Contribution of study to the market segmentation and product differentiation debate - Essay Example

? EXAM PAPER and Case study Brand Value Brand is the that a company or a country uses in the advertisement of its products. The value of the brand can determine how much a certain product sells (Ronkainen 2007). The issue of Brand value in this case study has not been brought out clearly. In International trading, a country competes with its competitor on the basis of how the branding is. This is then means that if the product of two named producers is the same, the exception feature that may make one country to sell that the other is the nature of the brand. For example Unilever Company gets it easy to market its products due the nature of branding it imposes .As explained in the international market; there is a need for good brand so as to get the best market for the named product. Hence the above case study argues very little on the issue of the Brand value. Contribution of study to the market segmentation and product differentiation debate Market segmentation ifs the process by which the market is subdivided in the way that the goods can reach the consumers at all corners of the named region in any type of a business. This means that its aim is to bring the product at any point. The product differentiation is where by certain product is designed in a way to make it different from other products of the same class so as to outfit the other products in the market (Ronkainen 2007). The product can be differentiated through branding or even packaging. In this study the issue of decentralization whose main aim is to ensure that each consumer gets what he/she needs gives an insight to the debate of market segmentation hence it is well catered for in this case study. The two terms as described above are very important in the international market. Case study 2 The Argument of the Case on Free Trade versus Protectionism Free trade is the trade where by the market is open for all it that there is no barriers for companies or countries to participate in the market. This means that the custom duties on the exports are reduced and hence all the countries in the international market can participate without incurring extra costs. As in the International market and as the case argues, it can greatly press the trade partner in that when a country sells goods to another, the mount above the original price in the second country becomes the package of the second country while the first country gets very little (Ronkainen 2007). On the other hand the free trade argues that if market is open for all, there is a likely hood that the producers at their own country will face difficulties since market will be flooded with goods from outside hence would not be able to sell theirs. Protectionism on the other side in an international market is where by the barriers are put on the imports and exports. The advantages and disadvantages of free trade and protectionism Free trade has the advantages that it leads to a variety supply of goods to the consumers hence creation of competition avenue which helps the consumers to get good prices on the goods they buy (Ronkainen 2007). The disadvantage of this is that the many goods from outside the country may be dumped which will affect the market of the importing country negatively. Protectionism has the advantage of protecting the market of the companies so as not to be affected by the cheap goods from other countries .The disadvantage of this is that the country will mainly rely on the own goods and this may lead to insufficiency in case a very high demand arises or the country’s producing companies becomes slow in production. Case study 3 The implications for a multinational company registered in New Zealand seeking to open a subsidiary company in Brazil The implication that may follow is that the company will improve on its accrued profit (Ronkainen 2007). This is because there is little individualism in Brazil as compared to New Zealand hence the company would not have any kind of discrimination .The effect of individualism has a negative impact on the on the international market in the sense that if two countries are in business and one of them has a lot of individualism, it will affect the business of the other country in that the accrued profit will the less .This is because the products of the discriminated country will be less bought .The company may however suffer from the uncertainty avoidance which is very high in Brazil. This means that the people of Brazil will tend to avoid the products of other countries due to the uncertainty. This issue affects the international market and most of the countries may suffer especially when the ethics that would curb this are not followed. The implications if a Multinational Company registered in Singapore decided to set up in Brazil The company would suffer market problems since the issue of individualism and uncertainty avoidance is higher in Brazil as compared to Singapore (Ronkainen 2007). Only a few people will buy its products in Brazil. These issues need to be addressed in an international market such that each country adheres to the rules of the international trade. This is because in an international market, is some countries avoid others the there is a big blow n to the business of the discriminated company. Short Answer Questions 1. The falling of the sterling pound against the US dollar will lead to increase in the prices of the commodities in UK because the investors in UK will spend a lot of money to import goods from US and this high price will be implicated on the consumers (Ronkainen 2007). 2. Ethical and social responsibility in international business necessarily reduces corporate profitability because disrespect to ethics and social responsibility in business, invites trade sanctions hence can incur losses (Ronkainen 2007). 5. Political environment may influence international business activity in the sense that if a country has a political crisis, sanctions may be put by business partners which may affect business (Ronkainen 2007). The Strategic Implications Selling goods in Mexico, would gain less profit since the cost is low which also means that money distribution to individuals is little (Ronkainen, 2007). Labor productivity in France is the highest hence would be the best place for a multinational company to sell its goods. Essay Section Multinational Business is one that is operated internationally. According to (Ronkainen 2007), the type of relationship involved between the countries is very important because each country need another in its operation. A Country needs to understand the culture of its business partner before the operation is commenced. Management Differences A good example is the Trading between USA and Japan. There exists a difference between the USA and the Japan in the way they carry out their business. Many in Japan say that the existence of the companies is to benefit their employees. Hence this means that all the firms that are involved in any type of business must respect the welfare of the employees. As a result the methods that are viewed as typically American such as; Acquisitions through tender offers or proxy battles are not generally found in Japan (Ronkainen 2007). This then indicates the difference in approach of Management which represents two conflicting forces. On one side there is the aspect of finance, the efficiency and the effectiveness and the importance of the share holders. On the other side it portrays human resources, social aspect and personnel. In conclusion, the above aspect of the culture factor can negatively affect the business and hence it should be properly addressed (Ronkainen 2007). It can cause breakdown of the Business in the two countries operating in an international business. Bibliography Likka A. Ronkainen. 2007. International Marketing. Neil Marquardt: New York Read More