Introduction
Amber Alert (Child Abduction Emergency, CAE) is a system that alerts its users about a child being abducted. It was developed in the United States in 1996 after the abduction of a nine-year-old girl, Amber Rene Hagerman, in Arlington, Texas. The girl was unfortunately found diseased not far from the abduction site, which prompted her parents to push the program to help other children not to be stolen and killed.
Initially, the Amber Alert system worked with the help of radio: notifications were made manually and delivered to the public as soon as possible. The first fully automated notification solution was developed in 1998 due to the high demand for the service. Today, all of the fifty American states use the Amber Alert system, and the technology has become so advanced that notifications are sent automatically to people’s smartphones. Canada, Mexico, Australia, Malaysia, and Ecuador, as well as many European countries, have started investing in child abduction alerts in order to protect their communities.
The purpose of introducing Amber Alert in China is to help the public and law enforcement to speed up the process of recovering lost and abducted children. The service will be integrated into users’ smartphones to achieve ease the use and the wide reach of potential users. Therefore, irrespective of the dangers that Chinese society faces when it comes to missing children, it is expected that the Amber Alert solution will bring parents the confidence and support they need at times of emergency.
Identification of Global Business Opportunities
The introduction of the Amber Alert system in China holds numerous opportunities. The country has shown high rates of children getting abducted, with around 70,000 of them being kidnapped and sold to the black market each year (Bai). This presents a serious social problem that requires the increased awareness of the public along with the more effective efforts of law enforcement to solve it.
According to the article by Bai, only “0.1% of lost children in China are found by their parents.” Since the risks of children not being discovered after being abducted, a comprehensive solution is needed. Apprehending criminals is another opportunity for the introduction of Amber Alert in China. According to the criminal laws in the country, the minimum sentence for abduction is five years coupled with a financial penalty. However, if a person committed a more serious crime such as murder or child trafficking, the sentence can reach the death penalty.
Several global business opportunities should be noted in regard to introducing Amber Alert in China. First, due to the high rates of abductions, the likelihood of millions of families registering their children is also high. This means that the system must be prepared for a large inflow of registrations. Second, the high technological integration of the region means that the population is well-versed in the use of portable devices to which Amber Alerts can be sent.
Developing advanced solutions that will be targeted to the Chinese market is an imperative component of a successful business endeavor. Third, the increased integration of China on a global scale can be achieved through Amber Alert integration. The unified efforts of the international society on preventing and managing child abductions will put China on the same level as the United States in terms of monitoring the levels of abduction-associated crimes.
Analysis of International Competitors
Since Amber Alert was the first solution developed to notify communities about the abduction of a child, there are almost no competitors on both national and international levels. The system is famous for its revolutionary approach toward engaging communities in the social problem of child abductions. The creation of a worldwide child abduction system does not imply the competition between companies responsible for its integration. Rather, it is the collaboration between institutions responsible for Information Technologies, social media, governments, and local communities that will bring the best possible outcomes.
The fact that Amber Alert does not have any competition in the market presents several opportunities. First, the solution will gain wide coverage in the media due to its uniqueness, thus facilitating the increased awareness of the public. Second, the absence of rapid emergency child alert systems will prompt the immediate response from the public since the problem of child abductions is high on the agenda. Third, non-profit organizations and law enforcement agencies will have a solid partner for collaboration when it comes to solving child abductions and disappearances.
Assessment of Economic-Geographical Environment
The population of China according to the 2016 estimate is 1,379 billion people who reside in the area encompassing 3,705,407 square miles (9,596,961 square kilometers) (Briney). By area, the country is third in the world and is the first in terms of population. China is a developing nation that has a capitalist economy, controlled by a communist government. Since the Chinese civilization got its start more than five thousand years ago, the country played a very important role in world history development and continues to influence it to this day.
In recent decades, the economy of the country has changed dramatically. In the twentieth century, China focused on international relations and trade. After the 1970s, this began to change, with today’s country being more economically tied to other countries. The orientation of the economy is differentiated into 43% agricultural, 25% industrial, and 32% service-related (Briney). The agriculture of the country has developed due to its climate and geographical location, which varies and thus allows for the growing of such crops as tea, rice, wheat, and potatoes.
Assessment of Socio-Cultural and Legal-Political Environment
China is a country with a rich history, and there are several socio-cultural aspects that should be considered when introducing Amber Alert in China. First, its society is relationship-oriented, which means that interactions are vital to fostering positive business connections. Chinese people prefer to deal with those whom they trust and know, which means that relationships are created not only between companies but between workers of those companies.
Second, Confucianism (social and ethical philosophy) directly influences relations in Chinese society. It implies respect for age, educational background, and seniority. Third, the culture of collectivism means that group values are honored more in comparison with the individual. This means that Chinese people are into teamwork and information sharing when it comes to human relations.
China is governed by the Communist Party (CPC), which means that it is a single-party state. Despite the criticism foreigners have for this political system, it has worked for China for decades and contributed to its political prosperity (“Political and Legal Systems of China”). It is believed that when the country is governed by one ruling party, its citizens can be more effective in organizing themselves and react efficiently to the global economic and political trends. Under its legal system, corruption remains the main problem despite the efforts to eliminate it. China has become infamous for the variety of cases of improper treatment of workers and the establishment of sweatshops. Although there have been multiple launches of anti-corruption campaigns by the CPC, the problem persists.
Global Company Structure
The creation of the Amber Alert system in China will imply the development of the global functional division structure, which is one of the types of global organizational structure. The company will be governed by its CEO, who will be responsible for overseeing the work of the operations, finance, marketing, and human resources. Each of the departments will be further divided on a regional basis to account for the better integration of Amber Alert in the entire country. Such an organizational structure will take advantage of each functional division while also facilitating centralized control over the application.
There are multiple advantages of the proposed company structure for introducing Amber Alerts in China. First, the business endeavor will get the benefits of a greater focus on functional expertise and the lean managerial staff: only those areas that require managing will be governed. Second, high levels of centralized control will ensure the company has a distinct goal in mind and moves in its direction. Third, the structure will allow for the better regional orientation of all managers involved in the process.
Financing Sources
Similar to the method in which Amber Alert was established in the United States as well as other countries, the initial funding for the service’s introduction in China should be received from governmental as well as private donations. The present business plan can be used as the source that potential investors can use for getting information about the benefits of Amber Alert and learn how whether the business opportunity can be beneficial in the context of China. After the application has been introduced to the market, the management of the company can look for other investors, including companies that can post their advertisements, to sustain its development and ensure a positive integration of the application throughout the entire country.
Global Management Information System
The establishment of a global management Information System (GMIS) is necessary for guiding the operations of an Information Technology (IT) company. It includes such processes as the generation of sales leads, reporting and sales tracking, project management of all processes ranging from the initial kickoff to the delivery of service to customers, as well as resource management for the following stages:
- The hiring of personnel;
- Project allocation;
- The release of resources;
- Internal and external transfers;
- Financial information requests.
For Amber Alert targeting the public of China, GMIS is especially relevant because of the necessity to locate and optimize resources optimally to enhance performance. This means that adequate IT systems and infrastructures should be guaranteed within Amber Alert operations because the solution requires the best quality of sources to enhance the service delivered to the public.
Identification of Human Resources for Global Business Activities
In the selection of appropriate human resources for ensuring the success of Amber Alert in China, the company should be especially careful. The best project team will ensure the reduction of costs, risks, and its overall duration. Software developers make up the most important group for the business activity of Amber Alert in China. Human Resource managers responsible for the hiring of the personnel will seek out professional software developers that have had experience working in reputable organizations.
Marketing managers will also be included in the team of Amber Alert software introduction to the Chinese market because of the need to increase the public awareness of the issue of abducted children. Financial specialists will make up the third important group in the business endeavor because of the social complexity of the solution.
Evaluation of International Finance and Business Risks
In the context of China, being aware of possible financial and business risks is imperative for introducing a new service to the market. There is a persistent issue of poor labor laws history, which allowed business managers to take advantage of under-developed regulation. On the bright side, the increased social pressure from the international community pushes China to develop improved labor laws. From the financial perspective, the economy of the country has grown 6.9% in 2017, which topped the official objectives along with its growth in 2016 (“Country Risk of China: Economy”). This growth is supported by such sectors as e-commerce and online financial services.
China’s financial risks have been building up for years and have developed to become more sudden and hazardous. By the end of 2016, the external debt of the country reached 260% of the economy’s size (up from 162% in 2008) (“How China Is Getting Serious About Financial Risk”). After the worldwide financial crisis, China has accumulated such a large debt by increasing its credit for avoiding the economic instability that affected the United States and Europe. This risk is important because banks are starting to show signs of loan stress, which means that the region will have to address its debt as soon as possible.
From a business perspective, several risks should be mentioned. As stated earlier, bribery and corruption in business are extremely high on the agenda for China. Despite the efforts to eliminate it, many overseas companies that want to do business in China face this issue. Also, the problem of intellectual property (IP) rights enforcement is another business risk that a company can encounter in China. Such issues as counterfeiting continue to exist, resulting in up to 20% or more on financial losses for products while software can suffer a 90% loss (“Risks of Doing Business in China”). Therefore, there is a high risk of other Chinese companies developing replicas of the Amber Alert software.
Product and Target Market Planning
When introducing the Amber Alert system in China, it is imperative to consider the solution’s target audience and plan for the integration of the product into the market. Families with children aged between two and eighteen years old. They are most likely to invest in a solution that will notify the population about the disappearance of their children. On a national level, the entire population of China is the target audience of the Amber Alert system due to the need for agencies and relevant organizations to collaborate in finding lost or abducted children.
This means that law enforcement agencies in Chine must be included in the list of the system’s target audience because they can redistribute the information among communities. Since the message about missing children will come predominantly from mobile devices and networks, it is forecasted that the target audience of the Amber Alert service will use smartphones on a regular basis.
Amber Alert notifications predominantly work with the help of Apple devices. This means that the product should be developed in a way to suit other operational systems and not only Apple iOS. In the third quarter of 2018, the sales of Apple products in Greater China reached 9.55 billion U.S. dollars, which is 6.38 billion more compared to the rest of Asia Pacific (Statista). Regardless of the fact that Apple phones are very common in China, it is still necessary to develop the Amber Alert solution for Android devices to account for users of other devices.
Targeting the Amber Alert notification system to the Chinese market will imply its immaculate translation into the foreign language, preferably with the inclusion of regional dialect variations. Notifications should be adjustable and modifiable to customers’ preferences.
Chinese social media policies present a unique challenge for Amber Alerts because of the government’s ban on the use of multiple websites. According to the Foreign Brief article by John Milo, the Cybersecurity Administration of China imposed severe restrictions on such platforms as all Google services, Facebook, YouTube, Yahoo, Wikipedia, Twitter, Blogspot, Instagram, Pinterest, and many others. This means that the usual methods of sharing information about missing children popular in the West will not work in the context of China. The following social media platforms can be used to make the target audience interested in the service: WeChat, Sina Weibo, Tencent QQ, Toudou Youku, Baidu Tieba.
Designing a Global Distribution Strategy
Since the Amber Alert solution is not a physical product but rather a service, it cannot be distributed with the help of traditional strategies. Because of this, its distribution channels will imply the collaboration with Apple Application Store for iOS users and Google Play Market for Android customers. Amber Alert should be available for both platforms in order to ensure that customers can use the solution regardless of the type of their devices. In order to ensure that customers receive all the benefits of the applications without compromising, the distribution strategy for the Chinese market will imply crafting a compelling presentation of the solution in the region. Therefore, software developers should create a well-designed page of the Amber Alert app both for iOS and Play Market and include all relevant information about the service to ensure its wide distribution across China.
Global Promotion Strategy
In order to promote the newly-introduced Amber Alert system in China, it is necessary to account for the common advertising methods in the country. Since the region has its peculiarities regarding the marketing of products, several aspects should be considered. First, digital ads should be the focus of the promotion strategy because of the high investment of the country’s businesses into innovation. Digital advertisement spending is increasing each year, with the revenues in 2020 expected to reach over $80 billion (“Our Chinese Advertising Guide”).
Second, China’s advertising eco-system is unique, and the Amber Alert system should consider it. Each advertisement platform in the country has its unique infrastructure and services. Before choosing the right platforms, it is recommended to estimate the return on investment (ROI) and cost for implementation as well as understand the demographics of key platforms. Those that have the most diverse demographics should be chosen.
Third, as traditional media continues declining in China, mobile advertisements have come to the forefront. It is expected that by 2021, up to “60% of all media expenditures and 84% of digital advertisements will be associated with the use of mobile devices” (“Our Chinese Advertising Guide”). This means that the advertisement content should be optimized for the population who uses mobile phones to access content ‘on the go’ (“Our Chinese Advertising Guide”). In terms of mobile advertising, Amber Alert ads should follow the following rules:
- The platform should be developed for mobile devices in China;
- Ads should be appealing to users who impulsively click on them while being on the go;
- The increased attention to content exposure and engagement (more interactions) should be a priority.
International Pricing Strategy
Amber Alert is expected to be free when used by the population because it is a public service targeted at finding lost or abducted children. It will be unethical to charge the population for the system, which is why the revenue should come from advertisers. The application will charge companies for posting the advertisements for their products or services only in case if such ads are appropriate and do not take away from the key purpose of Amber Alerts. Overall, the pricing strategy will not be associated with making customers pay; rather, the investment into the development of the Amber Alert application will be covered by internal ads for other Chinese companies.
Organizational Financial Results
The financial results of introducing Amber Alert in China will not be the main priority. This measurement is subjective and points to the way in which a firm can use its assets for generating revenue. Amber Alert will use its financial results for determining its overall financial health and evaluating the gaps in performance. In the first year, it is expected that the company’s revenue will not be enough to cover the expenses.
Because of this, the support of governmental and charitable organizations in China will be needed to sustain the development of Amber Alert. In the second year, when the company will start attracting other businesses for the purpose of non-invasive but informative advertisements, Amber Alert is expected to generate revenue. However, because of the lack of stability in the market due to the financial debt of China, it is possible that the company will cover its expenses third year of its operations or later.
Measuring International Business Success
When Amber Alert will be introduced to the public to the Chinese market, the company will measure whether the endeavor will be imperative. The first measurement will be associated with identifying the number of people registered in the Amber Alert system. Regional peculiarities should be considered to determine which areas in the country have been more active in the registration of their youth. This will prompt the targeting of the advertisement of the system to a specific region.
The second measurement will be associated with the number of cases solved with the help of Amber Alert notifications. The law enforcement serving the communities of China will be encouraged to keep track of the total cases of abducted children as well as the rates of the potential abductions being solved. It is important to differentiate between children who were lost and just could not find their homes and children who were abducted. Both rates are imperative to measure because they will be useful for analyzing the purpose of the Amber Alert system.
The third measurement should be associated with determining the public’s awareness of Amber Alert. Exposure is important to identify because it will point to the popularity of the solution and find gaps in the public’s awareness. Several tools can be used for measuring exposure. For instance, surveying random samples of people in different regions across the country can be beneficial. Also, looking at the traffic can show how whether the population has been interested in the solution. Social listings, search volume data, mentions on social media, as well as reach can all be beneficial in determining the exposure of Amber Alert in the Chinese context.
At the first stages of Amber Alert’s introduction to China, financial outcomes will not be important. This is explained by the fact that the key objective of the system is its social purpose – decreasing the rate of occurrence of child abduction cases by notifying the public about the disappearance of minors. The company responsible for the operational excellence of Amber Alert in China will be challenged by the possible financial instabilities, which is why the support of governmental organizations will be needed.
Overall, the opportunities for the child abduction notification system are vast in the context of China, and the introduction of the solution in the country will be the first step toward addressing the problem of lost and abducted children.
Works Cited
Bai, Fan. “China’s Stolen Children – Why Babies Are Booming Business.” What’s On the Weibo. 2015. Web.
Briney, Amanda. “The Geography and Modern History of China.” ThoughtCo. 2018. Web.
“Country Risk of China: Economy.” Import-Export. Web.
“How China Is Getting Serious About Financial Risk.” Bloomberg. 2018. Web.
Milo, John. “China to Introduce New Social Media Regulations.” Foreign Brief. 2017. Web.
“Our Chinese Advertising Guide.” Marketing to China. Web.
“Political and Legal Systems of China.” Your International Guide. Web.
“Risks of Doing Business in China.” Asialink Business. Web.
Statista. “Revenue of Apple by Country/Region from the First Quarter of 2012 to the Third Quarter of 2018 (in Billion U.S. Dollars).” Statista, 2018. Web.