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1.What are some of the issues the host foreign country could face as a result of the expansion?
As PPQ moves in to the foreign market, the country where they choose to do business will have to make significant adjustments as well. For example, it is very important for PPQ to be aware of any environmental impact the expansion may play regarding the host country. This may include issues relating to landscaping and water use for any new sites used by PPQ in their new operations. Of course, there may also be impacts to the local wildlife from the onslaught of new employees in the area. Furthermore, PPQ may inadvertently cause conflict with he local populace with the introduction of new workers and their families. The schools and communities where PPQ is based may experience stress from the addition of new people in to the population. Furthermore, there may be problems related to the foreign nature of the interaction between the new staff and the current inhabitants of the area where PPQ decides to set up shop to sell their merchandise. All of these factors and more need to be in the front of the minds of management at PPQ, so they best know how to approach and potentially mitigate any impending difficulties before they become overwhelming to the people of the host country.
2.Explain what cultural barriers and diversity issues are commonly encountered by international/multinational (MNC) and global organizations.
Multinational corporations (MNC) often experience a plethora of cultural difficulties when they expand in to new and diverse areas. The least of which may not be the immense problems faced by introducing a host of new and potentially unprepared employees on a different culture. There may be language barriers to overcome as well as issues with cultural sensitivity from workers from a foreign country just plopped down in to a whole new scenario. Specifically, people with the same religion, language, beliefs and values share a culture. This, in turn, is shared with all types of people in the same cultural system (Firoz, 2002).
Research clearly shows that management styles used at home by headquarters' management teams may well be the reason why certain people are successful managers in any firm. However, research indicates that most management techniques are not portable and that cultural-specific training is desperately needed within the ranks of multinational organizations. The topic of "cultural challenge for international management," (Harris and Moran, 1996) discussed what culture is perceived to be in the minds of different executives from many diverse nations. They also illustrated the varying components of selected countries' cultural aspects relevant to business. Guy and Matlock (1996), and Carroll and Gannon (1997, Gannon, 2001), pointed out quite clearly how American managers are perceived by foreign country counterparts. Although the United States may be a world leader in ethical conduct, we are not without fault in many areas of the world, particularly when attempting to localize our own brand of ethics in foreign nations.
3.Why has diversity become such an important topic in the international arena?
Any savvy manager or businessperson should realize that the world is becoming smaller, especially as it comes to operating in a truly global environment. The advent of the Internet has made doing business across physical land barriers a thing of the past, and commerce is taking advantage of these new opportunities. Various financial constraints that were present in the past have been virtually eliminated as companies look do business across and throughout the world. The only problems that face the thoughtful international manager is the arrangements of employees who need to do work away from home.
What has happened is that immigration for labor has increased. Former Imperialist conquering nations made citizens of their conquered country denizens. Thus, Europe and the rest of the western nations, such as in the Americas have mixed races and ancestries. In the past, the numbers were small enough, and the people who came to the new country could meld in without anything special occurring. Now, companies and employees have a different perspective. They wish to maintain their native identity but still be part of the new geographical location and receive rights. One of these is the right to education in their native language or education from their native language to that of the language of the host nation. In some cases, there is discord among the various inhabitants as they are not always vetted prior to being accepted or they come with illegal papers or just frankly illegally. Or they come to work but don't leave. Anyway, when a term enters the common jargon, it is also an opportunity to devise programs and make money. Thus, if I want to create a diversity manual, I could hold conferences and sell my manual to migrating businesspeople. Now, our minds must be programmed to not only accept others from other cultures but also to learn of their cultures, learn their customs, communicate, and solidify any modicum of relations possible. Inter marriage is common, which changes the cultural landscape greatly. There is no denying the statistics. Ergo, if you can't fight it, you join it, and keep the peace. It is becoming one world, and is already being seen throughout the business world.
4.What can occur when issues related to multiculturalism and diversity are ignored in an international company?
Clearly, the risk to the MNC is a loss of market share as consumers get wind of the ignorance of a given company in the international arena. For example, Walmart had difficulty when it attempted to expand in to Germany simply because it had not been sensitive to the cultural needs of the new country where they wished to do business. As may be imagined, Walmart lost an important portion of that target market, and was eventually forced out of the country. This is an example of what can occur if an international company does not take multiculturalism seriously.
5.Describe at least 2 political and 2 economic issues that may arise during global expansion and proposed methods of addressing them.
Whenever a company looks to expand in to a foreign market, there are always risks that may arise from political and even economic forces that may work against the new company and how it attempts to do business. If we examine political pressures, we can see that a firm may be at the mercy of new laws that the company is unprepared for that may dictate that a certain proportion of managers and workers must be from the local population. This may put a real strain on some companies if they intended to bring in their own management. Another political stressor may be a corrupt government where the new corporation is located and that demands a portion of sales be handed over to the government before the materials may be shipped overseas. The way to deal with either of these political troubles is to be well prepared before moving in to a new area. If the marketing managers had done their homework, they may have been ready to navigate these unforeseen consequences in a foreign country.
But how about economic factors that may plague a foreign company? There may be issues with the costs of doing business in a new land that may be tied to the cost of living in the given country. For example, the price t make an item in India may not be palatable to the actual people who live there, and the population may not even be able to afford to product. The solution for the company may be to adjust the cost of buying the items so that the local population may be able to afford them. This is a simple fact of economic competition.
The second economic barrier may be the problem with converting salaries and costs to be able to manage with the local currency. As before, a prepared manager may be able to determine the appropriate conversions so that the employees and suppliers are paid effectively.
6.Explain the importance of and the implications of each of these items in PPQ Parts's expansion plans to Germany and Japan.
Almost all non-Western cultures have been influenced by the mores of the West, including countries in Asia. In general, this means that many of these cultures are becoming influenced by Western cultures, namely that of America. For example, in many Asian nations McDonalds and other American influences like Starbucks and clothing stores are coming to their countries. They are being influenced by Western culture, hence the "decentering of culture." What’s more, I spent some time in Japan a few years ago and was surprised to see such a preponderance of Western society in an area that was so far from home.
However, the decentralization of Asian culture may go both ways, meaning that although we in the U.S. have influenced Japan greatly, so have they made significant gains on our shores. One only needs to review popular culture to see the effect of Japanese style on American youth. This includes such items as cinema, Pokemon, anime, pop music, and television dramas such as Tokyo Love Story and Long Vacation, It is easy to see that the export of Japanese media and culture is big business (Iwabuchi, 2002).
The same concepts hold true for Germany, despite being part of the Western culture. The overriding idea for PPQ needs to be that the expansion in either Japan or Germany should be cognizant of the prevailing sentiments regarding foreign business. This may only aid PPQ as it moves its operations across the world.
References
Carroll, S. and Gannon, M. (1997). Ethical dimensions of international management. (pp. 2). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Cateora, P. and Graham, J. (2001). International marketing. (pp 19,
123, 159), Boston: Irwin.
Firoz, N. (2002) Think globally manage culturally. International Journal of Commerce & Management. Indiana: 2002. Vol. 12, Iss. 3/4; pg. 32, 19 pgs
Gannon, M. (2001). Understand global cultures (2nd ed.). London: Sage publication.
Guy, V. and Mattock, J. (1996). The international business book. (pp. 6- 7), Lincolnwood, IL: NTC.
Harris, Philip. R., & Moran, T Robert. (1996). Managing cultural differences. Houston, TX: Gulf, 9-10,33,211-218.
Iwabuchi, K. (2002) Recentering Globalization: Popular Culture and Japanese Transnationalism (p. 275). Duke University Press. Retrieved from
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