Recommendations for Global Operations
The first recommendation is to do adequate market research. Investigate which countries are more apt to focus on organic dairy products and are concerned about the environment. If some countries are prone to a high amount of lactose intolerant potential customers, that should be known beforehand. Also, it is important that the target market is familiar with Stoneyfield and their products. If not, be prepared to spend considerable time and money educating the potential customers.
Once the potential customers and countries are narrowed down, heavy marketing of the products should be done. As Lazer (1993) states, it is wise to take into consideration market barriers, customer preferences, and political and legal matters in regards to marketing. Additionally, international countries also differ in values, beliefs and customs which need to be respected.
Second, it is important to implement a task force dedicated to the global mission. Teams should then be formed from the task force and each team should focus on one main part of globalization. It is essential to set up integrating roles or departments as the organization becomes larger. More products could be added that tailor to specific countries and setting up integrating roles also helps with communication barriers. These roles would be full time positions that are created particularly to improve communications between divisions (Jones, 373).
Third, it is suggested to create written rules and standard operating procedures (SOP’s). Some of these should be formalized (such as the making of the products) and should be done by the book. However, some of these should merely be norms and in place for acceptable standards. As Jones (2010) points out, these rules and SOP’s specify how employees should perform their duties and what is expected of them (p. 376).