Question
You are the international manager for an American MNC that specializes in high-end winter sports gear. You have been asked to profile a country in the European Union and make a recommendation for entry. Using the readings, Lecture, and your own research, complete a report, as an international manager, to submit to your CEO. This writing assignment should be completed in the standard APA format. Upload the assignment to the proper assignment folder. You need to include the following elements for your chosen EU country:
The economic, political, legal, and technological environment (as it relates to your company and industry)
A plan for social responsibility and sustainability
A country profile (using either Hofstede of Trompenaars) and its similarities and differences to the United States
Recommendations for cross-cultural communication and negotiations
An entry strategy
Political risk and government relations
A plan for motivating and leading workers in the EU country (incorporate motivational theory)
A plan for selecting an expatriate in the position of VP, Operations.
Sample paper
Austria profile
With the increase in popularity of the sport in recent years, more and more people are demanding for high-end winter sports gear to enable them to go about their businesses and sports as usual. Jaguar Sportswear an American multinational is in the process of expanding its operation to Austria one of the countries in the European Union. Below are profile and recommendations of how the company can successfully venture in the country.
The economic, political, legal and technological environment of Austria
Economic environment – Austria is one of the fastest growing economies in the European Union which is enhanced by its well-developed financial market systems and high standard of living. These developments make it possible for the country to compete with other countries such as Germany actively. The economy of the country is characterized by a large facility sector, a stable and successful manufacturing sector as well as extremely developed informal sector. However, it is worth noting that Austria was one of the many countries in the European Union that were heavily affected by the 2007-2008 financial crises (“Basic statistics of Austria, 2012,” 2013). However, with steady leadership, the country was able to recover from financial shocks during the third quarter of 2009 and has never looked back since then. Along these lines, Austria’s economy is profoundly globalized and versatile, supported by the talented work constrain, focused assembling, and a huge administration part. Openness to worldwide exchange and speculation is immovably standardized, and the moderately proficient entrepreneurial structure fortifies intensity making it the ideal nation for venture.
Political environment – Austria’s legislative issues happens in a system of an elected parliamentary agent popularity based republic, with an elected chancellor and the pioneer of the administration while the federal President assumes the powers as the head of the state. Therefore, Austria is a self-governing country with a stable political environment and is currently occupies number six in the list of most industrialized countries in the world.
Legal environment – the judicial system in Austria is independent which advocates for equal treatment of both nationals and foreigners concerning commercial disputes. Additionally, the labor laws in the country are strict and strong to protect the wellbeing of both the employer and employee with labor unions and movement playing and important part of ensuring that these rules and regulations are upheld by all stakeholders. The country’s commerce-friendly tax arrangement has attracted high levels of investment in the country in recent years (“Austria – Legal System,” n.d).
Technological environment – recent innovations and inventions in technology has made the global market more competitive which prompts government such as Austria’s government to highly and heavily invest in technology. Austria enjoys a high level of research and development activities, computerization, technological incentives as well as the high speed of technological transformation which is supported by the government.
Social responsibility and sustainability
The company has a motto that states “responsibility begins with me” which will encourage the company to participate in community development programs and other corporate social responsibility activities in the country. Economic and social interaction of the company and the general public will be crucial to the realization of the company goals and objectives. To the company, sustainability also means to support and fund projects in all area of the society. With comprehensive sponsorship activities and the company commitment as a partner of various associations, the company fund sports initiatives and social projects with an objective of becoming one of the important sponsors in the field of art and culture in the country. The company will embrace their accountability in the direction of the marketplace as well as about their workers, society, and the surroundings (Kim & Vachon, 2016,). To them, mainly CSR is not a PR device but rather a supervision concept related to the values of Sustainable growth. Additionally, Austrian industry council for sustainable growth offers its associate companies the following:
- Ground-breaking concepts as well as projects regarding CSR along with sustainability
- A platform to converse ideas as well as knowledge
- A conversation with politics, citizens, and media
- Encouragement of companies’ victorious sustainability and also, CSR projects.
A country profile (using either Hofstede of Trompenaars) and its similarities and differences to the United States
In Austria as well as the United States Geert Hofstede’s collectivism against Individualism Trompenaars ascription/success cultural direction implies the accordance of position seems to have a link with that of Hofstede’s intellectual dimension: supremacy distance. This show that if there is an individual who has the idea, concept or opinion opinions the accordance of position by nature except for the success which depicts a superior capability of accepting supremacy distance. These assumptions and also, dimension even though necessary in analyzing the society of different countries, do not provide a clear idea regarding their preferences as well as the impact on citizens’ behavior.
As Geert Hofstede’s control distance indexes the way position being accorded, excluding to the approvable supremacy index in the culture, this is not examined with Trompenaars in Austria. In the United States, other intellectual dimensions have an extra center on resulting significances of specific values. The neutral and also, emotional, intellectual dimension describes the capacity of the appearance of the feelings, which uses a behavioral characteristic other than a value (Nakata, 2009). With admiration to the intellectual measurements of Hofstede, and also, Fons Trompenaars had not formed his structure on mathematical and arithmetical information, other than on self-collected instrument which he considered having an approved relevancy.
Recommendations for cross-cultural communication and negotiations
With the recent expansion of businesses to foreign countries, cross-cultural communication has become one of the key areas that business need to focus on to make sure that they include all individuals in a region irrespective of their age, ethnicity, race or cultural background. Therefore, Austria supervisors or any other supervisors deployed in the country to oversee the operations of the business are expected to direct, control and monitor all other employees. Therefore, they need to show high understanding of the importance of cross-cultural communication and negotiations which will make sure that employees have the right skills and materials to get the job done. Austria is known to have hierarchical culture and like straight approach to negotiations which means that supervisors must make sure that they may show concern for workers that goes beyond the place of work and strictly expert concerns.
Market entry strategy
Considering that Austria’s market is open for globalization, the company is planning to use direct exporting as its main strategy to enter this market. Therefore, after establishing the company resources, the company will seek to sell their products into the market directly. Therefore, it will use agents and distributors to represent them in the market by representing the company’s interest on the ground and ensuring that everything runs as planned. Therefore, the agents and distributors will become the official face of the company (Delaney, 2013).
Political risk and government relations
Austria’s financial system is estimated to grow by 1.8% in 2015 as well as approximates + 2.1% in 2016. Generous incentive measures throughout 2010, tax improvement and capital support towards the banks assisted defy extra pessimistic predictions, other than also formed record levels of communal sector debt (Famira-Mühlberger, Leoni, & European Economic and Social Committee, 2014,). The Austrian government declared their plans in 2010 to decrease public debt. Included as well as applied in 2010, was the expansion of tax applied to incomes made to share as well as fund transactions, an enhancer in gasoline tax as well as a decrease in social benefits.
A plan for motivating and leading workers in the EU country
If inspiration is driven through the continuation of unsatisfied requirements, then it is valuable for a director to recognize which requirements are the more significant for individual workers. In this observe, Abraham Maslow expanded a representation in which essential, low-level requirements such as physiological needs and protection must be satisfied earlier than higher-level requirements like as self-fulfillment are followed (Healy, 2016). In this hierarchical representation, when a requirement is chiefly satisfied it no longer encourages, and the subsequently superior requirement takes its place
A plan for selecting an expatriate in the position of VP, Operations
A plan for selecting an expatriate in the position of VP, Operations is that the vice president is not directly elected, jointly with the president, towards a four-year term of the workplace by the citizens of the Austria during the Electoral. The vice president is the initial being in the presidential line of sequence, and would usually rise to the presidency upon the bereavement, resignation, or elimination of the president. The workplace of the Vice President of the Austria helps and manages the vice president’s representative functions.
References
Austria – Legal System. (n.d.). Foreign Law Guide. doi:10.1163/2213-2996_flg_com_323052
Basic statistics of Austria, 2012. (2013). OECD Economic Surveys: Austria, 7-7. doi:10.1787/eco_surveys-aut-2013-1-en
Delaney, L. J. (2013). Methods of Exporting Direct, Indirect, and Collaborative Sales Channels. Exporting, 279-302. doi:10.1007/978-1-4302-5792-9_17
Famira-Mühlberger, U., Leoni, T., & European Economic and Social Committee. (2014). The economic and social situation in Austria. Brussels: EESC.
Healy, K. (2016). A Theory of Human Motivation by Abraham H. Maslow – reflection. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 208(4), 313-313. doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.115.179622
Kim, J. D., & Vachon, S. (2016). Asian journal of sustainability and social responsibility Inaugural Editorial. Asian Journal of Sustainability and Social Responsibility. doi:10.1186/s41180-016-0006-z
Nakata, C. (2009). Going Beyond Hofstede: Why We Need to and How. Beyond Hofstede, 3-15. doi:10.1057/9780230240834_1
