Introduction
Large international corporations require an appropriate organizational structure to perform their overall business functions. A well-designed organizational structure includes a series of central functional departments such as finance, marketing, R&D, production, etc. The system of an organization is determined by the size of the domestic market and the area of the international market in which the firm operates. (6 organizational structure of MNC, n.d.). The following are the organizational structures of three different multinational companies.
The organizational structure of Sony
Sony Ericsson established a new management body to reorganize its entire functions in an appropriate organizational structure. It showed a network company to delegate its powers from the corporate levels and introduced a newly autonomous business unit. To ensure its survival in the corporate structure, it extended the R&D laboratories from the corporate office headquarters to other subunits. The network company developed the following management structures.
- The network management committee: network management committee was developed to practice the value chain management by the President of the network committee. Under this structure, each management committee will be responsible for setting the management policies.
- Board of Network Company: to increase the individual corporate value of operation management, each network company will establish a board of authorities. This management body includes the home network company board, personal IT network company board, core technology, and network company board. (Sony announces organizational structure for new network companies, 1999).
The organizational structure of Vodafone
The new organizational structure of Vodafone is designed to give more preference to Vodafone customers. It takes decisions based on the group-level actions of senior-level executives.
Mainboard appointments
“Sir Julian Horn-Smith will be appointed Deputy Chief Executive from 1 January 2005. In addition, Vodafone separately announces that Andy Halford has been appointed Financial Director Designate. Andy will succeed Ken Hydon when he retires on 26 July 2005.” (Board changes and new organizational structure at Vodafone, 2004, Mainboard appointments, para.1).
Here, the marketing functions are under the control of the chief marketing officers, and other lower-level managers are responsible for the organization’s day-to-day functioning.
The organizational structure of Motorola
Motorola is one of the leading mobile phone manufacturing companies globally. It follows the functional organizational structure to implement its operational strategies. Under this structure, Chief Executive Officer is the central controller of the entire operations. In addition, various departmental officers function under the control of the CEO. The departments are marketing, finance, production, HR, and other central functional departments. They are responsible for the whole operational aspects of the organization.
Market Entry Strategies of Global companies
Sony
Sony has accepted the strategy of exporting to expand its television market internationally.
Exporting
Exporting is the process of transportation of goods and services within the nation. International shipping is the transportation of goods and services globally. Exporting has numerous benefits. First of all, the firm going globally can retain the facility of manufacturing locally and can ship the products overseas. In this way, the firm can reduce costs if those products were produced in the country it intends to export. Secondly, the company gains from its volume of sales developed globally. Thirdly, exporting requires little presence abroad. However, exporting has several drawbacks too. Shipping will not be effective if the transportation costs are high. In addition, there will be certain restrictions imposed by the exporting country’s government, which makes transportation a riskier business. (Benjamin Levi, 2007, P.43).
BMW
Market entry strategy of BMW cars in the United States
BMW is a company which is indulged in manufacturing cars. It has a very high presence in America. BMW introduced a new vehicle, MINI, in America associated with an advertising agency. The selection of an advertising agency is a vital decision as it is accountable for the successful product launch in the United States. The car was launched with the main idea of providing more space to the users of this car. The company resorted to publicity using the medium of advertisements in magazines and mobiles. As a result, the car MINI proved successful in the American market. For the promotion of MINI, BMW decided to take the service of another advertising agency.
The company needs to select more advertising agencies and provide presentations by which the company can choose the most appropriate one. When selecting the advertising agency, a cost-benefit analysis should be done. (Mini- USA case study, n.d.).
Procter and Gamble
Market Entry Strategy of Procter and Gamble in Japan
The general manager of Procter and Gamble and his team of senior managers developed a three-year plan to improve their sales and create new brands that will reap profits in the long run. Products were designed as per the needs of the consumers, which will enhance the company’s image. To execute this objective, extensive marketing research was conducted. Materials required for production were obtained locally, which will result in reduced time for product delivery. In addition, rationalization of manufacturing was done to enhance productivity. The plan helped the company produce superior products that would satisfy the Japanese consumers (Yoshino & Stoneham, 1991).
From the above given organizational structures and market entry strategies of various international companies, we can get an idea regarding the global operations of organizations.
References
Benjamin Levi, K J. (2007). Market entry strategies of foreign telecom companies in India. DUV. 43. Web.
Board changes and new organizational structure at Vodafone: Main board appointments. (2004). Goliath: Business Knowledge on Demand. Web.
Mini- USA case study. (n.d.). Web.
Sony announces organizational structure for new network companies. (1999). Sony. Web.
Yoshino, M Y., & Stoneham, P H. (1991). Procter & Gamble Japan. Harvard Business School Publishing. Web.
6 organizational structure of MNC. (n.d.). Endurance Trading. Web.