Strategic Management Reflection Paper

Participating in the seminars, reading textbook and relevant materials provide me with plenty of insights, thoughts and ideas on strategic management. This reflection paper will first explain the significance of studying strategy, strategizing and strategic management, then demonstrate how the global economy and country discrepancy affect strategic decision making, elaborate how cultural differences have considerable implication to organizations and strategy and finally highlight the importance of an open mind to thinking in multiple perspectives.

Although it is problematic to define strategy, studying strategic management is highly valuable. It motivates and inspires us to premeditate the opportunities and be creative in decision making

For example, the North American Free Trade Agreement between the United States, Canada and Mexico. It removes trade barriers, creates fair competition and increases investment opportunities. In the past, Mexico agricultural product producers may only focus it business on domestic market but now they can export to the United States. It may aim higher and expect to generate more profits. Additionally, most multi-national companies use the international business approach. They treat each country as a unique market and adjust their marketing and sales. Therefore, the business operation and strategy will be more appropriately fit the country. For instance, McDonald especially added the McPork sandwich for the Vietnamese market to attract the local customers instead of using an universal approach and selling the same food and beverage in America. It alters strategies based on some observed outcomes like the sales revenue. The global economy encourages international firm to use different strategy to enhance customers satisfaction in each country because of the country and culture differences. Apart from it, the corporate need to have more knowledge on the current news as well as domestic events in order to plan for changes and risks. For example, a strike in France may disrupt supply lines and distribution and

Red means “danger” or “stop” to the British, but in Turkey it signifies death and in China, good fortune. It is necessary for organization to realize the patterns of global diversity and the implications of these differences as it affects the behavior as well as preferences of customers. In order to be successfully in foreign markets, product or service should meet the different needs of a particular customer base. Any changes in advertising, marketing, product or service features, after-sales support will be guided in part by cultural differences. Otherwise, it may emerge marketing mistakes and communication blunders. For instance, Ford’s low-cost truck was initially marketed as the Feira to Spanish-speaking people, but this means “ugly old woman” in Spanish. Moreover, variations from cultures lead to real and significant differences in the ways that companies operate and people work. McDonald’s blends into local cultures smoothly. It advertises itself to its critics as a global organization owned and run by local people. For example, there are no cheeseburgers in Israel’s McDonald’s because dairy products cannot be eaten together with meat. On the other hand, McDonald’s does bring its own culture to its foreign operations. By promoting its carbonated beverages in India, it is unsettling the country’s tea culture. The organization’s presence creates a cultural exchange, not a one-sided cultural