Expansion and Setting up New Plants and Sites - Assignment Example

Expansion and setting up new plants and sites is key for businesses trying to achieve growth. For this purpose a global presence is needed along witha firm structure of managed operations which are integrated with the business operations. As mentioned that to meet the rise in the global demand for its product company has decided to set up a facility in Latin America and Columbia is being considered as the prime country for this establishment.
Columbia is home to a population of over 40 million which include people belonging to various ethnic backgrounds making the culture rich and diverse at the same time. This fact should be kept in mind while opening a business there because in business activities we would come across people belonging to various ethnical groups and will be a part of our work force. Along with this factor Columbia is a country which is rich in natural resources but at the same time the country has class differences which have been running throughout the history, illegal drug cartels and differences between the political parties remain there making it a tough country to operate in. Maintaining focus on these we should be prepared with strategies to tackle such issues which can arise in the context of fore mentioned points.
For preparing a strategy that is to successfully deal and cope up with the population, culture & class differences, political instabilities etc. in Columbia we need to understand in depth the heritage; develop a thorough understanding of its culture since our workforce will be consisting of mostly local population whose mentality and thinking process will be influenced or at least affected by these factors. Managing this local workforce will be tedious task for managers involved and for this experience such managers should be opted who have had firsthand experience working with diverse work forces and at the same time possess counseling qualities through which he could motivate them. A diversity strategy should be formulated.
In Columbia there are some peculiar trends that are followed while conducting business. Business meetings are rather prolonged and sticking to the point of business can be taken as a sign of rushing things hence giving a disrespectful gesture. A pleasant meeting should involve discussion about family, along with business and other interests which maintains a smooth flow throughout the meeting. Also using a person’s name directly should be avoided and A Mr. Mrs. or Miss should be inserted before using the name. While even in an formal business meeting Columbians like to engage in physical contact which is usual for them so a person should not feel uncomfortable and back off if they have their hand on the person’s shoulder but instead it should be taken as a positive sign that the members in the meeting are happy with the person.
In dealing for business activities, to make the meeting successful or pleasant, a local guarantor or a contractor who is a native language speaker should be appointed as he’ll be thorough with the business on the ground and at the same time be well aware of gestures and terms for negotiations. He can arrange for businesses or people who might be interested in our proposal. Also the appointment for business meeting should be taken days in advance preferably a week. Before getting into negotiations more focus should be maintained upon building trusts as Columbians will prefer personal relationships. At any point, the initial business process should not be rushed unless it is necessary. Once terms and conditions have been worked upon and trust relationship is established then the personnel involved in the entire process should be retained as changing them can lead to coming back on square one.
The final decision does not solely depend upon the proposal presented because although the proposal might look appealing but the final decision rests upon what the decision makers’ intuition tells them to and the decision makers rely upon their gut feelings.
REFERENCES
Cyborlink. Colombia - Colombian Business Etiquette, Manners, Cross Cultural Communication, and Geert Hofstede Analysis. .
Kwintessential. Doing business in Columbia. .
Malinak, Cora. "Doing Business in Columbia." 2007. Communic Aid. . Read More