the global realm, expatriate employees are the competency requirement of businesses (Scullion and Brewster, 2002) and due to hi tech and the sensitive nature of the business, the appropriate management of expatriates is crucial for the development of optical instruments in Mexico. The most preferred role of the expatriates in Mexico should be to closely monitor the production facility with an aim of maintaining the quality requirements of the company. The role of the controller is the key role that should be played by the expatriates and they should control the strategy and operation of the international subsidiary located in Mexico (Suutari and Brewster, 2001). Expatriate managers should critically investigate the compliance between the regulations and directions of the head quarter with the subsidiary, in spite of differences in the culture of the host country and foreign company. The second role of the expatriates in Mexico should be of coordinator and the managers should coordinate mainly between the head quarter and Mexican subsidiary. Along with this, the coordination is needed between the host country management and parent company of the optical instruments to increase the shared sense of attaining the common goals of parent company and Mexican subsidiary. According to researchers, the role of controller and coordinator are termed as the core responsibilities of the expatriates in the host country (Mäkelä, Känsälä and Suutari, 2011). According to the sensitive nature of optical manufacturing, one of the required role of the expatriates in Mexico is of developer. The developer should make efforts to develop the knowledge and skills of the local employees according to hi-tech requirements of optical instruments. Finally, the role of transferor is also required to be played by the expatriates to transfer the technical knowledge of manufacturing optical instruments to the local employees with an aim of attaining high quality standards in Mexico.

In order to successfully accomplish these roles, expatriate managers should have skills to communicate effectively to collaborate the activities of employees directed towards common cause. They should the charismatic personality to inspire the local employees and they should be capable of mentoring the employees of the Mexican subsidiary by offering them required assistance in manufacturing of optical instruments (Dutta and Beamish, 2013).

The company should carry out the training session for the development of expatriates with an aim of making them enable to perform efficiently in the foreign market. They should be made aware of the culture of the foreign country. Along with this, the global leadership development of the expatriates is essential for their success in Mexico. Furthermore, the company should involve in constant communication with the expatriates once they start their operations in the Mexico which will help the parent company to track the performance of the company in an appropriate manner. The parent company is required to offer expatriates with technical and other required assistance during the first year of its operations (Deshpande and Viswesvaran, 1992).

Words: 484

References

Deshpande, S.P. and Viswesvaran, C., 1992. Is cross-cultural training of expatriate managers effective: A meta analysis. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 16(3), pp.295-310.

Dutta, D.K. and Beamish, P.W., 2013. Expatriate managers, product relatedness, and IJV performance: a resource and knowledge-based perspective. Journal of International Management, 19(2), pp.152-162

Mäkelä, L., Känsälä, M. and Suutari, V., 2011. The roles of expatriates' spouses among dual career couples. Cross Cultural Management: An International Journal, 18(2), pp.185-197.

Scullion, H. and Brewster, C., 2002. The management of expatriates: messages from Europe? Journal of World Business, 36(4), pp.346-365.

Suutari, V. and Brewster, C., 2001. Expatriate management practices and perceived relevance: Evidence from Finnish expatriates. Personnel Review, 30(5), pp.554-577.

 

 

1.France as the New Market for Car:

The new manufacturing factory for the automobile company, headquartered in China is suggested to establish in France (CCFA, 2012). The reason for selecting France as a market for the newly developed car lies in the reason that France was the pioneer of automotive industry, and it is the third largest automobile manufacturing country in Europe. Along with this, the cars designed by the French manufacturers has won the awards of the European Car of the year and World’s car of the year (Sturgeon, Van and Gereffi, 2008). Which is reflecting that in France there exist a huge market for the cars. Furthermore, according to researchers, the major sector of the France economy is the automobile which accounts for most of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (May and Carter, 2001; France Economy profile, 2014). Which is clearly indicating that the market of France is favourable for the emergence of the newly developed car and it can assist to gain good return on the investment of the car.

Figure 2.1. Consumption patterns of Car in France

Source: Tresor-Economic, 2014.

The above-mentioned figure is clearly indicating that France has improved mainly from 2008 financial crisis and there is a constant increase in the production and consumption of cars in France (Tresor-Economic, 2014). Moreover, it can be seen that car production and export of the cars is significantly low than the overall consumption of cars in France. Therefore, the current multinational company has the opportunity to contribute positively in the production of the car and it can enjoy the status of higher consumption patterns.  Along with this, the production of cars is lower than the export of cars (Tresor-Economic, 2014), therefore, in the light of this pattern, the car manufacturer should place a manufacturing facility in France to fulfill the gap of production, export and consumption of cars.

Moreover, France has the second largest economy in Europe with the per capita income of $ 41,141, which is indicating that people of France has good purchasing power, and it is the opportunity for the automotive company to exploit this opportunity with an aim of gaining higher returns (France Economy profile, 2014). The high purchasing power will also allow the automotive multinational company to increase sales and to achieve the strong customer base in France. Therefore, it is the best market to be availed by the multinational manufacturer of the car for its newly developed car which can satisfy the urge of automotive consumers of France. Along with this, the cultural patterns of France are showing that they have greater flexibility for the fashion and as the car is manufactured after years of careful research and development, it could attract consumers (Welch and McGonagle, 2013). Therefore, the cultural conditions are also favourable for the emergence of newly developed car and France can be considered as the best market for cars. 

Word count: 481

References:

CCFA, 2012. The French Automotive Industry. [Online], Available at: <http://www.ccfa.fr/IMG/pdf/ccfa_gb_ra12b_bat.pdf> [Accessed 24 March 2016]

France Economy profile, 2014. [Online], Available at: <http://www.indexmundi.com/france/economy_profile.html> [Accessed 24 March 2016]

May, A. and Carter, C., 2001. A case study of virtual team working in the European automotive industry. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, 27(3), pp.171-186.

Sturgeon, T., Van Biesebroeck, J. and Gereffi, G., 2008. Value chains, networks and clusters: reframing the global automotive industry. Journal of Economic Geography, p.lbn007.

Welch, E. and McGonagle, J., 2013. Contesting views: The visual economy of France and Algeria. Oxford University Press.

Tresor-Economic, 2014. What outlook for the French automobile industry? [Online], Available at: <http://www.tresor.economie.gouv.fr/File/409587> [Accessed 24 March 2016]

 

2.Strategic Risks and its Management:

Strategic risk is found to associate with any internal and external event which can hinder the achievement of strategic objectives of organizations. The strategic risk is mainly faced by organizations at international level and a continuous process of assessing and managing the strategic risk is essential for long term existence and competitive growth of businesses (Das and Teng, 2001). Management of strategic risk involves continuous identification, assessment and management of risk. Of many available methods two of the most significant and widely used method for management of strategic risk are cooperation and flexibility.

Cooperative Strategy Adopted by Shell in the Form of Strategic Alliance: The cooperation can be carried by firms in the form of strategic alliance or joint venture and these cooperative strategies can be of greater assistance in managing the strategic risk in an appropriate manner (Beasley and Frigo, 2007). One of the important instances of cooperative strategy to minimize the strategic risk is the Global strategic alliance between Shell and China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) (Shell, 2014). The approach is mainly beneficial for Shell, which has faced problems in the form of financial loss, political factors hindering the growth of the company and lack of investment to exploit available market opportunities. The core advantage of this strategic cooperation underlies in the notion that both companies can contribute their competencies towards the exploitation of available opportunities with an aim of gaining competitive advantage in the market. Along with this, the alliance will enable these two companies to share their technology which can help them to cut the cost of technology installation and will help them to gain economies of scale. Shell adopted this strategy to diversify and mitigate the strategic risk to achieve its strategic goals in the form of increased shareholder’s wealth and long term growth of business.

Flexibility Strategy Adopted by Zara: The flexibility strategy to handle the strategic risk allows the companies to follow flexible manufacturing and product strategies to respond the changing conditions in the environment (Andersen and Schrøder, 2010). The greater flexibility enables the company to gain competitive advantage over other businesses with relatively fixed strategies. Being operating in the highly volatile fashion industry, there is a huge pressure on the Zara to respond quickly to the changes which can hinder its ability to fulfill strategies of the company (Zachary, 2012). The business model of the Zara is highly flexible and they have offered discretion to their managerial staff to incorporate the needs of customers into account. The Zara also has flexibility in their approach to design, produce and distribute their products in the manner that has the ability to quickly respond to the changing demands of consumers. Along with this, the Zara has loose production structure and it has a flexible supply chain. In this manner, the flexibility strategy of the Zara is enabling it to gain competitive advantage over the other related businesses.

Word Count: 489

References:

Andersen, T.J. and Schrøder, P.W., 2010. Strategic risk management practice: how to deal effectively with major corporate exposures. Cambridge University Press.

Beasley, M.S. and Frigo, M.L., 2007. Strategic risk management: Creating and protecting value. Strategic Finance, pp.25-33.

Das, T.K. and Teng, B.S., 2001. Trust, control, and risk in strategic alliances: An integrated framework. Organization Studies, 22(2), pp.251-283.

Shell, 2014. Shell and CNOOC Sign Global Strategic Alliance Agreement. [Online], Available at: <http://www.shell.com.cn/en/aboutshell/media-centre/news-and-media-releases/2014/strategic-alliance-agreement-with-cnooc-20140617.html> [Accessed 24 March 2016]

Zachary, B., 2012. Zara’s Business Model and Competitive Advantage. [Online], Available at: <http://dianeisabelle.com/2012/09/08/zaras-business-model-and-competitive-advantages/> [Accessed 24 March 2016]

 

 

3.World’s Next Manufacturing Power after China:

China has been focusing mainly on the innovation and development of technology with an aim of strengthening its manufacturing capabilities. Although it has been forecasted by different economists that the position of China can be replaced by India in the future. The reason of this forecast lies in the analysis of global manufacturing competitive ness index.

Figure 4.1. Real Manufacturing GDP ratio as Real GDP CAGR

Source: GMCI survey (2013)

The above mentioned figure has clearly shown the real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Compound Annual growth Rate (CAGR) to the Manufacturing GDP CAGR. The figure has indicated that the higher ratio of China is being followed by India. In India the GDP CAGR is found to be associated with Manufacturing GDP CAGR which is an indication that manufacturing is opening up the ways of high economic prosperity for India.

Along with this, among the other prospective reasons behind the likelihood of India being the next manufacturing power of the world is the current political conditions of India are mainly in the favour of manufacturing strength of India. It has been highlighted by the current Indian Prime Minister NarendraModi that his main aim is to make India a leading industrial state (Bruce, 2014). He has supported his cause by initiating a campaign of ‘make in India’ and highlighted the relaxation in foreign investment policies, which was followed by his tweet that his ambition is to ease the barriers on foreign direct investment to promote manufacturing capabilities of the nation (Bruce, 2014). It is indicating that along with political factors, economic conditions and international finance conditions are also in favour of manufacturing growth of India.

Further, GMCI survey (2013) has indicated that in the future, India is likely to be at number two at manufacturing competitiveness followed by China and it will be rational to expect that India can cross China by adopting more integrated approach. Furthermore, of greater significance is the global ranking of labor force size which indicated that after China India is the second largest country with labor market size (GMCI survey, 2013). It is indicating that human resources are readily available to India and with formalized planning, India can take advantage of its strong base of human resources for developing manufacturing capabilities.

India has made commitments to invest heavily in the development of its infrastructure facilities, including roadways, railways, and other channels which would make the distribution of manufacturing goods easy. Foreign investors include the announcement of Ford Motors to invest in $1 billion plant in India (Bruce, 2014). Similarly, the Japanese part making the company naming Nidec has committed to invest 10 billion yen in manufacturing project in India (Bruce, 2014). Along with this, of greater significance is the $ 244 million factory of the Yamaha to open in India with an aim of manufacturing motor bikes in India. All of these evidences of investments and political, economic, infrastructure, and foreign direct investment conditions are clearly indicating that India has developed the potential to become the next manufacturing power of the world.

Word Count: 502

References:

GMCI Survey, 2013. Global Manufacturing Competitiveness Index. [Online], Available at: <http://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/manufacturing/articles/2013-global-manufacturing-competitiveness-index.html> [Accessed 24 March 2016]

Hans-Paul, B., 2016. India can still be a global power in manufacturing.  [Online], Available at: <http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2016-01-26/news/70091610_1_doing-business-index-et-gbs-software-industry>[Accessed 24 March 2016]

Bruce, E., 2014. India VS. China: The battle for Global Manufacturing. BloomBergBusinessweek. [Online], Available at: <http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-11-06/india-vs-dot-china-the-battle-for-global-manufacturing> [Accessed 24 March 2016]

4.Marketing of Product in Canada:

Morley’s is one of the recognized chain of fast food restaurants which has almost been found in 1985 and has earned the good reputation in London as a quality seller of fast food(Morley’s, n.d). The core values of Morley’s are same across all the locations which is focusing on delivering maximum value to customers in terms of quality and service. Currently, our focus is on deciding whether the standardization or adaptation is appropriate in terms of different marketing mix elements, while launching the product in Canadian market. The slogan of Morley’s is based on its unique taste and it has the core strength of combining fresh meat fillet with the burger which is needed to remain standardized across its outlets in UK and Canada.

During the internationalization of its operations, Morley’s need to think globally, but it should act locally which has been considered as the most significant strategy for working at international level. Along with the level of standardization to save cost, adaptation is also required to adjust to the cultural values and food preferences of the target country(Theodosiou and Leonidou, 2003; Solberg, 2002). Morley’s needs to focus on 4 P’s of the marketing mix, which include product, place, price and promotion (Yoo, Donthu and Lee, 2000).

Product: In terms of product the main course or theme of the menu should remain same but the internal texture of the burger or combination of ingredients should be varied on the basis of needs of customers. Canada has encouraged diversity at national level and there are people from different cultures and different areas of the world which are constituting the overall population of Canada. Therefore, in order to gain the strong customer base and brand recognition, Morley’s need to adapt according to cultural aspects and it should introduce some meatless products to make the menu attractive for people who like vegetables.

Place: In order to gain competence in the Canadian market, the expansion of Morley’s outlets should target the areas which have higher demands for fast food. The franchises should be established to deliver freshly cooked food to potential customers. Furthermore, the company can adopt the strategy of sharing its human resource, technology and competence across outlets in UK and Canada with an aim of gaining competitive advantage.

Price: The pricing strategy needs to reflect flexibility and it should be according to the buying power and demand of the product. Moreover, the difference in cost structure across UK and Canada are also the motivation for having a flexible pricing strategy.

Promotion:Morley’s need to follow the extensive promotional strategies in Canada as opposite of its trend in UK with an aim of increasing awareness among customers. Promotional strategies should include extensive advertising, sales promotion, and efforts to maintain the relationship with customers. In Canada community development efforts are much appreciated and Morley’s can achieve good will by helping the potential communities in Canada.

Word Count: 492

References:

Morley’s, (n.d). Why Franchise with Morley’s? [Online], Available at: <http://www.morleyschicken.com/why.html> [Accessed 24 March 2016]

Solberg, C.A., 2002. The perennial issue of adaptation or standardization of international marketing communication: organizational contingencies and performance. Journal of International Marketing, 10(3), pp.1-21.

Theodosiou, M. and Leonidou, L.C., 2003. Standardization versus adaptation of international marketing strategy: an integrative assessment of the empirical research. International Business Review, 12(2), pp.141-171.

Yoo, B., Donthu, N. and Lee, S., 2000. An examination of selected marketing mix elements and brand equity. Journal of Academy of Marketing Science, 28(2), pp.195-211.