The Significance of the Public Benefit Requirement in the Law of Charities - Essay Example

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS Created by International Business Major Reasons why Companies Engage in International Business With the advancement in technology and infrastructure world has become a global village and reaching distances is a matter of few hours. With the world becoming global, the business scenario is no longer similar to business concepts and strategies 50 year ago. Now, the competition is going tough and to keep in pace with the developments, businesses are forced to re-think strategies and expand their horizons. A race for going international and expanding business in other countries is a consequence of technology advancement and growing competition. More and more companies now want to engage in International Business. Here are some reasons why companies engage in International Business. The hard fact of any business is that it is run to make money for the owners by supplying services or products matching to the customer’s requirements1 (Prof. W. Tim G). In times of stiff competition it is important for a company to earn profits if it wants to be in the business by finding new sources of revenue and profitability. International business is one of the sources to2: Expand Sales Acquiring Technical Proficiency Acquire Resources Diversify sources of Sales and supplies Minimizing competitive risks Expand Sales-In the increasing global society, it is difficult for a company to depend on domestic sales only. Also, expanding business outside domestic market implies offsetting seasonal fluctuations in domestic market and more sales and more profitability. This is the main motive behind any business Acquiring Technical proficiency- By going international, companies also tend to increase their technical proficiency by diversifying in to markets with greater expertise in certain technology areas. Acquire Resources- Expanding internationally implies broadening the horizons and acquiring more resources. Acquiring more resources leads to growth of company. Diversify sources of Sales and supplies- Companies prefer to engage in international business do expand their sources of sales and supplies. In a domestic market, a company has limited sources, but when it goes international, it has large market to cater to. By diversifying internationally, a company gets an opportunity to market its products and services to international customers. At the same time, it gets an opportunity to diversify its sources of supplies. Minimizing competitive resources- By diversifying in international market, companies minimize the risk of loosing domestic customers who themselves are looking upto foreign markets for supply of goods and services. Secondly, domestic market is a limited market with lot of competition from the rival companies. In international business, the business opportunities are wide and thus the threat from rival competitors is minimized3. (Asim Khan). Three Management Orientations The three management orientation or attitudes are4 (Jowleong): Production concept- The production concept of international business focuses on maximizing the mass production and distribution efficiency in an international market. The Pros-This management orientation works perfectly when the demand is greater then supply. The Cons- This orientation can be disadvantageous when mass production affects the quality of products or service. Product Concept- The companies focusing on this concept believes in making their product best as compared to the rival products. The cons- Company focusing on making their product best might end up focusing less on sales or the sales attractiveness. The pros- Companies focusing on making their product best will ensure latest methodologies and infrastructure to ensure that their product is better than the rest. Marketing Concept- The marketing orientation of companies ensure that the companies not merely produce goods and sell them but “sense and respond, i.e., the companies study the market needs well and than produce services and goods to meet the demands of customers. What are the disadvantages of excessive ethnocentrism and polycentrism? Ethnocentrism refers to the home country orientation of a company. Ethnocentric companies maintain a typical standard of producing home based product and marketing it on foreign shores. The foreign environment is not taken into consideration and the domestic consumer represents the foreign consumer behavior. For this reason domestic marketing dimension is classified as ethnocentric5 (Cateora and Ghauri, 2000). The biggest disadvantage of ethnocentric companies is that their culture is based on the domestic social system while the customers are based on foreign shores. The result is that the companies loose focus on the demands of international customers which in the long run has a negative impact on the profitability and company’s growth. Polycentrism6 is based on host country orientation. Companies following polycentric behavior regard each market as unique and follow decentralized strategies and operations that many a times result in either duplication or inconsistency in products and services. Polycentrism implies a multicultural environment where different people share different work cultures. The biggest disadvantage is that there is lot of inconsistency in values and beliefs of the employees which eventually affects the quality of products and services. Potential Risks of Engaging in Export Business Engaging in an export business can be a very profitable venture with a carefully planned and researched marketing strategy. It is vital to have groundwork done before stepping into export. Advantages, disadvantages and potential risks of exporting in a specific country have to be studied well before venturing into export business. Some of the potential risks of engaging in an export business that have to be carefully analyzed before venturing into export business are7: The political and economical situation of the target country- Political and economical stability of the target country is vital to successful export business. If there is economical or political unrest in the country, it might pose a threat to your business overseas making it suffer. Value of foreign currency- The fluctuation is foreign currency may cause financial losses. Therefore, it is important to study the financial stability of the country. The costs of setting up and maintaining export processes being too large for your business to handle- You have to bear in mind your budget and the total cost of setting up your business in foreign country. Inadequate assessment of the resources required to export your product or service8 - You need to analyze your potential and resources before getting into export. It is vital to ensure that you have the capacity to meet the customer demands in the foreign market. Ability to provide qualty service and products within the deadline is imporatant for your company’s reputation and growth. Dificulties in Chasing payment over miles- You are sitting in a country which is miles away from the country where you are exporrting your goods. The relationship based on mutual trust. But sometimes, chasing payments from your customers can be a tough job especially with irate customers. This is a risk which has to be taken into consideration before venturing into export business. Problems associating with Transporting Goods- Transporting goods from one country to another country requires a strong infrastructure and facilities. Lack of proper transportation facilities can be a big risk to tackle. Cultural and Religious beliefs- Every country has its own culture and beliefs. Inability to meet up to the requirements of customers and their culture and beliefs can be a possible threat to your export plans. Language barriers9- Language barriers may present an obstacle while communicating with the beliefs and advantages of a company’s product and services overseas. Challenges of Selling Internationally Through Internet The advancement of World Wide Web and Internet has made our lives- both professional and personal easier and hassle free. Coming of internet has made this world a global village with communication across the borders, a matter of few seconds. Internet has open a world of opportunities where individuals can easily access information from anywhere around the word just on a click. Similarly, internet gives an opportunity to broaden their horizons and look for potential clients on foreign shores. Now, it is easier for business to grow overseas by developing contacts on Internet. However, expanding business on internet is not about convenience and advantages. Developing international business contacts on internet is definitely a big advantage; however, selling goods through internet is not devoid of challenges. Internet is an open platform and it is not easy to authenticate the persons you are dealing with, through internet. This is where the challenge lies. While dealing with domestic or known international clients, there is a mutual relationship of trust and understanding. However, if you are meeting a client on internet and developing a business relationship online, there is no way to authenticate the users. “The Internet's protocols weren't designed to authenticate users and their data, allowing spammers and hackers to easily cover their tracks by attaching fake return addresses onto data packets”10. This is the biggest challenge of selling on internet. There is no way to verify the antecedents of people you are selling your goods too. Therefore, it becomes vital before selling your goods on the internet, to verify the information provided by the clients through your local contacts or enquiry to be rest assured that you are selling to genuine people. It might be the case that people you are dealing with are genuine, however, there are some hackers working in the background to hack your company details and use them for some selfish interests. Therefore, it is important to use applications such as firewalls and spam filters to control security threats. However, these applications do not go deep into the network, still paving a way for hackers to pass on bad data or misuse information. The clean slate solution is- The network would have to be redesigned to be skeptical of all users and data packets from the start. Data wouldn't be passed along unless the packets are authenticated. Faster computers today should be able to handle the additional processing required within the network11. If you want to use internet as a platform to sell goods it is important to adopt strict measures and operate in a secure environment. Learnings of International Business Course This course has equipped with an understanding of international business. The course has exposed to me various dimensions of international business, the environment required to operate international business, infrasture necessary to operate in an international environment as well as the challenges of operating in an international environment. A course in international business has also explained me the implications of international business on my future organizations’ strategies, structure and functions, particularly in the face of the fast growing pace of globalization12.  For anyone who wish to pursue a career dealing in international markets, be it working a professional or running your own enterprise, a course in international business in must to understanding the various factors operating in international business environment. References and Sources 1- Prof. W. Tim G. Richardson © www.witiger.com; Referencing not plagrisim. Retrieved on 17 June 2007 from http://www.witiger.com/internationalbusiness/whyexport.htm 2- Referencing not plagrisim; Retrieved on 17 June 2007 from http://www.witiger.com/internationalbusiness/whyexport.htm 3- Referencing not plagrisim; Retrieved on 17 June 2007 from ; Asim Khan; Deciding to go international http://www.witiger.com/internationalbusiness/whyexport.htm 4- Referencing not plagrisim; Retrieved on 17 June 2007 from Jowleong; http://people.ucsc.edu/~jowleong/Josh's%20marketing%20review%20online%20edition.ppt#56 5- Cateora and Ghauri, 2000; Referencing not plagrisim; Retrieved on 17 June 2007 from http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/2938_10jams01.pdf 6- Referencing not plagrisim; Retrieved on 17 June 2007 from http://www.sagepub.com/upm-data/2938_10jams01.pdf 7- Referencing not plagrisim; Retrieved on 17 June 2007 from http://www.westpac.com.au/manage/pdf.nsf/DF70EAB241F94A81CA25705E0026A2EF/$File/Export_guide.pdf?OpenElement. 8- Referencing not plagrisim; Retrieved on 17 June 2007 from http://www.business.vic.gov.au/BUSVIC/STANDARD//pc=pc=PC_50455.html#intNav6 9- Referencing not plagrisim; Retrieved on 17 June 2007 from www.hispanicsmb.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=tmS%2B7IKQYco%3D&tabid=62&mid=497 10- 11-Referencing not plagrisim; Retrieved on 17 June 2007 from 20th April; http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/20070420/internet-challenges-lead-to-clean-slate-work.htm 12- Referencing not plagrisim; Retrieved on 17 June 2007 from http://fpa.uum.edu.my/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=35&Itemid=138 Read More