Introduction
Managing and ensuring quality represents one of the core objectives of an organization. The issue of quality assurance is particularly important for a company operating in the food industry, where product quality defines customers’ well-being. By introducing the principles of cross-cultural communication and aligning with the principal communication and business etiquette of the Indian and Bangladeshi settings, Subway will be able to expand its quality assurance department into the target context.
Business Department and Countries
The department in question operates under a rigid set of standards and criteria. Specifically, Subway’s approach to sourcing its seafood relies heavily on the use of independent providers, namely, local fisheries. The specified approach has allowed the organization to ensure that the products offered to its customers are fresh and healthy. The department in question will be expanded into India and Bangladesh. The rationale behind the specified decision concerns the necessity to ensure that the crucial quality standards are met when offering products in a new setting and adjusting to the specific s of the Indian and Bangladeshi cuisine (Lee & Gyamfi, 2021). Furthermore, expanding into India and Bangladesh will allow Subway to start exploring options for building presence in the South Asian community.
Expansion and the 4 Functions of Management
The four functions of management represent a framework used to identify the goals that managers need to pursue in a specific scenario, as well as set criteria for their achievement. The four functions of management introduce one to the essential structural and procedural aspects of management, therefore, ensuring that the expected outcomes are outlined and that premises for achieving them are created (Lee & Gyamfi, 2021). Therefore, utilizing the four functions model is essential for structuring a management-related plan.
Planning
The planning stage suggests that core factors affecting the performance of an organization are identified, and that main objectives are detailed. In the context of the target situation, the planning stage implies collecting data concerning the challenges of expanding into India and Bangladesh for the quality assurance department (Lee & Gyamfi, 2021). Specifically, economic, financial, technological, cultural, and political constraints must be identified and addressed.
Organizing
In turn, the organization of the tasks management process includes assigning each staff member to specific roles and ensuring that main processes occur seamlessly.
Leading
Leading requires that staff members and teams are directed to the key tasks necessary for completing core goals of the expansion project. Namely, Subway managers will need to delineate the roles and responsibilities of each team member and guide them to ensure the goal completion.
Controlling
The controlling stage is defined by the use of tools for supervising the project completion process (Lee & Gyamfi, 2021). For Subway, the specified stage implies integrating a robust reporting framework.
Cultural Differences/Similarities
India
The Indian cultural setting is quite different from the American one due to the presence of different religious beliefs and cultural practices. Specifically, the presence of the caste system must be taken into account. The specified characteristic of the Indian culture will define the employees’ willingness to align with the guidelines communicated by the HR manager.
Bangladesh
In turn, the Bangladeshi environment will have to be recognized for its rigid workplace etiquette. Thus, to avoid conflicts in the workplace and focus on performance quality, one must ensure that managers are familiarized with the essential principles of the Bangladeshi business etiquette (Chowdhury & Mehjabeen, 2021).
Communication Practices
India
In India, the negotiation process must remain flexible and aligned with the crucial standards for polite communication. Moreover, the principles of caste-based traditions must be followed. Thus, core ideas regarding quality management will be promoted in the target setting.
Bangladesh
In turn, when implementing quality assurance strategies in Bangladesh, one must ensure that the roles and responsibilities are assigned in the course of business meetings. Though typically used for producing ideas in Western culture, the business meeting context involves roles distribution in Bangladesh, which is why alignment with quality standards must start at the specified point.
Conclusion
By aligning with the principles of business etiquette and core traditions of communication within the Indiana and Bangladeshi cultures, Subway will expand its quality assurance department into the target setting successfully. As a result, high-quality products will be delivered to the target population. Furthermore, opportunities for appealing to Indian and Bangladeshi customers will be revealed.
References
Lee, Y., & Gyamfi, N.Y. (2021). The Sage handbook of contemporary cross-cultural management. Journal of International Business Studies, 53, 568 – 571.
Chowdhury, F., & Mehjabeen, M. (2021). The impact of culture on impulse buying behavior in Bangladesh. GATR Journal of Management and Marketing Review, 6(1), 73-85.