International Business and Economics Assignment

International Business and Economics - Assignment Example Franchising is very similar to licensing except in the degree of control by the licensor in that a franchise has to adhere strictly to a set of standards such as in marketing strategy and in its sales promotions (Welch, Benito, and Petersen, 2007, p. 53). Example of licensing would be a Mickey Mouse logo licensed to a kids shoe manufacturer while franchising is a McDonald's. Turnkey operations are a type of business entry mode in which one company contracts with another company to build, construct and complete ready-to-use facilities (Paul, 1966, p. 162). Most turnkey projects are usually in the construction and industrial-equipment sectors which require big capital and specialized expertise (Daniels, Radebaugh and Sullivan, 2008, p. 45). Management contracts pertain to agreements between investor groups of a big project and the management company hired for their expertise to manage, coordinate and oversee the project. The company is hired provides its management, administrative and organizational talents in return for a management fee such as those quite common in global hotel chains like Hilton. A direct investment is an investment made with a view to acquiring a lasting or long-term part or interest in an existing operational business enterprise in order to have an effective voice in the management of the said enterprise. In practice, this translates to buying the equity of 10% or more in the foreign firm as a form of market entry when other modes are not very assured of success. In this regard, foreign direct investment (FDI) is a way for capital to move from the low-return environment to a higher-profit market (Moosa, 2002, p. 24). Portfolio investment is an investment in stocks and securities for profits only and is called â€Å"hot money.† Attitudes to Foreign Cultures – the managers and employees of multinational firms try to adapt to foreign cultures sometimes based on their home culture. In most instances, the managers who are very democ ratic in their attitudes at their home country also extend these same traits of democratic practices such as sharing of vital information with the employees in a foreign country where they operate in (Toyne, 1980, p. 135). In some situations, the contrast of country managers is very vast such as imposing their home country's practices, beliefs and values on the host country's employees (Hofstede, 2003, p. 440) as a frame of reference while others take a more tolerant attitude and try to learn more and understand the foreign culture in a much better and deeper way (Ajami et al., 2006, p. 215). The success of a manager in the foreign country depends to a big extent on his or her cultural intelligence quotient (CQ) level similar to intelligence quotient (IQ) or emotional quotient (EQ) by being able to sufficiently read and analyze individual behaviors, attitudes, group dynamics and the unique situations in the context of the foreign culture (Kreitner, 2006, p. 97) beyond just learning the language. Key Means of Economic Transition – a command economy is an economy that is being managed centrally by the government bureaucrats. In other words, the demand and also the supply of certain products, goods, and services are determined by government planners. It is these people who decide which goods and services are to be produced, how they are priced and how these are to be distributed instead of allowing free market forces to do so.

Department of Maritime and Logistics Management Essay

Department of Maritime and Logistics Management - Essay Example The industry has become saturated due to several negative external environmental impacts. Therefore, it is important for the new comers to understand the appropriate demand for the air service before developing a new business. Discussion This part of the essay will determine the key factors that need to understand before deciding the demand for a new airline business. Moreover, the study will identify the implications for the operation of an airline regarding the mixed passenger and freight model. Answer 1 It is important for a newly developed organization to do a market survey to understand several business factors. Knowledge about market competition will help the organization to develop an effective business plan. Moreover, the organization needs to review effective internal resources and capability of the organization. Defining Idea, gathering information about market competition, effective resources, customer demand and feasibility assessment will help the organization to move fo rward. Global airline industry has become highly saturated due to intense competition and several political and economical challenges. Recent financial crisis and global economic recession affected the global economic environment. Low purchasing power, limited disposable income of people and negative economic growth rate are the major consequences of this economic slowdown. People are trying to save more rather than consuming products and services due to this economic distress. Therefore, it is important for the organization to utilize the resources in such a way that can reduce the business operation cost. Effective operation cost reduction can help the organization to implement competitive pricing strategy. Effective competitive pricing strategy will help the organization to achieve potential competitive advantages. Airline industry is considered as the service industry. People always expect better service against their air ticket fare. Now-a-day, the global airlines are trying to implement CRM strategies in order to satisfy the needs of customer. Slowly and gradually, effective customer relationship management will help the organization to develop a potential target customer base (Winsveen, 2012, p.13). Therefore, the major objective of the organization would be providing effective in-flight customer service against low competitive ticket price. Employees are considered as the strongest asset in a service providing organization. Skilled and trained pilots, flight attainders and air hostesses are considered as the major competitive strength of an airline organization. Effective organizational and work place culture need to be adopted by the organization to develop an effective workforce. The organization should focus on employment benefits of the employees in order to increase the motivation level of the employees (Bowhill, 2008, p.333). Highly motivated employees will try to perform more effectively. Low turn around time and high frequency of flights increa se the core competency of the airlines. The organization needs to provide effective training and development programme to increase the skills of the employees. Effective turnaround time management will enhance effective customer relationship management. Therefore, the organization needs to treat their employees and vendors as their own family members. Then only they can achieve effective competiti