The Board of Directors of an English company which embarks on direct Essay

The Board of Directors of an English company which embarks on direct investment in a foreign country must contend with the problems of introducing property and - Essay Example Therefore, the liquid soap market seems to have a good fortune in Thailand due to the good number of Thai population, GDP growth, inflation rate and growth rate of soap in Thai market. Accantia Health and Beauty Ltd. is a dynamic, "can do" company, which produces skincare and healthcare products. All head offices functions are based at Alum Rock, Birmingham. Accantia has subsidiaries in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The company formed as a result of a leveraged buys out of the consumer business from Smith and Nephew Plc. There are many skin care and skin care product under the Accantia Company, which is Lil-lets, Simple, Simple Skin Define, Cidal, Wrights and retail brands. The highly successful brand of the Accantia Company is Simple, Cidal and Wrights. Our report will emphasize on Simple liquid soap, which is a good quality product at a reasonable price. There are many product lines under Simple brand, which are skin care, oil control, sun care, toiletries, and soap skin defense. As the diagram illustrate above, Thailand GDP continued to increase in 2001-2003 from around $115 to $135, which demonstrates economic recovery in Thailand. Moreover, the goal of Prime Minister Taksin is developing the consumer finance to stimulate spending of the citizens by easy access to cheap credit and mortgage. Private consumption expanded 5.0 percent each year in the third quarter of 2002. In 2002, Thailand is one of the fastest growing economies in Asia, apart from Vietnam and China. The household debt stands at only 17 percent of GDP and 27 percent of disposal income, compare to household debt in South Korea of 69 percent of GDP and 105 percent of disposal income. Having a growing economy would be important for new products to be successful in Thailand. It means there will be a higher flow of money in the economy. 1.2 Inflation Rate Source: http://www.nso.go.th/eng/indicators/core_e.htm Inflation rate in Thailand was decreased between 1997 and 2001 from the highest 8.1% to 1.6%. However, it was estimated that the inflation rate would continue to decrease in year 2003, because it was decreased over 4 years. Furthermore, the forecast indicate that it would remain decreasing for a few years except Thailand is challenged with another economic crisis. Presently, the economy is recovering because of the government policy of keeping the inflation rate low to stimulate the customers' spending. 1.3 Growth in liquid soap market Procter & Gamble (Thailand) Ltd, the local unit of the US-based consumer-product maker, said yesterday that it plans to invest a further Bt5.9 billion to make Thailand its largest production centre in Asia. This company has seen

The Road to the Business of Chiquita Brands International Case Study

The Road to the Business of Chiquita Brands International - Case Study Example This research will begin with the statement that the 21st century has been a period of globalization in which business organizations have developed new strategies to venture in new market environments. The international business environment is characterized by many challenges and organizations have to be prepared to meet the international business standards to meet the demands of this business niche. For Chiquita Brand’s International, the road to the international business market has between rough and challenging. When Chiquita landed in Ghana, the company blossomed and found this to be a new opportunity to increase its business revenue. In fact, the organization managed to make tens of millions in profit from its Columbia banana plantations. However, the company was faced by the terrorist culture that had developed controlled the banana industry for long. When the Guerrilla war in Columbia begun, Chiquita was forced to adopt new tactics of survival in this market. When the R evolutionary Armed Forces of Columbia started a war in Columbia, the Chiquita legal officer took the initiative to pay the counter-FARC, the AUC, to protect the organization against attack. It is this initiative that made Chiquita face the US legal system that regarded AUC as terrorist body. The company was accused of collaborating with terrorist an act that was against the US legal system. The organization had to negotiate its way out this problem. Chiquita International negotiated from this legal lawsuit by pleading guilty of collaborating with the terrorist. In 2007, the organization entered a plea agreement in which the organization accepted to have been involved in financial dealings with terrorist groups. This strategy of negotiation of the Chiquita had a lot of value. All organizations that are found guilty of collaborating with terrorist attacks are fined double its income in compliance with the legal policy. However, Chiquita was allowed to a penalty relief for having admit ted to the crime before investigation. This step also was a great advantage to Chiquita’s council advisor, Mr Olson, who would have received a life sentence if the case had attained its climax. Another legal charge was raised against Chiquita in 2007 when the company was accused of poor worker environments. In Columbia, employees were subjects of hard labor, risky work conditions and long working hours. In 1996, Chiquita had provided $20 million to standardize its work environment in all its branches in the Latin America. At that time, the company had employed over 30,000 workers in 7 different countries. When the organization was accused of neglecting corporate responsibility, it filed a lawsuit against these allegations and was paid a multimillion settlement by the Cincinnati Enquirer newspaper for reputation damage. The ability of the organization to develop a standard work environment formed its strength in corporate responsibility. Chiquita placed value in its communicat ion strategy as part of the development of good customer relation in a culturally diverse population. Gerbe points out to the value of communication intercultural communication in the international market. Chiquita communication strategy is depicted in its core values. The organization puts value in open, straightforward, respectful and transparent communication.