What issues may arise in conducting business globally?

Global businesses are enterprises or firms that have operations beyond the countries of domicile and hence it has offices across the world. These kinds of businesses exist due to the effect of globalization and technological advancements that opens the world for trade and investment. Resources can move from one country to another without restrictions. Global businesses are widely emerging especially in the 21st century where firms are looking for new markets for their products and services besides the search for other resources needed in the production process. The questions below will address the issues related to doing business in the global arena.

 

1. What issues may arise in conducting business globally?

 

Conducting business in the global arena is a very special undertaking by the firms and other organization and hence there are certain issues that will be of concern for such kinds of businesses. The issues come as either an advantage or a challenge when doing business globally. The challenges for firms that go global may include: proximity where the business headquarters is located far from other subsidiaries hence decision making process is not faster especially on matters that require face to face communication. The distance between the market and the company complicates the logistics and supply chain management within the business. Global businesses also suffer from currency fluctuations since different countries uses different currencies and a fluctuation in the currency of one country may affect the company costs and profits. Other issues that arise is the social cultural differences like the language and as such it becomes very difficult to communicate to the customers when the firm staff do not understand the language of the local market. The lifestyle of the host country may be incompatible with the company expectations and this may affect the business activities. Other issues may include infrastructural problems and political barriers.

 

2. Can any product or service be marketed globally?

 

Different people have different socio cultural orientations and identities and this will greatly influence their lifestyle and consumption behavior. One of the strongest socio cultural aspects is the religion which dictates people’s behaviors and consumption patterns. It’s therefore practically impossible to market any product any where due to diversities in social cultural orientations across the world. Economic factors and consumer income is also another factor that determines the ability to market a product in a place. Different parts of the world have different economic capabilities and hence products and services must match the economic status of the target market.

 

3. If it sells in the United States, does it sell in another country?

 

It’s not possible that if it sells in the US it can sell in another country. As mentioned above the economic, socio cultural and demographic factors will greatly influence the marketing activities of a product. These characteristics differ from one country to another. A product will only do well in the US due to its unique characteristics that matches the customer expectations and social cultural dynamics. It’s therefore not possible that what sells in US can also be sold in a country like Egypt.

 

4. Explain why or why not. Can a product be marketed in the same manner in multiple countries?

 

It’s possible to market a product in the same manner in different countries especially in the current modern world that has combined their social orientations and have a global culture. This will make the people to have similar expectations and other factors and hence it will be possible to market using the same strategy. It’s however worth noting that they must have common sociocultural, political, economic and demographic orientations but in the absence of uniformity in these factors the marketing strategy will fail to work.

 

5. Defend your answer with examples.

 

A country like Saudi Arabia has the majority of the inhabitants being Muslims and as such the majority of the households will exhibit consumer behaviors that conform to their Islamic faith. A firm that intends to market a product in that country will therefore make use of marketing strategies that appeal to the Islamic faith in order to succeed in the business. One of the notable examples is the introduction of sheria compliant banking practices. The same strategy could be used in another Islamic country like Iran since they have the same social cultural orientation.

 

6. How might you relate the four Ps of marketing to customer relations management (CRM) in a global business environment?

 

The four Ps are the key marketing strategies that must a business must focus on in its marketing activities. They include the product, the price, place and the promotion. Customer relations management is the process of managing the interactions between the firm and the company with a view of retaining the customers. The global business just like mentioned presents unique social, economic and cultural dynamics for the marketers and hence a lot of studies must be conducted to ensure that the marketing activities align with the customers expectations. The pricing strategy will reflect the customer’s economic status and income levels.

The product must be aligned towards their cultural believes and social status, the place is another important consideration and hence the products must be presented to the right audiences at the right time. The promotional mix relates to all the channels that the marketer uses to create awareness about the product. The marketer must use the channels that are acceptable to those particular audiences. The youths globally are increasingly using the interactive media like face book to transact. It will be therefore prudent that marketers in the global market use the channels to reach the youths across the world.

 

7.  Why is the failure rate among U.S. expatriate business assignments so high? What can be done to improve this rate?

 

The failure rate by the US expatriates can be attributed to the challenges associated with global business operations and the inability to tackle the challenges has led to a number of failures. One of the major causes of failure is cultural inflexibility among the expatriates. As mentioned earlier different parts of the world have different cultural orientations and expatriates who fails to adapt to such cultural behaviors has little chance of success as the business strategies will be reflected. Another cause of failure has been lack of proper program to meet the social expectations of the audiences. Other factors includes: emotional immaturity as they fail to contain the pride associated with international assignments, others also suffer from their attachments to families which they leave behind as they go for business assignments.Lastly,the huge tasks and responsibilities that that they are required to perform affects their ability to succeed.

The situation could be improved through the following measures: Expertriates being given assignments in the global markets should be encouraged to make use of the local talents as they undertake their duties as this will increase their acceptance rate. The managers must also adopt an open mind and sense of flexibility to cope with the sociocultural dilemmas in the global business. A lot of studies and research must be conducted to understand the type of audiences one will be facing before venturing into global business. Lastly people must embrace globalization and the diversities in the world to allow individuals to freely move from one country to another and learn about all aspects of a country.