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reply to 3 students using 90 words or more towards each student and ADD a direct question to each reply. Ensure each name is with its corresponding reply.
1st Student Jamie BakerFlores
The article from Lumen presents the four global business strategies as Export, Standardization, Multidomestic, and Transnational. During my reading I found them referred to as International, Global, Multidomestic, and Transnational (Smartling, n.d.).
Each strategy has its benefits and drawbacks, so adopting the one that makes the most sense depends on the company’s global vision and goals.
Export/International is arguably the simplest and most efficient strategy. Companies utilizing this strategy prefer to have domestic operations in their home market with little to no foreign operational investment. They prefer to export their product to other foreign markets. This streamlines their processes and keeps operating costs lower. The downside is increased complexity in supply chain management and increased import taxes/tariffs. The Export/International strategy has the lowest global integration and the lowest local responsiveness–as such these companies have minimal interest in adapting to foreign cultures. Examples are Ferrari and Lamborghini–both are built and shipped exclusively from their home factories in Maranello and Sant’Agata Bolognese (respectively).
Standardization/Global enjoys a high degree of global integration but a lower local responsiveness. This is because while the brand and product/service may be manufactured in locally in foreign locations–which may be staffed with locals–the end result is still at the discretion of the home office and the product/service to the consumer remains the same. This provides operational efficiency and economies of scale because manufacturing is streamlined and standardized. Minor adjustments may be made for localized reasons–such as language–but overall culture has very little influence on the product or design. A trade-off is that companies that employ this strategy are betting that their product/service maintains its global appeal and that local competition doesn’t displace its market share. Amazon is an example of a company using the Standardization/Global strategy. Amazon has country-specific sites around the world (I use Amazon.co.uk frequently) but the business model is the same everywhere–one-stop shopping and fast delivery.
A Multidomestic strategy entails having a centralized parent company or corporate HQ but employing subsidiaries or separate companies in different markets to meet specific, localized consumer demands. This is similar to the divisional organizational structure–each company is a separate and specialized entity that works independently to accomplish its specific goal. The benefit for this particular strategy is it has the highest degree of local responsiveness; it is very concerned with localized needs and wants of customers and ensuring they are able to meet those challenges rapidly. This strategy allows companies to become ingrained in the local culture; in fact the strategy hinges on their ability to do so. Multidomestic-minded corporations typically delegate regional operations and decision-making to the subsidiaries because they are in the best position to respond to local market forces. The downside is they have lower global integration since each subsidiary is a niche organization servicing the needs of a distinct market. Nestle is an example of a successful multidomestic corporation–they have over 2000 companies in 186 countries.
While multidomestic corporations have multiple subsidiaries, transnational companies have multiple operations, products/services, and assets abroad but all fall under the same brand identity or parent company. Instead of having separate, independently run divisions, transnationals have centralized management that coordinates major decisions. This strategy enjoys a high degree of global integration and local responsiveness. The brand remains the same everywhere, but the product/service can be tailored to local requirements as needed. This means they can have efficient processes and centralized upper management while still enjoying the benefit of being customer-focused and making decisions based on local conditions. Often this company employs local managers, adapts product packaging, marketing, and sales to be culturally conscious. McDonald’s is a prime example of a transnational company–McDonald’s is globally recognized but their product lines differ based on local tastes and cultural influences. McDonald’s replaces hamburger with chicken in India because cows are considered sacred an din Canada you can get poutine at a McDonald’s.
Deciding which strategy to adopt really depends on what a company is trying to achieve in respect to its global footprint. Each strategy demands a different level of cultural awareness and synergy to accomplish those goals.
Information pulled from LumenLearning and Smartling:
