Disneyland as Business Opportunity in Singapore - Essay Example

Disneyland as Business Opportunity in Singapore BY YOU YOUR ACADEMIC ORGANISATION HERE HERE Disneyland as Business Opportunity in Singapore Legal/bureaucratic environment When deciding the most important way to build and operate such a large-scale entertainment facility, there are several legal/bureaucratic issues which must be decided. However, Singapore has a very strong national economy with a 7.7 percent growth rate in 2006 (Loh, 2006). The nation is supported by a well-developed infrastructure which allows for low-cost distribution of product as well as a system of importation which experiences growth in terms of maintaining enough labor to receive import deliveries and the capacity to handle imported goods effectively (Ying, 2006). In terms of supply chain, the import/export environment, in relation to high tariff fees and taxation, is a positive business environment for developing such a large recreational facility. There is no evidence that tariff issues have caused any large-scale problems to business policy for other organizations currently operating in Singapore. Additionally, Singapore is also a nation with strong political stability and governmental transparency (Freedom House, 2006). Because the country has a well-developed legal system and voting rights for its people, the country can be classified as more democratic. Thus Disneyland in Singapore is suitable for Western values related to recreation and personal entertainment in an environment where social freedoms exist (Freedom House). When political stability and social stability exist in the foreign nation, developing the new Disneyland project will be without the many complications caused by civil or governmental unrest, which can serve to hurt business operations. Further, local industry appears to be a big positive attribute for operating the new project in Singapore because many textile, food, and consumer lifestyle products are available locally (Kui, 1998), allowing Disneyland to order supplies from some local manufacturers rather than experience large-scale costs for international product delivery. These items will be necessary to run the business successfully and provide customers with a quality Disneyland experience. Having local manufacturers to draw products from will lessen the costs of distribution and satisfy company objectives for long-term profitability and the ability to market to local consumers successfully. For instance, rather than buying product from Hong Kong, which would mean ocean travel and limited control over delivery of important operating products, the distribution infrastructure will allow for most of the products to be delivered by land. This puts products within the boundary of a somewhat business-liberal and cooperative government, thus denying any potential opportunity for problems with product distribution, such as holding Disneyland’s needed merchandise for tariff complications (or other issues). Clearly, Singapore has a good government and stable infrastructure which will provide this new business idea with many opportunities. These opportunities are cost-savings and the peace of mind in knowing that the business will operate in an environment that is stable and not prone to disruption from social or political instability. This is one of the most positive portions of business strategy which must be considered, because without a stable environment in which to operate, there will likely be no ability to predict future profits. Because the local society and government have values which are more progressive and Westernized, this creates an ideal environment in which to operate with pre-existing Disneyland strategies that have been tested and proven effective in the United States without the need for costly and extensive training regarding cultural differences or ethnic preferences. This will be another important cost-savings area of Singapore as the new chosen business environment in which to develop the new facility. Competition in Market As Singapore grows and becomes more financially and governmentally stable, so does higher varieties of competition. This is because local industries and businesses try to profit from the nation’s strong economy. The government of Singapore offers high financial support for information and communication technology (itu.int, 2007), thus many businesses in this sector are receiving incentives from the local government. For any industry, such incentives create more competition which is something that this new Disneyland opportunity will have to consider. However, governmental programs and support, in terms of limited taxation and increased cooperative attitudes, will lessen the impact of competitor activities simply by government’s granting of assistance in the event of lower sales volumes or the need to broaden the scope of the business itself. In terms of competition, such as in the hospitality and recreational marketplaces, Singapore does not appear to maintain any large threat to this new development project. Though Singapore is a thriving nation in terms of economic growth, the country does not experience large volumes of tourists only because the country is much more industrial than linked toward tourism and hospitality. This could be a large strength for the new Disneyland project as it will provide a new type of service variety for local customers, who are believed as being very Western-focused in terms of values and modern lifestyle preferences (Davis, 2005). With this in mind, the new Disneyland development will monopolize the local market for recreation in this type of high-volume business. This will drive projects for profit much higher based only on the project’s exclusive service type in the region. Having no large-scale competitors in the local region will allow the company to focus strongly on building a relationship with its existing clients without worry of competition taking market share and lowering total profitability from customer sales volumes. Operating in an untapped market without competition will provide the new project with many opportunities in terms of expansion and local growth without the requirement of heavy and costly marketing efforts. Without the worry of competitor activities, there is no need for the business to work on heavy promotion and advertisement as a means to beat competitive activities, thus the marketing budget will be followed as well as the supply chain cost reductions caused by strong governmental stability. There are, however, many hotel chains from the mid-range to the more upscale facility in the region, which suggests high volumes of visitors to this region. However, Brown (2004) identifies that many of these cater to the frequent business traveler conducting foreign corporate affairs in this strong manufacturing and industrial region, thus their impact on tourist revenues in relation to the new Disneyland facility should be minimal. However, the business can address issues of marketing as they develop in order to draw a larger consumer audience. Of considerable interest to this new development is understanding that the Singapore Internet environment is one of strong growth with many more consumers having full access to the Web than ever before. In fact, Singapore has the highest home Internet usage of any other developed nation (ict.int). This has created a situation in which competition marketing efforts have begun using the Web as a means to capture larger brand loyalty and customer relationships. Though this does not appear to indicate an immediate threat to the scope of the Disneyland Singapore project, however the business must consider building a strong brand presence in the region by having the web as a bigger target market strategy simply to reach a wider audience and stay in-line with competitor efforts as an internal benchmark for success. References Brown, Vanga R. (2004). “Hospitality: Singapore”. Retrieved 25 Mar 2008 from http://www.arv.org/allsing/bra99012_accomod_pdf. Davis, Ann. (2005). “Consumer Profile: Singapore”. Demographic Profile and Intermediate Customer Growth in Singapore. Retrieved 25 Mar 2008 from http://www.excelsior.com/198774/10_90&library_consumer_profile_2005.pdf Freedom House. (2006). “Country Report: Singapore”. Retrieved 26 Mar 2008 from http://www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=22&year=2006&country=7055 Itu.int. (2007). “Singapore Case Study”. International Telecommunication Union. Retrieved 26 Mar 2008 from http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/cs/singapore/singapore.html Kui, Ng B. (1998). “Hong Kong and Singapore as International Financial Centres: A Comparative Functional Perspective”. Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Retrieved 26 Mar 2008 from http://www.ntu.edu.sg/nbs/sabre/working_papers/06-98.pdf Loh, Dominique. (2006). “CPF increase possible if outlook stays good: PM Lee”. Sinapore News. Retrieved 26 Mar 2008 from http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/250028/1/.html Ying, Tay H. (2006). “Singapore Economy: On Track to Meet High End of GDP Forecast with Strong Showing in 1H 2006”. Colliers International Quarterly Research Report Singapore”. Retrieved 25 Mar 2008 from http://www.colliers.com/Content/Repositories/Base/Markets/Singapore/English/Market_Report/PDFs/The_Knowledge_Jul06.pdf The Condensed Presentation Version Legal/Bureaucratic Environment: - Singapore has a high economic growth rate of 7.7 percent for 2006. - Well-developed infrastructure for low-cost distribution of product. This includes roadways and the ability to get from one region to the next without difficulty. - There are no high tariffs or high taxation from a governmental view. This will help keep costs of distribution low. - There is strong political stability in the region which will keep the business operating without problems in the external environment such as protests or warfare. - There is a high social belief in Western values and products in Singapore. This will give the business a chance to use marketing which works in America for many customers in Singapore. - High manufacturing makes local products available. This avoids have to buy products from Hong Kong or other costly ways. Competition Issues: - High volumes of competition created by government incentives. When government tries to give tax breaks for foreign business, they come to the region and flood the market. - Not a great deal of tourism in the region so not much competition overall in things like hotels. This will keep competition concerns low. - The web is available for high marketing if sales go down because Singapore has the highest users across the globe. Read More