Essays on Challenges In Internationalisation And Outsourcing Case Study

Describe the external environment of Coglin Clothing. Identify the components of the general and task environment and discuss their impact on organizations generally Identify the environments of most interest to Coglin Clothing. Coglin Clothing as any other Clothing company operates in an environment that is not only competitive but also restrictive in nature. The external environment of Coglin consists of a number of factors and stakeholders that directly and indirectly affects its operations. Stakeholders range from customers, suppliers, competitors, and regulatory bodies among others; while factors range from political, environmental, technological and socio-cultural factors.

In general, the external environment represents the major forces outside Coglin Clothing that impact on the success of its operations, products and services. Coglin Clothing faces a challenge-it sees ebb of a lucrative market. For a good number of years, the company has built a thriving business in the textile and clothing industry, specialising in women apparels including scarves, dresses and tops among others. In the textile industry, Coglin is increasingly seeking to lower its cost. Costs are significantly lowered through efficient use of resources, minimisation of labour expenses and input prices (supplies) among others.

This means that the company operates in an international context, the company has to take advantage of outsourcing to low cost countries that can provide outsourcing opportunities. Therefore, a number of factors such as the cost of land and labour (among others) determine the cost advantage of a country. Outsourcing to Asian countries has become a trend for global manufacturers, including clothing. However, these countries differ in a number of ways: China has enjoyed a cost advantage for sometime, but most recently, countries such as Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia are becoming even more attractive to global businesses.

As a result of these differences, the operation of Coglin in several countries implies that it is facing many different ground rules. Within a particular economic system, Coglin face economic factors that are beyond its control, such as interest rates, recessions and most commonly inflation (Waddell et al. , 2007, p. 86). Socio-cultural elementSince both its consumers and manufacturing systems are distinctly transnational, it is most likely that it has to strictly maintain a positive image in an industry that is characterized by consumers who have a positive involvement with clothing; they attach emotions and identity and tend to have an idiosyncratically negative image of the industry behind. Legal-political elementCoglin must abide by the legal and governmental systems of within which it operates.

The company is directly affected by a myriad of ethical issues, legal campaigns and monitoring issues. The legal system is also politically manipulated, government regulation emanates from political consultations (Robbins et al. , 2008, p. 85). International elementThis is the element that is of increasing significance to Coglin.

This element includes economic issues such as fluctuations in interest rates and exchange rates that affect Coglin’s profitability and global competitiveness. For instance, when the domestic currency’s value exceeds that of the foreign currencies, Coglin’s global competitiveness and strategic options become more constrained. Existence of trade barriers in countries like China and development of new agreements significantly influences the company’s global business.