According to the existing material, to write a report to the management team to address the strategic issues facing the company as it embarks on expansion including international expansion - Essay Example

The Strategic Issues Facing the Company as It Embarks on Expansion Including International Expansion Executive Summary Nippon UK established in the year 1993 is engaged in imparting Martial Arts classes to children and adults. Currently, the company has more than 20,000 members and imparts tuition to over 300 primary and secondary schools across the country. Apart from its partnership, the company also undertakes its activities in more than 100 venues. It is worth mentioning that the company also owes a subsidiary in Spain. Consequently, the company aims to expand its business nationally and internationally. With respect to this, the company intends to develop brand identity. In relation to this, the report intends to develop brand identity of the company and conduct internal and external analysis for formulating expansion strategies. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Introduction 4 Brand Identity 4 Mission 4 Mission Statement 5 Logo 5 Slogan 6 Internal Analysis 6 SWOT Analysis 6 External Analysis 7 PESTLE Analysis 7 Hofstede’s Five Cultural Dimensions 8 Recommendations 10 Target Market 11 Strategy Recommendation 11 11 Conclusion 12 References 13 Introduction Nippon UK was founded in 1993 with an objective of imparting Martial Arts classes, particularly Jujitsu, to children and adults as well in the different locations. After its successful completion of 19 years, the company has witnessed a variety of changes and simultaneously attained remarkable growth both nationally and internationally. Instructors engaged with impartment of Martial Arts tuitions are experienced, full-time and qualified professionals as well (Nippon UK, 2012). Brand Identity The brand identity developed should be able to communicate the essence of company’s brand. The brand should always encourage creativity and should be flexible enough that allows the company Nippon UK to be expressive and contemporary. The company’s identity should always focus on being hard working, maintaining innovation and promoting healthy living. This will help the company to create strong and recognisable brand. Moreover, the company’s brand should be able to convey the company’s messages effectively (David & et. al., 2004). Mission Nippon UK Martial Arts operates nationally and internationally to get great Arts to everyone by championing, developing and imparting its valuable experiences to enrich the people’s lives. The company intends to deliver quality Martial Arts tuition to its thousands of members. Imparting Martial Arts to people inspires the company to bring people together with the company and teach them about skills of Martial Arts. In precise, the company wants to make the life of people better with healthy living practice (Bratianu & Balanescu, 2008). Mission Statement To get great art to everyone by imparting, championing and developing valuable experiences to enrich the people’s lives. Logo Often it is stated that human brains quickly receive the pictures than the written words. Consequently, logos are visual form that facilitates a company to position its messages to public. The company must ensure that logo design should always be readable and should clearly communicate about the company’s mission and vision. People should be able to judge the quality and motive of the company from its logo (Konecnik & Go, 2008). Slogan “Be Healthy and Safe.......With Us” Slogan is an important element of brand identity development. A rigid and convincing slogan helps the company to attract people towards it services. The slogan works to strengthen the brand identity. The company should create a slogan that helps to represent the company’s endeavours. Internal Analysis SWOT Analysis The strength factor of Nippon UK Martial Arts includes its qualified and experienced instructors. Moreover, the increasing the number of members year-on-year has also contributed as a strength factor to the company. On the other hand, the company’s child protection policies, health and safety as well as negative news stories often can be related with weaknesses faced by the company. The likely opportunities for the company may include the growing interest of people towards healthy living. More and more people in the present world are struggling with their living style. Beside, the increasing concern related with personal security has established a wide platform for the company to exploit the emerging opportunities profitably. The threat factor related with the company includes the existence of rival companies as well as emerging firms that may have revenue reducing impact on the company (Balamuralikrishna & Dugger, 1995). External Analysis PESTLE Analysis Developed countries around the world are now focusing more on healthy living practice. For the companies such as Nippon UK Martial Arts, it will be beneficial to expand its business to nearby countries of the United Kingdom and Spain such as France, Germany and Italy among others. The political environments of these countries are mostly stable. The economic conditions of most of the countries in Europe are sound and upward moving. However, the recent economic downturn witnessed by the world has weakened growth rate of almost all the countries around the world. Personal security has emerged as a crucial element in developed countries. Societies in developed countries of Europe are now becoming more conscious towards public health and safety. Technologies are now being implemented in all aspects of business and training to enhance the capabilities of trainees. The company should make a reasonable blend of Martial Arts techniques with technologies in order to provide its trainees with utmost satisfaction and also to make the training program a unique experience for the likely trainees in these countries. Legal environment in these countries also does not restrict Martial Arts practice. The geographic features of these countries are also suitable for the practice of Martial Arts. People in these countries will enjoy involving themselves with Martial Arts courses (ZinKevicticute, 2009). Hofstede’s Five Cultural Dimensions Cultural factor is an important element to be considered while expanding the business internationally. At present, the success of international business largely depends on its efficiency towards understanding the cross-cultural aspects of the business. If Nippon UK Martial Arts intends to explore foreign markets, it needs to carefully consider the beliefs, norms and values prevailing in the foreign countries. In order to understand the cultural differences among the countries, evaluation of Hofstede’s five cultural dimensions is conducted based on three countries namely France, Germany and Italy. Power Distance French and German societies are burdened with unequal distribution of power. The culture of France advocates that power distance in France is quite high. With respect to Italian society, its culture ranks in middle of power distance index. Consequently, Italian culture reveals that hierarchy in the societies should be respected as well as inequalities are acceptable to a certain extent (Hofstede, n.d.). Individualism Similar to power distance, cultures in France and Germany also reveal high degree of individualism. An individual in France prefers him/her-self to be single rather than being associated with groups. Among the three countries, Italy ranks highest in terms of individualism which signifies that the country predominately possesses an individualistic culture (Hofstede, n.d.). Masculinity/Femininity France supports feminine culture and the French society often postulates caring for others. As opposed to French culture, German and Italian cultures relatively show high degrees of masculinity which signifies less care towards people’s values as compared to the French culture (Hofstede, n.d.). Uncertainty Avoidance Both French and German cultures rank relatively high in uncertainty avoidance index. Similarly, the Italian culture ranks highest among the three countries with respect to uncertainty avoidance index, which means that Italian people intend to avoid uncertainties in any kind of activities (Hofstede, n. d.). Long-Term Orientation All the three countries i.e. Germany, France and Italy rank relatively low in long-term orientation dimension. These countries are not much concerned related to saving and intend to achieve quick results for their efforts (Hofstede, n.d.). Recommendations Nippon UK Martial Arts should be careful with its expansion strategies. Prior to entering into any foreign market, the company should carefully analyse the market prospect for its service market It should also consider the socio-economic and cultural factors of the foreign market. The company should recognise the existing competitive advantages prevailing in local competitors’ strategies Franchising will be beneficial for the company to expand its business internationally. Moreover, franchising will provide the company with better control over the activities of franchisees (Petersen & Welch, 1999) Mergers or acquisitions with foreign companies will help the company to understand the foreign market and the diverse customers’ demands Creating and sustaining brand identity in foreign market will require the company to undertake severe promotional activities through various media such as television, newspapers, hoarding boards and demonstration in schools (Thilmany & Curtis, 2010). Target Market Apart from attracting customers from Spain, France, Germany, Italy and the UK only, the company should also aim at attaining non-local customers for training purposes. The company with its intensive promotional activities should make considerable efforts to attract foreign customers to be part of its training. Even though it may lead the company to make reasonable expenditure over its promotional activities, such marketing strategies will help the company to enhance its brand image and at the same time the increased customers across the continent will ensure considerable earning and reputation for the company (Knight, 2000). Strategy Recommendation Nippon UK Martial Arts is a unique organisation. The company imparts tuitions and motivate healthy living across France, Germany, Italy, UK and Spain. Nippon UK Martial Arts as a brand should have creativity and dedication for improving people’s lives. The brand should represent both the organisation and the people. Moreover, the company should celebrate, support and encourage individual engagement. The company should advocate for healthy and strong community, so the company’s brand should be confident, trusted and visible. It is important that the company’s brand reflects trust placed by people across the country. The company’s brand selected must aspire to be contemporary and forward-thinking as well as it must be responsible and accountable. The company should work in openness and with utmost dedication. This can be embodied through its brand and relationship between the company and the people (Mearns, 2007). Conclusion Nippon UK Martial Arts is imparting Martial Arts courses since last 19 years. Accordingly, building a strong brand is an important task for the company to establish itself as reputable company. The enhanced brand identity will help the company to easily enter and sustain its business in foreign markets. Consequently, the company should identify its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and likely threats prevailing within the market. After consolidating the company’s weaknesses, it should move ahead towards conducting an analysis of the external aspects of the foreign markets to obtain a clear picture of the marketing conditions. The company should formulate strategies based on the marketing conditions and cultural differences prevailing in the foreign markets rather than applying universally accepted strategies. References Bratianu, C. & Balanescu, G. V., 2008. Vision, Mission and Corporate Values. A Comparative Analysis of the Top 50 U.S. Companies. Management & Marketing, Vol. 3, No. 3 pp. 19-38. Balamuralikrishna, R. & Dugger, J. C., 1995. SWOT Analysis: A Management Tool for Initiating New Programs in Vocational Schools. Journal of Vocational and Technical Education Vol. 12 No. 1. David, A. A. & et. al., 2004). Speaking the Buick Language: Capturing, Understanding, and Exploring Brand Identity with Shape Grammars. Designs Studies, Vol. 25 pp. 1-29. Hofstede, G., No Date. National Cultural Dimensions. Countries. [Online] Available at: http://geert-hofstede.com/national-culture.html [Accessed 27 November 2012]. Konecnik, M. & Go, F., 2008. Tourism Destination Brand Identity: The Case of Slovenia. Brand Management, Vol. 15, No. 3, pp. 177-189. Knight, G., 2000. Entrepreneurship and Marketing Strategy: The SME under Globalization. Journal of International Marketing, Vol. 8, No. 2 pp. 12-32. Mearns, W., 2007. The Importance of Being Branded. Business Review Vol. 9, No. 2, pp. 56-60. Nippon UK, 2012. Martial Arts. Home. [Online] Available at: http://www.nipponuk.org/ [Accessed 27 November 2012]. Petersen, B. & Welch, L. S., 1999. International Retailing Operations: Downstream Entry and Expansion via Franchising. Shift to International Retail Franchising [Online] Available at: http://cosmic.rrz.uni-hamburg.de/webcat/hwwa/edok01/cbsiem/wp05-1999.pdf [Accessed 27 November 2012]. ZinKevicticute, V., 2009. Strategic Decisions of Tourism Companies in the Context of Sustainable Development. Issues of Business and Law, Vol. 1, pp. 54-62. Thilmany, D. & Curtis, K. R., 2010. Marketing and Promotion Resources: Leveraging Existing Programs and Resources. Existing Promotional Resources to Serve Niche Markets. [Online] Available at: http://ag.arizona.edu/arec/wemc/nichemarkets/06marketingandpromotionresources.pdf [Accessed 27 November 2012]. Read More