Decisions in Paradise: How to Be, or Not to Be Expanding Del Monte’s Presence in Kava Del Monte Foods is considering expanding their operations and establishing a greater presence on the Island of Kava in the South Pacific. There are many obstacles to overcome, some of them being the fact that Kava has many disasters and chaos to deal with in its every day existence. Many of its residents are indigenous people who practice indigenous health care and indigenous religion. Becoming a greater presence in Kava can either have a very positive effect that can transform the life of an entire culture or not be any help at all just remain status quo. Del Monte Foods is one of the countries largest and best known producers, distributors and marketers of premium quality, branded food and pet products. Their mission is “committed to enriching the lives of today’s families including pets. They do this by providing nourishing, great tasting, and easy-to-use products that meet the needs of everyone in your home.” The company further defines those principles as the following: We are driven by the consumer and deliver results through a partnership with our customers built upon superior brands and products, continuous innovation, excellent service and a commitment to quality in all we do. Our people are passionate about winning and take pride in Del Monte as they lead the company to achieve world-class performance and superior shareholder value. “(www.delmonte.com)” While there are many obstacles that would need to be over come in order to expand, some of which include natural disasters, environmental hazards, and a small legal aged work force; there are also plenty of opportunities. As Del Monte Foods continues to support the communities where their employees live and work by providing product and financial donations to assist a diverse set of philanthropic organizations. They will be continually assessing new growth potential there are some issues that need to be addressed before the expansion of Del Monte Foods onto the Island of Kava can get started. Kava Environmental Issues First there are environmental issues, while the environment is not ideal for many companies, there are technologies that can help the company overcome these risks. There are natural disasters such as: Tsunamis, Typhoons, floods, fires, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, and tornados that occur on the Island. To combat these issues, the company can build state of the art environmental resistant buildings that are tested to withstand hurricanes and earthquakes and be built on higher elevations with fire retardant materials. Del Monte would need to implement safety measures to protect their employees and work with local authorities in emergency crisis situations. There is also the high health risk issue. Kava’s population has a high incidence of HIV/AIDS and there are more and more reported incidents of Avian Flu. Del Monte could help fund research and awareness groups that could educate the islands population and help to cut down on new outbreaks. Any new venture will face challenges, however, with proper planning, our implementation will be successful. Cultural Differences Kava’s population doesn’t have just one race or one religion or even just one language. With the islands ancestors emigrating from tribes, Asian, African, France, Spain, America and their own South Pacific Tribes, Kava is a fusion of different ethnicities, languages, and religions all culminating in one culturally diverse island. The employees that would work for Del Monte would have to be bi-lingual in order to communicate effectively; they would have to be educated in the different cultural backgrounds and religions to avoid any racial tensions. Another cultural issue that the company would have to contend with is the age of the current population on the island. With more than 50% of the islands inhabitants being under the age of 15, Del Monte would have to seriously consider if there is enough work force of United States legal age on the island to support the expansion of the company. With other business also competing for laborers one thing that Del Monte could do is to offer very competitive wages and benefits to the potential employees and possibly import laborers. The cost however for relocating workers to the island can prove to be costly and would have to be analyzed closely for profitability purposes. Ethical Issues Some ethical issues could be raised with the expansion of Del Monte onto the Island of Kava. One of which is the outsourcing the work to the Island instead of creating more jobs for citizens of the United States. While this will certainly be a concern for the company it can be argued both ways as to it being ethical or not. Additionally, the unemployment rate in the United States in July was an average of 5.7%. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2008) While the jobs may not be in the United States, it could benefit Americans because with the reduced cost of labor and manufacturing the savings would inevitably be passed along to the consumer. Conclusion Del Monte is a growing company that strives for excellence and to keep the cost low for the consumer. They pride themselves in that their employees are passionate about the company and strive to achieve world-class products and performance for both the consumer and the shareholder. (www.delmonte.com) With these values they can move on to expand on the Island of Kava with out to much worry as they benefits of expansion here out way the risks that are involved. Careful planning and strategic placement can prove to provide the company with an extremely profitable satellite to the existing company in the United States.

References Unemployment Rate. (2008) In Bureau of Labor Statistics website. Retrieved August 11, 2008 from http://www.bls.gov/
Saey, Tina Hesman (8/12/08). H9N2 avian flu strain has pandemic potential. Science News. Retrieved August 12, 2008 from http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/35160/title/H9N2_avian_flu_strain_has_pandemic_potential
2008). Foods of Del Monte, Our Company. Retrieved August 10, 2008, from Del Monte Foods Web site: http://www.delmonte.com/company/default.aspx