Role of Intercultural Communication Competence †MyAssignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about the Role of Intercultural Communication Competence. Answer: Introduction The analysis in the report is based on the study of the business environment of Five Guys Burgers International and the expansion plan of the organization. Five Guys Burgers was established in the year 1986 in Arlington County, Virginia and the restaurant had extended its operations to five other locations in the Washington, D.C area. The company was founded by Jerry Murrell along with his wife and five sons. The restaurant chain started franchising its business operations from the year 2003 and this led to huge expansion of the chain. The restaurant had its operations in more than 300 locations within the year 2012 in United States of America (Fiveguys.co.uk 2017). The company operates in the locations both as company owned stores as well as franchisees. The company has been facing issues in the recent times regarding the expansion plans and adding items to the menu as well. The study in this report is based on the macro and micro environmental analysis of the company. The internal analysis of the company is done based on the Porters value chain model. The potential market analysis for the expansion of the company is done with the help of the 12 Cs framework. Further the potential market for the expansion of the company will be selected based on this analysis (Forbes.com 2017). As discussed by Joslin, Priebsch and Singleton (2014), the macro-environment analysis involves six forces including demographic forces, political forces, economic forces, socio-cultural forces, ecological forces and technological forces. The demographic force of the macro-environmental analysis is related to the people of USA. The food habits of the people of USA is firmly related to burgers. The study of the people staying in the country where the company operates is important to decide the growth of the market. The growth in the population of the world is another factor that affects all the industries whether it is related to garments, food or any other industry. The global economic crisis is a factor that has affected the food industry as well. The population has been growing in the recent years in the developing countries like Japan, China, India (Argyres and Bercovitz 2015). This has opened many opportunities for growth for the companies and expanding their international operati ons. The opportunities of business have raised also due to the changing society and the needs of the society is also changing constantly. The invention of new technologies in the market is changing the business environment constantly. This has provided opportunities for the development of the business as well (Paul and Roy 2014). However, the rules and regulations regarding the foreign direct investment in many countries have become strict and this can act as a negative factor for the expansion plans of the company (Dima, Grabara and Modrak 2014). The political factors related to the business environment is another way by which the business operations of the country are affected. The political environment of the business needs to be stable so that the organization can control its operations easily and also make plans for expansion. The growth of the developing countries with reference to the stable economy of the United States of America helps to balance the economy and the prices o f the goods and services can also be controlled (Segal, Shaliastovich and Yaron 2015). Analysis of the micro environment of the food industry According to Eze, Odigbo and Ufot (2015), the micro-environment of the economy is affected by six factors including customers of the company, the employees working in the organization, the competitors of the company, the suppliers of the company and the channels of distribution of the company, the investors of the company and the media link of the company. The food industry is an ever-changing industry and the demands and needs of the people also change continuously. The food habits of the people of USA where the restaurant is based is perfectly suitable for the offerings and the products of the restaurant. The expansion of the business of the restaurant based on franchisees is an inexpensive and fruitful idea for the business of the restaurant (Dutta et al. 2014). The restaurant however has to face stiff competition from the other restaurants offering the same cuisine. The competition of this restaurant in the United States can be, McDonalds, Starbucks, Subway, Burger King, Wendys, Taco Bell, Dunkin Donuts and many more. The restaurant has to face competition from these companies as the product range of these restaurants is more as compared to that of Five Guys Burgers. The introduction of technology in the food market has changed the scenario in the recent years. The reach of the restaurants has also increased resulting in the increase of sales and profitability. The promotional costs of the company have also decreased in the recent years with the help of social media marketing. This has led to the expansion opportunities of the company in the international markets as well (Eberlein et al. 2014). The suppliers of the company act as an important in the production process of the food products. The restaurant therefore should aim at outsourcing the supplier activities and using the franchisee process to expand their operations. The online growth of the food market has facilitated the interaction with the customers and thereby trying to understand their needs and desires from the organization (Wren and Rehm 2013). Analysis of the internal business of Five Guys Burgers by Porters Value Chain As discussed by Kaplinsky (2013), the Porters Value Chain analysis is used for the internal analysis of the business. The activities related to the business are identified and the advantage of the business over the competition in the market is analysed with the help of this model. The business analysis of Five Guys Burgers is done by the Porters Value Chain Model. The analysis based on the Porters Value Chain model is explained as follows, Inbound logistics The inbound logistics of Five Guys Burgers mainly refers to the selection of the best quality ingredients required for the burgers. The best quality American cheese is used in the restaurant. The buns that are used by the restaurant are much sweeter as compared to the normal buns available in the market. Roasted peanuts are offered in the restaurants at most of the locations of the restaurant. Operations Five Guys Burgers operates in the United States and Canada. The company operates both the self-owned and franchisees in these areas. The franchised restaurants of Five Guys Burgers are owned by independent owners. The company operates around 300 franchised branches in Canada and United States. Outbound logistics The products of the Five Guys Burgers are sold directly from the self-owned restaurants or the franchised restaurants. The restaurant does not have any intermediaries in the process (Eze, Odigbo and Ufot 2015). Sales and marketing The Five Guys Burgers are famous for their concept of making the better burger. The restaurant had flourished with the help of positive responses of the customers about the food. The promotional activities are performed in the recent times with the help of digital marketing techniques. The restaurant also provides delivery services through online ordering. Service The restaurant mainly aims at building passionate and loyal customers. The menu of the restaurant has been similar since its inception, with some minor changes. The founders of the restaurant have the vision of keeping the menu only about fries and burgers. Infrastructure The restaurants of the Five Guys Burgers are mainly decorated red and white check boxes and there is a single counter present for the purchase as well as the pick-up of the food as well. The restaurants consist of cork boards mounted on the walls for the differently abled customers. The positions of the employees are depicted with the help of uniforms. The employees who wear red t-shirts and the managers wear white or grey polo or t-shirts (Yoder, Visich and Rustambekov 2016). Human Resource Management The employees of the restaurant are committed towards providing the best service to the customers according to the vision of the founders. They strive to provide the best handmade fries and burgers to the customers. The restaurant is known to build a strong customer base with a huge number of loyal customers. Technology development The restaurant has upgraded its technologies with the technological advancement in the business environment. The burgers and the fries are hand-made, however, the restaurant has opened its online platform and they take online orders as well (Grguri Rashiti et al. 2017). Procurement The raw materials used for the burgers and the French fries are procured fresh from the market. The burger buns are freshly baked and are not refrigerated. These features of the restaurant help in building the immense customer loyalty. SWOT Analysis of the company Strengths Weaknesses The restaurant has strong focus towards the products that they serve to the customers. The restaurant is operated by the family of Murrells and the menu has remained same since the opening of the restaurant. The restaurant has been profitable just after few years of opening and has been going strong. The restaurant has a strong base of loyal customers, who are passionate about their food choice. The restaurant has been visited by famous personalities like Barrack Obama and this has given the push to the sales and profitability of the restaurant. The freshly baked buns and the hand- made French fries are the speciality of the restaurant. The menu of the restaurant is limited to only burgers and fries and the founders of the restaurant aim at making their burgers better than that of the restaurants serving the same cuisine. The restaurant faced major problems in the beginning due to the unfair means that were undertaken by the employees. The founders have been pushed time and again by the franchise owners at the different locations to increase the items in the menu. The restaurant faced a failure in the coffee area and had to pull back the product shortly after the launch. The burgers of the restaurant were labelled as unhealthy by the Mens Health magazine (Gobinda Goswami and Haider 2014). Opportunities Threats The restaurant has been growing fast since its inception and had established around 1039 stores in United States of America and Canada as well. The restaurant has the plans to open around 1500 more stores. The decision of the company to give franchisee of their restaurants proved to be the best decision of the company. The restaurant has been successful in their overseas operations as well. The restaurant can plan for the expansion with the help of the franchise in the other countries. This will need less investment from the part of the restaurant chain and thereby the profits will also increase. The menu of the restaurant chain is a problem for the sales and profit of the restaurants. The restaurant chain is facing a lot of competition from the other chains of restaurant in the area. The competition of Five Guys Burgers in United States comprises of fast food chains like McDonalds, Starbucks, and many more. The increase in the competition in the market has also increased the pressure of the franchise over the founders to increase their menu items. The restaurant chain may have to face the same problems in their overseas operations as well (Hanssens et al. 2014). Analysis of the potential markets using 12 Cs Framework Country India is a country with diverse cultures and many types of people. India shares its border with Pakistan, Bangladesh and other countries. India holds the second largest rank in the world after China in terms of population, which holds the first rank. Japan on the other hand is a country which is well organized and is the hub of technology. Singapore is a small country of Asia; however, the country is strong in terms of economic conditions. Currency Chinas currency is Renminbi, or Chinese Yuan. The currency of India is Rupees, currency of Japan is Japanese yen and the currency of Singapore is Dollar. The exchange rate of the Indian Rupees is 64.78 rupees to 1 dollar. On the other hand, 112.08 Japanese Yen is equal to 1 dollar, 6.62 Chinese Yuan is equal to 1 dollar and the exchange rate of 1.35 Singapore dollar is equal to 1 US Dollar. This shows that the Singapore dollar is a strong currency as compared to the others (Kiszko et al. 2014). Culture The culture of India is diverse as there many different states with different types of people. The Chinese and the Japanese culture is similar and the religious beliefs in these countries is not quite strong. Singapore is a society which is cosmopolitan in nature and the people belonging to different races live together. The cultures of the people of this country are diverse in nature. Control China is country where the rule is under one party. The rule in India is under more than two parties. In case of Japan and Singapore the control of the political situation is under multiple parties (Huang and Sarigll 2014). Concentration The concentration of the people in China is mainly in the urban areas, whereas the population of India is scattered in the urban and the rural areas as well. The population of Japan and Singapore is also concentrated in the urban and the semi urban parts of the countries. Commitment The investment related policies of India and China are suitable for foreign investors. Japan is also a country which attracts the foreign investors and Singapore has a strong economy having the ability to attract investors (Liu et al. 2017). Communication The mode of communication in India and China is through the internet. Japan and Singapore are also technologically advanced and the mode of communication in these countries is fast and convenient. Choices The food habits of the people of India are diverse as the cultures are also different. Singapore is also a country with diverse cultures and the taste of the people are also different. On the other hand, in the countries like China and Japan people follow similar culture and the food habits are also similar. There are many local and international restaurant chains already successfully operating in these countries (Ihtiyar and Ahmad 2015). Channels The distribution and the facilities related to the logistics in Japan, China and Singapore are world-class. On the other hand, the geographical position of India helps in the import and export facilities in this country. The climatic condition of India also helps in keeping the country accessible throughout the year. Contractual The corporate system in India is much fairer as compared to that of China. The Japanese corporate is also known to facilitate trade and foreign investment as well. The laws of the Singapore government help in the establishment of any new business in the country (Noland, Robinson and Moran 2016). Paying capacity The paying capacity of the people of China has increased in the recent years. Japan being the technological hub of Asia also shows huge payment capacity. The strong economy of Singapore facilitates the paying capability of the country. The paying capacity of the people of India is high as the food market mainly consists of the youth of the country. Caveats The competition in the Chinese market is high due to the presence of local restaurants and same is the case for Japan as well. The market in India and Singapore is however much more diverse and the growth opportunities for the restaurant chain is also high as compared to the other countries (Joslin, Priebsch and Singleton 2014). Recommended approach of marketing in the target area The country that is chosen as the target market for Five Guys Restaurant chain is India. The diverse culture of India and the different choices of the food will facilitate the sales and the profit of the restaurant. The population of this country is the second highest as compared to China and this is another factor that is profitable for the restaurant. The laws related to the corporate competition is fair in this country and this will help Five Guys Burgers to establish and explore the opportunities. The restaurant chain needs to enter the market with the help of the franchisee process, thereby facilitating the profitability of the company and expansion at the same time (Kaplinsky 2013). The founders should think of sending some of the experienced employees from the restaurants that are already operating in the United States and Canada, so that they can analyse the situation in the new market segment. The marketing mix of the Five Guys Burgers restaurant chain will consist of the 4 Ps of marketing which includes, Product, Price, Place and Promotion (Bahadir, Bharadwaj and Srivastava 2015). The Products of the restaurant will include the Burgers which will be freshly baked, sandwiches, fries, the breakfast menu, milkshakes and the drinks. The Price of the burgers will be fixed at INR 250, the French fries will cost around INR 150, the milkshakes will range from INR 150 to INR 300. The Price of the drinks will range from INR 150 to INR 300. The reasonable pricing of the products will help the restaurant chain to counter the competition in the market, which are already present (Bizjournals.com 2017). The restaurant chains which can give stiff competition to the Five Guys Burgers are McDonalds, Starbucks, Subway, Burger King and many more. The Place where the restaurant chain can plan to open the first franchisee is Mumbai, which is considered to be the financial capital of India. The restaurant chain can then further increase its operations in the other metro cities of the country. The Promotions of the restaurant can be performed with the help of digital marketing techni ques and the social media as well (Khan 2014). Conclusion The report depicts the analysis of the market of Five Guys Burgers with the help of Porters Value chain analysis. The internal analysis of the company is done based on the SWOT model. Further, the suitable target market for the restaurant is analysed based on the analysis of the countries with the help of the 12 Cs framework. The target market that is decided with the help of this analysis is India, as the culture of the country is diverse and the choices of the people of this country is also variable. The report can be concluded by stating that the Five Guys Burger restaurant chain has many opportunities of growth in the market. India is a fruitful target market for the restaurant and can provide huge levels of profitability. References Argyres, N. and Bercovitz, J., 2015. Franchisee associations as sources of bargaining power? Some evidence.Journal of Economics Management Strategy,24(4), pp.811-832. Bahadir, S.C., Bharadwaj, S.G. and Srivastava, R.K., 2015. Marketing mix and brand sales in global markets: Examining the contingent role of country-market characteristics.Journal of International Business Studies,46(5), pp.596-619. Bizjournals.com (2017).Cite a Website - Cite This For Me. [online] Bizjournals.com. Available at: https://www.bizjournals.com/washington/morning_call/2016/03/five-guys-making-a-steady-rise-overseas.html [Accessed 21 Nov. 2017]. Dima, I.C., Grabara, J. and Modrak, V., 2014. Sustainable logistics and business competitiveness.International Letters of Social and Humanistic Sciences, 15 (2), pp.148-156. Dutta, K., Parsa, H.G., Parsa, R.A. and Bujisic, M., 2014. Change in consumer patronage and willingness to pay at different levels of service attributes in restaurants: A study in India.Journal of Quality Assurance in Hospitality Tourism,15(2), pp.149-174. Eberlein, B., Abbott, K.W., Black, J., Meidinger, E. and Wood, S., 2014. Transnational business governance interactions: Conceptualization and framework for analysis.Regulation Governance,8(1), pp.1-21. Eze, F.J., Odigbo, B.E. and Ufot, J.A., 2015. The correlation between business location and consumers patronage: Implications for business policy decisions.British Journal of Economics, Management Trade,8(4), pp.294-304. Fiveguys.co.uk (2017).Five Guys Burgers and Fries. [online] Fiveguys.co.uk. Available at: https://www.fiveguys.co.uk/about#tab-family [Accessed 21 Nov. 2017]. Forbes.com (2017).Forbes Welcome. [online] Forbes.com. Available at: https://www.forbes.com/forbes/2012/0806/restaurant-chefs-12-five-guys-jerry-murrell-all-in-the-family.html [Accessed 21 Nov. 2017]. Grguri?Rashiti, S., Ramadani, V., Abazi?Alili, H., Dana, L.P. and Ratten, V., 2017. ICT, innovation and firm performance: the transition economies context.Thunderbird International Business Review,59(1), pp.93-102. Gobinda Goswami, G. and Haider, S., 2014. Does political risk deter FDI inflow? An analytical approach using panel data and factor analysis.Journal of Economic Studies,41(2), pp.233-252. Hanssens, D.M., Pauwels, K.H., Srinivasan, S., Vanhuele, M. and Yildirim, G., 2014. Consumer attitude metrics for guiding marketing mix decisions.Marketing Science,33(4), pp.534-550. Huang, R. and Sarigll, E., 2014. How brand awareness relates to market outcome, brand equity, and the marketing mix. InFashion Branding and Consumer Behaviors(pp. 113-132). Springer New York. Ihtiyar, A. and Ahmad, F.S., 2015. The role of intercultural communication competence on service reliability and customer satisfaction.Journal of Economic and Social Studies,5(1), p.145. Joslin, S., Priebsch, M. and Singleton, K.J., 2014. Risk premiums in dynamic term structure models with unspanned macro risks.The Journal of Finance,69(3), pp.1197-1233. Kaplinsky, R., 2013. Global value chains, where they came from, where they are going and why this is important.Innovation, Knowledge, Development Working Papers,68, pp.1-28. Khan, M.T., 2014. The concept of'marketing mix'and its elements (a conceptual review paper).International journal of information, business and management,6(2), p.95. Kiszko, K.M., Martinez, O.D., Abrams, C. and Elbel, B., 2014. The influence of calorie labeling on food orders and consumption: a review of the literature.Journal of community health,39(6), pp.1248-1269. Liu, Y., Li, K.J., Chen, H. and Balachander, S., 2017. The Effects of Products Aesthetic Design on Demand and Marketing-Mix Effectiveness: The Role of Segment Prototypicality and Brand Consistency.Journal of Marketing,81(1), pp.83-102. Noland, M., Robinson, S. and Moran, T., 2016. Impact of Clintons and Trumps Trade Proposals.16-6 Assessing Trade Agendas in the US Presidential Campaign, p.17. Paul, R. and Roy, S.K., 2014. Case Study 11: Marketing of Services: The McDonalds Way. InMarketing Cases from Emerging Markets(pp. 99-112). Springer Berlin Heidelberg. Segal, G., Shaliastovich, I. and Yaron, A., 2015. Good and bad uncertainty: Macroeconomic and financial market implications.Journal of Financial Economics,117(2), pp.369-397. Wren, A. and Rehm, P., 2013. Service expansion, international exposure, and political preferences.The political economy of the service transition,248. Yoder, S., Visich, J.K. and Rustambekov, E., 2016. Lessons learned from international expansion failures and successes.Business Horizons,59(2), pp.233-243.