Kao Corp: International Competition and Trading across Borders - Essay Example

Kao Corp: International Competition and Trading Across Borders Contents 0 Introduction 3 1 Background for the Project 3 2 Importance of analysing the performance of Kao Corp 3 1.3 Company Overview 3 1.4 Research Aim 4 1.5 A brief outline of the theories to be used 4 2.0 Comparative Analysis 5 2.1 Evaluation of Kao Corporation’s position based on the theories 5 2.2 Competitors of Kao Corporation 7 2.3 Evaluation of the company’s performance 8 2.4 Loss of Competitive Advantage of Kao Corporation 11 3.0 Initiatives taken by Kao Corporation across borders 12 3.1 Cultural differences management 12 3.2 Leadership Styles followed by Kao Corporation 15 4.0 Critical Analysis of the academic theories 16 4.1 Standardization and adaptation of a product 19 5.0 Conclusion 20 6.0 Recommendation 22 Reference List 24 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Background for the Project The background of the project relates to the competition among the organizations in the international market in order to increase their customer base as well as expand their production levels. The country that has the comparative advantage in producing a particular good, participates in the international trade across nations and thus exchange of goods and services takes place. The project deals with the analysis of the performance of Kao Corporation in the international markets. 1.2 Importance of analysing the performance of Kao Corp Kao Corporation operates in the market for Consumer goods as well as Chemical goods that are highly demanded in the international markets (Mizutani, et al., 2006). The consumer goods comprises of a wide range of products that are essential on a daily basis. For example, it comprises of products related to skin, hair and beauty products (Nishio, et al., 2008). Further, the chemical business comprises of products that are further required in the chemical industry. Since these goods can be considered under the essential commodities that are produced by Kao Corporation, the performance of the company in the international market becomes an interesting topic to be analysed. The analysis would help the researcher to gain additional knowledge regarding the company. 1.3 Company Overview Kao Corporation has served its customers for over 120 years with the wide range of products that the company manufactures (Cheng, et al., 2009). The product line comprises of both consumer products as well as the chemical products. The consumer products bring in cleanliness and hygiene and the chemical products are used in the chemical industries. The company aims to bring in innovation and create a global presence by raising its customer base and serving them with quality products. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan and specializes in various businesses such as manufacturing of the beauty care products, health care products, fabric and home care products as well as the chemical products (Vaz, et al., 2012). The company works with diverse stakeholders to understand the requirement of the people all over the world and manufacture products that are highly demanded in the market. It aims at offering value to its customers so that they can satisfy by offering them with the brands and the products of excellent value. 1.4 Research Aim The aim of the research is to conduct a comparative analysis of the Koa Corporation’s position in the international market and how the company participates in trade activities across borders. 1.5 A brief outline of the theories to be used The project is to be done in five chapters with the first chapter comprising of the introduction section that is a brief outline of the company as well as the purpose of choosing the research topic. The chapter also specifies the research aim. The second chapter comprises of a comparative analysis using different theories like the Bowman’s Strategy Clock, Porter’s Generic Theory and the Porter’s Five Forces Theory. The third chapter comprises of theories related to trading of company across borders using the Hofstedes five dimensions and Hall’s Culture Dimensions. The fourth chapter comprises the overall analysis of the academic theories used in the research and the fifth chapter is a summary of the entire research paper. 2.0 Comparative Analysis 2.1 Evaluation of Kao Corporation’s position based on the theories According to the Porter’s Generic Strategies Kao Corporation adopts the cost leadership as well as the differentiation among products manufactured in order to expand its global business (Nakano, 2009). The company undertakes the cost leadership strategy by producing diverse products and having multiple product lines that are essential to set up a global business. By producing variety of products it serves a large number of customers in the international market and earns a huge profit. The company has undertaken the product differentiation approach to provide opportunities to the customers to choose from wide range of products. The differentiation approach is utilised in carrying out further production process so that the cost of manufacturing the products gets reduced (Nukada, et al., 2011). The company aims at following this process from a broader perspective so as to set up its reputation in the international markets. Figure 1: Porter’s Generic Strategies followed by Kao Corporation (Source: Nukada, et al., 2011) There is another theory that can be used to describe the Kao Corporation’s market position in the international market (Osland and Bird, 2000). The is known as the Porter’s five forces theory and the five forces comprises of the competition faced by the company in the market, possibility of new entrants to enter into the market, the power of the supplies of the company, the capacity of the customers of the company and the threat faced by the company to the substitute products manufactured by the rivals (Kao, et al., 2011). Kao Corporation has a strong group of buyers as well as the suppliers in the market as it produces wide range of products. The suppliers supply the raw materials for the product to be manufactured by the company. However the international competition and the threat of the new entrants in the market have reduced the competitive advantage of the company. Thus the five forces explain the market situation that Kao Corporation has to face. The company faces huge competition from its rivals but it has good number of suppliers as well as buyers for its products. However the company also faces a threat of having substitutes for the products that are manufactured by it. The market Position of Kao Corporation based can also be explained from the perspective of the Bowman’s Strategy Clock that reflects the various strategies that the companies undertake to set up their market position in the international market (Cheng, et al., 2007). However Kao Corporation undertakes the strategy of product differentiation by having multiple product lines as well as maintaining a low cost of production so as to attract the customers to purchase goods from its brand outlets (Ota, et al., 2010). By producing large number of products the company offers choices to its customers to choose from its multiple product lines. The company is also able to maintain a low production cost so that it can sell the goods at reasonable prices and capture a larger market share among the rivals. 2.2 Competitors of Kao Corporation Procter & Gamble is considered as one of the major competitors of the Kao Corporation which is an American Company headquartered at United States. It is also a fastest growing consumer goods company that serves a large number of customers with its quality goods. Similar to Kao Corporation, Procter & Gamble also comprises of different brands of the beauty products that are manufactured by the company (Wei and Kao, 2010). The products range from beauty and grooming to household care those are of daily requirement to the company. The company manufactures its products and sells them in a way to perform their corporate social responsibility management. The company gives a strong competition to the Kao Corporation not only by producing wide range of products but by maintaining an eco-friendly environment while manufacturing of the products (Sivakumar and Nakata, 2001). P & G powers its plants with 100% renewable energy and uses recycled materials for packaging of the products (Ferris, et al., 2002). This attracts a lot of customers to purchase the products from P & G. By following the Porter’s Five Forces analysis it can be stated that P & G also had strong suppliers of raw materials as well as huge customer base. The company also faces threats of new entrants in the international market due to the production of goods that are on a high demand in the market. However Kao Corporation brings in innovation among the products that are manufactured but it fails to use renewable resources for packaging. Thus it faces a healthy competition in the international markets as the customers often prefer to purchase eco-friendly goods. Kao Corporation has been successful in meeting the consumer demands for the wide range of production with innovation in order to bring in uniqueness among the products manufactured by the company (Ho and Hallahan, 2004; Martinsons and Davison, 2007). Kao Corporation also looks after the health of the customers by producing healthy care items that are in a high demand in the international markets. However P & G also manufactures the health care products and so the Kao Corporation is likely to face a healthy competition as the customers have the option to switch from products manufactured by one company to another (Chang, et al., 2007; Kuo, et al., 2012). Hence Kao Corporation faces the threat of losing its customer base due to the similarity in the products manufactured by its rivals. The company has the competency to satisfy its customers by maintaining a high quality production system and deliver quality products to the customers of Japan and other countries. Further the continuously improvement in the sales activities undertaken by the company raises the customer base and the company expands its business (Kao, Lai and Shih, 2010). The company offers quality goods to the customers that results in creating a brand loyalty and the customers prefer to visit the outlets several times. However, the company is planning to use an environment friendly technology in packaging the products manufacture such that they can be recycled (Bucholtz, 2004). The company’s strengths involves undertaking the fundamental technology research and also product development research in order to determine new ways to develop the product that would be eco-friendly as well as useful to the customers (Yuan, et al., 2012). The research helps the company to understand the lifestyle and needs of the customers in order to manufacture the products that provide satisfaction to the customers. 2.3 Evaluation of the company’s performance The company has created a reputation in the international market by provided quality products as well as offering many choices to the customers (McKern, 2003). Kao Corporation has captured the highest share in the international market that aims at bringing in the change in the lifestyles of the people. The company also gives a huge competition to the rival as it manufactures the most essential commodities that are necessary for daily use by the customers (Pearson, Chatterjee and Okachi, 2003). Figure 2: Kao Group Annual Sales and Profit (Kao Corporation Annual Report, 2013) By producing a wide range of the products the company reduces its cost of production due to rise in sales of the company. Kao’s research team conducts an overall analysis on the consumers and plans out strategies to manufacture products according to their needs in the international markets (Straub, et al., 2002). By following the customers’ feedback the company can produce as per the desires and needs of the customers and thus the company is likely to gain the trust of the customers (Kao, Kuo and Chang, 2013). The managers within the company train the employees to get accustomed to the new technologies introduced by the research team associated with the company. The technology also enables the company to manufacture products that are environment friendly as well as hygienic to the customers In 2013 the Kao group prepared its mid-term plan for 2015 that comprised of the plan for Kao Group’s future growth prospect (Carlisle and Faulkner, 2005). The group prepared a sustainable growth model in order to generate high profits by competing with the rivals. Figure 3: Growth Model of Kao Corporation (Source: Carlisle and Faulkner, 2005) The sustainable growth model of Kao Corporation comprises of the chain of events that are associated with the growth of the company (Giroux, 2000). The model states that in order to have a profitable growth the company needs to make investment for increasing the production levels that in turn raises the market share and the sales of the company (Wright, Paroutis and Blettner, 2013). The rise in the sales figures increases the profit of the company. Kao Group’s efforts to set up the chemical business in the economy have resulted in setting up of the new plants in Indonesia as well as China and the company has enhanced the marketing of new and improved high valued products in the international markets (Ayres, et al., 2008). This indicates that the company has been performing well and has captured a large market share. 2.4 Loss of Competitive Advantage of Kao Corporation Kao Corporation has set up its international business by producing a wide range of products for its customers but the company is facing challenges as the customers have the tendency to change their taste and preference patterns (Safon, 2007). As the rivals emerge in the market the company is likely to face a huge competition as the company manufactures products that are of high demand in the international market. As the customer base of Kao Corporation is expanding to a great extent the demands of the customers are also rising. The company faces difficulty in meeting the rising demands of the customers and as a result is losing the customer base in the economy (Allen and Helms, 2006). The customers plan to switch to the products manufactured by the rivals and this creates a possibility of loss of competitive advantage by the company. The internal changes that are undertaken by the managers within the company are not always favourable to the employees and they find difficulty in getting accustomed with the new technology adopted by the company (Akan, et al., 2006). This brings in a controversy among the employees and the managers within the organization and there is a slowdown in the productivity of the employees (Akan, et al., 2006). The company fails to serve its customers and faces a huge loss in the market. There occurs a possibility in the economy that the company might face a bankruptcy and loss of market shares (Kim, Nam and Stimpert, 2004). Further producing goods at a large scale to serve a large customer base leads to a deterioration in the quality of the products. For example Kao Corporation is known to produce cosmetics and beauty products that satisfy varying customer demands but the recent research has suggested that the quality of the beauty products has been deteriorating in the market and customers are complaining about skin allergies and rashes (Hlavacka, et al., 2001). However there are competitors in the market who are producing similar products at low prices and the customers are found to switch to the products manufactured by other newly emerging businesses. 3.0 Initiatives taken by Kao Corporation across borders 3.1 Cultural differences management While manufacturing goods for the customers across borders the company need to take care of the cultural aspect. The company produces wide range of goods for its customers in the international market and the demand of the customers varies (Allen, et al., 2007). The company produces products suitable for both men and women so as to satisfy both the genders. This aspect can be compared with one of the dimensions among the Hofsteds’s five dimension model. One of the Hofstede’s dimensions mentions about the Masculinity versus Femininity The preferences varies for both men and women as a result the company needs to manufacture variety of products based on their preference patters. Figure 4: Hofstedes Five Dimension Theory (Source: Allen, et al., 2007) The research team of Kao Corporation has carried out an overall study on the preference pattern of both men and women in the international market and their research says that the values followed by women differ less among the society as compared to men’s value (Gopalakrishna and Subramanian, 2001). The hair and skin care products varies according to the traits of both men and women. Thus the managers of the company are highly aware of the customer needs and plan out their production process accordingly. Kao Corporation’s strategies can be considered among one of the dimensions of the Trompenaars seven dimensions model. The dimension that matches with the company’s policies is Individualism versus Communitarianism which suggests that the managers of the company rather than following their individual policies are highly interested in carrying their production process in teams (Pretorius, 2008). The Kao Group forms a research team that carries out a market survey on the customer requirements and based on the information collected, the company plans out new strategies and invents new technologies to satisfy its customers. Figure 5: Hall Theory of Culture (Source: Pretorius, 2008) Despite the company facing a huge competition in the international market from the rivals producing similar products it is successful in setting up a huge business due to the healthy team performance. Hall’s Culture theory states two types of culture that is the high and low context culture. The high context culture is all about particularism whereas the low context culture is about universalism (Araeen, 2000). However Kao Corporation follows high context culture that focuses on the non-verbal communication with the customers to collect feedback from them and work according to the suggestions of the customers (House, et al., 2002). The company aims at providing quality products to the customers and maintaining a good relationship with them. The managers of the company focuses on the process followed for the production of goods and create a brand loyalty among the customers. 3.2 Leadership Styles followed by Kao Corporation Leadership style followed by the Kao Corporation within the organization has made the employees more efficient in setting up the business. The managers within the company participate in the decision making process by planning and organizing the production mechanism to be followed (Gerhard Huber, 2004). However the leadership is a quality that the managers of Kao Corporation posses in order to handle the projects successfully. The study says that the company has a research team that carries out an overall analysis on the customer satisfaction from the products manufactured by the company (Leidner and Kayworth, 2006). The team leaders within the company are assigned various roles to handle the team members and make them accustomed to the new technology that the company adopts in order to bring in an organizational change (Holmberg and Akerblom, 2006). This organizational change is necessary for Kao Corporation so as to meet the changing customer demands in the international markets and to compete with the rivals and have a competitive advantage. In order to make the employees work hard so as to achieve the goals of the organization, training programs are arranged by the team leaders of the organization and frequent workshop are also arranged for the employees to develop their skills (MacNeil, 2006). The company has set up its business in various nations and in order to follow a particular language the employees are needed to study English as it is the most common language known by the people of various cultural backgrounds. Hence the company has also arranged the e-learning programs for its employees to develop their English speaking skills. There are different theories of leadership such as the transformational leadership as well as the transactional leadership (Wang and Chang, 2008). There are other theories such as the trait theory, behavioral theory, great man theory etc. However the managers of Kao Corporation follow the transactional leadership as they motivate the employees by offering rewards and incentives for them extraordinary performance (Schyns and Schilling, 2011). This motivates the employees to perform well in the organization and they feel dedicated towards their work. The transactional leadership also ensures that the employees are working as per the instructions given by the team leaders within the organization because it is only the team leaders who have the knowledge regarding the requirement of the customers and they are supposed to guide the teams accordingly. 4.0 Critical Analysis of the academic theories Kao Corporation has the aim to satisfy its customers with the wide range of products that it manufactures and sells in the international markets (Sheehan, 2005). The wide range of products that it covers allows the company to have a competitive advantage in manufacturing particular products and selling them in the international markets at low prices (Schyns, et al., 2011). However according to the Porter’s Generic competitive strategies the company undertakes cost leadership in the international market as well as differentiates its products for its huge customer base. The differentiation among the products manufactured by Kao Group has offered a wide range of choices for the customers to choose from the products. Figure 6: Bowmans Strategy Clock (Source: Ling, Chia and Fang, 2000) The strategy of following multiple product lines is essential for the company to grow in the market and establish a reputation (Ling, Chia and Fang, 2000). According to the Bowman’s strategy clock a similar explanation has been provided regarding the strategies taken by the company. The clock states eight strategies that various companies undertake in order to have a competitive advantage over the rivals producing the same products as Kao Group (Grundy, 2006). One of the most important strategies that the company undertakes is that of the product differentiation in the market which plays a key role in attracting customers from various cultural backgrounds. In order to have a detailed understanding regarding the customer demands in the international markets the company has prepared a separate research team where the team leaders follow a transactional leadership strategy and the team members are expected to work according to the direction of the team leaders (Narayanan and Fahey, 2005). The research team carries out a survey on the customer preferences by following a non-verbal communication strategy which involves the distribution of the questionnaires among the customers and convincing them to responds to these questionnaires. The company follows a communitarianism strategy which implies that the mangers prefer to work in teams and take the important decision regarding the new strategies that are to be adopted and followed (Karagiannopoulos, Georgopoulos and Nikolopoulos, 2005). The leadership style followed by the managers of the company indicates that the managers mainly follow the transactional leadership strategy that involves motivating the candidates with rewards so that the employees are highly dedicated to their work. The leadership strategy helps the research team of Kao Corporation to conduct a detailed analysis on the customers’ preference patterns (Pines, 2006). The team leaders of the research team are meant to guide the team members regarding the process followed for the research to be conducted. The leaders train the employees so that they can conduct the research process successfully because the information collected in the research process would be helpful for the management of Kao Corporation to take decisions (Birkinshaw, Hood and Young, 2005). The leadership styles comprise of various other theories based on the behavior of the individuals and the personality of the individuals in the organization that indicates whether the person is capable to be an efficient leader or not. The leadership styles are based on the different styles of leadership such as the trait theory and behavior theory (Brandenburger, 2002). The theories states that the individual’s ability to be leaders depends on the personal characteristics of the individuals. 4.1 Standardization and adaptation of a product The company sells its products in the international market which are completely based on the needs of the target customers (Hall, 2001). However the target customers are from various cultural backgrounds with their own tastes and preference patterns. Hence the company finds it difficult to meet the growing demands of the customers. According to the culture theory of Hosfede it is considered as an ethical aspect of the individuals and groups which distinguishes the members of one cultural background from other (Epitropaki and Martin, 2004). There are various cultural dimensions and the conflicts also arise among various cultures related to their taste and preference patterns. However according to the researcher the process of adaptation is a new marketing strategy where the traditional goods are modified by the company as per the new trend demanded by the customers. The research says that it is the tendency of most of the firms to adapt their marketing strategies according to the demands of the customers in order to give a healthy competition in the international market. Kao Corporation has also followed the adaptation strategies in the international markets according to the target customers belonging to different cultural backgrounds (Yamazaki, 2005). The company has set up its business in many countries such as China, Indonesia and Japan and its business has been highly affected by the political, economic, cultural and the social issues (Epitropaki and Martin, 2005). The company operating in these nations takes care of the tastes and preference patterns of different cultural backgrounds as the customers would prefer to choose from a wide variety of products in the market. Hence the company takes up its business decisions according to the socio-economic situation of the country in which the company has set up its business. Research says that another main motive of the company to follow the adaptation strategies is that the company wishes to be a leader in the international market and gain competitive advantage of producing the goods according to the needs of the customers (Keller, 2000). The company wishes to enjoy the monopoly power so that the customers would purchase the goods from Kao Corporation and not from its rivals. However in case of a globalised economy the company would be highly beneficial if it plans for the adaptability process. There is another process that the company follows and the process is known as standardization of the products. The process of standardization involves fixing identical characteristics for the particular products manufactured by the company. As Kao Corporation has adopted multiple product lines it sets similar characteristics for the particular products manufactured by the company (Keller, 2003). There are different types of product line comprising of beauty and health care products both for men and women. Maintaining similar characteristics for the particular type of products in the economy enables the company to reduce controversies among the customers related to the product choices. According to the Hofstede’s culture theory the product standardization is possible across cultures which would result in a single market due to globalization (Martin and Epitropaki, 2001). Standardization process can also be followed in case of the advertising and promotion of the products newly launched by Kao Corporation and the degree of standardization is fixed by the managers of the company. 5.0 Conclusion The paper is about the research that has been carried out on the Kao Corporation which is a company that manufactures cosmetics as well as chemical goods for its customers. However the company has its headquarters in Japan but the company has set up its business in Indonesia, China and many other countries. The company manufactures beauty and hair care products for both men and women and it focuses on the cultural aspects of the society which values both masculinity as well as the femininity. There are different taste and preference patterns of the both men and female population and they demand the products as per their requirement. Kao Corporation has set up a research team in order to conduct a study on the customers’ needs and demands. The managers plan out the strategies according to the customer responses. However the company believes in non-verbal communication that is the research team gathers the customer feedback with the help of questionnaires that provides valuable information regarding the customer tastes and preferences. The function of the research team is guided by the team leaders who follow various strategies to motivate the team members. One of the leadership styles followed is that of the transactional leadership strategy which involves motivating the team members by rewarding them for their performance. The paper also discusses the capabilities and competencies of Kao Corporation in offering its customers with wide range of products. The study explains the company policies with the help of various theories such as the Bowman’s strategy Clock and Porter’s Generic Strategies that indicates Kao Corporation adopts product differentiation strategy in order to satisfy customers from various cultural backgrounds. Kao Corporation also adopts standardization and adaptation of the products that it manufactures. The process involves adaptation of the products to the newly emerging trends in the international markets. The company maintains the identical product characteristics to the particular products among various product lines that the company follows. However the study also suggests that the company has been facing huge competition with the rivals that has reduced the competitive advantage of the company in the international market and the company has been losing large market shares. As the country operates in different nations it takes care of the cultural aspects the aspects have been defined on the basis of Hosfede’s culture theory. According to the theory the company prefers to work in teams so as to handle different projects and also satisfy the customers with the wide range of products manufactured by the company. Further the company is undertaking new policies to use natural resources for packaging the goods. The research has suggested that the company is facing huge competition with the Procter & Gamble an American company that manufactures similar products as Kao Corporation and is emerging as a strong competitor for Kao Group. 6.0 Recommendation Despite expanding the business in the international market, the company has been losing its market shares due to the huge completion from the rivals. However, the managers of Kao Corporation has undertaken various strategies like product differentiation and cost leadership in order to compete with the rivals. Nonetheless, the company also faces huge competition in the international market and it is highly recommended for the company to adopt strategies and train the employees to adapt themselves to the technological change within the organization. The company is expected to have efficient team leaders in order to carry out a detailed research on the loyal customers to understand their needs and desires. Kao Corporation manufactures the products that are manufactured by many other companies in the international market and in case the company fails to serve the customers with quality goods it is highly likely that the customers would switch to products manufactured by its rivals. Hence the employees of the company who work in the sales department should also be trained to follow a customer relationship management strategy to make the customers visit their brand outlets several times. 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