Introduction
Multinational corporations formulate and implement strategies that are based on careful market analysis of the global context. The main focus or goal of strategy formulation and implementation is -growth, stability and retrenchment. When carrying out the analysis process, multinational companies will first identify the market for their products in the environment. The success of strategic planning largely depends on a realistic appraisal of the internal environment and an accurate forecast on the external environment. Global strategic planning process plays an important role in designing ways in which corporations can move towards gaining more market share, increasing profitability and surviving in an extremely competitive environment (Pearce & Robinson, 2000). Any level of business management can participate in strategic planning, but putting the strategies into action majorly depends on the middle management.
In regards to the German culture, strategic management by a multinational corporation hoping to enter this market should involve aligning the organizational basic missions and long-term goals to the cultural traditions of the nation (Luthans & Doh, 2009). Most multinational companies are convinced that strategic planning is essential in taking their business global. A global context however is however characterized by different cultural entities world. Even if strategic planning is required in order to succeed, corporations need to realize that the strategies used in one country may not necessarily work in another country (Luthans & Doh, 2009). Different cultures may have different preferences and opinions when it comes to products and services. For instance, in Germany, the quality imperative is not of much concern since the nation’s stand on total quality management is not really solid. This is because the nation has experienced great financial instability in the past. Such a norm or characteristic if properly utilized during strategy formulation can propel the corporation into higher levels in the German market.
The German people value their culture very much and as mentioned earlier, when an international company wants to establish business in this country, the culture of the local people should be a priority when it comes to developing and implementing business strategies. One of the ways to effectively do this for example is to choose a strategy of globalization, that is, a standard strategy that accommodates different cultures, for example, choosing a product design and advertisement strategies that are standard (Luthans & Doh, 2009). The theory behind the standardization strategy is that, people want to live the same way and buy the same product. A multinational corporation can reap efficiencies using a globalization strategy by standardizing the processes of manufacturing, product design and also using common suppliers to introduce the product around the world. This would help in removing overlapping facilities and coordinating pricing. Standardization is suitable for homogeneous products and services as well as customized goods like computers and automobiles. In addition to the globalization strategy, a multinational corporation should choose a multi-domestic strategy to handle the competition in each country differently. The strategy calls for the need to understand different consumer taste and preferences in the segmented markets and to meet the standard requirements and regulation by different governments and agencies (Luthans & Doh, 2009).
In conclusion, some of the strategy implementation tools that are at the management’s disposal human resource, leadership, structural design and information and control systems. However, without efficient and effective implementation strategies, even the best strategy can fail. Cultural traditions can prove to be a setback for strategy formulation and implementation for a multinational corporation and therefore in the case of Germany, it is clear that the culture of the nation must be properly understood before any business endeavor is actualized.
References
Luthans, F., & Doh, J. (2009). International management: Culture, strategy, and behavior.
Pearce, J. A., & Robinson, R. B. (2000). Strategic management: Formulation, implementation, and control. Irwin/McGraw-Hill.
