Automobile Trade Restrictions Economics Essay

Automobile Trade Restrictions Economics Essay The automobile industry is considered a very complex and vital industry compared to others, this is because of the development process with each project. The U.S. has said to have the most open automotive market in the world. The automotive industry has been a part of every major U.S. trade development dating back since World War One and is composed of three broad industries. These three industries consist of high-volume, full-ranged producers, which offer higher volumes and lower prices; while appealing to a mass amount of consumers. GM, Nissan, and Fiat are the main companies in this full-range producer and compete on a cost reduction basis. The second industry is the specialist producers, (BMW, Volvo, and Mercedes) these producers supply higher performance cars at higher prices and compete on the basis of differentiation and cost recovery. Lastly, there are niche producers, (alpine, TRV, and Ferrari), who offer on exclusivity and extreme performance. In addition to these producers, some trends can be identified when examining the global automotive market. These trends consist of the global Market, Establishment of Global Alliances, and Industry Consolidation. First, the global market is considered to be the worlds largest automobile manufacturer. The global market invests in production facilities that reduce production costs and are located in places such as Latin America, China, Malaysia and markets in Southeast Asia. Secondly, Establishment of Global Alliances are referred to as the, The Big Three (GM, Ford and Chrysler) who have merged in partnerships with other European and Japanese automobile manufacturers. Finally, Industry Consolidation involves increasing global competition among manufacturers and positioning within foreign markets. The U.S. is in the worlds top three automobile industries along with Japan and Germany. These automobile industries are major wealth generators for Europe and the U.S. recently providing over 17 million foreign and domestic cars and trucks in the U.S., which in turn accounted for more than 400 billion in sales. In addition to these producers and trends, there are six leading automobile manufactures, which are located in the U.S. and Japan. The U.S. consists of Daimler-Chrysler which is regulated by the United Nations, while General motors, and Ford are the other two in the U.S. The other three are produced by Japan and consist of Toyota, Nissan, and Honda. Between these six companies, they control over 87% of the market. The automotive industry has been a crucial part of the global market with automotive products accounting for ten percent of global merchandise trade. Fortunately and unfortunately with trade also comes trade restrictions. So what is a trade restriction? A trade restriction is defined as an artificial restriction on the trade of goods between two countries. The most known and important form of trade restriction is a tariff, import quotas, voluntary export restraints, and antidumping actions are also restrictions which will be explained in more detail later. In this paper I will explain trade restrictions/barriers that the U.S. imposes on the automobile industry, what programs are available to help make automobile trading more efficient and attractive for everyone, and also mention the various tariffs and trade barriers. In addition, I will talk about the current global automotive market , new foreign policy introduced in the U.S. and other nations, and finally explain the ramifications of certain restrictions and there effects on different people groups within the nation. First, there are many programs whose intentions are to help the automotive industry in trading. First are (APEC), Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation and Automotive Dialogue (AD) which serve as a forum for APEC. (APEC) attempts to find strategies to increase the integration and development of the automotive industry in a region. AD try to promote growth and development of the regional auto industry while also attempting to offer certain recommendations. Some of the economies that have participated in APEC and the AD include Australia, Canada, China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Viet Nam and the United States. Many of these same countries have also tried and introduce new policies to make their country better off. For example, in 2004 China issued a new automobile industrial policy which discouraged the importation of automotive parts but encouraged the use of domestic technology in new vehicles assembled in China. In 2005, China issued regulations implementing the new automobile industrial policy.   The policy was said to unfairly discriminate against imported automotive parts and discourage automobile manufacturers in China from using imported automotive parts in the assembly of vehicles. In March 2008, Chinas policy was ruled inconsistent with several WTO provisions then in January of 2009, China complied with the recommendations and set rulings. Along with China, Korea also has attempted to bring out barriers that restrict importation and sale which include anti-import basis, standards and certification process and procedures, tariff and tax structure, and currency manipulation. So what are barriers/ restriction design to do? Barriers to entry are designed to keep out potential entrants from entering a profitable market. The barriers to enter the automotive industry are considered substantial, a new company must have the startup capital required to establish manufacturing capacity to achieve minimum efficient scale which is prohibitive. Many automotive established companies are entering new markets through strategic partnerships or through buying out or merging with other companies. Previously , the barriers to entry for new markets were low; However once the U.S. invited Japanese makers who began to offer quality vehicles in lower price markets compared to the U.S. changed this. Not only has Japan had success, many large automotive companies have globalized and entered foreign markets with varying degrees of success including, Asia, Africa, and South America whose barriers to entry are similar. As mentioned briefly before, there are a number of types of tariffs and trade Barriers that the government can employ and they include Specific tariffs, Ad valorem tariffs, Licenses, Import quotas, Voluntary export restraints, and Local content requirements. Specific Tariffs are considered a fixed fee levied on one unit of an imported good. Ad Valorem Tariff is based on a percentage of that goods value. Non-tariff barriers to trade include Embargoes, Subsidies, standards, and licenses which are granted to a business by the government which then allows the business to import a certain type of good into the country. So what effects can these barriers cause? Barriers can cause restriction in competition or increase prices on consumers. An import quota is a restriction placed on the amount of a particular good that can be imported. Voluntary Export Restraints (VER) is a type of trade barrier that is voluntary and is created by the exporting country rather than the importing one. Also, instead of placing a quota on a number of goods that can be imported, the government can require a percentage of a good be made domestically. The restriction can be a percentage of the good itself, or a percentage of the value of the good. Now that you know a little about tariffs and certain barriers, lets examine further the effect of tariffs and trade barriers on businesses and consumers. Patents, limit pricing, and cost advantages are all considered barriers to entry. In the short run, effects such as higher prices for goods can decrease consumption by individual consumers and by businesses, causing business profit and the government to see an increase in revenue from things like duties. However, in the long term, businesses can see decline in profits and efficiency due to lack of competition and future substitutes to their products. When speaking about the government, the long-term effect of subsidies is an increase in the demand for public services, overall resulting in less disposable income. When looking into the future, Japan continues its economic expansion which has allowed them to see continued success in exports. With the automobile industry being extremely competitive, the U.S. has worked with the, Big Three to introduce a program called the, PNGV which is a partnership for new generation vehicles. They aim to strengthen the U.S. global competiveness, keep jobs, while also trying to reduce the dependence of foreign oil, and improve the environment. The U.S. and Europe had increased concern regarding mobility, economic development, safety and environmental concerns when putting out new automobiles. As the government continues to try and provide incentives to reduce tax increases and fuel price increase they are also intending to find cars that reduce air pollution. Older models make automobile traded restrictions more difficult because of controversies over car prices and consumer preferences. Many consumers are now looking for vehicles that are equipped with, air-bags, power steering, antilock brakes, comfort, technology, and automobiles that reduce carbon going into the atmosphere. Car manufacturing must met safety, environmental, and business standard demand for international and domestic regulations. According to the future growth in the automotive industry over the next decade is expected to come from places like India, China, and Eastern Europe. Major companies are beginning to develop low cost cars, which include, Hyundai, Toyota, Fiat and others. With the increase worries about environmental issues, Hybrid sales have increased drastically. The U.S. and Europe are the main introducers of less pollutant and fuel efficiency standards in vehicles. So what are the ramifications of these barriers? Restrictions or trade barriers seem only to limit world trade, while also decreasing economic efficiency, reducing total production and employment, raise prices, and even cause retaliation. Some domestic companies benefit at the expense of foreign companies and workers, and domestic consumers. While subsidies do benefit domestic companies and workers in exporting industries, tariffs decrease exports and shift resources and production from more effective to less effective producers. In conclusion, while Japan continues to force competition on the U.S. It causes damage to the U.S car industry because of priced car exports. Causing the U.S. to now only represent s less than  ¼ of the world Industry and its market share continues to decline. Since 2007 the big three has been falling drastically. Chrysler is now selling 53 percent fewer vehicles since 2007, while GM is down 23% from 2007 and Ford 32%. Honda also saw declines along with Toyota who was down 37 percent, Nissan 31% and Honda 35 percent. All of these drops have caused oversupply in car lots, motivated dealers, easier financing terms, and long-term industry presence driving down the price of gas, making now the perfect time to purchase automobiles.

Boston Beer Company Case Essay

_Background Information_: The Boston Beer Company, which was founded in 1984, had a very diversified thriving product line which entailed about twenty different kinds of beers. Their product was available in over nineteen various countries and used a network of around four hundred distributors. Revenues grew from 21 million dollars to 210 million dollars from inception to 1997. _Problem and Opportunity Identification_: As a result of the company’s product line and its variety, the company encountered issues sustaining and upholding of their products such as Lightship – which has been withering in recent years and which doesn’t have the volume like other products to sustain distribution. Since the light beer business that Lightship belonged to was one that was rapidly growing, the Boston Beer Company felt the need to investigate its products disappointment. The research to do so took place in different forms such as competition, market, and financial analyses, customer surveys, and finally deep emotional analysis using the ZMET technique. _Alternatives_: One option the research team is considering is introducing a new light beer into their product line. It is understandable that since the high-priced light beer industry is one of the biggest and rapidly growing field in the beer industry, the Boston Beer Company wants to occupy and take advantage of this field to further enhance its name and maintain its market share and its standing. However, there are issues in terms of positioning and marketing of this product. The product needs to be communicated as a light, rich, fun beer and targeted at a different audience that entails women. In addition to the fact that this option might cause conflict in terms of the brand image being a macho rough beer brewer, using it doesn’t solve the problem for Lightship if Lightship is going to be kept in the market offerings. Another option the research team considered was repositioning Lightship and throwing in more effort and investment into the marketing of the product. It  was obvious that, compared to one of their biggest competitors Heineken, the Boston Beer Company has had trouble and sort-of failed to build a unique brand identity for this product. The product was not successfully differentiated and positioned in the market in order for it to build market share and improve standings. This failure could make it difficult for the company to reposition itself and change consumer perceptions to gain their interests and so it might be a waste of time and efforts. Finally, the last option is the dreaded one of not competing in this realm of the industry. This is a very extreme option since this realm is a huge and growing segment of the market and they would be missing out on a lot if they decide to pull out it. The failure to fit into this field, however, might have proved that the Boston Beer Company is not competent enough and ready to compete in this segment. _Critical Issues_: There are two main critical issues that the company should consider when making the decision about their situation in the light beer industry. One critical issue concerns the brand image – the company has an umbrella brand image of being a premium masculine macho craft beer brewer and shaking that could be seen to influence consumer perceptions. The second critical issue relates to the field study and the results it yielded – do they answer our questions about how to position the light beer product or on whether we should even introduce/keep products in this segment of the market. _Conclusion and Recommendation_: After reviewing the results of the various research techniques, the recommended option would be to introduce a new high-end light beer into the market (while probably retiring Lightship). Making use of the ZMET research results, this new product should be positioned in a manner that represents an active, refreshing, and healthy lifestyle. Having a new product instead of improving Lightship is best in order to avoid the difficult efforts of having to change stubborn consumer perceptions. Also, in terms of the umbrella brand image of BBC being a macho tough image, having a separate offering targeted at other audiences will probably add to the image of having two instead of eroding the existing image.

Essay Introduction Outline Secrets That No One Else Knows About

Essay Introduction Outline Secrets That No One Else Knows About What Is So Fascinating About Essay Introduction Outline? An outline will allow you to organize your primary thoughts and determine the order in which you're likely to write about them. It does not have to be extensive, but rather very comprehensive. Overall, it will help you communicate your point in a clear and organized format. Essay outline is a skeletal outline that supplies a platform on which you are able to construct your own writing and produce your own thoughts. The writer's body paragraphs ought to be the very same as their introduction, except much more in-depth. Let's construct the most fundamental essay outline template for a topic of the way to promote an item. The Unusual Secret of Essay Introduction Outline When you come up with the principal arguments, it is not going to be hard to put in a couple of sub-points to every one of them. In case you haven't introduced any kind of solution in your essay, perhaps encourage other people to become more conscious of your topic. Then ask yourself whether you want to compose a conclusion tying everything together. When you've written your supporting suggestions and facts, return and ask yourself whether you would love to compose a brief introductory paragraph. Who Else Wants to Learn About Essay Introduction Outline? The increasing number of essay writing services is wholly overwhelming. Our essay writing service offers proofreading services if you happen to get stuck on a specific phase of writing, or you might purchase an essay and using it as a template to make your masterpiece. If you are searching for top essay writing companies, try out the mentioned above. There are a number of essay writing services that think they're the very best, and therefore don't be cheated and check the real collection of the very best. It is preferable to compose an introduction that gives the significance of the topic in order to grab the interest of the readers. The next portion of your intro is devoted to offering some in depth background information on your topic. Just in the last 30 seconds do graders evaluate the caliber of your statements. The topic of a guide determines the points that are used. Basically, the sections of an essay proved just 3 divisions. The forms of the essays rely on the purpose they are being written for. There are several kinds of essays, it is not difficult to drop an eye on all your writing assignments. Keep in mind the voice you ought to use in such formal essays, it has to be second or third individual. Insufficient understanding of a certain topic can permit you to acquire low scores. Gauging your progress is vital because it accords you the chance to correct your essay model accordingly. Bear in mind that the best argumentative essay is something that has taken several nights to write. Essay outline acts as a spine for writing essays. If your essay should have the ideal story, which means that your layout should target only that. An essay template can help you define the target of your essay and stick with it. By now you're probably inclined to find an exemplary argumentative essay outline template. Introduction paragraphs are a couple of suggestions to make. Instance of an essay outline consists of several important parts. It is possible to also Speech Outline Template. If not certain, ask an instructor whether you've got to supply a formal essay outline with an assignment. You learn to compose papers. Every student need to know how to make an essay summary.

The Patient Protection Affordable Care Act is Good for...

Like Benjamin Franklin once said, â€Å"Words may show a man’s wit, but actions his meaning†, this is what America is expecting from president Obama. Most people believe that the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act (PPACA) violates the United States Constitution, and it should be eradicated. This law was implemented to help people acquire affordable health insurance; therefore, it is important to the people whom have preexisting conditions, and the American government is confronting medical legal and ethical issues like elective abortion. President Obama’s intention to provide affordable health insurance for all U.S. citizens is a noble act. However, there are mixed reactions in reference to this law in part of the citizens provided that†¦show more content†¦This act gives the American people rights and benefits. For example: it will provide health coverage to adults and children with preexisting conditions, it will end lifetime and annual limits on health care policies, it will allow adults under the age of twenty-six to be carried by their parent’s health insurance, and it will provide preventive service access without cost. The intentions of the PPACA are to provide coverage to uninsured people, to lower health care cost, to have a better system in order to stop fraud, and to stop health insurance companies to deny coverage due to pre-existing medical conditions. Richard Sorian, Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs says, â€Å"Since of the launch of the Health Care Fraud Prevention and Enforcement Action Team (HEAT) task force in 2009, over 670 defendants have been charged for attempting to defraud Medicare of more than $1.3 billion taxpayer dollars. And we are continuing to use our resources to stop each instance of health care fraud before payments are sent out the door (June 2011, Para. 1, 2)†. In order for this process to be successful we need to do our part to stop criminals. For example: we need to protect our Medicare and Social Security number, do not divulge Medicare number for medical equipment or services not needed, and do not let other borrow Medicare ID card. The most common type of fraud is medical equipment especially inShow MoreRelatedThe Patient Protection Affordable Care Act Essay1648 Words   |  7 PagesThe Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as Obamacare, was passed in June of 2010 by the Supreme Court (Doyle 1). Georges C. 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The Organizational Behavior Of Unilever - 988 Words

In the following paper, an analysis has been made on the organizational behavior of Unilever, taking account its case study and actions with respect to the organizational structures. Three questions comprising of analysis regarding the new organizational structure and its suitability, the impacts of internal and external sources by means of business tools and change theories suitable for the organization have been made in the light of literature. Conclusions to the arguments have been presented in the last whereas work cited page has been added to support the arguments. Introduction: Unilever being one of the most earning brands of the world has reached today to its heights of success. Having hundreds of products launched under its banner, the company has managed pretty well to ensure none of its competitors even touch the mark of its success. However it does not means that this success had been their fate since the beginning. With a good start, the company soon in the changing era of business had to face immense loss at the expense of incompatible organizational structure. Despite of the fact that their initial organizational structure led them to success, the changes in the era with improve technology and advanced business techniques urged Unilever to believe it’s high time they should switch to something better which their competitors cannot win over. Changing slowly and gradually remained the strategy for the company which they led one after the success ofShow MoreRelatedUnilever Indonesia1396 Words   |  6 PagesIntroduction The company that we will discussed in this paper is Unilever Indonesia.Unilever Indonesia was founded on 1933. It has grown to become one of the leading companies for personal care products and foods and ice cream in Indonesia. 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5 Step Value-Chain Analysis for Customers’ Strategic Needs Free Essays

Value-chain analysis is used for many purposes, but the process of examining customers’ value chains is relatively new. In our five-step process, Step 1 explains how internal and external value chains can be used separately and in related ways. Step 2 shows how to construct a customer’s value chain. We will write a custom essay sample on 5 Step Value-Chain Analysis for Customers’ Strategic Needs or any similar topic only for you Order Now Step 3 shows how to identify the customer’s business strategy by examining this value chain and using other kinds of information. Step 4 explains how to use additional information and intelligence to leverage that understanding into strategic needs and priorities. Finally, Step 5 explains how a firm’s marketing function can best use this method of value-chain analysis as a new strategic capability. Step 1: An overview of value-chain analysis Value chains may be defined in two ways: (1) within a company they describe the various value-added stages from purchasing materials to distributing, selling, and servicing the final product (Porter’s 1985 concept),[3] and (2) they also delineate the value-added stages from raw material to end-user as a product is manufactured and distributed, with each stage representing an industry. 4] For convenience, we will refer to these two definitions as ‘‘internal’’ and ‘‘external’’ value chains, respectively. The internal value chain is a key concept in the field of strategic management that has been thoroughly explored. In contrast, the external value chain has not been studied as extensively. The external value chain consists of the important ups tream/supply and downstream/distribution processes. However, even though these processes occur outside the corporation, the strategic opportunities they reveal and areas of risk they highlight warrant careful study. Consider: Outsourcing – involves transferring certain primary or support functions in the internal value chain to the external value chain. B Vertical integration – involves taking control of one or more additional stages of the external value chain and making them internal. B Horizontal expansion – involves new product lines or expanded channels of distribution, including geographic expansion. B Strategic alliances with suppliers – involves more closely managing external suppliers as if they were part of the company’s internal value chain, but without actually owning them (for example, Toyota’s Kaizen ystem, wherein key suppliers are located very near a factory and receive all kinds of help and training from Toyota to ensure smooth and efficient production). One of the most complex value chains today can be found in the oil industry. This chain has nearly 30 significant elements, starting with the search for oil (at the upstream end) and including fie ld production, transportation (pipelines and supertankers), refining and processing and, lastly, consumer gas stations (at the ‘‘downstream’’ end). Internally, the oil-industry value chain processes a broad range of products, including such major categories as oil/lubricants, gasoline, petrochemicals (plastics), fertilizers/pesticides, natural gas, power generation/electricity, and convenience stores. The firms that are considered major integrated oil companies participate in a significant number – sometimes all – of these external (upstream and downstream) and internal value-chain elements. In a 2006 issue of Strategy Leadership, authors Wayne McPhee and David Wheeler suggested that strategists should use Porter’s concept to consider value-chain operations beyond the boundaries of the firm. Since its introduction, value-chain analysis has proven immensely valuable in three principal ways – cost analysis and reduction, differentiation, and product development – but the standard practice was for firms to analyze only their own value chain. Step 2: How to construct a customer’s value chain First, recognize that you need to construct both internal and external value chains for a particular customer. The internal value chain follows Porter’s original concept, which includes value-added steps from purchasing to distribution as well as support functions such as RD and human resources. It’s tempting to let this generic diagram serve as the customer’s value chain, but it must be tailored to the particular customer. To produce a useful value-chain analysis, members of your engineering or sales team should ask the customer how its business processes add value and whether any have unique best-practice features. To perform the external value-chain analysis, team members should ask the customer a set of getting-to-know-you questions. What does your supply chain (the upstream value chain) look like? What role does your company play in it? How do your products reach their customers (the downstream value chain)? Your final diagram models only this single customer’s value chain and it represents virtually everything the customer does to add significant value. If your relationship with the customer permits a candid exchange of information, have the customer validate the value chain you have created. As an example of how the diagnostic process works, consider how a supplier to Wal-Mart might learn to enhance its value. [6] The objective of creating both internal and external value chains is to understand Wal-Mart well enough to be able to discern its implicit and explicit strategic concerns. Exhibits 3 and 4 depict preliminary pictures of Wal-Mart’s internal and external value chains. Getting to this initial stage is relatively easy – adding more detail, nuance, and understanding takes more time, involves interviewingWal-Mart executives, and more closely observing how the firm operates. Step 3: Inferring the customer’s business strategy Even long-time suppliers have trouble distinguishing critical customer activities from sometimes urgent but ultimately nonstrategic ones. Understanding your customer’s business strategy is therefore crucial. Value-chain analysis helps a supplier distinguish between the activities of the customer’s firm that directly support its competitive strategies – for its products and for enhancing key capabilities – and ordinary operations. For example, routine operations like billing customers or servicing the fleet of company vehicles must be done, and done well. But there is little if any competitive advantage to be gained from the superior execution of such activities. Nor are they likely to provide an opportunity for gaining new sources of revenue and profit. It is the customers’ strategic activities and projects that offer the potential for future profits and command the attention of your customers’ senior management. So by supporting strategic activities, B2B service providers stand to gain the high-margin work they hunger after, the work that produces the highest returns, and the work that should be their constant priority. The Fluor case Fluor Corporation is a global engineering and construction company providing major capital facilities for a vast range of industrial clients in many vertical markets. With as many as 2,000 projects under construction employing 40,000 workers in more than 50 countries at any time, Fluor operates in all geographic regions of the globe and in all parts of its customers’ supply chains, delivering engineering and construction management services – in sum, a full range of B2B services. The questions of where Fluor should concentrate its resources to meet its customers’ most urgent needs can become enormously complex. To rationalize this process, Fluor must determine which customer projects – the ones that address its customers’ greatest strategic needs and, hence, have potentially the greatest margins – have the highest value. For many years, Fluor has known the critical importance of understanding every one of its B2B customers’ businesses. But that was not enough. The questions for Fluor’s marketing team became, ‘‘How can we learn each customer’s business strategy and strategic needs? ’ Some of the many different sources of information about a customer’s strategy are: B Marketing communications including printed materials (brochures and advertisements), media communications (press releases) and marketing websites reveal new product directions and customer targeting; these provide insights into market positioning and marketing strategy. B Financial-community reports (annual reports, SEC filings, as well as meetings with financial analysts) shed light on internal strategic initiatives in addition to market-positioning moves. Annual reports form the basis of this Fluor case study, but 10Ks and analysts’ reports could prove equally useful. B The academic literature is replete with surgical dissections of strategically successful companies and industries. Business-school cases abound featuring companies like Apple and industries like automobiles. Wal-Mart, for one, has been the focus of many Harvard Business School cases. [8] B Many companies make their published strategic plans available to interested parties. For example, British Petroleum has published its strategy on its corporate website since 2000. B Consultants that specialize in competitive intelligence. B Face-to-face conversations with your customers. Step 4: Discovering the customer’s strategic needs Strategic activities are the activities a firm must implement in order to realize its strategy or strategies. Every strategy has such a set of activities. Insofar as a company finds doing any of these activities difficult, potential suppliers have been trained to see these as ‘‘needs. ’’ But, suppliers need to differentiate between operations that are difficult and ones that are strategic. For example, an innovation strategy requires a system for generating ideas and picking the best ones, cost estimating, engineering, RD, prototype construction and testing, and market-acceptance testing. The pharmaceutical industry relies on a great many B2B service providers to support its new-drug-development programs in the drug-formulation (RD) stage and also B2B service providers that develop new systems to expedite regulatory approval. Value-chain analysis identifies both as key strategic functions. Step 5: Making value-chain analysis a strategic capability of the marketing department Engineering/construction companies have developed at least two approaches to break the forces of commoditization in their industry: 1. Project screening and selectivity. Not all projects are created equal or represent equal opportunity. Service providers should select projects on the basis of projected margin, not projected revenue. They must pursue projects that build on their strengths and core competences, projects where they can apply their best talents to serve their customers. This is done by first serving customers’ commodity work to position them to then pursue customers’ strategic opportunities. This is the approach used in the Fluor example. 2. Become selected customers’ strategic business partner. Such practice puts the business-services provider right in the customers’ lap, a decidedly advantageous position to be in when strategic opportunities are brewing. It also leads to many sole-source or noncompetitive-bid opportunities and, potentially, to higher margins. 1. The method described in the article is based on actual experience of one author when he worked for Fluor Corp. . A recent example is Ram Charan, What the CustomerWants You to Know: How Everybody Needs to Think Differently about Sales, Portfolio (Penguin Group), 2007. The application of value-chain analysis to B2B clients of engineering and construction management services was originally suggested by Don F. Coleman of Fluor Corporation in May, 2000. 3. Michael E. Porter, Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance, Free Press, 1985. 4. Stanley C. Abraham, Strategic Planning: A Practical Guide for Competitive Success, Thomson South-Western, 2006, 214. . Wayne McPhee and David Wheeler, ‘‘Making the case for the added-value chain,’’ Strategy Leadership, Vol. 34 No. 4, 2006, Exhibit 1, p. 41; exhibit used with permission. 6. The supplier could have many other customers, and could replicate this process with those other customers. Typically, doing such an analysis would be reserved for the supplier’s top 3-5 customers. 7. The authors found little in the literature about B2B marketing practices based on knowledge of the customer’s value chain and business strategy. 8. See, for, example Harvard Business School Case #9-794-024, ‘‘Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. ,’’ August 6, 1996, which provides a thorough review of Wal-Mart’s business practices up to its international (horizontal) expansion. 9. Michael E. Porter, ‘‘What is strategy? ’’ Harvard Business Review, November-December 1996. 10. HBS Case #9-794-024, op. cit. 11. Harvard Business School Case #9-302-102, ‘‘Robert Mondavi and the Wine Industry,’’ May 3, 2002. Mondavi’s flagship brand ‘‘Woodbridge’’ is a rare example of a brand name pointing, not to product benefits, but up the value chain to process benefits. 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Question: Discuss about the Business Etiquette in Japan. Answer: Business etiquette in Japan The Japanese monarchy is considered as the oldest monarchy in the world which justifies the stringent customs and traditions that prevails in the Japanese society. The Japanese culture is a group culture where they perceive the welfare of the society as its primary goal. The practice of harmony is observed as an effective means to promote welfare of the society. The group culture is the primary source of promoting harmony among the group and the welfare of the group prevail over the welfare of an individual, hence, before taking any decision it is important that everybodys opinion is considered (Sato et al., 2015). Although it may seem to be next to impossible at several places, in Japan it is an age old tradition that must be performed owing to the homogeneity factor in the population. The Japanese likes to work with flexibility and usually feel reluctant to accept deadlines unless they are sure that they can complete the assignment under the given circumstances. However, in the mul ticultural workplace, doing business in a global economy it is obvious that cultural barriers to communication are bound to arise. However, this essay outlines the ways to overcome these cultural differences and respect the diverse cultures and establish an effective business relationship. Japan as a country values social conduct to such an extent that proper behavioral conduct has become the paramount law of the land. It is important to comprehend that cultural norms differ from one culture to another. The business etiquettes in Japan demonstrates their loyalty towards the organization and the members as well; dedication, consistency and promotion of harmony and welfare (Rothlin McCann, 2016). The members of the Japanese organization are loyal towards their organization and co-workers and if necessary they go beyond their job descriptions to help the company and the members as they value the welfare of the group over individual welfare. The Japanese people are dedicated to the company to such an extent that in case of any conflict between their duties towards the company and family, they usually give first priority to their duties towards the company. The Japanese are very consistent about their duties and acts and they must consider all options. They usually do not leave out any details and are known to be low risk takers which are an essential quality that is required in the contemporary work environment. The Japanese culture is a group culture where they aim at promoting welfare of the society and promote harmony as a means to achieve the welfare of the society. Furthermore, the Japanese regard silent communication as a matter of great importance and unlike western countries, silent communication is possible in Japan owing to the presence of homogeneity in the country. According to the business culture in Japan, speaking too much implies a sign of immaturity or absence of ideas. On the other hand, silent signifies understanding by using mere words or through body language that aims at surpassing words and provides a clearer picture. This kind of indirect communication signifies harmony and provides an opportunity to the other party to accept the results and save face in case of a failure. The Japanese considers themselves guilty when they fail to act or behave in a manner as expected from the other party. They do not like to bring in any change or chaos in their traditions that would disrupt the harmony (Tanaka Kleiner, 2015). In the given case scenario, at the beginning of the first or initial meeting, it is imperative the Emily must take in to consideration of the fact that the business culture in Japan is very formal. She must follow these business etiquettes in order to conduct business with the Japanese. Firstly, She must address Mr. Hamasaki by Mr. followed by his surnames and must not use the first name. Secondly, she must use the professional cards (meishi) which is a vital business etiquette observed in Japan. These cards are exchanged in the beginning of the meeting and must not be put away before the meeting ends and the cards must not have anything written on it otherwise it would be misinterpreted to be an impolite gesture. Emily should provide gifts to the Mr. Hamasaki after a business relationship is established between them as Japan is a country that is expert in endowing its business delegates with company gifts and it is almost mandatory to exchange gifts twice a year. Thirdly, since the Japanese upholds harmony as a valuable aspect of their business culture, they tend to give more importance to the organization and its members (Mukherjee Ramos-Salazar, 2014). Emily must consider the fact that while discussing about her food project she must explain how the project is going to promote welfare of the society and how the business activities shall maintain harmony within the organization, thus, benefitting both the organization and the society. Fourthly, Emily must consider that in a business setting in a country like Japan, silent communication is given more preference compared to overabundance of talking. Silence is often linked to credibility and a more formal approach, in the beginning of a meeting is more preferable and is likely to be received better when conducting business with Japan. Lastly, Emily must have regard to the fact that Japanese usually value group solidarity over individualism. Unlike the western countries, where individual recognition and contributions are valued, the Japanese gives more importance to the team concept and values praises and achievements of the entire group (Polleri, 2017). Potential Cross-Cultural Miscommunications Cross-cultural communication refers to the communication with respect to two distinct cultures. In business, cross-cultural communications play a significant role in conducting business with other individuals or teams in different areas of the globe. However, miscommunication could often lead to broken relations with partners, employees, customers, etc. In the given scenario, a common cross cultural barrier in the business communication is language. Emily is Australian and Mr. Hamasaki is Japanese and both belong to different cultural backgrounds. the cultural dimension model of Dr. Hofstede is considered as an internationally recognized standard for comprehending the cultural differences. Since cultural norms play a significant role in maintaining interpersonal relationships at work, it is pertinent for Emily to assess her decisions, actions and approach based on Hofstedes cultural dimension to avoid making mistakes and demonstrates the much needed confidence (Nelson Matthews, 2017 ). Under the given scenario, Emily may follow the cultural dimension pertaining to Masculinity versus Femininity (MAS) as the gap between men and women values is the greatest tin Japan. This approach refers to the distribution of roles between the women and men. In masculine societies there is less overlapping with respect to the roles of men and women and the men are expected to behave positively. In feminine societies, the overlapping is more and modesty is observed as a virtue. The maintenance of good relationships with direct supervisors is of greater importance. Emily must consider the fact that in order to open office in Japan, she would have to operate in a hierarchical, traditionally patriarchal and deferential society where long hours is embedded in its business tradition which might cause inconvenience for female team members owing to their family commitments (Kinloch Metge, 2014). Cultural differences are often considered as a nuisance at best and may often cause disaster. Despite the difference in culture, it is believed that all people are the same and instead of understanding, respecting and accepting the cultural differences, people strive to reduce the cultural differences which cause misinterpretations and misunderstandings between people from different countries. This often led to breakage of relations between the business partners, customers, employees etc. Cross-cultural communications requires both the parties who intends to conduct international business with each other, must possess sufficient knowledge about the cultural differences as what may be considered as acceptable in one country may not be acceptable in other countries (Chen, 2017). Every culture has distinct business ethics, distinct set of values and accepted behavior and different facial gestures ad expressions. It is pertinent to understand the cultural differences and demonstrate respect for the culture while communicating with the professionals from different cultures. In this given scenario, Emily must possess knowledge about the business etiquettes and work culture of the Japanese people and must portray respect for the culture while communicating with Mr. Hamasaki about her food project. She must avoid overabundance talking with Mr. Hamasaki and must maintain an impassive expression while communicating with Mr. Hamsaki as he would prefer to rely more on the facial expression, posture, tone of voice compared to verbal messages (De Mooij, 2015). It is recommended to Emily that she displays correct amount of deference and respect to someone based upon the status of Mr. Hamasaki instead of her own. While foreigners usually shake hands when they meet, but Japan being a traditional country bows when they meet as it displays a traditional form of greeting. Emily must have regard to the fact that the Japanese value traditions greater than any other place in the world. She must present her ideas about the food business keeping in mind that Japanese perceives meetings as a means to obtain and collect information rather than a decision making activity and would take a lot of time to plan and decide its business activities. Therefore, Emily must ensure that she accepts and respects the culture and business traditions followed in Japan while expressing her ideas and work culture to him with a view to establish a stable and good business relationship with Mr. Hamasaki. References Sato, Y., Nakatake, M., Satake, Y., Hug, J. (2015). About the Changing Roles of Foreign Language Teaching/Learning in the Context of Globalization in Japan. Rothlin, S., McCann, D. (2016). The Social Environment: Business Etiquette and Cultural Sensitivity. InInternational Business Ethics(pp. 321-340). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Tanaka, A., Kleiner, B. (2015). Cross-Cultural Business Etiquette.Culture Religion Review Journal,2015(1). Mukherjee, S., Ramos-Salazar, L. (2014). " Excuse Us, Your Manners Are Missing!" The Role of Business Etiquette in Today's Era of Cross-Cultural Communication.TSM Business Review,2(1), 18. Polleri, M. (2017). EXCHANGING BUSINESS CARDS IN JAPAN: Oh! So you are an.Anthropology Today,33(3), 23-24. Nelson, K., Matthews, A. L. (2017). Foreign presents or foreign presence? Resident perceptions of Australian and Chinese tourists in Niseko, Japan.Tourist Studies, 1468797617717466. Kinloch, P., Metge, J. (2014).Talking past each other: problems of cross cultural communication. Victoria University Press. Ferraro, G. P., Briody, E. K. (2017).The cultural dimension of global business. Taylor Francis. Chen, L. (Ed.). (2017).Intercultural communication(Vol. 9). Walter de Gruyter GmbH Co KG. Cavusgil, S. T., Knight, G., Riesenberger, J. R., Rammal, H. G., Rose, E. L. (2014).International business. Pearson Australia. Thomas, D. C., Peterson, M. F. (2017).Cross-cultural management: Essential concepts. Sage Publications. De Mooij, M. (2015). Cross-cultural research in international marketing: clearing up some of the confusion.International Marketing Review,32(6), 646-662.