Consultancy Report
The assignment should be presented in the form of a consultancy report, and should include reference to relevant theoretical frameworks and empirical data. The report should show evidence of carefully developed arguments, and follow academic conventions including proper use of the Harvard System for referencing, and avoiding plagiarism.

Consultancy brief

Keepfit-for-Dogs is a manufacturing firm that specialises in making wooden agility kits that can encourage dogs to keep fit, and is located in the North of the UK. Currently, the head office employs 150 people (including marketing, HR, operations management and financial specialists). It also has two manufacturing plants located in the South of England and one in Portugal, each of which employs around 50 people. Each plant specialises in the manufacture of different types of equipment, but uses wood as the main material.
The company has recently decided to extend its operations to another country, in order to tap into local markets and utilise local labour. In order to evaluate its options, different departments at head office are responsible for producing feasibility reports of the various aspects that need to be considered in taking forward this ambitious plan. The HR Office has been charged with producing a brief report that outlines the key opportunities and challenges involved in locating operations in another country, from an employment perspective. They have already determined the key areas that they wish the report to cover, and although these may not seem to be comprehensive, they address previously identified gaps in knowledge. They have contracted this work out to you.
In order for the report to be focused, the wordcount should be 1,500 words (excluding references and appendices). The following subheadings should be used for the individual sections, but the word counts for each section should be used only as a guideline.
• Executive Summary (around 250 words, and briefly summarising the key findings of each section of the report)
• Introduction (around 200 words, briefly covering relevant country facts not covered elsewhere in the report and justifying what will be covered in the rest of the report)
• Political stability and levels of corruption (around 300 words)
• Employment legislation and government policy relating to the minimum wage (around 250 words)
• Skill levels of the population (around 250 words)
• Conclusion (including cost benefit analysis of locating a subsidiary in this location, from an employment perspective) (around 250 words)