Wednesday, May 14, 2014

International Marketing Sample Assignment

Abstract

Siemens AG organisation is a global business enterprise with its base in Germany and employs over 450,000 employees worldwide. The organization is a whopping 162 years old and covers different business sectors like Energy, Transportation, Financial Services, Domestic Appliances, Automation and control to name a few. It is multinational and operates across 190 separate nation states. The organization specialises in providing both products and services. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the challenges which the company faces pertaining to the international business environment. The report covers all the dimensions of the international marketing process including strategies, pricing, entry modes and management of employees. The report ends with a brief conclusion that ties the contents of the report together (Advameg 2009).


Table of Contents

Sub Task 1 International Marketing Environment

1.1 Nature of growing global market environment

The contemporary business environment is marked with increasing amount of globalisation. With an advent of  nearly a technological revolution being created by social networking websites, the customers are connecting with each other at a very rapid pace. The same analogy also applies to businesses that are fiercely impacted by the increasing pressure of globalisation (Geert Hofstede 2009).
The nature of the operations are bound to be changed when international boundaries are concerned. While operating in the local economy, the marketers can make use of local national celebrities to add a degree of appeal to their marketing communication campaign. However, this would yield minimal result if they carry out the same message to the global audience (Arabian Business 2009).

1.2 Significance of cross cultural differences

The primary challenge that is faced by the international marketers relates to the differences in the perceptions of the customers as it varies significantly from place to place. As an example the customers for Siemens AG organisation might prefer a push strategy through the use of aggressive marketing initiatives in United Kingdom, the same might not be the case in Brazil where the customers are accustomed to a pull strategy. The third world countries are believed to be more technologically developed relative to the Asian counterparts; hence technologies like 4G might be common in United Kingdom but is still a relatively newer concept in Sri Lanka. Hence, Siemens cannot launch the same mobile Smartphone which supports 4G technology in Sri Lanka (Central Intelligence Agency 2009).
There are various influences when international boundaries are concerned. The major points include differences in different legal policies for setting up different businesses. There can be changes in the trends of the market contingent upon their respective culture and preferences (Index Mundi 2009).

Sub Task 2 International Marketing Planning Process


2.1 Importance of project management techniques

The entry to a new country to launch a product or a service is always considered to be a new project by Siemens AG organisation. This helps them to identify the salient critical factors of each different country in a viable manner. Since the requirements of the different country vary in their respective nature, there is a greater need to apply project management techniques. Siemens AG organisation also deploys separate managers to help them get expertise of experience from specialised managers (Lowtax 2009).

2.2 Different stages of International marketing development

There are different stages of International Marketing which are namely:
Geocentric: The same products are offered to all parts of the words and no relevance is given to customization. ‘Siemens AG organisation One’ closely follows this stage of international marketing (Malhotra 2010).
Ethnocentric: This type of International Marketing development relates to considering domestic market as superior to other countries and the trends in the domestic market are forced to be adapted by the consumers of the other parts of the world as well. Siemens AG organisation does not follow this at all (Nationmaster 2009).
Polycentric: In this type, each different has its own headquarters set up and there is hardly any relation seen with the other countries where the company may be operational. Siemens AG organisation also does not follow this notion and believes that all the operations are handled through their base (Pippa Sanderson 2009).

2.3 Market Entry strategic alternatives

It can be potentially possible that a particular company has a very strong domestic market owing to the fact that they have been producing a product right from the very beginning. It becomes a real challenge to pose as a competitor for such a company. Hence, it would be more beneficial for Siemens AG organisation to get into a strategic alliance with that company (US Department of State 2009).

2.4 Impact of adopting different generic strategies in different geographic locations

The choice of the adoption of a generic strategy depends upon the cultural forces that are prevalent in a specific country. The scope of the completion and the existence and the preferences of the customers allow the senior management to base their decision whether to adopt a differentiation strategy or to adopt a cost effective strategy. Also, whether they should change their existing products or not is also considered. And if they do decide to change it, by what degree they should their existing product (Hoffer 2001).

2.5 Importance of Market Research

The senior management is expected to carry out a thorough analysis of the preferences of different cultures and countries. Hence, before taking a decision of entering a new market, international marketers at Siemens AG organisation often create a Country Notebook which points out the diminutive aspects pertaining to the culture of a specific country and includes things like ethnic groups present, mannerism, likes and preferences so that they have beforehand information and they can offer products that is acceptable by the people of a particular country (WTO 2006).

Sub Task 3 International Marketing Mix

3.1 Difference in the product and pricing strategies in country specific markets

There are differences in the currencies of different countries. Hence, Siemens AG organisation resorts to using the Big Mac Index to know the exact value of a product. Over pricing or under pricing the product or service can prove to be detrimental to the success of an organisation. Hence, it is recommended that the prices of similar products and substitutes are checked before fixing up a price for an offering in a new country. Also, the company should be flexible enough to change the price if they feel that the price at which it was initially launched is not conducive to the market (Jerome 1995).

3.2 Electronic Marketing in the international business environment

With an advent of a nearly technological revolution being created by social networking websites, the customers are connecting with each other at a very rapid pace. The same analogy also applies to businesses that are fiercely impacted by the increasing pressure of globalisation. Hence, Siemens AG organisation makes it a point to make the full potential use of electronic market to increase its presence in the new markets (The Odora 2009).

3.3 Delivery element and its significance

It is imperative for an organization to understand the local infrastructure and maintain contacts with the local suppliers to make the best utilization of the provisions of the services. It is often recommended that the organization must take help of the locals who can easily negotiate with the other locals on order to get the job done in a stipulated time frame (Macaulay 1995).

Sub Task 4 Application of frameworks to International marketing opportunities


4.1 Planning Models used in respect to marketing

It is often believed that the marketing principles should be kept highly flexible while trying to capture an unknown market. This is because the changes in the legal policies, social trends, changes in currency fluctuations are volatile in nature and the organization under no circumstances is in a position to stick to a rigid plan. The best way is to adopt learning by doing analogy where the experience is gained by working in an economy rather than based on mere speculation (The Odora 2009).

4.2 Examination of competitive strategies in respect to International Marketing

What worked in one country is not very likely to work in another. Hence competitive strategies are bound to differ in their scope and application contingent upon the nature of the country specific region where it is being applied.
While operating in foreign conditions, it is also important to note that considering that they are foreigners and do not have the knowledge of local conditions, there can be people who can overcharge for simple service. Hence, the use of a local person and his experience becomes crucial for a global organization (Hemp 2002).
There is also an inherent risk involved by taking the service of such local personnel which is that they might disclose the critical information to third parties for monetary benefits as they do not have a vested interest in securing the information of the company which can prove to cause severe damage to the organisation. Hence, an organisation should only reveal specific information and should not blindly trust anyone and reveal all the information to them (Visitabudhabi 2009).
 (Patent Express 2009).

Sub Task 5 Management of International Marketing Operations


5.1 Managing the Human Resources in International Marketing Process

Managing the Human Resources is among the biggest challenge that is faced by the International Marketing managers. A common strategy is to hire a local professional at a senior management level who understands the work ethics and culture of a particular country comprehensively. The role of the organisation than becomes to build good terms with that official and he manages all the issues of the workforce related to that country. However, Siemens AG organisation considers all its employees as internal customers and irrespective of their origin and country, treats them equally (Naseej-cyd 2008).

5.2 Assessment of process for setting up and managing overseas operations

While there are a country where marketing products is a huge success, there are also examples where networking and word of mouth publicity plays a crucial role. Hence, an organisation needs to adapt to the nature of the market or economy where they are operating in order to achieve their respective goals. It can be potentially possible that a particular company has a very strong domestic market owing to the fact that they have been producing a product right from the very beginning. It becomes a real challenge to pose as a competitor for such a company. Hence, it would be more beneficial for Siemens AG organisation to get into a strategic alliance with that company (Khaleej Times 2009).

5.3 Analysis of methods of Finance, Payment, Investment in trade

Siemens AG organisation often gets into hedging contracts to prevent the losses from the volatile nature of the currency fluctuations. The payment terms are also contingent upon the preferences of the local market as they cannot expect to undertake those methods which have worked for them in their domestic markets (Gulf legal service 2008).

Methodology

This report has made use of secondary data in the form of websites, academic journals, and public libraries to get information about the Siemens AG organisation. While some of the information has been taken from the brief case study that has been used as the basis for this paper, the major part of the information has been taken from other secondary sources mentioned above. The literature review has not been conducted in this report. However, great amount of academic journals were studied in order to understand the complex issue which relates to the concept of International Marketing. The list of the Academic Journals has been presented in the References section at the end of this report (Countries and their cultures 2008).
Further, the report has some limitations due to time constraint and lack of primary investigation and sources. There is a tremendous scope for exploration in this domain which can help the industry experts to learn from the exemplary practices of International Marketing followed by Siemens AG organisation (Awadhi 2009).

Conclusion

The primary objective of Siemens AG organisation is to be a leader in the field of electrical engineering and electronics. It is learned by the virtue of this report that Siemens AG organisation is a very customer oriented company. Even though the business is operational worldwide, the objective remains to satisfy the individual needs of the specific customers irrespective of their geographic location (Advmeg 2009).
This report makes use of the International Marketing concepts and applies the same to the Siemens AG organisation to understand and learn from their practices.

References

Advameg, 2009, “Encyclopedia of the Nations”, retrieved on 27th august 2013 from <http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Asia-and-Oceania/United-Arab-Emirates-TOPOGRAPHY.html>.
Advmeg Inc, 2009, “Emirians”, retrieved on 27th August 2013 from <http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Tajikistan-to-Zimbabwe/Emirians.html>.
Arabian Business, 2009, “Employee Relations (ER)”, retrieved on 26th August 2013 from <http://www.arabianbusiness.com/index.php?option=com_events&view=detail&evt_id=262>.
Awadhi A A, ECSSR, 2009, “Emirati Society and Social Structure Change”, retrieved on 25th August 2013 from <http://www.ecssr.ac.ae/CDA/en/FeaturedTopics/DisplayTopic/0,1670,656-0-64,00.html>.
Central Intelligence Agency, 2009, “The WorldFact Book” retrieved on 20th August 2013 from <https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ae.html>.
Countries and their cultures, 2008, “World Cultures: ”, retrieved on 27th August 2013 from <http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Tajikistanto-Zimbabwe/Emirians.html>.
Geert Hofstede, 2009, “Geert Hofstede - Cultural dimension”, retrieved on 24th August 2013 from <http://www.geert-hofstede.com/hofstede_arab_world.shtml>.
Gulf legal service, 2008, retrieved on 26th August 2013 from < http://gulf-law.com/uae_judicial.html>.
Hemp, P 2002, ‘My week as a room-service waiter at the Ritz’, Harvard Business Review, vol. 80, no. 6, pp. 50–62.
Hoffer Gittel, J 2001, ‘Investing in relationships’, Harvard Business Review, vol. 79, no. 6, pp. 28–30.
Index Mundi, 2009, retrieved on 27th August 2013 from <http://indexmundi.com/g/g.aspx?v=27&c=tc&l=en>
Jerome, L & Kleiner, BH 1995, ‘Employee morale and its impact on service: What companies do to create a positive service experience’, Managing Service Quality, vol. 5, no. 6, pp. 21–25.
Khaleej Times, 2009, “Gold/Forex rates”, retrieved on 26th August 2013 from <http://www.khaleejtimes.com/forex.asp>
Lowtax, 2009, retrieved on 27th August 2013 from <http://www.lowtax.net/lowtax/html/dubai/jdbdctx.html>
Macaulay, S & Cook S 1995, ‘Practical teamwork for customer service’, Team Performance Management An International Journal, vol. 1, issue 3, pp. 35–41.
Malhotra, N.K. (2010), “Marketing Research: An Applied Orientation”, Sixth edition, Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River.
Naseej-cyd, 2008, “Country Profile”, retrieved on 26th August 2013 from <http://www.naseej-cyd.org/files/UAE_Profile_en.pdf>
Nationmaster, 2009, retrieved on 26th August 2013 from <
Patent Express, 2009, “Filing patents and Trademarks in UAE”, retrieved on 26th August 2013 from <http://www.patentexpress.com/patents/international_country.aspx?cn=uae>.
Pippa Sanderson, 2009, “Living and Working in Dubai”, retrieved 27th August 2013 from <http://www.justlanded.com/english/Dubai/Articles/Moving/Home-Life>
US Department of State, 2009, ”United Arab Emirates –Profile”, retrieved on 20th August 2013 from <http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5444.htm#political> .
Visitabudhabi, 2009, “Language & Religion”, retrieved 21st August 2013 from <http://www.visitabudhabi.ae/en/uae.facts.and.figures/language.religion.aspx>

WTO, 2006, “Trade Policy Review”, retrieved on 26th August 2013 from <www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/tpr_e/tp263_crc_e.htm>

www.sampleassignment.com



About Us

Sample Assignment has been serving students across the globe for over a decade now, not only with academic assignments, also assisting the students excel in their academics.
Being the fastest growing online assignment writing service providers globally, We help you with all kinds of homework, coursework, proposals, dissertations, thesis, essays, reviews, projects, presentations, book reports, case studies, article writing etc. Our experienced researchers are from varied academic backgrounds and cover various topics from all fields of study. We have space for everyone – from a student struggling in K- 12 to a PhD research scholar. With immense exposure in different universities and colleges around the world, our team understands the explicit academic culture and the demands placed by the teachers and professors on the students. Once you submit your assignment, be rest assured that we would follow the stated guidelines and specifications, delivering the right solutions straight to your inbox in time. Our high quality customized assignment help is appreciated and is much sought after, by the student community the world over.
We all understand how tough a student’s life can get. Being a student you need more than 36 hours in a day to be able to do all that you need to do. This is where we pitch in. Our guidance and timely assistance can help you cope with the extreme pressures of academia. When you are struggling and have no time and energy to compete and survive that is where we help you acquire better grades, making you feel stress free and relaxed.
Our encouraging experts would not only provide you with the online assignment help but would also guide you through the confusing maze in which you find yourself at times. Needless to say, our work is plagiarism free. Be it homework assignment help for school students, coursework, assignment writing help for graduates, project writing assistance for research level students needed for their challenging thesis and dissertations, trust us - we are there for you.

Mission

The objective of Sample Assignment is to create viable opportunities for the Students by helping them out in their academics. Our model assignments and papers can be used by the Students in their research work and also for gaining exposure in their relevant fields. We work closely with our clients in order to ensure 100% satisfaction every single time our services are used.
Call us at +61 401 358 795 or mail us at: info@sampleassignment.com

No comments:

Post a Comment