ORIGINAL TOPIC:
Marketing, operations, and human resource management are core areas of business. An international setting provides unique challenges in each of these areas.Research the topic using your textbook, Argosy University online library resources, and the Internet. Respond to the following:
Consider a foreign company marketing its products in the United States, such as the Mexican company Cerveceria Modelo that markets Corona beer in the USA. Analyze the complexities of one of the following:
Developing product strategies (including cultural differences)
Assessing the promotional strategies
Developing distribution methods
Assessing pricing strategies
Next, consider operational issues in the U.S. market and analyze the complexities of one of these following issues:
Production strategies
Accessing physical resources and managing inventory
Maintaining quality
Financing the operations
From the perspective of a small company venturing into international operations for the first time, discuss what you feel are the three most difficult issues that must be overcome in recruiting, selecting, and training workers. Explain how each difficulty might be overcome.
STUDENT RESPONSE:
Cerveceria Modelo is a subsidiary company of Grupo Modelo, S.A.B.de C.V. This company engages in the production of beer and it is based in Mexico City. The company exports its products to various countries in the world including the U.S and many other countries. Foreign companies' faces various challenges in marketing as results of complexities brought about by culture, operation issues, and many other factors associated with the geographical issue.
This Mexican company on the process marketing its products in the U.S, it faces various challenges associated with developing product strategies. A Mexican marketer needs to be cross-trained culturally in order to be familiar with American culture. The Americans use a direct form of communication.
Punctuality is important for the business occasion. Also, Americans make their minds quickly about a certain decision and they usually like straightforward and to the point information. The Mexican marketer should have some knowledge about American culture in order to be able to position the brand well in the market. The Mexicans and other cultures, for example, Japanese, Chinese are not straightforward in their information dissemination.
In order to succeed in marketing, the brand in American, the marketer should be straightforward and to the point by explaining the benefits of the brand, cost, and availability of the brand. The environmental forces are not static and each period the external force keeps on changing.
For example, since the administration of president Trump get into power in the U.S the stock sale of Corona beers sales declined after Trump indicated that he will adopt policies that will seek to raises taxes for Mexican imports. These policies affected product development strategies of Corona beer in the U.S. Furthermore, American lifestyles affected product development strategies of Corona beer.
The American lifestyles are different to Mexican in a variety of ways, for example, Mexican lifestyles are centered on the family setting. Therefore, Mexican can take a day out to enjoy with their family and loved one. On the other hand, American lifestyles are centered on workplace and earning and therefore needs to enjoy with family and loved one is not basic necessity among American. This lifestyle affects the product development strategies because American may not desire to drink beer which may interfere with their lifestyles.
The corona can only fit the American lifestyles if it is modified so that it will have less effect on normal lifestyles of Americans. The operational complexity is major issues faced by the company in America because the environment is highly regulated and there is a certain standard set for the beer manufacturer.
The company experienced product errors linked to the glass plant that provides a bottle for the company. The errors caused effects in the bottles used to packages beer hence making it easy for the glass bottle to break and fall in the beer (Matter, M. 2013). The company recalled some of the product supplied in U.S markets. The product fault affected the product demand in the market even though Californians still preferred the Corona beer more than other beers.
The Food and Drug Administration offer regulation standards for beer manufacture in the U.S to follow. Failure to adhere to some of those standards the firm may risk losing its licenses to operate in the U.S hence posing challenges to its future operation. A small company operating in a foreign country should overcome linguistic diversity, cultural difference, and employment bases through training, selection, and recruitment.
The language barrier is a key challenge while venturing into the global market. Small business overcome language barrier by hiring several employees from the new area that speak both local and common language of the organization. The recruited employees can be used to cross-train other employees cheaply.
Wild/Wild tells us that, "the main benefit of a global strategy is cost savings due to product and marketing standardization. These cost savings can then be passed on to consumers to help the company gain market share in its market segment. A global strategy also allows managers to share lessons learned in one market with managers at other locations" (p.281).
Due to difference laws among countries, a small company venturing into a global market in the U.S may be forced to restructure its workforce to embrace diversity. To embrace diversity the company can change its recruitment process, selection and training employees to value diversity.
The region Culture may also affect the company productivity and progression in a foreign country. People share different cultures and background and to understand one culture one needs to train. To meet cultural needs, the small business needs to cross train some members and recruit individuals from the same culture. This individual will be used in negotiation activities in order to reduce communication barrier.
References
Rassouli, H. (2013). New product development: Challenges and implications. Business strategies and approaches for effective engineering management, 62-83.
Matter, M. (2013). Beer Commercials: A Contradiction in Communication,". Midwest Journal of Undergraduate Research", Ripon College.
Kum, F. D., Cowden, R., & Karodia, A. M. (2014). The impact of training and development on employee performance: A case study of ESCON Consulting. Singaporean Journal of Business Economics and Management Studies, 3(3), 72-105.
Wild, John J. International Business: The Challenges of Globalization, 8th Edition. Pearson Learning Solutions, 02/2015. VitalBook file.