Executive Summary Unicord, a Thailand-based, seafood-related conglomerate, which purchased the American subsidiary Bumble Bee in order to gain better access to the American and global market has recently encountered significant difficulties not only in terms of growth and expansion but also sales and profits. Main alternatives involve maintaining the status quo, divesting of the Bumble Bee operations or changing the approach of the organization. It is recommended that the company should pursue the third option. That is, it should decentralize decision-making, which would allow for Bumble Bee to be a more self-sufficient operation; it should not make use of purse-seine fishing techniques, which capture not only tuna but also dolphins; and it should market itself as a premiere, ecologically-friendly brand. This would cost the company more, however, it would also position Unicord in the market as an environmentally-conscious, efficient organization, which can and should increase profitability Problem Statement The main problem is that Unicord’s subsidiary Bumble Bee, and the company as a whole, is in significant difficulty concerning loss of sales as well as debt. This, of course, is rooted in a number of related problems, such as the political, environmental, technological, social/cultural and economic problems that the company faces. For example, in terms of Bumble Bee, the company must deal with the issue of Unicord as a foreign investor, which raises a number of concerns. Also, Unicord must deal with the political issues that have evolved regarding the harvesting of tuna and the subsequent killing of dolphins as a result of the technology that is currently utilized. In addition, it is evident that the takeover of Bumble Bee has resulted in a clash of cultures in that the parent company, or Unicord, would like to see the company run under its own rules and customs, whereas the management of Bumble Bee has, or had, its own view of the situation. Analysis The situation that Unicord currently faces is not unusual. In short, a company grows to the point that is seeks to expand beyond its borders but it can face numerous social, cultural, political and technological hurdles. Cross-cultural business would seem to be inherently linked to values. “Ideas, beliefs, and customs to which people are emotionally attached are values. Values include things like honesty, marital faithfulness, freedom, and responsibility” (Wild et al, 2006, p. 54). In this situation, while Unicord attached a great deal of importance to honesty, responsibility and responsibility, it would appear that the company did not allow much leeway for freedom. This, of course is supported by the Kluckhohn-Strodtbeck framework, which suggests that control of the environment or, are a part of, nature; focuses on past events, the present or the future implications of actions; whether people are easily controlled or not to be trusted; whether people desire accomplishments in life or live carefree, spiritual and contemplative lives; whether people believe that individuals or groups are responsible for each individual’s welfare; and whether people prefer to conduct most activities in private or in public (Wild et al., 2006, p. 74).
(74-75). In this respect, Unicord would seem to be acting in a manner that enforces control but that does not take into account other peoples’ welfare. Another approach that should be considered is the Hofstede framework, which considers parameters, such as individualism versus collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance as well as achievement versus nurturing (Wild et al., 2006, pp. 75-78). Future research has also identified considerations such as masculinity versus femininity as well as short-term versus long-term orientation. Hence, while there would be a significant level of individualism and a minimal amount of nurturing in this situation there is also a great deal of power distance. This situation would also seem to reflect upon the differences that exist between an ethnocentric, polycentric and geocentric orientation. While the former refers to the belief that one’s own culture is superior the later, respectively, refer to deferring to local norms and using host country procedures and policies as a starting point and blending them in with cultural norms. Hence, Unicord, would seem to have adopted an ethnocentric orientation, which, of course, has done damage to the firm. That is, the company’s management, and particularly its former director, would seem to have promoted the belief that Unicord’s vision or direction is the only course to take. This, of course, resulted in a certain amount of resistance from the Bumble Bee management, which added to the problems that were encountered. An additional consideration that Unicord must acknowledge is political risk. In short, this refers to “…the likelihood that a government or society will undergo political changes that negatively affect local business activity” (Wild et al., 2006, p. 94). At the same time, this involves consideration of micro risk as well as macro risk. More specifically, there are three factors that can amplify or mitigate the level of political risk, which include firm-level, industry-level as well as macro-level considerations. Firm-level considerations include political connections (i.e., few/many – weak/strong), ownership structure (i.e.., foreign/domestic/mixed); size (i.e., large/small); as well as relative bargaining power (i.e., low/high). Industry-level factors include the type of industry (i.e., consumer goods/capital goods) as well as the contribution to the economy (i.e., low/high); whereas the macro-level factors include political stability (i.e., low/high); differences in political ideology (i.e., significant/insignificant); the need to attract foreign investment (i.e., low/high); as well as the economic appeal and size of local markets (i.e., low/high). Overall, Unicord is dealing with the industry level risk of fishing for tunas results in the capture and killing of dolphins as well as the resulting demand impacts that relate to negative public sentiment, the firm level risks of financial stability and, in a more general sense, the ability to endure losses, and the macro-level issues that relate to protectionism and environmentalism. In this respect, it would appear that Unicord is faced with an extremely problematic and challenging situation. Discussion of Alternatives Alternative 1 – Maintain the Status Quo One alternative available to Unicord would be to maintain the status quo. One advantage of this approach is that it considers that a strong market will likely rebound. Also, the company already has a prescence in the market, which would be advantageous when a positive shift occurs. The disadvantage of this approach is that it runs the risk of the market continuing to deteriorate. This, of course, would result in additional or further losses for Unicord. Alternative 2 – Divest A second alternative available to Unicord would be divest the Bumble Bee operations. Clearly, this segment of the company’s operations has been associated with certain problems and divesting this segment would enable the company to free itself from these problems. However, it is equally apparent that divesting the Bumble Bee operations is not without certain risks. More specifically, based on recent performance, it is unsure whether or not Unicord would be able to sell the operations at a price, or above, of what was paid for the organization. This, of course, would suggest that Unicord runs the risk of selling Bumble Bee at a loss. Alternative 3 – Change Approach A third alternative available to Unicord would be to change its approach, which involves social, political, economic as well as cultural factors. More specifically, the company could decentralize decision-making, which would allow for Bumble Bee to be a more self-sufficient operation; it could not make use of purse-seine fishing techniques, which capture not only tuna but also dolphins; and it could market itself as a premiere, ecologically-friendly brand. This, of course, would cost the company more, however, it would also position Unicord in the market as an environmentally-conscious, efficient organization, which can and should increase profitability. Recommendations During recent years, Unicord has encountered a number of difficulties. After years of expansion the company has had to deal with a number of political, cultural, social and economic difficulties. It is recommended that the company change its approach, which involves social, political, economic as well as cultural factors. That is, the company should decentralize decision-making, which would allow for Bumble Bee to be a more self-sufficient operation; it should not make use of purse-seine fishing techniques, which capture not only tuna but also dolphins; and it should market itself as a premiere, ecologically-friendly brand. This would cost the company more, however, it would also position Unicord in the market as an environmentally-conscious, efficient organization, which can and should increase profitability. Presented below is a table of the options available to the company as well as their pros and cons.

|Table 1: Summary of Recommendations |
| |
|1-Status Quo |
|Pros |
|-easy |
|Cons |
|-risky |
| |
|2-Divest |
|Pros |
|-saves money |
|Cons |
|-reduces opportunity |
| |
|3-Change Approach |
|Pros |
|-addresses major concerns |
|Cons |
|-can be difficult and expensive |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
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References

Wild, John J., Kenneth L. Wild and Jerry C.Y. Han. International Business: The Challenges of Globalization. Third edition. Pearson/Prentice-Hall: Upper Saddle River, NJ, 2006.