Battling Boycotts Essay

1) Question: What type of boycotts the article is addressing? Answer: The type for the boycott is the company’s nationality, it would seem that nothing could be done. The business is boycotted through no fault of its own. And a growing class of boycotts has very little to do with the actions or policies of an individual company. Instead they are related to the company’s country of origin. After all, it is neither easy nor desirable to change the nationality of a company to shield it from a boycott attempt. 2) Question: What are the two dimensions along which the four strategies are developed? Explain? Answer: The two dimensions along which the four strategies are developed are: the visibility of the brand and the intensity of the boycott. Brand visibility is defined as an extent to a brand which is related to a country in its customers’ minds all over the world. The more visible the brand, the more likely it is to be targeted by boycotters. In people’s eyes, visibility is very important. For example, the brand is very popular in a given country where the customers don’t strongly consider about its original country. However, another situation is that, the foreign brand is associated with a country in customers’ minds. Intensity can be measured in terms of size, duration and aggressiveness. Size which means how many people are boycotting the brand or product. Duration refers to how long the boycott is likely to continue. And aggressiveness takes into account whether, in addition to boycotting products, violent acts are conducted against the outlets or offices of the company being boycotted. 3) Question: What strategies does the article suggest for businesses to adopt to handle boycotts of this type? Answer: The strategies that the article suggest for businesses to adopt to handle boycotts of this type are: emphasizing their connections to the local community, to countering misinformation with advertising and public-relations campaigns, to simply adopting a low profile. McDonald’s is a high-visibility U.S. brand that has faced boycotts in different parts of the world. An anti-U.S. boycott was initiated in Egypt in recent years and has spread to other Arab countries. This action was because of the supporting to Israel by U.S.. Thus, local McDonald established some management to connect with their communities including tailoring menus to local tastes, including the introduction by McDonald’s Egypt of the McFalafel sandwich, which was launched with the help of an ad jingle by a famous Egyptian singer. McDonald’s franchisees in the Middle East and elsewhere also have long made contributions to local charities. What’s more, McDonald’s franchisees also presented a local face in Islamic countries, Argentina, and the Philippines, such as launched TV ads, wore traditional clothing, changed slogan and set charitable programs. For P&G, they also changed logo and set some slogans to respond quickly to the rumors. In the case of a high-visibility brand facing a low-intensity boycott we suggest a strategy of monitoring and blending in. in a high-intensity boycott environment, a company with low visibility may be better off adopting a strategy of lowering its profile, rather than actively trying to offset any potential damage by touting its local connections. For example, a Saudi furniture store in Khobar that sells American furniture has tried lowering its visibility by changing its name from the Saudi-American Furniture Store to the Saudi Furniture Store. Because furniture isn’t often distinctly associated with countries in the public mind, at least in the Middle East. A low-visibility company in a low-intensity boycott environment can simply maintain the status quo. But, they still must pay attention to the potential threats. 4) Question: In your opinion, what can companies do to influence their home governments policies that may affect their success in international markets? Answer: In my point of view, I think we can not leave our own national interests in dealing with foreign affairs of other countries. Of course, we are not only talking about the national interests, but also the fact of reason in a rational and favorable circumstances to select the struggle strategy. In addition, we must also realize that, in today’s globalization economic, countries in economic are interdependent which is extremely popular. To be successful, there are some factors. First, they must make sure they have an appropriate team, such as the CEO, the CFO, legal counsel, auditors, accounting. Then, they have to fit the actual schedule and the host countries’ customs. Secondly, they need to know some of the weaknesses in their own businesses, identify problems that may arise in other countries, employ a high-quality team, and improve operational efficiency. Finally, there is a high level of management support.