Shelby Farris
INT-220
02/15/2024
Module 5 Assignment 2
Course Project Milestone
Section One: Drivers for Global Entry
Country Selection
Japan
Purpose of Global Expansion
As of late, it seems our company’s sales have begun to flatten in the domestic market- of the
United States, and we are looking to expand internationally within the next 6 months. The purpose of
global expansion is to see an increase in revenue, get ahead of the competition, reach new markets and
potential customers, increase brand awareness, acquire new talent, and perhaps expand into a country
that can provide lower production costs for our cell phone cases. All of these are potential benefits we
can explore and hope to obtain when expanding into Japan.
Business Impacts of Global Business
Global expansion of a domestic organization can impact business operations such as strategic
planning, marketing, supply-chain management, and human resources in various ways, all of which
should be thoroughly researched before expansion. Strategic planning must be evaluated, and changes
must be made to adapt the company’s vision, mission, goals, and strategies to Japan’s market’s cultures,
regulations, and competitors. Allocating resources will be significantly different in this country than it is
in the U.S. Marketing will need to be thoroughly researched before expansion, as our cultures are very
different. We will need to research the values, norms, customs, and behaviors of Japan prior to
producing advertisements for our potential customers in Japan. Our company will also need to
coordinate the flow of materials for production across the global supply chain, as well as coordinate
information/data coming to/from our office/s in Japan. Our currency is also different than in Japan and
we will need to make changes in prices that reflect our currency differences. I think it would be smart
for us to investigate sourcing our materials for the cell phone cases locally in Japan, due to production
costs being significantly lower than in the United States. Human resources are another major factor that
must be taken into consideration as we will need to hire and train new employees for our Japanese
expansion.
Societal Impacts of Global Business
Expanding into Japan will most definitely have an impact on the regional society there. We will
be creating employment opportunities for Japanese workers, therefore stimulating the regional
economy. In time, perhaps this increase in employment, business, and even traffic may influence other
businesses to open in the area, infrastructure to be added/fixed, and perhaps even more transportation
to be made available in that area as well. When discussing the societal impact we will have on Japan, we
must consider international business ethics. Being that cultures, norms, values, and behaviors are quite
different than ours here in the United States, we must research the differences immensely so that we do
, not offend our Japanese market which could potentially fail the entire expansion project. Using the
proper decision-making framework, such as the one defined by the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
at Santa Clara University- can help ensure we make the most ethical decisions about our expansion into
Japan (Dunung, S. 2019. Global Business Management, v 1.0). We want to ensure that we provide our
employees overseas with the benefits, work environment, and pay they deserve. In the past two
decades, we’ve heard a lot about the abuse of sweatshops in developing countries (Dunung, S. 2019.
Global Business Management, v1.0). and we as a business are very much so- against the abuse of
employees through unfair pay, lack of benefits, and poor working conditions. We value our employees
and acknowledge their contribution as a huge part of our company's success- and choose to place high
value on them to reflect their contribution.
In the book Global Business Management by Sanjyot Dunung, they use Google to provide an
example of a business and its environmental impact. We often do not consider these environmental
impacts when discussing businesses, big or small. We aim to make the smallest environmental impact
possible by sourcing our materials from companies that are aware of the climate crisis and do their best
to keep their environmental footprint as low as possible. Although this might not be as cost-effective as
sourcing from unregulated factories, we are a very environmentally conscious company. We choose to
sacrifice a bit of cost when sourcing from these environmentally conscious companies because we are
thinking of the future- and our children’s and grandchildren’s futures on this planet. Also, we often see
that many developing countries do not gain much from big companies' global expansion as is expected.
We expect to see improvements in infrastructure and transportation, but this is not always what
happens. “Critics [of globalization] also claim that the cost-savings from using cheaper labor go mainly
to shareholders in developed countries rather than to consumers or to stakeholders in developing
countries. Whether it’s the leather industry in Bangladesh or a garment factory in Myanmar, labor
activists argue that companies use cheap labor pools in different countries to keep their product costs
very low.[32] Additionally, they can avoid the costs of providing benefits or decent working conditions.”
(Dunung, S. 2019. Global Dimension in Business, v1.0). This is not how our company chooses to operate.
We value our employees, our consumers, and our environment and the way we operate and will
continue to operate our business will reflect that fact.
Cultural Considerations for Global Business
It is essential to research the Japanese culture prior to market entry, so that we do not offend,
confuse, or upset, our new target market. Offending our target market: Japan, can be avoided by
researching Japanese culture, behaviors, norms, languages, etc…to a certain extent, sure. But, it is very
easy to make a simple mistake in translation, without even knowing it! The use and meanings of certain
‘slang’ terms, for example, are not universal and can cost your company time and money when trying to
‘come back’ from offending a whole society/culture. I suggest we hire someone who is from the region
we are expanding into [Japan], someone who speaks and understands the Japanese language, its’ slang
and common sayings, as well as Japanese people’s social norms and ways of communicating,
negotiating, etc. We must understand proper body language, common and respectful greetings, and the
different ways to properly address people of various relationships to one’s self, a customer, a friend, a
family member, a supervisor, a child, your significant other, or a stranger. Another suggestion would be
to work with a local marketing agency, or perhaps just another foreign local business owner. This would
be beneficial as they can give our company some tips/advice on the ‘do’s and dont’s’ when advertising
to the Japanese market. According to Takuma Shima at Ad Arch, “Japanese consumers appreciate
brands that try to understand their culture and create meaningful connections. [You
should] Focus on developing campaigns that emotionally resonate with the local audience
and demonstrate your commitment to the market.” Shima, T. (2023).
INT-220
02/15/2024
Module 5 Assignment 2
Course Project Milestone
Section One: Drivers for Global Entry
Country Selection
Japan
Purpose of Global Expansion
As of late, it seems our company’s sales have begun to flatten in the domestic market- of the
United States, and we are looking to expand internationally within the next 6 months. The purpose of
global expansion is to see an increase in revenue, get ahead of the competition, reach new markets and
potential customers, increase brand awareness, acquire new talent, and perhaps expand into a country
that can provide lower production costs for our cell phone cases. All of these are potential benefits we
can explore and hope to obtain when expanding into Japan.
Business Impacts of Global Business
Global expansion of a domestic organization can impact business operations such as strategic
planning, marketing, supply-chain management, and human resources in various ways, all of which
should be thoroughly researched before expansion. Strategic planning must be evaluated, and changes
must be made to adapt the company’s vision, mission, goals, and strategies to Japan’s market’s cultures,
regulations, and competitors. Allocating resources will be significantly different in this country than it is
in the U.S. Marketing will need to be thoroughly researched before expansion, as our cultures are very
different. We will need to research the values, norms, customs, and behaviors of Japan prior to
producing advertisements for our potential customers in Japan. Our company will also need to
coordinate the flow of materials for production across the global supply chain, as well as coordinate
information/data coming to/from our office/s in Japan. Our currency is also different than in Japan and
we will need to make changes in prices that reflect our currency differences. I think it would be smart
for us to investigate sourcing our materials for the cell phone cases locally in Japan, due to production
costs being significantly lower than in the United States. Human resources are another major factor that
must be taken into consideration as we will need to hire and train new employees for our Japanese
expansion.
Societal Impacts of Global Business
Expanding into Japan will most definitely have an impact on the regional society there. We will
be creating employment opportunities for Japanese workers, therefore stimulating the regional
economy. In time, perhaps this increase in employment, business, and even traffic may influence other
businesses to open in the area, infrastructure to be added/fixed, and perhaps even more transportation
to be made available in that area as well. When discussing the societal impact we will have on Japan, we
must consider international business ethics. Being that cultures, norms, values, and behaviors are quite
different than ours here in the United States, we must research the differences immensely so that we do
, not offend our Japanese market which could potentially fail the entire expansion project. Using the
proper decision-making framework, such as the one defined by the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
at Santa Clara University- can help ensure we make the most ethical decisions about our expansion into
Japan (Dunung, S. 2019. Global Business Management, v 1.0). We want to ensure that we provide our
employees overseas with the benefits, work environment, and pay they deserve. In the past two
decades, we’ve heard a lot about the abuse of sweatshops in developing countries (Dunung, S. 2019.
Global Business Management, v1.0). and we as a business are very much so- against the abuse of
employees through unfair pay, lack of benefits, and poor working conditions. We value our employees
and acknowledge their contribution as a huge part of our company's success- and choose to place high
value on them to reflect their contribution.
In the book Global Business Management by Sanjyot Dunung, they use Google to provide an
example of a business and its environmental impact. We often do not consider these environmental
impacts when discussing businesses, big or small. We aim to make the smallest environmental impact
possible by sourcing our materials from companies that are aware of the climate crisis and do their best
to keep their environmental footprint as low as possible. Although this might not be as cost-effective as
sourcing from unregulated factories, we are a very environmentally conscious company. We choose to
sacrifice a bit of cost when sourcing from these environmentally conscious companies because we are
thinking of the future- and our children’s and grandchildren’s futures on this planet. Also, we often see
that many developing countries do not gain much from big companies' global expansion as is expected.
We expect to see improvements in infrastructure and transportation, but this is not always what
happens. “Critics [of globalization] also claim that the cost-savings from using cheaper labor go mainly
to shareholders in developed countries rather than to consumers or to stakeholders in developing
countries. Whether it’s the leather industry in Bangladesh or a garment factory in Myanmar, labor
activists argue that companies use cheap labor pools in different countries to keep their product costs
very low.[32] Additionally, they can avoid the costs of providing benefits or decent working conditions.”
(Dunung, S. 2019. Global Dimension in Business, v1.0). This is not how our company chooses to operate.
We value our employees, our consumers, and our environment and the way we operate and will
continue to operate our business will reflect that fact.
Cultural Considerations for Global Business
It is essential to research the Japanese culture prior to market entry, so that we do not offend,
confuse, or upset, our new target market. Offending our target market: Japan, can be avoided by
researching Japanese culture, behaviors, norms, languages, etc…to a certain extent, sure. But, it is very
easy to make a simple mistake in translation, without even knowing it! The use and meanings of certain
‘slang’ terms, for example, are not universal and can cost your company time and money when trying to
‘come back’ from offending a whole society/culture. I suggest we hire someone who is from the region
we are expanding into [Japan], someone who speaks and understands the Japanese language, its’ slang
and common sayings, as well as Japanese people’s social norms and ways of communicating,
negotiating, etc. We must understand proper body language, common and respectful greetings, and the
different ways to properly address people of various relationships to one’s self, a customer, a friend, a
family member, a supervisor, a child, your significant other, or a stranger. Another suggestion would be
to work with a local marketing agency, or perhaps just another foreign local business owner. This would
be beneficial as they can give our company some tips/advice on the ‘do’s and dont’s’ when advertising
to the Japanese market. According to Takuma Shima at Ad Arch, “Japanese consumers appreciate
brands that try to understand their culture and create meaningful connections. [You
should] Focus on developing campaigns that emotionally resonate with the local audience
and demonstrate your commitment to the market.” Shima, T. (2023).
