Globalisation. Its causes and results Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Globalisation. Its causes and results - Essay Example This framework is the international strategy or strategic planning which is formulated by senior managers and executives detailing decisions regarding key issues such as where and how to produce goods or services, what products to sell, where to sell, and how and where to get resources for the production process. They must also decide how to compete with competitors and the key success factors for the company and product. Firms enter new markets for various reasons such as increased competition, discovery of new foreign markets, reaction to domestic market changes among others. Whatever the reason, the managers must chose the right market entry strategy and align it to corporate objectives (Andexer, 2008). Different strategies are linked to different entry modes depending on the situation, financial, economic, and environmental factors. The role of timely accurate marketing research and analysis to guide decision making is increasingly becoming critical. Depending on its situation, a firm may choose to use export, joint venture, direct investment, franchising, licensing, mergers and Acquisitions or global supply chains to enter new markets. The paper is going to analyse the market entry strategies of NatWest Bank since 2008. Company Background The National Westminster (NatWest) Bank is the largest retail and commercial bank in the U.K. It was established in 1968 after a merger of National Provincial bank and Westminster and District bank and began its operations in 1970. It has 1600 branches and 3400 cash machines across Britain. It also operates more than 7.5m customers and 850000small business accounts. It also has separate operations at Coutts & Co, Ulster bank, and Isle of man bank. It has been expanding over time and became a part of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (RBS) which is the second largest bank in UK in terms of assets and the fifth largest in the world by market capitalisation in 2000. However, it operates as a distinct brand though most fun ctions were merged with those of RBS. The bank has many subsidiaries and offers both banking and insurance services to personal, business and commercial customers across brands and channels. It is regulated and authorised by Financial Services Authority and it is also a member of the British Bankers’ Association (Worldwide web, 2012). Global Business Development Strategy International strategy is a comprehensive framework to help a business in achieving its fundamental goals (Andexer, 2008). It is more complex than a single country strategy for a firm in that it involves dealing with complex issues such as differences in language, culture, labour, political, legal, and currency among others. The strategy is aimed at attaining global efficiency, international flexibility and worldwide learning and can take the form of home replication, multidomestic strategy, global strategy and transnational strategy (Tielmann, 2010). Home replication focuses on transferring competitive advan tage from home market to foreign market. In this case, the firm develops a strategy and uses it in international firms. It is used when the need for flexibility and global integration is low. A firm may also use multidomestic str