Nordic Industrial Park: bridging distance across international markets

When a resource-constrained firm enters a high-distance market, it helps greatly if it can utilise a low- distance entry point.

The lure of the Chinese market has led several Western companies to venture into a context that is unfamiliar and bewildering, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) lacking the deep pockets of large multinationals. It is useful for SMEs to have a ‘bridge’ into a high-distance market. One way to accomplish this is to use a foreign-owned industrial park (i.e. a space designated for industrial use).

Consider the case of the Nordic Industrial Park (NIP) that provides a physical space for offices and light-manufacturing facilities, and a range of value-added services to set up a business in China. These include legal services (e.g. registering the company and drafting contracts), human resource management (e.g. recruitment, payroll and expat relocation), accounting (e.g. financial reporting), and information and communication technology (e.g. internet access). NIP was co-founded by Ove Nodland, a Norwegian who first came to China in 1994 to manage different ventures. Nodland learnt that even though rules were set in Beijing (the national capital and political centre of China), they were implemented by local officials – and so they mattered greatly. Over the years he invested considerable energies in building close relationships with various officials, and took care to ensure that the ventures he worked for complied with local regulations and aligned themselves with local governmental priorities. Nodland’s local guanxi (network connections) grew rapidly.

After a decade’s experience in China, Nodland realised he was well placed to help European SMEs enter China more broadly. He chose to focus on what he knew best: firms from the Nordic region (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) setting up a base in Ningbo, a port city in Zhejiang province just south of Shanghai (the commercial centre of China) and renowned for its entrepreneurialism. Thus was born the concept of NIP in 2002, which was sold to Silver Rise Hong Kong Pte Ltd, part of China’s Yinmao Group, in 2013, with Nodland staying on as consultant. In 2015, NIP was selected by the Zhejiang provincial government as one of the first designated ‘international industrial cooperative parks’ which further strengthened its local standing. Going forward, NIP has signalled its intent to attract projects from Nordic universities and achieve an output value in excess of RMB 2bn (€280m, £224m, $364m) by 2017.

From the perspective of a European SME entering NIP, there are multiple benefits:

• Process: L ower start-up costs. NIP leverages its knowledge of the Chinese business environment by hand-holding clients through the complexities associated with starting and running a business in China, thereby allowing firms to focus their time and energies on core business activities.

• Physical environment: A familiar ambience. NIP’s architecture and design mimics Scandinavian features that set it apart from standard Chinese buildings. Not only does this give expat managers a sense of the familiar, it is also a symbolic reminder to Chinese employees that they are part of a Western organisation.

• People: A like-minded community. By virtue of being part of the largest concentration of Nordic companies in China, expat managers have the opportunity to share experiences with and pick up ‘tricks of the trade’ from other managers with a similar cultural background through hallway conversations and lunchtime meetings. Of course, entering a facility like NIP comes at a cost, but offers benefits in terms of ‘reducing distance’.

Questions

1 Consider NIP’s services in light of the CAGE framework and analyse how they may help reduce distance.

2 What might be the drawbacks in being located in an industrial park?

Abelina has been struggling to gain approval from her new boss, Ms Aldo, who has very high standards about even the most tiny aspects. It's a welcome change when she calls her into hes office to praise her for her work that week. Unfortunately, Abelina soon understands that Ms Aldo appreciation is mainly for the new streamlined format for reports that her assistant Joanie designed. What do you think Abelina should do in this situation?

Departing from the analysis of the case study above, please discuss:

• What does integrity mean to you?
• Do you think that work integrity is different or has different characteristics from integrity in general?
• What do you think should

Mandatory approach to the exercise: Critical thinking is expected from the answers. Critical thinking refers to the ability to analyse information objectively and make a reasoned judgment. Critical thinking involves the evaluation of sources such as data, facts, observable phenomenon, and research findings. Good critical thinkers can draw reasonable conclusions from a set of information and discriminate between useful and less useful details to solve a problem or make a decision.

Q.1 Discuss the concept of environmental sustainability and explain its dimensions. From your perspective, discuss possible effects of operating with environmental sustainability on competitiveness. Explain those factors that might intervene to affect the role of environmental sustainability on marketing performance. (maximum 400 words)

1. What is your firm's Inventory Turnover if you have $200,000 cost of goods sold, raw material inventory of $10,000, finished goods inventory of $15,000 and annual sales of $400,000?

a 8

b 16

c 13.3

d 20

2.

Which of the following statements describes "level" operating strategy?

Group of answer choices

A planning strategy sets production equal to forecast demand

Maintaining constant production regardless of demand

Used two or more startegies to match production to demand

None of the above

Many organizations are faced with changes in the environment in which they operate. Customers are more geographically dispersed and this has had an impact on the strategy followed by organizations. Your organization has decided to look at its organization strategies and has requested your input in developing and implementing a supply chain and logistics strategy. Prepare a report detailing the levels of strategy in an organization and the process of developing and implementing a supply chain and logistics strategy. Use a diagram to illustrate your answer.

1. Plaintiff died of gas asphyxiation when he entered a sewer tunnel without a mask to answer the calls for help of their crew leader who was apparently overcome by gas because of a defect in his oxygen mask, which was manufactured by Seller. The plaintiffs’ estate brought this action against Seller for breach of warranty, and the Seller raised the defense of the plaintiff’s voluntary assumption of the risk. Explain who will prevail.   (In your answer use the terms: warrantly of merchantability, assumption of risk, reasonableness)

Retail Co has a unique set of HR practices. Describe and evaluate how you think the HR practices before the takeover have been influenced by:-

1 national culture organizational culture

2 other organizational

How does your initiative support student learning in the classroom?

Cost/Factors for implementation

the bottom you will see what our company about i need help writting answers to the above question you represent a company that specialized in educational technology, specifically for STEM program. Your company has received $25,000 in federal funding to supply technology hardware or software to improve STEM education at the college level in the Boston metropolitan area. You will be meeting with an administrator of the Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology administration to present how your educational initiative can improve student learning and job readiness skills for students across the college.

Emily Leopold
Director of Career Services and Industry Partnership Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology

Dear Ms. Emily Luopold,

My name is Mark Griffin ​and I am co-Chief Executive Officer of C & J BIomedical Equipments. Our company creates and supplies both hospitals and clinics with imaging technology, such as x-ray machines, ​computed tomography (CT) scanners, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines.

We are writing to you because we believe that your institution, Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology, shares our belief in facilitating student success and career readiness in technology fields. In respect to ​Biomedical Engineering Technology, Computer Engineering Technology, Electrical Technology and Electronic Engineering Technology. ​We also believe that assisting students in owning their technical skills, understanding the impact of sustainable development and also demonstrating professionalism through leadership, a strong work ethic, and teamwork, is the best way to produce the most skilled members of named technical fields.

The mission of C & J Biomedical Equipments is to create innovation and improve lives through technology advancement. At present we have several departments that focus on the different fields of technologies used to create our state of the heart healthcare equipment. ​Our reason for approaching you is that we are seeking partnerships with like-minded institutions that also have a goal of seeing more young people hold positions in the technology field. In trying to identify those institutions that share our goal it was hard to go past BFIT, which has been an integral part of educating young people in the Boston community since 1908.

Our company is seeking to supply technology hardware to improve the STEM education provided at BFIT, which I would like to discuss further. We think this arrangement would provide your institution with a real profile boost in resources; in addition, this would benefit the community through strengthening and advancing the students’ accessibility to extensive tools or

C & J Biomedical Equipments Office of the CEO 123 Biomedical Science Ave.,

Building 3, Boston, MA 01234

equipment to be used for their success. We hope that Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology considers our offer.

I can be contacted during business hours on (857) 555-5555, or on mobile (617) 555-5555, while our other co-CEO, Matt Due, can be contacted on (917) 555-5555. I look forward to discussing this opportunity with you.

Thanks for your time and respectfully,

(Mr.) Mark Griffin
Co-Chief Executive Officer
C & J Biomedical Equipments

Examine the various types of contracts available to Toyota when dealing with international suppliers and advise them on which contracts would be most beneficial to achieve a competitive advantage.

Give an example for market segmentation for a new company developing either products for cats or clothing for bicycle riders.

What are some good ways to identify new market or product opportunities?

Toady and Froggy were running a vegan cafe together. The business was having financial difficulties.Betelguese, who has known Toady and Froggy for many years had recently inherited a lot of money and Toady and Froggy asked him to lend the business $100 000 to enable them to buy sufficient stock and to upgrade the cafe for the summer season. Betelguese wanted to help his friends but also wanted to ensure that he would get his money back. He agreed to lend Toady and Froggy the money in return for a payment of $10 000 per year out of the gross returns of the cafe. The terms of the loan also provided that Toady and Froggy would consult Betelgeuse about any major contracts entered into by the business and gave him a right to inspect the accounts at regular interval.

Required:

a. Discuss whether or not a partnership exists between Toady, Froggy and Betelgeuse?

b. Would it make any difference if the terms of the loan provided for Betelgeuse to be paid $10 000 per year out of the profits of the business?

TzeMay was one of the first women engineering students at ABC University. She graduated in 1995 with a first class honours degree and immediately continued her studies with an MSc programme, gaining recognition for her work into environmentally friendly car engines, a largely untapped field in those days. On completion of her Masters degree she was offered a post as a research assistant where she could have developed her Masters research and worked towards her doctorate. However she decided that she needed to gain some commercial experience and joined Wallace-Price, a blue-chip engineering consultancy where, apart from a sponsored year out to study for an MBA in the United States of America, she has remained ever since.

Her tenacity and loyalty to Wallace-Price have paid off and she was made a partner in the firm, primarily responsible for bringing in work to the consultancy. With the promotion came various executive privileges including an annual salary of £80, 000, a chauffeur-driven car, free use of one of the company-owned London flats, a non-contributory pension scheme, various gold credit cards and first-class air travel. TzeMay herself would not describe these as benefits, however, but as necessities to enable her to do her job properly. In order to meet her business target of £2 million of work for Wallace-Price she spent forty weeks overseas, working an average of ninety hours a week.

She cannot remember the last time that she had a weekend when she was not entertaining clients or travelling but was totally free to indulge herself. During her time with Wallace-Price she has earned a reputation both as a formidable but honest negotiator and as an innovative engineer, often finding seemingly impossible solutions to problems. Known for her single-minded dedication to her job, she does not suffer fools gladly. She is frequently approached to work for rival firms with promises of even greater privileges and has been the subject of numerous magazine profiles, some concentrating on her work and reputation as a high flier but the majority focusing on her gender. Her fortieth birthday last year was spent alone in the Emergency Room of a Los Angeles hospital where she had been rushed with a suspected stomach ulcer. Deprived of her portable telephone, fax and computer she had little else to do but to reflect on her life thus far. On her return to health she was working her way through the pile of technical journals, which had accumulated during her absence and there she saw the advertisement for ABC University, an institution that had close links with her company and whose Professor of Engineering she knew well. Ignoring the instructions relating to applications she put through a telephone call to the ABC University.

Question 1 : Making reference to the appropriate theories of motivation, explain TzeMay‟s main motivating factors.

Explain what is meant by the Theme Park internal and external business environment and use the acronym P.E.S.T with appropriate examples to clarify your explanation.  Also, discuss using how new rides can be both interactive and educational.

Consider the following linear programming problem:
Maximize 10X + 8Y
Subject to: 40X + 24Y <= 600
20X + 30Y <= 480
all variables >= 0

Think about a company you have worked for, either currently or in the past. Reflect upon the corporate culture with respect to the practice of ethics within the organization. What was leadership's role in establishing this culture within the organization? How did power and motivation relate to the degree of ethical conduct?