The Limits of Cultural Globalization in the World - Essay Example

? International Business (globalization) Inserts His/Her Inserts Grade Inserts 26 Nov, Introduction Globalization can be defined as a way through which companies move from the native countries and start their operations in other countries. It entails several aspects like operations, products among others. It can be identified as a means through which companies avail their services in many countries around the world. In recent times, the desire for companies to attain globalization has been on the rise. Going international makes many companies discover new markets. In the technology industry, this trend has been extensively used as there are remarkably few companies within this industry who do not have an international market share (Wolf, 2004). The demand for technological advancement can be identified as the global feature driving these companies towards globalization. For a long time, the establishment of global business has been a subject of discussion. Many companies were opposed to the idea but have slowly started integrating globalization. Though quantifiable results of globalization have not been seen, the idea remains an attractive one for most corporations in the 21st century. The companies aim at achieving global recognition while creating a wider market for their products. Blackberry is an American phone manufacturing company whose products are available globally. The Blackberry brand was invented in 1999 the Research In Motion Company. Through this brand, the company has been able to reach out to millions of clients around the world. The aspect of globalization for this company has been taking the company products to consumers elsewhere. The company aims at achieving a global figure through this plan. With other manufacturers in the market already selling at the international level, the need came to go international. While the global headquarters remain in Ontario, Canada, the company has offices in other places around the globe. Since its inception, it has established offices in North America, Europe, and Asia – Pacific. These offices have been vital in the globalization of the products. The company has been able to avail smart phones in remote areas of the African continent through the marketing done by these continental offices (Danielle, 2010) Theoretical framework Globalization has been seen, in recent years, as a way through which companies become international. The aim of globalization, among many companies, can be identified as gaining recognition as well as a market space in the international community. Before pursuing the globalization venture companies try to analyze the numerous activities that might be involved. This normally included reviewing how other global companies within the same industry are undertaking the same strategy. A comparison of the benefits and the costs to be incurred comes at the core of such venture (Wolf, 2004). There are numerous attractions for companies to globalize their activities. Foreign sales can be identified as one of the considerations which companies apply before globalization. The economies of different nations keep on fluctuating due to inadequate policies or political activities. Through globalization, the effects of these fluctuations become minimized. Companies, which are global, may recover losses incurred in one country from good sales attained in another country (Smith, 2007). This makes many companies, which have the capability, to desire to venture into the global market. The global market offers security during times of economic recession. When one economy may be experiencing recession another one might be on the rise. Companies with the presence in both economies can be able to maintain a balance through ensuring that losses incurred on one side are recovered in another. It creates a stabilizing effect on the sales volumes achieved by the company. A company may also realize an increase in its global market as a result of globalization. Globalization may be applied as not only availing the products, but also availing services. After sales services offered by a company, may make the majority of people purchase the company’s products. Through physical availability of the company, an increase in the market share may be achieved. It is necessary, therefore, for a company seeking product globalization to avail its services globally. Though there exist numerous marketing channels to market a product without physical appearance, the presence of a company increases the trust by the people in the company. Trust itself can mean increased business between the people and the company. Liberalization of government policies regarding international trade can be said to have an impact on globalization. Previously governments used to be restrictive on the level of business which foreign firms could be allowed in a certain country. The creation of free trade zones has been one way through which liberalization has been achieved (Yeats, 2001). Numerous countries have realized that foreign firms bring into the country new ideas and products. They also create employment opportunities for the people of that country. Through these perceived benefits, the 21st century has seen a significant level of liberalization being accommodated in various trade zones. The European Union, for example, allows free movement of products within member states with minimal government control. This laxity of the international trade rules may bring the desire for companies to utilize the opportunity by globalization. Foreign direct investment is a way through which companies are able to attain a percentage of interest for management in other countries. These are income generating avenues in countries other than that of the investor. These foreign direct investments may make a company acquire global image while not intending to acquire it. This investment can play a crucial role in globalization. It involves numerous activities being undertaken in foreign countries (Jones, 2005). These activities vary from joint ventures with local companies in the foreign countries, to transfer of expertise between countries. This may be attractive for companies who think there is better expertise in the countries which they seek to make these investments. The desire to acquire new subsidiaries may lead companies into globalization through foreign direct investment. This can be one of the approaches through which to integrate globalization of company operations. International organizations might also impact the level of globalization which companies impose. Membership to some global organizations can lead a company into getting international recognition. The ISO, for example, provides standardization certificates to organizations which require them upon conducting a study of the company. Over a long time, reference has been made to the need for companies to attain certain ISO certifications to be allowed to trade in various countries. The attainment of such certificate may make a company globalize in an aim of utilizing the certificate. Other international organization which govern certain industry operations allow for a free exchange of expertise for companies from member states. This can mark the beginning of globalization efforts in a company. Through exchange of information and expertise, these companies are able to learn new operational functions used in other countries. The new functions may not be applicable in the native country, though the company may find them beneficial. This may make a company venture into a country where this expertise can be applied and thus, globalization. Methods The blackberry brand of Research In Motion Company has become a global product in the 21st century. The company has adopted various methodologies in trying to globalize this brand. For a brand to attain international recognition, many aspects of the brand need to be integrated into the system (Aaker & Erich, 2000). One of the most fundamental aspects which the company has employed is brand orientation. Through this orientation, the company was able to create a strong brand to compete in the international market. The blackberry brand has been able, through the years, to achieve significant international recognition and acceptance. The fast movement of the products across the globe can attest to the fact that this brand has established itself as a market leader. Foreign sales The company has been able to increase foreign sales through then sale of the blackberry outside North America. According to Sweeny, (2009) the blackberry commanded a global market share of about 11.7 %. This made it the fourth largest international brand within the communication industry. This growth in market share can be attributed to the globalization of the products offered by black berry. The company was able to increase its sales as a result of increased presence in countries where the communication industry is a substantial contributor to the economy. China and India are some of the countries with the highest level of foreign sales for the blackberry brand. With the high populations in these two countries, the company has been able to sell its products to these multitudes. This has immensely enhanced the foreign sales which the company has achieved. Increased global market The global market for communication devices still has a gap that needed to be filled. Blackberry took advantage of this and moved quickly to globalize its products trying to fill the gap which existed. The products have been widely used in many countries due to their availability (Kotler and Gary, 1989). Though the company does not have any offices or subsidiaries in Africa, the products of blackberry are not uncommon within the continent. Individual dealers in Africa have been able to purchase products from as far as china and continental Europe and sell within the continent. This is an indication that the company has not exploited the entire global market. It shows that there still is space for expansion in the global arena. The capturing of the global market has been done through availing the technology in certain countries where the company has identified as potential market leaders. This has been based on the purchasing power of the people and the population. Liberalization Black berry has profoundly utilized the international liberalization of trade policies in the quest for achieving globalization. The European Union has opened up the borders of member states for free trade to occur. As a result, blackberry has started production of its product within the euro zone. This has enabled the products to circulate easily with minimal restrictions within the Euro zone. This strategy has made blackberry surpass European models of phones in terms of sales within the same zone. The regulation of the Euro zone stipulates that the products sold freely must be manufactured within the zone. This has forced blackberry to establish a manufacturing plant there so as to comply with the regulations (Colapinto, 2011). The company has increased its global presence by constructing a manufacturing plant in Europe. This has played a significant role in the globalization of the products. The European plant has become the one to serve the African market with blackberry products as a result of this. The areas of North Africa receive products from the European zone. This plant has also increased availability of blackberry products in Africa, where there is no manufacturing plant for these products. Foreign direct investments Foreign direct investments have helped blackberry tremendously in achieving globalization. The company has set up manufacturing plants in various countries in an effort to reach the nearby market. The company has been able to get innovative approaches in terms of application from different countries through foreign direct investment. Current trend in the communication industry of the various nations in which these investments have been made is also available to the company. The company has been able to exchange expertise with various industry players within many nations where it has taken its foreign investment. It has created employment to software engineers from across the globe. Through this globalization of expertise, these employees have learnt a lot of new inventions from different countries. Integration of employees from different backgrounds has also made the company to be strategically positioned in terms of technological applications in different nations. These investments have also helped the company to grow in size and physical presence. The company has been able to manufacture products within these countries and in accordance with the regulations set by the governments. International standard The international standards have been an issue of concern for the blackberry manufacturers. In the globalization aspect for the company, it has encountered several challenges regarding standards. The data encryption used by blackberry devices does not comply with other encryptions in the developing countries. This has been an unqualified hindrance for the company in the quest for availing its services in developing and third- world countries. The data protection encrypted in black berry devices has been criticized in many regions around within Asia and the Middle-East. The Indian government had raised an issue about the encryption of data calls by blackberry devices. Security services in India were not able to decode messages sent using blackberry devices. There was a claim that during the attacks in Mumbai in 2008, terrorists used these devices for communication. The Indian government had threatened to put sanctions on the use of blackberry devices within the Indian Territory. The United Arab Emirates also had a related issue with the black berry manufacturers. It wanted most of blackberry services to be hosted by a local company. This did not happen, and the government announced the suspension of those services. Recommendations While the company has been able to achieve credible levels of globalization, there are several aspects pertaining to globalization that are worth analyzing. The company has been criticized in several aspects like the case of India in lacking to comply with the local regulations. This raises the need for the company to conduct more research before introducing these products in the less developed countries. The company should note that technological advancement in these countries does not lie on the same level as European and North American countries. It would, therefore, be commendable practice for the company to produce devices which are up to the standard of the technology available in these countries. This consideration should be applied thoroughly, in the event that the company might desire to enter fully into the African market. Failure to do this would be catastrophic in the African market. Technological barriers might make the various services offered by the company unavailable in the African continent (Miles, 2003). The company should also seek to enter the African market. The products of blackberry are sold in Africa, but some of the services coming with the devices are not available. If the company invests in the infrastructure development in this zone, it may create a new market for its globalization venture. There seems to be a growing demand for communication devices in Africa. The company can maximize on this gap through creating direct foreign investments in selected African countries. This would enable the company to produce devices which are functional in the African environment. Instead of exporting ready made devices the company should adopt the strategy of exporting the raw materials to assemble the devices in the many countries it seeks to move into. The company should also increase its partnership with local manufacturing companies in the various countries where it sells it products. Through such partnership, these local companies may be able to offer after sales services to consumers of blackberry. Customers shall not have to travel vast distances in search of basic services like PIN unlocking, which can only be, done by technicians at the blackberry support centre. These partnerships would also avail the technology in these countries to the blackberry manufacturers. The manufacturers can be able to use this information to come up with devices which are compatible with the communication technology available. Conclusion Globalization has come to be accepted as the modern way of conducting international trade in the 21st century (Bhagwati, 2004). Communication comes at the core of globalizing any company. The blackberry brand has achieved a tremendous global effect since its inception. It has seen the growth through the market, and established itself as a market leader in the global arena. It now competes with some of the biggest brands in the communication industry. This growth has led to the globalization of its presence as well as operations. The company has used the available resources to actualize the reality of globalization. This establishment of an international brand has, however, come with several challenges and a multitude of benefits for the company. It is, therefore, upon the company to maintain the standards which it has set and be able to maintain a competitive level in the market. The company should also seek to rectify the criticisms it has received as a way of improving its service delivery. References Aaker, David A.; Erich Joachimsthaler (2000). Brand Leadership. New York: The Free Press. pp. 1–6. Bhagwati, Jagdish (2004). In Defense of Globalization. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press. Colapinto, John (2011). "Famous Names". 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