Company Colgate in India emerging market

You will have to select  company Colgate and  India emerging market (the host country).

Introduction [for example 400 words]

Describe the company Colgate: timeline, business, market positioning and degree of internationalisation (e.g., number of countries). Introduce your selected host country India (e.g., key macroeconomic characteristics, whether the company is already operating in the country)

Tip: Don’t botch this section! Introduce rigorously your selected company (and business units) and host country. Finish this section by presenting the outline of your report.

2. Industry analysis [for example 600 words]

Evaluate the global-local dynamics of the selected industry.

Designing a strategy in emerging markets (as well as other markets) starts with an assessment of the industry dynamics. Certain industries are more global in scope than others be it in terms of competition (presence of international competitors, as opposed to local rivals), consumer behaviour (demand for a standardised product as opposed to local, adapted one) and industry regulation (global, international as opposed to regional, national, local). The more global the scope of the industry is, the more likely MNC managers will be to develop a global strategy and corporate culture across the organisation, and vice versa.

Tip: The global-local dynamics within a particular industry do not depend on the host country but are generally found true across the world. While you need to make sure your industry analysis is valid across the world, you must also refer to your selected emerging market to back up your analysis (in terms competitors, consumers and regulations)

3. Corporate culture [for example 750 words]

Which corporate culture should be developed inside the Colgate company? Apply the EPRG framework (Perlmutter and Heenan, 1974), justify well your decision considering step 1 and step 2.

EPRG stand for Ethnocentric, Polycentric, Regiocentric, and Geocentric. Focussing on corporate culture and human resources, this framework helps understand headquarters-subsidiary relations: how does the organisation sees the world? What kind of corporate culture should be developed inside the MNC as a result? 

For example: The geocentric orientation assumes that an organisation treats all foreign markets as one, i.e., global/single market. This is on the basis that global customers would accept such a universal approach. Note that it makes no distinction between the domestic and foreign markets. The headquarters and subsidiaries must be somehow unified in order to erase any bias based on the country of origin. It is applicable for large MNEs that operate on the world’s largest markets. With such huge differences between developed and emerging economies is this orientation the right one for MNEs investing in EMs?

Tip: You will need to justify rigorously your selected corporate culture by comparing with other possible orientation You must refer to your selected company and emerging market. Avoid generic answers (such as copy/paste of the lecture material).

4. Staffing strategy [for example 750 words]

Based on your step 3 decision, choose the most appropriate profile (host-country, home-country or third-country national) for the following positions inside the selected subsidiary. Justify rigorously by referring to the selected emerging market:

• Country Manager (or CEO of subsidiary)
• Country Head of Human Resources (or subsidiary Head of HR)
• Country Head of R&D (or subsidiary Head of R&D)

This section regards staffing strategies for international businesses and the advantages and disadvantages for each and is directly derived from step 4 (EPRG framework). 

The first strategy consists in relying on home-country nationals, that is to say using employees from the home country to live and work in the country. These individuals are called expatriates. The second staffing strategy consists in employing host-country nationals, which means employing people who were born in the country in which the business is operating. Finally, a third-country national strategy means to employ people from an entirely different country from the home country and host country (irrespective of their nationality). Whichever strategy is chosen, communication with the home office and strategic alignment with overseas operations need to occur for a successful venture. 

Tip: Make sure that your analysis is grounded in the realities of the selected company and emerging market. Avoid generic answers (such as copy/paste of the lecture material).