Marriotts Major Expansion Initiatives - Assignment Example

? MARRIOTT INTERNATIONAL, INC. Marriott’s Major Expansion Initiatives Marriott International is a multinational company that manages lodging properties. The company is based in Maryland, and operates in up to sixty eight countries around the world. This company is among the leading companies that offer lodging facilities and services in the world (Derdak, 2007). Marriott’s brand name is well established in the United States among other countries around the world. Based in Maryland, the company is currently pursuing expansion strategies that will enable it to cover Africa and the Middle East. This expansion is part of its major plan to extend its portfolio and business context around the world, especially in the countries that it has not established its premises. The company’s main expansion idea is the establishment of hotels in the potential areas of business. It will set up Residence Inns in the projected areas. For instance, in the early 2012, the company is expected to launch such a hotel in Bahrain. Saudi Arabia is also set to have the company set up its premises by June 2010. In the year 2014, Marriott International projects to open a residence Inn hotel in Algiers (Derdak, 2007). Other regions identified in the major expansion initiative are Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Ed Fuller quotes, “We will probably open 20-30 Residence Inn hotels in the Mena region within the next 10 years” (Derdak, 2007). The President and the Managing Director of the company admits that the strongholds of the company lies in USA and Canada, but the major expansion plans over the next several years will allow the company to diversify its portfolio. The company is interested in making its brand name recognized globally and not only in USA and Canada. Administrative Laws Relevant to Marriott’s Expansion Initiatives Marriott is a USA abased company. In this regard, the company has therefore complied with the establishment, operational and expansion rules and regulations that are set for the USA firms. On the same note, the company is established in more than one country, meaning that it is a multinational company. The company is therefore liable to comply with the international law of firm operations. It is obvious that the company has met all the requirements for the individual foreign countries that it has been established in so far. The expansion that the company seeks to make over the next few years is influenced by administrative laws observed in the individual countries that it seeks to establish its premises (Korper, 2001). The company will not be the first to enter into the markets in which it seeks to start its operations in. Marriott will therefore be expected to observe fair competition laws in the context of every market it penetrates. Price level issues may also characterize the operations of the company in foreign markets. When it starts its operations in foreign countries, it will be expected to act fairly to the existing domestic and foreign firms. Its pricing will not be expected to make the already established firms worse off. Operational and competition laws are the major administrative laws that the company will have to deal with. The company will also be expected to follow the required protocol in setting up its operations in the new regions that it targets. This means that the company will have to assess individual regional laws in the context of its interests in those regions. If these laws will be found to be favorable to the operations of the company, then the company can go ahead and establish its premises. If not, then the company management will be forced to evaluate the way forward. The most important thing to consider in this case is the negotiating and contract actualization procedures. The company must ensure that negotiations are effectively carried out prior to the establishment of the new premises. The required contracts will have to be effectuated before the company begins operations in the new regions. Such contracts will be required to meet both domestic and international law in the context of the interests of the company. The company basically addresses hospitality demand in the hotel industry. In this regard, the company will be required to comply with social responsibility provisions in both USA and in the foreign markets. It is important to note that different countries have adopted different social responsibility procedures in a bid to account for the societal benefit prior to the operations of local and international firms. The company therefore needs to be diverse and dynamic in the context of pursuing its expansionary procedures. Marriott will need to account for regional differences and variations in laws so that its expansion initiatives are realized in the context of law, thereby providing it with a suitable environment to pursue its major plans over the set time period. Sales, Licensing, and e-Commence Laws Portfolio diversity and major expansion initiatives undertaken by the company are tailored improving the welfare of the company. It is important to point out that the major driving motive of business is profit. Marriott like all other businesses is profit oriented. However, as much as it seeks to maximize its operational benefits, the welfare of customers is of ultimate importance. Property establishment in more than one country is not easy. There are procedural requirements that must be fulfilled in order to fit into the specific region of interest. Sales are one of the most important aspects of any given company. The volume of sales determines the profitability of a firm (Emerson, 2009). The company will be expanding and establishing operations in markets that have been penetrated before. The company is therefore expected to be sensitive of the other firms already in place. Negligence and assuming control of the market by taking advantage of the other firms will constitute unfair operations that may hinder further development of the company given the observed local and international business laws. The company will be expected to observe proper measures that govern product quality and distribution so that only the best reaches the market. Taking advantage of customers by overrating product quality is punishable by laws that safeguard the consumers. Marriott’s expansion initiatives will occur under the context of law. The required procedures of registering companies must be followed. The company is expected to comply with these requirements, alongside embracing differences that may be characteristic of the procedure in the targeted foreign markets. On the same note, this company depends on online selling of its products and services. The nature of its products and services allows for effective use of e-commerce. In this case, the privacy of the customers must be treated with utmost concern. Customer confidentiality will have to be upheld, failure to which the contract between the customer and the company is breached. Recommendations: Minimizing the Threat of Lawsuits Lawsuits negatively affect the operations and reputation of firms (Emerson, 2009). The Marriott Company should be sensitive to the market environment changes that characterize the new regions of operation. The functionality of the company requires consistent collection of customer information. The company should put measures in place that restrict the number of persons who access this information. Confidentiality of whatever information obtained should highly be observed. Also, the information collected should be purposely used for the product and service provision to the customers. The company should be liable of the losses that its customers face in the light of its products and services. To counter the problem of product liability, the company should ensure that its product and service provision mechanism is open to the public. The customers should actively be involved in the designing and upgrading of products and services. On the same note warranties among other tools should be employed in creating customer trust on the company’s goods and services. It is also important that the company appreciates patent rights granted to other firms. If the company is to adopt an innovative process that has been developed by another party, it is fundamental that the company appreciates this party. The company may therefore receive patent rights to its rightfully acquired innovativeness, but it is also important that the efforts of other parties in the same light be appreciated (Emerson, 2009). The company can therefore adopt such innovativeness, but the required process must be followed. The threat of violating intellectual property rights should be alleviated by making sure that the company observes all the set laws and regulations in that context. References Derdak, T. (2007). International directory of company histories, Volume 83. Maryland: St. James Press. Emerson, R. (2009). Business Law. New York: Barron's Educational Series Korper, S. & Ellis, J. (2001). The E-commerce book: building the E-empire. California: Morgan Kaufmann. Read More