The Inter-Personal Relationships Coursework

Abstract

Whether personal or business, all relationships require mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation to succeed. As we are considering expansion to Mexico, China, and Singapore, we will look at the social, cultural, and technological issues that may affect the working of the Monster Health Care Co. in these countries. The inter-personal relationships govern the Business relationships and ascertain the venture’s success. As a Vice President plays a vital role as an Ambassador of the country they belong to, they are also the Ambassadors of the company and its culture, and they are the ones who, by their dealings, make a mark on their company in the map.

Introduction

The Vice President of International Sales is responsible for sales and sales strategy in the target countries. Here is a preliminary report to the chief executive officer. It has been identified which three countries, i.e., Mexico, Singapore, and China, are suitable for launching MH’s mobility product. The reasons for such expectations are stated. We will argue the business prospects, threats, and policies for these countries founded on their civilization, including religion, principled business performance, communal accountability, language, political, fiscal, permissible, and technology issues, etc., that the sales Vice President might face for these three countries.

This report also mentioned the differences between selling the mobility product in the United States and selling in these three countries. There are differences between foreign and domestic environments that affect the conduct of business (Poole, 2006). Conducting International Business is an opportunity to break down stereotypes. A stereotype is defined as a consistent structure or prototype, particularly a permanent or conformist concept or idea of a person, group, idea, etc., detained by several people and allows for no individualism or grave verdict (Wilson & Jantrania, 1995).

According to Griffith 2002, learning about stereotypes is essential for good business as they represent a society’s collective knowledge of customs, myths, religion, ideas, and sciences. Working in global environments provides a unique opportunity to destroy the existing stereotypes as it breaks down preconceived notions and promotes understanding and respect for other cultures. It helps strategic marketing of the company’s products, self, and the organization your native country and its customs, making the sales Vice President a Cultural Ambassador.

The sales Vice President plays a critical role in business expansions as they are ambassadors, explorers, and flag bearers of an organization to the world. People are the subject and the target (Storbacka, Strandvik, & Gronroos, 1994). As an Ambassador of your country and culture, your actions and reactions are being watched and evaluated by others. There is a process of mutual confirmation, denial, and the creation of stereotypes happening. Your interpersonal skills, negotiation skills, manners, sense of dressing, choice of hotels, eating habits, table manners, ability to make small talk, and social skills will be examined and commented upon after you have left. So be alert and conscious.

As an ambassador of Monster Health, prepare and bring all material required for the interactions and negotiations. And the aura of professionalism, willingness to learn, share, humility, and honesty are very important. Have a vision of a long-term relationship in mind, and this will guide your instincts to build the same.

Ambassador for self all business is about relationships, your attitude, and behavior, so these are very important to create liaisons and be trusted (Stoltenberg, 2003). Make promises you can keep and follow through with them. The project concerns empathy and honesty for your customers. The focus should be on creating an atmosphere of trust, openness, communication, and mutual respect.

China, Singapore, and Mexico are the target countries, and it is predicted that these countries will bring a lot of revenue for Monster Health Company in the future. This sales prediction is made after conducting research on China, Singapore, and Mexican markets. China is the best target for boosting sales, and there is a lot of business opportunity in the health care sector. China has always welcomed international businesses; however, there are a lot of business risks involved.

There are a lot of competitors in China, and this is supposed to be a major risk. It is very important to have knowledge about vendors’ likes and dislikes to minimize risk and gain a position in the market. China’s market is very vast and huge, and most of the market shareholders are its local or national companies, so it is not easy to penetrate into the market to gain customers’ trust. Singapore is also known for its business.

There is a large room for the healthcare sector to grow and flourish, as there are very few companies in Singapore that deal in healthcare products. So this is the opportunity for Monster Health company, and it can avail of this lashing opportunity in order to be successful in international markets. The risk involved in conducting business in Singapore is that its market is not that stable. So there is a market risk involved.

Mexico is another target company, and there are several business opportunities and risks involved. The major opportunity is the availability of the workforce. The labor cost can be reduced as its labor is suffering from unemployment, so availing of this opportunity would be a good idea to do business in Mexico. There is also a demand for health care products as local companies are not showing interest in this sector. The Major Risk which is involved in Mexico is its extreme temperature, so the company’s management would not prefer to work in Mexico. The Mexican market is also not that stable.

As an Explorer, add to the already existing archives about the subject culture, verify the information and make new contacts, discover new ideas and opportunities. Be inquisitive, courageous, and adventurous in collecting, filtering, and consolidating cultural, political, and personal information about the country. This will grant your negotiations a deeper insight, laying a foundation for your strategies, operations, and negotiations.

Every international business traveler, the Sales Vice President, and his team should be able to answer these questions about their destination before boarding the plane.

1. What is the size of the country they are visiting, its population, and its area?
2. What is the currency of the country and its exchange rate?
3. The major religions of the country you are going to visit?
4. What is the socio-economic and ethnic makeup of the country?
5. If it is an epicenter of a pandemic?
6. Which are the top 3 or 5 cities of this country, and why?
7. Who is the presiding President of the Country?
8. Which are the main political ruling and opposition parties?
9. Which are the official languages spoken (if you can speak one of them – excellent)?
10. To safeguard your health and optimize your working conditions, be informed of the climate and weather throughout the year?
11. What are the important geographic features (mountains, rivers, lakes)?
12. What are the neighboring countries of the place you are visiting and their relationship with each other?
13. Which are the largest national and export industries in the countries?
14. Who are your competitors here, and how long have they been established in the country?
15. What are the significant issues affecting the mobility healthcare industry in this country?
16. What are five significant national issues in the news of this particular country?
17. When are the national holidays or events? As on these days, the businesses will be closed so plan your trips accordingly.

Being prepared is the key – know the answers via the Internet or international Business magazines.

There are business commandments to doing International Business that stands true for any country you want to do business with.

1. It is easy to sell in your native city, state, country, or culture, but the challenge is to understand the market of the foreign country and make your mark there.
2. When stepping into an international arena, never go for it alone, and it’s better to hire a guide. Hire a consultant, distributor, agent, or sales team to help you with the expansion.
3. You will always project and think that the customers always get a better deal when they are linked to the global market just because they get a better service and range of products to choose from.
4. No matter how well you think you know the culture and country and how many ever times you have visited, there is always some important issue you have missed.
5. BE HUMBLE. Yes, you are great and so is your country but you wanted to make a sale! Yes, your product is top of the line, but your high-handedness will be misunderstood as a lack of quality, lack of customer service, and lack of respect, hence suffering business relations.
6. Listen. Listen to the customer and then sell. Listening to the requirements of the potential customers will help you compare the list of your product specifications and streamline your pitch and discussions for sales.
7. Build a personal network and relationships with people you meet – you never know which contact is useful to you. Learn about the country, the people, the culture, and the politics. This provides material for small talk besides insights into the running of the system.

Website

So the help you get a better hold on your international business skills, visit sites like. Web.

This site will help you to identify the possible conflicts and insights into the reason for the conflicts, which forewarn and prepare the visitors to deal with them. With the culture, you are about to visit.

The first country to be explored will be China – the report for the same is attached herewith.

The areas in which the two cultures may differ here are a few tips – just click on the links for the relevant issues highlighted below.

PDI (Power Distance Index) shows the degree of socio-economic equality in the given population. When the PDI score is high, it means a high disparity relative to wealth and power, whereas there is socio-economic equality where the PDI is low. For more information, please click here, Power Distance.

IDV (Individualism) – These scores show the stress placed on culture and how much it is enforced in comparison to individuality. The USA propounds on individuality, but China stresses group, family, tribe, etc. For more tips on dealing with this issue, please click at Individualism.

MAS (Masculinity) – Some cultures reinforce the male-female roles. A high score of MAS means an emphasis on male occupations and female occupations and separation in their tasks and fields of work. For more tips on this issue, please visit Masculinity.

VAI (Uncertainty Avoidance) -There are some cultures that are very diverse from one another – which raises the level of uncertainty one feels regarding many issues. The country showing a high VAI score is stringent in following laws and regulations. Ambiguity and uncertainty are not tolerated, but the countries with a low VAI are lenient. They are less rules-oriented and welcome new ideas and take greater risks. For more detail, please visit Uncertainty Avoidance.

References

Griffith, D.A. (2002), “The role of communication competencies in international business relationship development”, Journal of World Business, Vol. 37 No.4, pp. 256-65.

Poole, W. (2006), “Chinese growth: a source of US export opportunities”, Review – Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis, Vol. 88 No.6, pp. 471-83.

Stoltenberg, C.D. (2003), “Doing business in China: culture and practice”, Thunderbird International Business Review, Vol. 45 No.2, pp. 245-51.

Storbacka, K., Strandvik, T., Gronroos, C. (1994), “Managing customer relationships for profit: the dynamics of relationship quality”, International Journal of Services, Vol. 5 No.5, pp. 21-38.

Wilson, D.T., Jantrania, S. (1995), “Understanding the value of a relationship”, Asia- Australia Marketing Journal, Vol. 2 No.1, pp. 55-66.