Introduction
The feature of the global economy is not the flow of goods, but the flow of capital, people, and information worldwide. With Globalization, time and space is no longer a barrier to making deals in the world. Computer networks permit instant transactions. Along with the increasing speed of transactions and global sourcing of all forms of resources and information, managers are struggling to think globally and act locally ( Rivette 2000).
As the markets become more open; as evidenced by free trade agreements between nations-, more foreign firms are likely to enter domestic markets, thus increasing competition. Since firms are operating in global markets, competitive moves in the domestic market may negatively affect the firm in another segment of the international market. Such increasing amounts and types of competition place pressure on firms to move into international markets in order to maintain their competitiveness in areas where they already operate (Atkinson 2000). Globalization requires intellectual capital as a source of comparative advantage as evidenced by W.W. Grainger headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois.
Background Information
W.W. Grainger, Inc. a globally minded fortune 500 company is the leading supplier of industrial products serving businesses and institutions throughout North America with roughly 600 locations. Grainger recently expanded into Mexico and China to source and sell its products. Grainger's decision to go global in this manner reflects the intellectual capital the firm maintains. Knowledge has become the direct source of comparative advantage for selling its products. Grainger's path to success has included global expansion to Mexico and Canada. In recent years, it has entered the Mexican and Canadian markets to both sell and source its products. It has done so by establishing sophisticated distribution networks throughout both countries. In both countries, Grainger supplies customers with a wide variety of local and imported industrial products.
Opportunity Statement
As such, Grainger can continue to remain successful for the foreseeable future by capitalizing on comparative advantages.
Setting up shops in Mexico for example is a function of Grainger's global expansion and sourcing to increase its market share, but also a comparative advantage to the company as well in terms of increase in profit margins. By targeting new customers in new markets, it expands its market reach throughout NA. "By purchasing inventory locally, it arbitrages labor costs, reduces delivery distances and provides customers with products tailored to the respective markets.
Their strong balance sheet gives them a tough war chest and the ability to experiment in foreign markets. We recommend that Hormel continue investments in acquisitions that have sustainable product-life cycles and act as extensions of the integrated strategic position that Hormel has been pursuing up to this point. As an example, China is the global leading stakeholder in peanut production with over 37% of the world’s supply. This market in particular is extremely important in the context of Hormel’s recent acquisition of Skippy Peanut Butter. After meeting with Fred Halvin, Vice-President of Corporate Development, he shared how one strategic issue associated with growing internationally is the way certain products are perceived in different markets. In general, Asian countries prefer products made and sourced in the U.S. as opposed to China. This is because of actual and perceived differences in quality and production standards. Putting more efficient and modern technologies in the hands of farmers is just the first step in building an image of quality outside of the U.S. Further collaboration with organizations like the Rainforest Alliance will help Hormel set goals for quality standards, long-term revenue growth, and overall shared value creation so that Hormel can develop vertically integrated supply chains that provide long-term security for the acquisitions they make to extend their
Nowadays, Globalization is a main trend for the world economic. The world’s economy has become fully integrated. There are no barriers and borders to trade around the world.
Grainger meets the criteria to be successful in the position strategy category. The maintenance/repair product industry is stable and more specifically as discussed earlier Grainger is financially stable. The company has multiple resources such as their talented employees, their partnerships through acquisitions, and their partnerships with strategic organizations such as National Sales and Pi Sigma
At Kudler Fine Foods, we strive for quality and fresh products all year long. In order to maintain the good reputation of the company, it is necessary to address any area that needs enhancement and therefore, if needed, to implement a process improvement program that will help the company to make it better. Managing and optimizing inventories is probably one of the most difficult challenges that any food store faces. In the case of Kudler Fine Foods, it is very important to increase revenue and it is very important to ensure a high level of customer satisfaction.
With the proliferation of the internet international Business transactions are more common today than ever. Globalization is now a key factor when creating a business strategy for most companies whether they are small family own businesses or huge corporations. Globalization however does not just involve selling a product in other countries. There are legal and cultural concerns that must be addressed. The legal aspects are fairly simple because in most places the laws are spelled out. It's the local customs, and regional way of doing things that can be tricky. Research on globalization has shown that it is not an omnipotent, unidirectional force leveling everything in its path. Because a global culture does not exist, any search for it would be futile. It is more fruitful to instead focus on particular aspects of life that are indeed affected by the globalizing process. (1). In this new economy, as it has been in the past, it will be the people not the machines who will determine a company's success. Having an effective Human Resource Management team that effectively analyze your company's current and future personnel needs is key in any business organization.
With the advent of the Internet, decreased shipping costs, and the removal of trade barriers, the world market has shrunk in such a way that everyone can be a player. While many businesses thrive solely on serving a small local area, a globalized company has the benefits of increased customer markets, gross production, and brand awareness. Take for example Coca-Cola; this multi-national corporation offers products in countries all over the world, operates in over 200 of those countries with the help of its franchisees, and is the most well-known beverage companies. It is interesting to note however, that as positive as globalization may seem, there are many negative ramifications and a large population of detractors to this movement. While increased product availability is good for profits, if a local market is inundated with imported products, locally grown or manufactured items may be squeezed out, to the detriment of the local economy. Although it is cost effective to have your product produced in another country with low wages, you are essentially taking away jobs from the people of your own country, negatively impacting your national economy. However, if you manufacture your products in a country with higher wages, you must increase your products’ prices which may be harmful to your profits. While maximizing your companies profits is always of great importance, it is essential that you weigh the pros and cons of globalization and its effects on not only your company, but the areas in which you wish to spread.
It is interesting and very pleasant to see how people from across the world work together to come up with ideas that make their company the best in what they do. This interconnection among people and places throughout the world which is with increasing level is called globalization. Some people think of it as internationalization where people from different parts of the world work with each other to bring out something quite enjoyable. Before, each country had its own business which didn’t collaborate with anybody else but themselves within the country. Since globalization has spread quite far, there are numerus examples available in our world today. Globalization can be found in economics, blending of cultures, technology,
Svensson, G., 2001. 'Globalization' of Business Activities: A 'Global Strategy' Approach, Management Decision, 39(1), pp.6-18.
All sizes and types of companies can take advantage of the globalization of markets with the following potential benefits such as 1) reduced marketing cost by distributing and promoting the standard products or services globally with standardized approach (e.g. Coca-Cola and McDonald’s companies, 2) bigger market opportunities to increase revenues with access to broader coverage in the global marketplace, 3) enable more stable income with diversify markets globally for better granularity to compensate the impact of certain seasonal goods or services from only one domestic market, 4) lower risk from inconsistent or unexpected short product life cycle
One of the major trademarks of the twenty-first century business environment is the expediential growth of globalisation. Today’s communications, trade relations and global mutual dependence impose new and ever changing challenges on company’s strategists. The world trade has grown phenomenally as a result of globalisation. (Al-Hyari, et-al, 2011) Transportation of people and goods to all areas of the world has never been as fast and cost-effective as it is today (Pinho and Martins, 2010). Globalisation can be briefly defined as a historical process which is characterised by a growing engagement between peoples on all corners of the globe (Modelski, 2003, pp.55-59)
Globalization remains a pivotal topic in many schools of thought, and continues being a topic of controversy even in local economies today. Perhaps the reason for this is integration and competitiveness the world over. Conceivably, even more than integration, is the competitiveness of organizations, has possibly facilitating the fascination and misconception about of globalization. Nevertheless, globalization has brought about a number of effects influencing the design and geographical location of the organization. However, globalization has effectively placed the world in a bubble, or maybe one could equate the changes to being placed in an envelope.
The expression "globalization" is generally utilized as a part of business rings and matters of trade and profit to depict the expanding internationalization of businesses for merchandise and administrations, the budgetary framework, companies and commercial ventures, innovation, and rivalry. In the globalized economy, partitions and national points of confinement have liberally diminished with the departure of tangles to market access. Furthermore, there have been decreases in transaction expenses and layering of time and separation in global transactions.
Globalization’s history is extremely diversified and began during the beginning of civilization. Now we live in a world that is constantly evolving, demanding people to use resources in locations that are very difficult to obtain certain resources. This could make it completely impossible to operate in these specific parts of the world. However, globalization allows people across the world to acquire much needed resources. Globalization creates the opportunity for businesses to take advantage and exploit the ability to take part of their business to a different country. Nevertheless, globalization is part of today’s society and will be involved in virtually all situations.
...re chances of growth and development for the company which is clearly understood through the research done on the Ansoff’s matrix. P&G is much ahead of its competitors and has also won many honors in terms of offering quality and innovative products. The company’s products are also sold by wide variety of retailers around the world and also through many e stores that sells the product online. Finally the company has also got more expansion opportunities which is clearly understood through the Yips model of Internationalization. As the company continues to acquire international brands over the years and succeeds in offering quality and innovative based products to the people all over the world it tend to give a much better completion to its competitors and of course get a wider market share making its competitors give a tough time in the industry.
Stonehouse, G., Campbell, D., Hamill, J. & Purdie, T. (2004). Global and Transnational Business (2nd ed.). Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.