Do Thi Han - 16112003
Do Thi Han - 16112003
Do Thi Han - 16112003
COURSE:
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
(INE 2028 _ E*5)
STUDENT ID : 21050856
Hanoi, 2024
Course: International Business (INE _ 2028 E*5)
Student
Name: Do Thi Han
Student ID: 21050856
Number of pages
21 pages (Excluding Title page, Table of Contents, and Appendices)
Module instructor
MA. Nguyen Thi Phuong Linh
Date of submission:
January 10th 2024
Plagiarism statement
“I confirm that this assignment is entirely my own work and has not been submitted
in full or in part for any other course within or outside UEB. I confirm that all
references are duly acknowledged.”
Signature: Han
CONTENT
PREFACE............................................................................................................................1
PART 1: ESSAY QUESTIONS (3 points)..............................................................................2
1.1. The variations in economic and political systems between countries:...........................2
1.2. The cultural differences between nations affect MNCs:..............................................4
1.3. Variations in ethics between countries affect international business operation of
MNCs:...............................................................................................................................5
PART 2: CASE STUDY ANALYSIS (5 points)......................................................................7
2.1. Introduction of KFC...................................................................................................7
2.2. The company’s international business strategy:...........................................................9
2.2.1. The international business strategies of KFC:...........................................................9
2.2.2. The market entry modes of KFC:............................................................................12
2.3. Evaluate the accomplishments and constraints encountered during the implementation
of strategies by multinational corporations (MNCs).........................................................15
PART 3. COURSE REFLECTION (2 points)......................................................................16
CONCLUSION...................................................................................................................17
REFERENCES...................................................................................................................17
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PREFACE
Today, the trend of globalization is strong along with the development and
expansion of business activities of many companies and corporations abroad.
Expanding into foreign markets requires transnational companies to face many
challenges regarding differences in culture, policies, and business ethics between
countries. Therefore, when expanding business activities abroad, businesses need to
carefully research and have penetration strategies and international business
strategies suitable for each country to avoid risks. This. For students, the
"international business" module is a very useful module, it provides knowledge
about the influence of differences between countries on a business when it expands
its operations abroad. At the same time, knowledge of strategies from market
penetration, human resource management strategies, international marketing
strategies...
I would like to thank Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong Linh for enthusiastically teaching
and accompanying the class throughout the module. Thank you for being so
enthusiastic in answering all questions and creating the best conditions for students
to complete the course with a lot of practical knowledge, teamwork skills, and
presentation skills during the study process.
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The variations in economic and political systems, culture, and ethics between
countries significantly affect the international business operations of
multinational corporations (MNCs). To illustrate this, find and analyze three
examples and provide recommendations where necessary.
Even though it opened its economy, at first, from 1979 to 1984, China only
allowed companies to sell products to foreigners, at hotels or special stores for
foreigners. Besides, China also introduced strict control policies. Most aspects
of foreign companies' operations are strictly regulated and require approval
from many state authorities. In the Chinese domestic market, there are more
than 28,000 beverage manufacturing companies scattered across the country
and these companies have almost a monopoly in those areas. Therefore, it is
almost impossible for foreign companies to penetrate these areas.
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To penetrate this large market, Coca Cola began importing finished water
from California and bottling it in Hong Kong and then selling it into the
Chinese market at locations allowed by the government. This step allows
Coca Cola to access the Chinese market but only in a limited scope. To limit
the control of state agencies, the company began developing production
capacity through joint ventures with the Chinese government. With the
Chinese government's strict control policy on the distribution and sale of
foreign products in the country's market, Coca-Cola has an exchange strategy
that benefits both sides: building a factory to close the market. bottles and
donated them to the Chinese government in exchange for the right to
distribute Coca-Cola products in this market. With this strategy, the company
became a supplier of raw materials for bottling plants. Thus, in the beginning,
Coca-Cola was willing to sacrifice economic goals to target a potential
market. .
Anti-Monopoly Laws in China: In China, P&G has had to deal with anti-
monopoly laws that limit foreign companies' control over domestic industries.
This has affected P&G's business operations in the country, particularly in the
beauty industry where the company has a significant presence. P&G has had
to comply with these regulations, which has required the company to sell
certain assets and operations in the country.
between countries play an integral part to make sure that MNCs can make
informed decisions in international business strategy.
In 1952, the first restaurant franchise was licensed in Salt Lake City,
Utah. Sanders began offering the rights to his fried chicken recipe to
other restaurants.
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KFC is famous for its fried chicken but also offers a variety of foods to suit
the tastes of consumers around the world. Below are some of KFC's main
product lines:
- Drinks: KFC offers a variety of drinks from soft drinks, tea, coffee to
smoothies.
- Depending on the geographical location, KFC also offers dishes typical
of that region such as in India, KFC has curry flavored fried chicken, while in
Japan, they have fried chicken in teriyaki sauce. .
- China Market: one of the largest fast food restaurants in China, with
more than 12000 stores. The Chinese market is also the first place KFC
successfully deployed outside the US market.
- US market: KFC is one of the largest fast food restaurants in the United
States, with more than 7,000 stores. The US market is the origin of KFC and
is one of the largest markets worldwide.
- Japanese market: KFC also has a large store network in Japan with
more than 1,500 stores, one of KFC's prominent markets in the KFC franchise
store system.
- England and Vietnam are also important markets for KFC with more
than 1,000 stores.
When entering these markets, KFC encountered cultural barriers and political
economic systems. However, KFC has come up with the right international
business strategies and has a solid foothold in these markets. KFC's menu has
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many varieties, they have localized the menu according to the preferences and
culture of customers in each different market.
Like other MNCs, KFC operates in the Chinese market because it sees a
series of potentials from this market:
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China is a large market, with the largest population in the world, this is an
extremely potential opportunity for KFC to expand its market. Chinese
consumers tend to consume quickly, which is suitable for KFC's business
activities. With high consumer demand and growing market, it creates great
opportunities for KFC to expand its market share globally. In addition, the
Chinese government has supported KFC in expanding its market in this
country.
KFC enters the Chinese market, this business faces greater pressure for local
responsiveness. Therefore, the international business strategy it chooses is a
localization strategy.
This choice of strategy overlaps with the theory “Localization strategy makes
sense when there are substantial differences across nations about consumer
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tastes and preferences and when cost pressures are not too intense.” The goal
of this strategy is to customize goods or services to match local demand.
Diversified Menus
For every region in the world, KFC has modified its menus and recipes based
on local taste preferences. For instance, you’ll find fried vegetable strips with
no chicken only in India. Considering the fact that the majority of the
population in India is vegetarian, KFC focused more on plant-based food by
keeping 30% of their menu vegetarian. In Australia, KFC serves Nacho
boxes, which contain tortilla chips, salsa, and cheese. Similarly, only in
Thailand, they have the green curry chicken rice bowl on their menus.
KFC has entirely modified its menus to different food cultures that make its
brand look more native. Just to make it clear, they are not randomly choosing
the menus, assuming traditional flavors would get their brand ahead. There
are eighteen teams responsible for the food innovation, and menus of KFC.
They have to create recipes that are not just well-versed with the local taste
but also keep their “KFC-thing” alive. It is important for the team to strictly
follow the KFC standards while playing around with different flavors and
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recipes. So, they’re picking the cultural food preferences and making it their
own by adding unique flavors – to make it feel more like KFC.
Some countries’ menus are larger than the United States. For example, in
China, there are 50 items on the menu, whereas the United States has only 20.
Moreover, the taste of KFC in China is also quite different because of
regional tastes. If you’re from the USA, you might have never heard about
congee and porridge; which are the best-selling KFC items in China.
The localization strategy of KFC has been so successful that most of the
customers globally still believe that it is a local business. KFC always keeps
the preferences of locales their top priority to keep their food connected with
the culture and other customs of a country. They never assume that customers
from all around the world would love their standard American fast-food taste.
Everything is localized to create a more personalized experience for the local
customers.
insists that the franchisee agree to abide by strict rules as to how it does
business.
+ Joint ventures with a host country firm - a firm that is jointly owned by
two or more otherwise independent firms.
+ Wholly owned subsidiary means that the firm owns 100% of the stock
by setting up a new operation or acquiring an established firm.
At that time, the Chinese market was growing rapidly. The country's middle
class is expanding and is very receptive to Western brands. The Chinese
restaurant market includes a large number of street vendors and small
restaurants.
KFC has partnered with a company whose owner is Chinese. They found a
partner with close ties to the communist government. Thanks to that, KFC can
overcome regulatory or legal barriers more easily. That partner helped KFC
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- About the brand: With the great values of a famous brand, during the
franchising process; KFC always ensures uniformity across stores and
franchisees must commit to keeping the integrity of the brand image at a high
level..
- About products: All KFC stores sell the same products and achieve
similar quality. The transferee agrees to operate their restaurant according to
standards of quality, service, and hygiene. KFC regularly checks the quality
of franchisees' output, if they cannot maintain it, their license may be revoked.
However, KFC also makes changes to suit the tastes of consumers in each
market.
- Regarding service: KFC's general service style is to create equality and
fairness.
- About technology: KFC products all follow strict and similar processes
as prescribed by worldwide standards. Chickens are sourced from American
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To be successful with its large franchise model, KFC has always followed
three principles at any store in the world. It is the uniformity of product
quality; Production technological know-how is maintained; focus on customer
health.
Therefore, consumers can feel more secure when using KFC products,
especially among teenagers today, when obesity is clearly increasing.
KFC has overcome difficulties caused by the avian flu epidemic. Specifically,
in 2004, when the bird flu epidemic broke out, KFC had a plan to import
frozen chicken from North America, also implementing a clean chicken
processing process and ensuring food hygiene and safety. In addition, KFC
also added to the restaurant's menu dishes made from fish, beef, and pork
instead of chicken to make customers feel more secure.
With a global brand, it's hard not to make mistakes. The mistakes of KFC in
particular and multinational brands in general often come from cultural
differences. That is the story of KFC's three-time failure in the Isr
aeli market. KFC opened its first store in the 1980s in Tel Aviv - Israel's
second most populous city and had to close it a short time later. In 1993, KFC
returned, but in 2003, the company holding the franchise was forced to
change its name, marking the company's second failure. Less than 10 years
later, in 2012, KFC once again announced the closure of all stores and
withdrawal from the Israeli market. KFC's failure comes from the Kosher
food regulations of Jews in Israel (Kosher food regulations do not mix meat
with dairy products). This is truly a fatal blow for KFC, because the fried
dough covering their signature chicken pieces is made from cow's milk
powder.
Lessons can be learned: From the failures of KFC, it can be seen that not all
products are suitable for all markets, the Marketing department plays the role
of understanding consumers and target markets to devise the most effective
strategy. However, many times they accidentally forget cultural factors -
factors that greatly influence local consumer insight. Therefore, any brand
that wants to be successful needs to pay attention to the different cultural
identities between localities to be able to propose appropriate strategies.
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We not only acquire knowledge through lectures but also practice those
knowledge units by working in groups, applying analytical strategies through
case study of a specific business. Therefore, students can simultaneously
practice teamwork skills and presentation skills. Members can coordinate
smoothly based on each member's different strengths and complete group
exercises effectively.
Regarding the lecturer, from my perspective, I can feel the lecturer's youth,
enthusiasm, happiness, and approachability. Youthfulness and the ability to
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speak English fluently and easily attracted students' attention in the lecture;
makes the lecture attractive. Particularly impressive was the lecturer's cultural
understanding, which helped me remember that cultural differences greatly
affect the international business activities of MNCs.
CONCLUSION
REFERENCES