Application of International Management in Thailand - Case Study Example

Objective of the dissertation proposal This research paper aims at assessing the feasibility of producing frozen foods for export in Thailand. The countries chosen for export are the US, UK, China and Japan. The study will utilise two approaches i.e. primary and secondary analysis. The former approach will encompass use of online questionnaires to access consumer attitude in the latter four countries. Respondents will be required to state whether they would purchase frozen foods from Thailand if brought into their local market. The second approach will involve the use of secondary materials. It will entail an analysis of the export potential in Thailand through assessment of its trade tariffs, economic growth, economic polices and raw material availability. Additionally, a similar analysis will be conducted for the four foreign countries. If economic conditions in these countries are feasible for foreign export, then the project is also feasible. Lastly, this research aims at proposing the best international business management tactics in those respective countries. Introduction Thailand is a country located in the Eastern part of the Asian Continent. The country has a lot of potential in its food industry because agriculture is one of the mainstays of the Thailand economy. Currently, the industry is dominated by the sale of fresh foods both within the country and also as exports. Very little has been done in the development of the ready- to - eat/ frozen foods section of the industry yet that country has more than enough resources and raw materials to start development in this line of business. Besides, there is a ready market in the country and outside for the products. Some of the countries that could be potential markets for frozen food from Thailand include the US, UK, China and Japan.1 Background and academic content The research topic The research topic deals with the introduction of frozen foods from Thailand into foreign markets. This will encompass research on application of international business management techniques, research on the feasibility of this venture in Thailand and research on consumer behaviour in target markets. Why the topic is worth the effort and key academic ideas The research is extremely necessary because Thailand has a lot of potential in this area but has not exploited it. Therefore, there is a need for one to examine the feasibility of such a venture. This is because before one penetrates into a certain market there are a number of factors that need to be examined to ensure that the venture will be a success. Economic policies within the country of origin must be examined to certify that they favour the exportation of certain commodities. This ought to be examined against the backdrop of that country's economy. A researcher should examine how the Thailand economy is and what level of industrial growth has the country achieved. On top of that, one should ascertain that the country will be able to produce quality frozen foods and that it will be able to sustain that level of production. Some of the factors that could act as a deterrent to the success of exported products include; low purchasing power high wage costs poor climatic conditions availability of raw materials availability of product alternatives2 Therefore, the research should ascertain that these factors are not present in Thailand before it can give a go ahead to the production of frozen foods in the area. There is also need for research in this area because one needs to asses whether there is a ready market for the goods that will be produced by Thailand. In the process of examining this, one should look at consumer behaviour in target countries like the US and China and find out whether there will be a positive attitude towards goods from Thailand. In addition, the export potential of the product should also be assessed. Export market potential is the ability of a product to sell in foreign countries. This is normally assessed by analysing performance in the country of origin. Beside these, companies that are interested in exporting should ask themselves what kind of strategy will be used to begin exportation. There are plenty of methods that are available for Thailand to adopt. One of them is 'direct 'exporting'. Here, a given Company simply handles all the aspects of the exports. This will include production of products, distribution of products, supply of products and even research on types of markets. This kind of strategy is somewhat ambitious since the Company will be handling too many functions. But the benefit of such a scheme is that it eliminates all other third parties and allows the respective Company to enjoy all aspects of its profit. Another strategy that an exporting Company could use is indirect exporting where it hires the services of an external Company like an export consultant to help it with penetration into the market. Lastly, a frozen food Company within Thailand could choose to partner with another Company in a foreign country of choice. This is because it is very likely that a local Company understands the market there and can help the Company from Thailand to grow within that country. 3 Main proponents of these ideas Kam, Fredrick and Petri (2004) ascertain that one should asses the capability of a given country to support international business before one can begin exporting in those countries. These same people also suggested factors that need to be examined in the country desiring to export. Other proponents of the ideas suggested above are Robert and Minnow (1995). These two authors suggested that there should be an assessment of the export market potential. Lastly, Maxwell (2007) discusses the various types of marketing strategies that are available to potential exporters and what the benefits of those market entry strategies are. How the research relates to these ideas The research will simply be examining all the above factors (factors to be examined before engaging in international business) but in the context of Thailand and China, Thailand and the US and Thailand and the UK. Research objectives 1) To study the feasibility of producing frozen foods in Thailand 2) To study market potential in Thailand and three foreign countries 3) To suggest business management tactics necessary to implement international business in UK, US and in China Methods and access Approach and strategy intended and why the approach was chosen The research will involve assessment of the economic situation in Thailand and the three countries. This assessment will be done through the use of secondary sources. The reason for choosing this method is because all that is needed is a comparison of the business environments of all the countries that will be involved in the venture. Besides this, studies on the economies of China, US, UK AND Thailand have already been done. Therefore the research will simply be doing an analysis of those previous researches to come up with a different conclusion. Another research method that will be crucial in their research is the use of questionnaires. This method is quite appropriate in this scenario because of the following reasons; 4 The research involves many countries i.e. four. It is almost impractical for a researcher to visit all these countries to obtain data from them directly. For that reason, one needs to come up with a research method that will not involve direct contact with participants since the latter will be too expensive. Questionnaires are perfect solution to that because they allow participants from various countries to contribute to the research even without leaving the comfort of their own homes. The questionnaires can either be posted to them using ordinary mail or they may be placed in the internet for convenience. Answers can be easily quantified since they all lie within a certain range. Most other research methods like interviews give varied answers that may not even lie within the area of interest. Therefore, questionnaires are more focused and prevent participants from straying away from the main topic. The fact that answers are easily quantifiable is also very helpful because a conclusion can be easily drawn from there. And in case there was a hypothesis prior to the research, it can either be ascertained or nullified. In our case, there is a hypothesis that states 'Thailand has the capability of producing frozen foods for export' - this will either be ascertained or nullified with the help of a questionnaire. How to use this approach and strategy The questionnaires will be posted on the internet. There will be several websites chosen most of which are frequently visited by online users. The questionnaires will be in form of a URL sent to websites that have accepted to participate in the survey. These websites will represent the four given countries i.e. they will be the most popular ones in those respective countries. Participants will be asked abut the number of times they have eaten frozen foods, what they think about frozen food and whether they mind consuming products originating from Thailand. These questions will contribute to assessment of export market potential. Records will be obtained from public libraries. These records will contain information concerning the economies of those four countries and industrial trends, trade policies and trade barriers in each of them. These records will then be analysed critically to come up with a conclusion on the feasibility of producing exports in Thailand. Research setting and why the setting was chosen Since the bulk of the research will be done using the internet, correspondents will be coming from a mixture of different locations. 5 Some may come from learning institutions like universities while others may be at work during their spare time. In addition, others may fill the questionnaires from home. This will also depend upon the ability of a participant to access the internet. However, a portion of the questionnaire will ask respondents to give their exact location. This will assist in placing answers in context. The particular settings under study were chosen because of differences in geographical locations of participants. This means that one cannot be able to choose members from a particular area and leave out others. How to use this data Answers obtained from the questionnaires will be aggregated into percentages. High percentages will indicate that people have a positive attitude towards Thailand exports and frozen foods. Low percentages will indicate that people have a negative attitude towards frozen food. Data obtained from records will be analysed through the use of graphs to compare figures. The GDPs of all the four countries will be compared and if found feasible then the proposal will be given a go ahead. 6 How to ensure access to data Prior to the research, permission will be obtained from common websites found in the four countries under study. This will be done through letters (emails) sent to these Companies to ask for their permission in the conduction of the survey. There will be many companies chosen such that if one company refuses then there will be other options. The records will be easily obtained from a public library that is fully equipped with all the necessary material for the research. This will not be a very difficult task. Research ethics The research may involve access to confidential information because it will be ding an assessment of people's opinion concerning products from Thailand. Therefore, there is a need to protect the rights of those who will give their opinions since this may be negative. This issue will be dealt with by ensuring that all the participants have anonymity. Participants will not be asked for their names in the questionnaires. Most of them will simply have given their locations so that the answers can be placed in context. There will also be a school form that will be signed. This form will ensure that ethics are upheld within the research basis. This form will also be used when seeking permission from the website Companies chosen.7 Time scale and research There will be need for permission to be obtained before posting the URLs. This will then be followed by sending the questionnaires, monitoring and recording responses and lastly, coming up with a conclusion. The following is the time span for the research Duration Activity Week 1-2 Generation of sample questions Week 3-4 Get consent from website companies Week 5-9 Starting the survey, monitoring, recording responses and accessing the public library Week 10-12 Compile data and come up with conclusion Conclusion Thailand is a very promising country in terms of the frozen food industry. A research on the feasibility of production of frozen foods and export potential is therefore vital. But because the research will involve many countries, then online questionnaires and secondary sources are an appropriate choice of research methods. The research will require permission from participating website companies and strict adherence to ethics since participants anonymity must be protected. 8 Reference: Maxwell (2007): Marketing strategies, Retrieved from http://www.perso.orange.fr/pgreenfinch/mkting4/mkting accessed on January 25th, 2008 Robert A.G. & Minnow, N (1995): Emerging Global Business marketing Oxford: Blackwell Business Kamm, J.B., Frederick, R.E. and Petri, E.S. (2004): International marketing strategies, Connecticut Flaming, L. and Connor B. (1999), Real-Time internet applications; Linux Journals pp 5-12 Richard T. (1995): International Business Ethics and culture, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc United Nations (2001); Global impact: corporate leadership in the world economy. United Nations office, New York Kilter, P (2006): Principles of Marketing: Stages of customer relationships. 4th European Edition Prentice Hall Harlow (UK) National Career Development Association (NCDA) (2007): Code of Ethics; retrieved from; www.ncda.org/pdf/EthicalStandards.pdf accessed on 25/01/08 Read More