International Business Operation - Assignment Example

International Business Operation Course Title Tutor University Affiliation Department Date Q1 (499 Words) Choosing expatriate managers for an international assignment requires an absolute thoroughness that has to factor in several aspects in order to be successfully accomplished. The company has to consider factors ranging from assignee traits, role and preparations before sending out expatriates. Some of these are as discussed below; Extroverted; expatriates with outgoing personalities should be given first priorities. This is due to the fact that individuals versed with outgoing personalities usually get accustomed to new environments quicker than desk-bound introverts. If extroverts are selected by the company, the whole process is likely to be successful. York (2010) acknowledges that extroverts are people who easily build relationships and socialize with new staff and stakeholders quickly. Cultural Sensitivity; similarly, the company should shortlist only those managers who portray ethnic diversity. According to Treven, (2003) individuals who have had firsthand experience with ethnic diversity usually adapt faster in international cultures unlike those unfamiliar with the same. The company is thus required to consider candidates with ethnically diverse origins. Such individuals may be those whose parents are immigrants. Adventurous; Adventurous individuals are the best candidates for expatriate assignments (Li 2016). This means that they should have a positive record of adventurous behavior upon their sleeves. Thomas, Peterson & Thomas (2014) further concur that individuals with profound interest in experiencing and socializing with new people tend to adapt easily in offshore environments than forlorn characters. For example, managers who have regularly travelled overseas should be given first priority. They must have also participated in activities involving sporting groups, community development and volunteer work. Flexibility; this refers to an individual’s willingness to try new methods of performing tasks. According to a study by capstone research, adaptability and flexibility were the most common characteristics that expatriate managers attributed to be the reason behind their successful tenures abroad. For example, one manager interviewed by the capstone researchers was recorded saying that "each country and job had a different way of doing things - flexibility was key (Kotler & Armstrong 2010). The company should consequently put flexibility as a must have quality for potential candidates. Preparation Pre-program evaluation and investigation; The company can do this by assessing the expatriates’ and family members’ ethnic background and prior offshore experience. Understanding of the host country’s culture, objectives and visions should shape a tweaked expat and family instructional course. Expat and family training program; This stage can be used by the company to help designated expatriates increase their knowledge about the host country’s business culture, society and values. Finishing such preparations ought to bring about a fundamentally diminished danger of cultural misunderstanding or impressions but rather enhance a culturally diverse experience. Project alignment meeting; this is done once the expatriate and host country or organization have received important information about the whole project (Li 2016). Thus, through person to person, telephone or videoconferencing exchanges, the selected candidates and host managers should address and discuss various ethnic differences that might affect the success of the assignment, tools and techniques to prevent misunderstandings. Q2 (492 Words) Germany plays a host to some of the major car manufacturers in the world namely; Mercedes, Volkswagen, Audi and BMW (Jürgens 2004). As of today, Germany is the world’s third largest manufacturing country in the automobile industry. Beating the likes of France and Portugal who are still milestones from reaching her potential in the European market. According to a research by Heneric, Licht & Sofka, (2005) one out of every ten vehicles we see on our roads today come from production lines based in Germany. For quite some time now, the automobile industry has been a major contributor to Germany’s robust economy, the most active and largest Industry in the European Union (Hill 2007). Owing to the above facts, some of the key factors that influenced my decision to select Germany as the ideal location for our automobile production line include; Germany’s regulations and policies, annual expenditures/profits and growth rates with close analysis of other markets like France and Portugal. According to Verband der Automobilindustrie (VDA) Germany’s automotive industry affects her national growth and employment significantly. Yueh (2013) acknowledges that by 1990 25% of Germanys GDP came from the automobile industry with the center located in Baden-Württemberg. In close comparison, France also boasts of major automobile brands in EU such as Citroen, Venturi, Peugeot and Bugatti. France is responsible for production of about 3 million vehicles globally. Despite playing host to manufacturing brands like PSA Peugeot Citroen, Mitsubishi, and Salvador Caetano Portugal, Portugal is not a robust market for automobile production line. Closely looking at the three markets, I realized that there exists a positive reception of German manufactured automobile brands across global markets. This means that adding our automobile line in Germany will come with an added positive boost in the world’s market shares. Furthermore, Germany currently holds the record for highest bus exports in the world. In terms of regulatory environment, Germany’s National transport policy adopted direct charges for road use like most countries in Europe (Pavlínek & Ženka 2010). Further, as of January 2005, Germany to charge a toll for truck on its roads. With more than 800,000 trucks using her highways every day, this means that the government gets high revenues and not to forget the manufacturers of such trucks. Basically, starting our production line in Germany would be beneficial from this policy since Portugal and France do not have the same regulatory framework. Additionally, the German government has in place a financial policy that provides direct or indirect financial support to business research that extends towards the development of automobile industry. I believe, if our company is set up in Germany, financial support from the German government would stimulate the development of our production line through proper and advanced automobile research. In addition to that, financial support for introduction of modern technologies and innovative projects to foreign investors is usually rolled out. Thus, our company will have enough financial support to boost it during its startup phase. Q3 (500 Words) In 2014, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) rated China as world’s number one economic superpower (Yueh 2013). However, after more than thirty years of dramatic growth, China’s manufacturing engine is slowly coming to a halt thanks to labor unrest, rising salaries, environmental devastation not to forget intellectual property theft. In sum, global market analysts purport that China is no longer the ideal place for investors from the Western and European Union. Analysts also say that for some time now China has enjoyed a global economic might due to its cheap labor cost but this is about to change since technology is eliminating the labor cost advantage. Consequently, companies are looking for alternative countries to set up their high-value manufacturing and the best option available is the USA. With these problems hitting hard at China’s economy, it is safe to say that it losing its competitive advantage. Her low level of technological expertise compared with that of the United States is also a major reason why China might lose its hold as the world’s top economic hub. Analysts also note that unlike the US, 50% of all Chinese exports encompass processing trade whereby goods are imported into China for assembly and then later exported. Furthermore, most of these exports are not directed by Chinese firms but by corporations from more developed countries like the US, Germany, France et cetera. Despite the fact that China exports tons of high-tech goods, it has a long way to go in order to bridge the technological gap between Her and the USA. Unlike the policies in most manufacturing companies in USA, China does not manufacture most of her robots locally. An analysis by Dieter Ernst of the East-West Center proved that more than 78% of all robots in China today are acquired from offshore firms (Shirk 2007). In fact, the study showed that China imports most of her technical products from Japan. Also, Irvine (2015) asserts that the more than 100 robot manufacturing companies in China produce low quality robots and have poor design standards. In comparison with the high-quality robots manufactured in the USA, analysts believe that China’s robotic products cannot be allowed to enter the USA and other European markets. This means that more than half of Chinese manufacturing companies are unlikely to survive in the modern market thus affecting her economic superpower status. Another huddle for China is its workforce. Despite the fact that China sees more than 1 million engineers graduating from its Universities annually, the quality of its education system is so poor that most of its grandaunts are not employable in European countries. Thus, Western companies have difficulty in recruiting technical talent from China (Shirk 2007). The situation may worsen because propelled producing requires administration and relational abilities and the capacity to work complex data based production lines. Irvine (2015) predicts that the expanding shortage of specific abilities from China may be its final blow at the top of world economies thus paving way for USA take over. Q4 (486 Words) The UK pig industry has for decades enjoyed great success. In 2013 nonetheless, the average pig price fell steadily. At the same time, demand for pork has dropped, even though the price is falling (Rothschild & Ruvinsky 2011). Despite these downfalls, pork and pork products are still widely marketed in the UK than in Turkey. This is due to religious beliefs associated with pork eating and pig rearing in Turkey. As Shirazi (2016) asserts, although the Koran lists other inequities such as adultery and gambling, in Turkey pork eating is considered the biggest sin. Muslims who take pig meat are viewed to have rejected their faith (Aswathappa 2010). This means that marketing strategy for this product in Turkey must be different in order to enjoy market success. Thus, in order to attract consumers and equally generate maximum revenue in Turkey, three elements of marketing have to be considered as discussed below. Place According to researchers, it is uncommon to find pork being sold in public places in Turkey. Generally, for one to get his/her hands-on pork, they have to be in the most Westernized parts of Turkey, like İzmir, İstanbul or down the Aegean-Mediterranean coast. This implies that place as a marketing element should be adapted to suite the sale of the product. For instance, selling the product in rural and traditional regions in Turkey may not go well with locals leave a lone sale out. Marketing means attracting customers for the product and thus major towns in Turkey are the best adaptable places for pork business. Price The price of pork in Turkey should be kept fairly standard during marketing. This is due to the fact that not many would buy it at high price. Aswathappa (2010) believes that the infamous portrayal of pork eating as religiously immoral has affected its sale in Turkey. Thus, if marketed at high prices, not many would buy it. Similarly, while determining the price of the product factors such as operation costs and distribution costs incurred while availing the product to the market should be considered. Since reception of the product may not be certain, cost of operation and distribution should. The price should therefore remain standard and to the means of target market. Product The product refers to what is being offered to the market. In this case, pork is our product and Turkey the target market. Since pork is not a new product in the Turkish market, this element of marketing should not remain standard. This means adapting new selling strategies to ensure the it sells out with limited competition from other players in the market. This may entail highlighting on the important nutrients that the locals are missing by not taking pork. Other strategy may include convincing the locals that pork improves immunity to diseases. In sum, the product will only enjoy profits if it can fill certain gap in the needs of the target market. References York, K. M. (2010). Applied human resource management: strategic issues and experiential exercises. Los Angeles, Sage. Joe Jordan, Sue Cartwright, (1998) "Selecting expatriate managers: key traits and competencies", Leadership & Organization Development Journal, Vol. 19 Iss: 2, pp.89 – 96 Li, Y. (2016). Expatriate manager's adaption and knowledge acquisition: personal development in multi-national companies in china. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&db=nlabk&AN=1085785. Thomas, D. C., Peterson, M. F., & Thomas, D. C. (2014). Cross-cultural management: essential concepts. https://nls.ldls.org.uk/welcome.html?ark:/81055/vdc_100025421375.0x000001. Treven, S., 2003. International training: the training of managers for assignment abroad. Education+ Training, 45(8/9), pp.550-557. Hill, CW. (2007). International business, 6th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007. Nieuwenhuis, P., & Wells, P. E. (2015). The global automotive industry. Heneric, O., Licht, G., & Sofka, W. (2005). Europe's automotive industry on the move: competitiveness in a changing world. Heidelberg, Physica-Verlag. http://public.eblib.com/choice/publicfullrecord.aspx?p=304794 Pavlínek, P. and Ženka, J., 2010. Upgrading in the automotive industry: firm-level evidence from Central Europe. Journal of Economic Geography, p.lbq023. Jürgens, U., 2004. An elusive model–Diversified quality production and the transformation of the German automobile industry. Competition and Change, 8(4), pp.411-423. Shirk, S.L., 2007. China: Fragile superpower: How China's internal politics could derail its peaceful rise. Oxford University Press. Yueh, L. Y. (2013). China's growth: the making of an economic superpower. Irvine, R., 2015. Forecasting China's Future: Dominance Or Collapse? (Vol. 128). Routledge Vanham, P 2015, World Economic Forum, Accessed 16th March 2017. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/09/will-the-us-or-china-be-tomorrows-economic-superpower/ Rothschild, M.F. and Ruvinsky, A. eds., 2011. The genetics of the pig. CABI. Shirazi, F. (2016). Brand Islam: the marketing and commodification of piety. Kotler, P. and Armstrong, G., 2010. Principles of marketing. pearson education. Aswathappa, K. (2010). International business. New Delhi, Tata McGraw Hill Education. Read More