Country/Product Brief (Essay Sample)

Product Brief
Institutional Affiliation
Date
Introduction
Businesses in the modern society develop goals that mostly aim at increasing sale and maximizing profits fulfill their goals. Business expansions usually involve expansion of business to foreign countries, introduction of new products into the market or both. Companies need holistic planning of their business activities in order to tackle the challenges associated with business expansions and the dynamic factors affecting businesses in the modern society in order to ensure that their plans run efficiently and that they meet their objectives (Fletcher, 2013). Marketing is a core part of business activities and it greatly helps in the business expansion by informing customers and prospective customers about the new companies in the foreign countries or the introduction of new products in the market. This paper aims at analyzing the factors that affect new businesses and products in the society, additionally, it helps to focus on the advantages that business might have and how such advantages help in the accomplishment of business objectives.
Holden Company is a major automobile manufacturing company in Australia and it deals with the manufacturing, marketing and sales of automobiles in the country in order to supply the public with various types of cars. In order to fulfill the set objectives of the company, Holden plans to expand business activities in Germany in order to increase sales and maximize on the profits. Holden finds Germany as the best avenue to open up a new factory first because of the strategic position of Germany CITATION Dav15 \l 1033 (Davidson, 2015). The strategic location of Germany makes it a key transportation hub in Germany and this ensures would help Holden to reach a number of countries in Europe and aid in opening up of the European market to the Australian products.
Secondly, the need for Holden Company to expand their business activities in Germany also arises due to the well-developed infrastructure in the country that serves to promote business activities and the motor industry. Additionally, statistics prove that Germany ranks third largest exporter and exporter in the world according to the measured value of goods; this confirms the need to increase the manufacture of automobile businesses in order to boost the trade of goods within the country and around Europe. Fourth, The GDP of Germany rate at 2.9 trillion Euros and this brings the need to open up the German automobile industry in order to promote the flow of goods in the country and to promote the growth of the economy in the country CITATION Fir12 \l 1033 (Firnkorn, 2012). Among other sectors such as the electric industry, logistics, gastronomy and tourism, the automotive industry proves to be one of the core sectors in the German economy, there is the need to increase production, and sale of automobiles in the country and this confirms the business avenue that Holden has identified in Germany.
Situation Analysis Business Environment
A number of factors are likely to affect business activities of the Holden Company in Germany, such factors include political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental. Holden Company needs to take deep analysis of the various factors that might affect their business practices in the country in order to ensure smooth running of the business activities in the foreign country. A number of political factors likely to affect the new car manufacturing plant that Holden hopes to open in Germany include the system of governance CITATION Hua12 \l 1033 (Huang, 2012). Germany being a democratic country whose political systems function under the system called Grundgesetz under the constitution of 1949 ensure that every business venture conforms to the strict laws of the country and this confirms the challenges that new companies face in the events when they plan to operate in Germany. The Grundgesetz system stipulates tough entry mode regulations and tax policies for new companies such as Holden in the country.
To add on the tough entry mode regulations and the tax policies, the system of governance of Germany consists of three wings that make up the government of Germany which are the legislature, judiciary and executive that makes it hard to amend the laws in order to suit foreign companies in the country. Secondly, the constitution of the republic of Germany sets the rules and regulations necessary to carry out any business activities in the country and forms the fundamental structure of the government CITATION Lev11 \l 1033 (Leviston, 2011). The constitution holistically dictates the value systems that the country should follow, the constitution in Germany is considered as the main source of authority and the fact that it was formed in the year 1949, it confirms that it becomes irrelevant to the business activities in Germany in the modern society. The constitution proves to be irrelevant to the trade regulations in the country and this further affects the social welfare due to the dynamics of conducting business in the modern society.
The economic factors that are likely to affect business activities of the Holden Company in Germany are such as the low raw materials in the country. This would force the company to import the raw materials and which would in turn lead to the increase in the cost of manufacturing hence reduce the profit margin for the company. Secondly, the fact that the power plants in Germany only burn lignite to produce electricity, imports natural gas and oil and two-thirds of its energy from other countries confirms the relatively higher prices in the country, which in turn threatens to affect the manufacturing processes of automobiles in Germany CITATION Net13 \l 1033 (Netland, 2013). The social factors that are likely to affect business activities of the Holden Company in Germany are such as the huge population of 82 million people in the country. This makes the country suitable for the manufacture and the sale of automobiles as it is the most populated country in Europe.
The second social factor in Germany is the multicultural setting in the country and this makes the citizens to embrace the diversity and brings the need to manufacture cars that satisfies the tastes of various lifestyles. The ethno cultural diversity in the country also makes the car manufacturers to enjoy the variety in the market in Germany. The technological factors in Germany that are likely to affect business operations of the Holden Company in the country include the heavy science and technological developments in the country that the citizens adopt (Fletcher, 2013). The various types of research and development in the country make the automobile technology in the country to change very fast and this makes the automobile technology to become obsolete at a very fast rate. Holden is likely to face the challenges resulting from the huge technological developments and this would in turn affect the sales of the automobiles in Germany.
The legal factors that are likely to affect the business operations of the Holden Company in Germany are such as the employment regulations that require that foreign companies must employ a certain percentage of nationals. Employing the nationals would in turn affect the quality of cars and affect the manufacturing speed of cars in the company due to the varying skills and competencies of the nationals and the foreign workers (Ciabuschi, 2012). Secondly, there comes the problem of health and safety regulations where the German government stipulates tough rules for the foreign companies in order to maintain the high standards of health and safety. Such rules affect the cost of manufacturing hence the profits of the company. Finally, the product regulations of the German laws affect the business practices of the Holden Company. Finally, environmental factors that are likely to affect business of the Holden Company are such as the pollution that results and associated with the manufacturing process and the procedures that the company lays down for the recycling and renewal of the company’s environment.
Market Analysis
The customer profiles that are relevant for the automobile industry are the working class that requires cars that have high reliability and that can satisfy their needs. Volvo ranks the highest due to the high quality and reliability of the vehicle in addition to the vehicle appeal. This confirms that the huge percentages of the customers are the younger generation that shows keen interest in the appeal and performance of the vehicle CITATION Dav15 \l 1033 (Davidson, 2015). The high percentages of the customers for the automobiles are the middle class members of the society since they are the proportion of the population that make the highest population divide. The Toyota cars rank the second most love brand of cars in Germany due to the affordability of the cars since a great percentage of the population are middle income earners that require cars that are cheaper and are affordable to manage. The high percentages of car buyers are private households that purchase the cars for their personal use and they increase the purchase of their cars in spite of rising wages.
Competitive Analysis
There are a number of car manufacturers in Germany and some of the major competitors in the market include Mercedes Benz, Audi, Ford, Opel, Volkswagen and BMW. The major competitors in the automobile industry in the German market enjoy the loyalty that the customers give to the brand name and this makes the major competitors to enjoy huge sales with minimal marketing. Secondly, the competitors in the German market register the huge sales due to the longevity of the vehicles and the high technological standards in the country CITATION Fir12 \l 1033 (Firnkorn, 2012). This makes it easy for the customers and the mechanics to operate and drive the v...