Introduction
Securing a market for one’s products is the main concern for any producer. Regardless of the good in production or service in delivery, finding customers to the good or service is a major issue. It is the duty of the producer to come up with a unique strategy to acquire a wide customer base. For businesses that wish to achieve tremendous returns, going global is their main concern. It is the dream of my company Microwave Meal to reach a global platform. Gaining global operations calls for exclusive sacrifice and consideration of various factors. There must be proper understanding of the market entry conditions in various global regions, and one must be ready to put up with them. As the company seeks to spread globally, we must understand all the conditions necessary and must evaluate whether they are achievable (Keegan and Mark 2013). All the principles that operate global operations must be in the fingertips.
Different markets call for different measures. Therefore, for entry to every region like Africa, Asia, North America, and Europe uniqueness is vital. In this process, it is significant to rank regions according to the ability to enter into the market. For Microwave Meal Company, America should be the first market. This is because the founders are from the country, and they have proper understanding of the market operations. Europe would be the next market since it has a marketing system that has a close relationship with that of America. Australia would easily buy the idea after Europe following the availability of wide market for fast foods. Asia and Africa would also buy the idea later, but they would not be the first clients of the company following their sensitivity to fast food (Keegan and Mark 2013). In particular, Africans would prefer indigenous food compared to the fast food being introduced by the Microwave Meal Company.
International strategy and organization
Analyzing international opportunities affecting the business
Microwave Meal Company operates in an extremely sensitive and competitive industry of fast food. The fame of the industry is one of the elements that make it easy for our company to thrive around the world. Regions like America, Europe, and Australia are well aware of fast foods, and necessary measures are in place to ensure easy operations. Therefore, in such regions, the company would have exclusive benefits.
In regions like Africa and Asia where the industry is becoming famous gradually, it will be easy to achieve a business empire with time. As people continuously become aware of the industry and gain interest on the foods, the company will easily fetch high profits (Keegan and Mark 2013). For companies, which will settle early in these regions, they will be guaranteed of a wide market of their products. The company must also use the wide experience it has of over 40 years in a bid for an extremely wide market. The company understands what it takes to win the market.
Selecting and managing entry modes affecting the company
Gaining entry into any market has never been easy. For Microwave Meal Company, exclusive strategies will be required to ensure successful entry into an extremely competitive field. The first element to consider during entry is licensing for international companies.
In some countries, obtaining a license is a bit expensive and breathtaking. Once the company acquires the license, it has full control of its operations and is bound by the rules of the country like any other company. Therefore, the company has a chance to command the amount of income it would wish to achieve. The other entry mode that the company would consider is a joint venture. It is a business agreement where the Microwave Meal Company agrees with another party to develop, for a certain time, a new entity, as well as new assets by equity contribution. In a joint venture, the company will have to share expenses, revenues, and assets with the other party. At the point where the company cannot identify the most appropriate mode, I would advise the company to obtain a license. There is more security for business with a license since one control his actions compared to joint venture where one has to consult every time he makes a decision. The company is likely to fetch higher revenue when operating on the license obtained than when operating in a joint venture. Moreover, the other party is likely to dominate the Microwave Meal Company if it belongs to that country.
In addition, other regions favor domestic companies by extending unfavorable operational regulations for foreign companies. The company must evaluate the requirements of entry in one country to another and settle for the most favorable country. Some countries will not allow competition for the local companies and keenness is vital in entry to such markets (Keegan and Mark 2013). Control of operations for foreign companies by other regions around the world should not be condoned as it may attract extensive losses for Microwave Meals Company. Such barriers will not support growth of the company in the region. This would be a proper definition of failure for the company if the company took the initiative of operating in such regions.
Developing and marketing product
After the production of goods, the next step is making the goods reach the consumers. This is usually a challenging moment since excellent strategies are crucial. The company must first identify the outlets in which it will be operating. These outlets are production centers as well as the distribution points. The outlets must be well branded to make customers easily identify with the company. Since the company is new in the region, the first thing would be to create awareness among customers. The company would carry out a public campaign for its products. In this campaign, the categories of the products would be made known to people as well as the benefits that each of them holds. Also, the company would carry out promotions around the region of operations to allow many people have a taste of its products. Afterwards the company may consider adverts on newspapers and food magazines to attract more customers.
Managing international operations
Since the company will be operational in different regions necessary, management techniques or skills will be vital. There will be need for the company to have a reliable system that will allow the company to operate accordingly across the globe. The first element of consideration is the availability of a central system of operation. The business should have all its branches around the world using a common system that will help an executive form headquarter evaluate the flow of activities accordingly. Unique system eliminates points of interruption by competitors or because people of ill motive. The company must have representative managers in all branches around the world. The managers will be liable to the CEO of the company at the headquarters for reports on their progress and financial performance. Through this, it will be highly possible to ensure all the operations of the company around the world are right. The managers must have undergone exclusive training on the operations of the company and must have vowed to comply with the conditions that were given during the training.
Hiring and managing employees
The company will have to hire various employees who will assist in the execution of various duties. The company will begin with the managers who will be directly hired from the headquarters. The manager must be an individual with exclusive strategic skills and can manage all the resources including the rest of the employees. He must have academic and skills qualifications as core. The evaluation of the manager will take place in the headquarters and must be carried out by the board of directors. The manager will be assigned the role of hiring assistants in various departments. However, he must adhere to the conditions set by the board of directors concerning the occupants of certain positions. To avoid favor and corruption in the company, no relative to the manager will be hired for a job vacancy. On the other hand, exceptionally talented individuals in the field will be given special consideration following the influence they are likely to cause. All employees must be paid as agreed with no deductions and delay.
Cross cultural business
The culture of a region or company is extremely critical to business. This is because none of the two should surpass the other in the execution of their duties (Keegan and Mark 2013). The Microwave Meal Company has to develop a culture that will not be risky to the regions it wishes to carry out business. In this case, the company must develop a unique culture that will fit in almost all the regions in which it wishes to operate. The culture must be in such a way that it is supported by various principles in different regions. Some cultures do not believe in fast foods to the point of referring to the food as junk. For example, Africans and Asians do not like this kind of food. They believe in it as unhealthy, and some of them know the food as disease causing agents. Interfering with such cultural issues may be a tall order and excellent strategy is paramount in ensuring the success of the move. Therefore, before initiating operations in any region identification with the cultural practices of the region would be vital.
Politics, Law, and Business Ethics
As the company seeks to settle its business in various countries, it is vital to consider the political stability of the region. It is through political outlays that a company may understand its success in the given nation (Keegan and Mark 2013). Some leaders do not support foreign investors, and this would be a major challenge to the company. Also, the law of the country is vital. There must be specific consideration of the business law that controls businesses in the country. If there is exclusive consideration of specifics of the law, the company should be keen on the law that may affect operations of the international businesses. Every country has unique elements of business ethics. These should be the principles that control the behavior of the company to the employees, and customers. All countries have unique business ethics provisions, and it is the role of every company to adhere to the provisions. In this case, the Microwave Meal Company has been keen to deliver high quality services that are considerate of the business ethics as provided in different countries.
Economics and emerging markets
The economic status of some regions in the world may be a major influence to the performance of the company. The company would have excellent revenue share for regions with exclusively promising economic growth (Keegan and Mark 2013). For example, Africa is a major target for our company. This is following the economic promises that the continent is giving to the rest of the world. If the company begins operations in the region, it is likely to become a business guru in the region. For extensive performance in sales, the company may attach itself to the emerging trends in juicing natural products. People are becoming aware of the necessity of healthy living, and there is the need for Microwave Meal Company to consider the move of adopting natural juices. This will make the company have a wider share of the market.
International trade
At the international level, various international forces will influence the company. The Microwave Meal Company must be considerate of the forces that may influence its operations. One of the measures that are critical in this case is the application of tariffs. This is an international policy used by countries to control the flow of business activities in the region. In most cases, tariffs are meant to control international trade. The issue of tariffs may be extensively expensive to our company since the company does not have the adequate base to withstand excessive international pressure. At some point, the company will be required to import some products. It becomes extensively expensive for the company to import anything in countries with exclusive measures on imports and exports. This would be extensively expensive for the business.
Business-government Trade relations
Different governments have a different respect for businesses that take place in their lands. The company is seeking for a government that will highly support its operations, and execute necessary rules that will favor the business (Keegan and Mark 2013). In some regions, the government imposes high tax to foreign companies while others have a flat rate for all the companies operating within its boundaries. This is useful in making companies succeed in a foreign land as the citizens of the land gain favor in terms of service. Our company is in concern the governments imposing extremely high tax to the foreign companies. Also, other conditions that are unfavorable may be imposed, and they are extremely dangerous to the success of the company. Such issues include command of the kind of employees to hire at a certain time and the amount to pay them. This sounds dictatorial and may be used to suppress the minority in the society.
Foreign Direct Investment
The company has made a heavy investment in Africa, where it is seeking to build the headquarters for its natural juice production. This is extensively expensive and needs exclusive measures to be undertaken at the right time. The company will have to acquire land, which may be excessively expensive for a foreign company. Acquiring all the facilities required for the company to be operational is extremely expensive, and it is a risky move and requires exclusive consideration. Obtaining a license to operate in a foreign land is a bit expensive, and it would be wise to consider the possibility of the company obtaining exclusive returns from the investment that it makes in the region.
Conclusion
Obtaining wide market is the dream of every CEO of a company. However, it is advisable to have clear understanding of foreign trade and how it should be executed. There is adequate need for extensive exposure to different measures that are relevant to the achievement of the desired success. The company seeking global operations must be considerate of all the factors that will have a direct impact to the trade. There must be consideration for factors such as political stability, economic stability, and business control by governments, among others. The application of these elements must be easy to evaluate every day. However, the leaders of the company must be ready to undertake the necessary steps to match the requirements of the foreign land.
WorkCited
Keegan, Warren J., and Mark C. Green.Global marketing. 7th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2013. Print.
