Marketing assignment essay: Happy Well International Enterprise Ltd

The Company

Founded in 1985, Happy Well International Enterprise is a manufacturer of plastic toys which has major presence in Americas, Middle East, Europe and Asia. For strengthening its prime line of producing toys the company has maintained its own R&D unit which aims at designing innovative toys for catering the need of global market. For instituting a distinctive place in the competitive business market, the company not just complies with the established standards of international safety; but also provides complete engineering of their products which is customizable on the basis of market requirement. In order to maintain it competitive positioning and accelerate the route to profitability, Happy Well is evaluating the options of expanding its presence in the Chinese market. 

The Chinese Market for International Business

In the contemporary business market, extending the presence of a company in the global arena is seen as the quintessential need driven through globalization. In the drive of geographic expansion, China has always been the centre of attraction for various organizations, owing to the size of economy and the pace at which it is growing. While finalizing the country for business expansion, it is essential that the challenges and opportunities inherent to the country are evaluated critically. Following section attempts an insightful assessment of Chinese economy from perspective of international business expansion.

Strengths

One of the strongest attribute which makes China a favorable destination for international expansion is its strong vision and ease at which the country adapts transition. This vision was supported with strong presence of FDI in the country that has rendered a crucial part in taking the country off, economically. For instance, in the early stage of its growth, FDI investment increased by 13.3% on a year-on-year basis during 2003-04, which magnificently contributed towards the growth of local economy (UNCTAD, 2005). Additionally by virtue of being the highest populated country, it has created a vast market at the domestic level which can be explored and leveraged by any aspiring business house. The country maintains a pragmatic approach while practicing market transition that has enabled regions in scaling up their experiments at an international level. Its openness for international trade was attested through its entry into WTO in late 2001 and makes the country an integrated part of the global economy (Hu, 2001). It is through this openness in the system which enables import of goods, technology and competencies at an ease while strengthening the efficiency of production for the country.

China also maintains a strong tendency towards savings which has capability of meeting the investment need required for economic development. In the current times, the country has significantly controlled its population which has increased its per capita income and scope for prosperity. Supporting these factors is another attribute which has been instrumental in driving the economy at large. The private sector which emerged in the country in mid 80s now dominates the market dynamics and strongly impacts the policies and reforms for propagation of global trade. It is interesting to note that such a change in the country is well complemented with the skilled and educated pool of human resources that acts as backbone for current performance (Ikeya, 2000). The approach maintained by the country has also enabled it in increasing its penetration of ICT and support any international business expansion initiative.

Weaknesses

Notwithstanding the myriad favoring factors, the country has certain instilled weak points which demands careful considering before venturing into expansion activities. The financial system of the country is relatively weak. Strong health of the financial system is considered critical for enhancing the productivity as well as striking the growth balance of a country. Though the country has noticeable propensity for saving, the banking system is not effective in providing enough channels for investments that leads to funneling it towards loss making enterprise and deprives private firms in accessing credit. Lack of credit culture also hinders the prospects of expansion in the economy. To worsen the matters lack luster performance of the state-owned enterprises mar the image of the country in the global market (Kwan, 2002).

In addition to this one of the major drawback of the country is that it is viewed in the international market as a foreign technology imitator, which indicates the lack of talent pool for supporting R&D initiatives in the country. Despite the fact that the country receives generous FDI funding, there exists limitation in transference of technology. Also dominance of the government bodies in sourcing the capital deters the process of high risk investment in the country as venture capital is yet to reach its mature state. At the same time absence of an effective framework for regulation adds to the complexity of business operation in the country.

Opportunities

Critical evaluation of the inherent weakness helps in appreciating the areas which opens the doors of opportunities for the country. One such approach which can improve the scope of business development for the country is by increasing the accountability of government through establishment of a monitoring system which also is effective in enhancing transparency. At the same time it is also essential in expanding the financial sector which can augment the process of capital allocation and boost the confidence of the investor in exploring various possibilities of business. Furthermore for reducing the existent gap of income, it is imperative to allocate the available human resource pool in a better manner. Similarly promoting free flow of labor has the potential of brightening business scope for China in the global arena (Cha, 2001).

In the contemporary context, development of the private sector fuels the growth of an economy at large. Making the business environment conducive for the business sector by enhancing the existing regulatory and legal framework also attracts global firms for expansion. Opportunities can also be exploited from the size of country’s population and its territory, once the ICT is made innate to the system it will help focus upon increasing the proficiency of governance and economy. Enhancing the popularity of e-way of doing business can supplement the growth of ICT in the country which in turn will support the growth of other sectors (Dahlman, et.al, 2007). Again, as there exists ample potential in improving the innovative capabilities of the country, shifting the focus from manufacturing to innovation can heighten the image of the company at an international level.

Threats

Irrespective of the inherent strengths and sea of opportunities, the country is not devoid of challenges which threat its competitive positioning in the broad market. As the global market is increasingly growing competitive it has become pivotal for economies in establishing their ability in creation and propagation of their knowledge as well as technology. The country is strongly placed when it comes to processing of technology, but lacks aboriginal capability for innovation. Also the knowledge divide that exists amongst different regions of the country needs to be bridged for effectively competing in the international market (Farrell and Grant, 2005).

Another major hindrance for the country which surfaces irrespective of its strong economic growth is that there exists disparity of income and education in the country. From the perspective of business growth, disparity is seen as a risk as it can ruin the prospects of long term growth and sustainability. Additionally when China started accelerating in the path of economic expansion, it started consuming significant energy which is gradually depletion (Hu, 2000). The growing constraint on the energy front poses a strong challenge for the country while competing with the global giants.

Action Plan for Expanding Business in China

Once an insight is develop on general operating conditions for business in China, the next critical stage is to strategically plan the course of action which can help in strengthening the bottom-line of Happy Well International Company. The action plan is staged in various categories which are discussed in the following sections:

Business Objective

Prior venturing into expansion initiative of both global and local nature, it is imperative for business in understanding the objective of doing so from business perspective. The prime intent for Happy Well to expand its presence in an international market is to enhance its sales volume which can strengthen the profit margin. With this objective in mind, it is essential that the chosen country has the potential market which can boost the sales of toys. Considering the population and territory size of China, it appears as prospective bait which can fulfill this objective.

Mode of Entry

Any strategy that is undertaken before entering a foreign market has to ensure and integrate the basic components of the marketing value chain, as it is one of the prime drivers of deriving competitive advantage and achieving success (Porter, 1980). Once the competitive edge in any market is analyzed and decided it becomes easier to formulate the components of marketing mix. Having decided the marketing mix the focus lies on the entry strategy while calculating risk associated with foreign endeavor. In this case it seems the use of a third party agent for exploring the growth potential is appropriate as this mode has the likelihood of limiting the risk associated with business failure. Once successful results are achieved in short term the next leap can be attained through a joint venture mode with a local player which tends to absorb the social and cultural differences. Mapping of cultural difference is one of the critical attribute of international business, which can be planned while deciding the entry strategy (Hofstede et.al, 2010). As unlike US, China is more collective and less assertive in their approach, expanding in such a country by joining hands with an established local player is an objective approach of effectively managing business and leveraging from the preferential treatment (Evans, et. al, 2002).

Global Standardization of Strategy

In order to ensure that strategy adopted for expansion yields the desired results, attention should also be drawn towards the aspect of standardization. Considering the unique attributes of every country, a standardized strategy of business management is less likely to deliver success. It is true that management of different strategies for different business units also increases the complexity of managing the major business, hence a mid way approach is considered most suitable wherein the production and other technical aspects are standardized. However the softer facets of management such as culture and social norms, they are customized which in turn helps in enhancing the global approach of the company (Hodgetts and Luthans, 2003).

Management Structure

For ensuring success of any business expansion it is critical that even the overseas business units are managed in an effective manner. For doing so, it becomes essential for the management in designing a structure which is decentralized in nature. From the perspective of an organization like Happy Well which employees more than 17000 employees across the globe, it is essential that decision making authorities are established at every regional location. Such a structure expedites the process of decision making while making the company better equipped in expanding its business units or preparing for any emergencies which demand immediate attention (Griffin and Pustay, 2007). At the same time such an arrangement improves the process of control and management which enhances the productivity of the company.

Activity Schedule

Once the basic aspects of expansion are considered and taken care of, the next critical stage is designing the schedule of implementing the plan. A marketer needs to contemplate the fact that the practical process of implementing might differ from the one originally drawn on paper. It is thereby advisable for launching a plan in a staged manner so as to test the acceptability of the audience and test the relevance of experiment with respect to core objective of the business. Once the trial phase depicts positive results, the next stage of the plan can be implemented. Such an approach not just helps in making the adopted strategy successful but also in preparing for a back-up which can limit the risk of business failure. 

Conclusion

The concept and practice of international expansion that has enveloped every organization operating in the contemporary world for not just establishing their brand name in the global market but also in enhancing the productivity of the company. For accomplishing desired success in the global arena any organization need to make structural and fundamental changes in its business model while entering any new market terrain. By doing so the organizations gets a leverage of achieving an extra edge over its competitor and increase its global presence through innovation and evoking the innate need of the consumer. To be successful in the said area it thus has to design its model in a clear, concise and measureable way. Careful assessment of strategies and drawing the action plan for expansion is considered quintessential for every country is different in terms of both social and cultural norms.

If you want Marketing Writing Assignment Help study samples to help you write professional custom essay’s and essay writing help.

Receive assured help from our talented and expert writers! Did you buy assignment and assignment writing services from our experts in a very affordable price.

To get more information, please contact us or visit www.myassignmenthelp.Com