The Haier Group - Essay Example

As part of their business expansion and diversification, Haier has recently started to produce goods such as refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners, microwaves, televisions, vacuums, cell phones, computers etc (Hunt). “On February 23, 2004, Haier Group, a major home electrical appliance maker in China, was listed as the only Chinese name brand among the world's 100 most recognizable brands in a global name brand list edited by World Brand Laboratory”(Lu et al, p.1) Even though Haier has acquired a significant place in global market, it is not going to be easy for them to maintain their place, unless they find new ways to improve their business.

According to Fortune magazine, Haier's net profit for the six months ending June 2002, declined by 45% and its sales declined by 3.7% during the same period” (Haier Group's Strategy in the US Market). This paper proposes three different ways through which Haier could improve its business strategies and maintain their supremacy in global market. Haier has to improve its international human resource management strategies since it operates in different countries at present. It should be noted that Haier is a company of Chinese origin and the HRM strategies in China and other countries could be entirely different because of the huge political, cultural, social legal and environmental differences between China and other countries.. Chinese government never allows the free flow of information to and from China which is definitely causing problems to Haier.

Moreover, credit card forgeries and other internet related crimes are growing day by day and Haier needs to strengthen their internet platforms to enhance communication and secure online purchasing of its products. Even though Haier products are cheaper compared to other similar products, Chinese products normally have a bad reputation as far as quality is concerned. “Some analysts felt that Haier lacked the brand image to make a dent in the high-end segment. They pointed out that in general consumers were brand-conscious, and this was especially true in the case of high-end products” (Haier Group's Strategy in the US Market).

Haier should give more focus to improve the quality of its products. Haier should realize that the consumer electronic markets of mobile phones, computers etc are not like the markets of home appliances like refrigerators, microwave ovens or dish washers. Apple, Samsung, Nokia, IBM, Microsoft, etc are some of the renowned consumer electronics brands which are competing with Haier products. It is not easy for Haier to beat them unless they improve the quality of their products drastically. It should be noted that technological advancements are necessary even for selling kitchen appliances now.

Competitors are introducing new products and ways to manage kitchen. “For example, Samsung had introduced the “Home PAD Refrigerator,” which detected the shelf life of food and automatically displayed a list of items stored in the fridge on the door. Portable entertainment devices were the new trend in consumer