Competition in the modern business environment is normal and often considered healthy. A highly competitive business environment embraces innovation as a way of meeting needs of customers in the best way possible. Companies that embrace creativity often emerge successful in such markets. They can understand emerging trends, new tastes and preferences, and what can be done to align products with new demands. It is common to find companies that use unethical practices in such highly competitive business environments. The need for business entities to operate in an environment where there is mutual respect among firms. It is unethical for a company to engage in acts that may harm other firms or customers because of the desire to make quick gains. The need to ensure that business entities and customers are protected from unscrupulous practices led to the enactment of laws and regulations that define how firms should operate. In an Continue reading
International Business Policies
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) – Definition, Stages, Benefits, and Limitations
Life Cycle Assessment, which is abbreviated as LCA is a tool to assess the impacts caused by the environment and the resources used throughout the life cycle of the product. The life cycle starts from the acquisition of the raw materials, production process, use of the product, and finally its disposal. ISO defines Life Cycle Assessment as a collection and assessment of the efforts, products and the probable ecological impacts of a product system throughout its Lifecycle. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a tool developed to evaluate the products development processes as systems apply to the evaluation and analysis of environmental performance. In 1969, The Coca-Cola Company moved from glass bottles and introduced plastic bottles. They studied the environmental impacts of its packaging forming today’s LCA methodology. Four Stages of Life Cycle Assessment The four phases of LCA include scope definition and goal setting, life cycle inventory analysis, impact assessment Continue reading
Multinational Corporations and Home Country Relations
Public attitudes toward Multinational Corporations (MNCs) are biased by a nation’s position as a home or host country. Historically, home countries have perceived MNC activities as desirable extensions of their domestic business systems. Conversely host countries have viewed MNCs as agents of foreign influenced and exploitation. This historic dichotomy is now shot through with conflicting perceptions of the MNCs. Different segments of society, such as labor, investors, consumers, traders, and farmers, see their interests affected in different ways. As a result, a multi-sided controversy about the societal merits and demerits of MNCs has grown in both host and home countries. The most aggressive challenge to the traditionally supportive home country policies towards MNCs has come from organized labor. Labor Conflict Multi-nationalization has created for management new mobility and flexibility that have greatly enhanced its bargaining power vis-Ã -vis labor. Since the sourcing base of the multinational firm knows no national boundaries Continue reading
Intellectual Property – Meaning and Definition
Intellectual property (IP) refers to the creations of the mind such as inventions, artistic and literary works, symbols, designs, names, and images that are used in commerce. IP is protected by law through patents, trademarks, and copyrights which enable people to earn recognition or derive financial gains from what they have created. By striking a balance between the interests of the inventors and the general public, the IP system aims to create an environment where creativity and innovation can flourish. Copyright is the term that is applied to describe the rights of the creators over their artistic and literary works. It covers items such as books, music, films, sculptures, computer programs, paintings, advertisements, maps, and technical drawings. The patent refers to the exclusive rights that are given to an invention. It gives the inventor the right to decide if their work can be used by others or not. Lastly, a Continue reading
Global Company Competitiveness Analysis
A domestic company may extend its products to foreign markets by exporting, licensing and franchising. Initially, the exporting is indirect. It may develop a more serious attitude towards foreign business and move to the next stage of development. International company is normally the second stage in the development of a company towards transnational corporation. The orientation of the company is basically ethnocentric and the marketing strategy is extension. The marketing mix developed for the home market is extended into the foreign markets when a company decides to respond to market differences, it involves into the stage there multinational that pursues a multidomestic strategy. Multinational company’s each foreign subsidiary is managed as if it were an independent city stage. The subsidiaries are part of an area structure in which each country is part of a regional organization that reports to world headquarters. The transnational corporation is much more than a company Continue reading
International Negotiations – Theory and Examples
Negotiations are an integral part of every person’s life, and they are considered in several areas of applied research. For instance, management technologies, communication practices, and conflict studies of social and international relations are crucial for this process. In professional terms, negotiations previously constituted a significant part of the activities of a narrow circle of politicians and diplomats. Now, as the world becomes more open and interdependent, the negotiation process has become an integral attribute of the life of a more significant number of individuals and organizations. There are always differences between the interests of the parties and the resulting conflict between opposing positions. In this regard, the problem of training professional personnel with negotiation skills is of great importance. The term negotiation is most often understood as communication between the parties to reach an agreement. Negotiations are also defined as the relationship between people, designed to reach an agreement Continue reading