International Business Strategy: Starbucks

Research a top multinational company in the world including its international strategy over the last 10 years. Using your research, write a report explaining its strategy, including a discussion of the following questions:
How do management practices, HR policies, and strategy decisions differ between multinational companies and local companies?
Identify some cultural, legal, political, and financial issues this multinational company may have based on their environment.
What sort of international orientation does it have?
Do you think it is ethno-, poly-, or geocentric?
What were the decision factors for the locations it chose to expand in?
Did it have the core capabilities to succeed in those markets?
Think about its objectives, how it chose its countries, what opportunities and constraints were apparent at the time, and what it needed to do to succeed in those markets.
If you were going to compete with this company what would you use as an international marketing entry strategy (licensing, franchising, exporting, joint ventures, etc.) and justify your answer
Define what a value chain dispersal and integration strategy is, and then describe how the strategy is organized around it.
Please submit your assignment.

Reminder: Initial Discussion Board posts due by Friday, responses due by Tuesday

Students will be expected to post their first initial discussion board posting by Friday of each week. Discussion posts will be graded and late submissions will be assigned a late penalty in accordance with the late penalty policy found in the syllabus. NOTE: All submission posting times are based on midnight Central Time.

Students are expected to post their responses to peers by Tuesday. NOTE: All submission posting times are based on midnight Central Time.

Primary Task Response: Within the Discussion Board area, write 400–600 words that respond to the following questions with your thoughts, ideas, and comments. This will be the foundation for future discussions by your classmates. Be substantive and clear, and use examples to reinforce your ideas.

There is a certain amount of risk involved in doing business anywhere, internationally. Chose a country, and discuss the following:

• What are the political, cultural, environmental, economic, and trade risks present when doing business in the country as an outsider?


• What type of business would you do there in light of the risks?
  
  
  
  • For example, would it be labor or capital intensive?
  
  
  • Would it be a manufacturing or distribution center, etc.?
  
  
  
  


• Would it be a representative office or a full-fledged operation?
  
  
  
  • Why should you as a manager be concerned with all this?
  
  
  
  

• Shaun Flak


• Discussion Board Post #2


• 08-21-2020


• When considering the discussion board post and deciding where I would like to be involved in a business internationally I chose Singapore because I have personal experience visiting Singapore when I was in the military and when conducting some research I found that the US News ranked Singapore as the top four countries to start a new business the last two years in a row. Through my personal experience Singapore wasn’t my favorite place to visit but I do remember back in 2002 just how booming the economy was based on the local businesses that I visited. I specifically remember going to a Starbucks there and just thinking how cool it was to see an American company in a foreign land. While this was not solely the basis for my decision it did help when looking at the rankings of other businesses that were ranked high as great places to start businesses as well. 


• While the US News ranked Singapore in the top four places to start a new business 11% of that ranking was determined by how, “Open for Business” Singapore was. The five attributes that relate to how open a business a country is: bureaucratic, cheap manufacturing costs, corrupt, favorable tax environment and transparent government practices which can all be considered foreign trade barriers. As an American doing business in a different country there is many risks but when looking into Singapore I found that the risks were not as high or unfavorable for me. 


• As far as foreign trade issues go I felt that because of the large group of foreigners already doing business there it would be a safe country to start my own business. In Singapore they have the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore which is the leading international business association in Singapore, with over 5,000 members representing more than 750 companies. American companies’ already directly invest more than $195 billion already. (Doing Business in Singapore, 2020) With organizations like this to work with I would feel safer to start a company in Singapore.  


• When thinking of some of the trade risks presented when doing business there I think about how China has been in the news extensively for Intellectual Property Infringement. Knowing that the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore has very strict laws against copyright and infringement law infractions to protect businesses that choose to conduct business there also helped in determining that starting a business there I would keep my intellectual property safe. While some US laws may not be enforceable in Singapore I am confident that the laws they have in place against criminal offences and copyright laws such as Manufacturing of infringing copies for commercial purpose, sale of infringing copies, possession or importation of infringing copies for commercial use and distribution of infringing copies for commercial purposes will all help me when conducting business there. (Intellectual Property Office of Singapore, 2020) With fines ranging from $20,000 to over $100,000 for a single infraction I believe Singapore’s tough stance on protecting businesses is makes it a very safe place to open. 


• Culturally there will always be inherent risks when conducting businesses in foreign countries if you are not prepared. I think one of the benefits to doing business in Singapore which also helps understand the cultural differences is that English is now the most spoken language in Singapore. Mandarin is Singapore’s native language and the language that was the most used before 2016. However, The Straits Times reports in 2016, “that 39.6 per cent of residents aged five and older use English most often at home against 34.9 per cent for Mandarin.” Having the majority of households speaking English allows me to be able to better communicate with residents and employees which in turn can help non Singapore employees understand the cultural differences easier.


• Economically Singapore’s GDP of $364.2 billion which equates to is $101,387 GDP Per Capita. With Singapore’s densely populated area there will be plenty of educated intelligent people to pull from for the labor force which is also forecast'ed to continue to support Singapore’s booming economy. This high Gross domestic product partnered with low unemployment makes Singapore one of the wealthiest nations in the world. US News, reports that Singapore’s impressive growth in recent years has been because of improvements in efficient manufacturing and production practices making way for free-market innovation in the booming electronics and pharmaceutical industries. (Overview of Singapore, 2020)


• In light of some of the risks and some of the already successful businesses that are being conducted successfully in Singapore I think I would probably try to conduct a business of some sort in manufacturing of electronics. This is something that I love to be involved with in my everyday life as I have over 60 some smart electronic devices in my own home. I love trying out new electronics and learning about them and or getting frustrated with setting them up as they always keep me on my toes. Starting a manufacturing center for electronics would definitely be capital intensive as you would need a lot of money for equipment which would also help keep your labor lower than most business. This would also be a full-fledged operation as it would be my first business of this sort I would want my sole focus to be there making sure everything gets worked out correctly.  As a manager I would be concerned with all this because it would be part of the developmental process of the business and could affect the budget planning. I also want to make sure that I have a successful start to business giving myself the best shot at being successful. 


•  


• References:


• Doing Business in Singapore (2020, August 20) Retrieved from U.S. Embassy in 


• Singapore https://sg.usembassy.gov/business/doing-business-in-singapore/


• Intellectual Property Office of Singapore-Criminal Offences (2020, August 20).    


• Retrieved from IPOS: https://www.ipos.gov.sg/understanding-innovation-ip/copyright/criminal-offences


• Open for Business Rankings (2020, August 20). Retrieved from US News a World Wide 


• Report: https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/open-for-business-rankings


• Overview of Singapore (2020, August 20). Retrieved from US News a World Wide 


• Report: https://www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/singapore#country-ranking-details