composite company works if the post says so and keeps the market facts real. Picking a firm already selling abroad also works: the post then asks why it went and whether that reason still holds, which gives the ranking something to measure.

What is the difference between push and pull motives?

Push motives come from home: a slowing market, spare capacity, a rival taking share. Pull motives come from the foreign market: rising demand, lower trade barriers, customers asking for the product. Push explains willingness to go, and pull explains where. Posts built on push alone rarely show why one country beats another, which later units will ask.

Should the post already pick a target country?

Only lightly. Unit 1 concerns motive, and many sections leave the country decision to Unit 2. Naming the market the inquiries came from is fine, since the pull motives depend on it, but a full country argument at this point uses space the prompt reserved for motive and gets ahead of the next assignment.

Where can I find a free MT220 Unit 1 sample paper?

The complete MT220 Unit 1 post is printed above; it weighs push and pull motives for a Tacoma roaster maker considering Colombia, cites two real sources and includes two replies to classmates.

Why does the sample treat the inquiries as a weak signal?

Because forty emails cost the senders nothing and are not orders. The firm has no Spanish speakers and no knowledge of how growers buy, so the post recommends a cheap test before any commitment.