Global and Domestic Marketing Business

Global and Domestic Marketing

Business Ethics

One of the main external factors influencing marketing decisions on both a domestic and global scale is business ethics. This factor encompasses a wide variety of issues related not only to human morality but also to principles of conducting business with companies and within a certain culture and environment. It is therefore a very complex factor. Often specific ethical issues are only revealed once the business venture has been underway for some time.

With ethically questionable actions by companies such as Enron, business ethics have become an extremely important issue in the world of business, and indeed, entities such as the Social Investment Forum and Greenpeace have been formed to enforce and raise awareness of business ethics in a variety of areas. Furthermore concepts such as corporate social responsibility (CSR) have also seen the light as a testament to corporate awareness of business ethics.

Often one of the main reasons for not exercising CSR is cited to a profitability issue. Corporations for whom social responsibility is not of primary importance might for example engage in unethical practices when these are viewed as more profitable than the ethical alternative. As mentioned above, Enron is an example of this. Ironically however, these companies are often discredited when a lack of ethics is revealed, and this results in the end of all profits and indeed the end of the company.

This however is not always the case, as large corporations are often untouchable when it comes to enforcing ethics. Corporations such as those using foreign laborers at less than minimum wage to produce goods that are sold at huge profits when imported. Coffee is one example of this - foreign laborers are often left in abject poverty while coffee importers live in the luxury provided by their profits.

Economic Factors

Economic factors are also very complex in terms of the global as well as domestic business environment. Exchange rates and the strength of any particular currency for example would influence import issues as well as domestic market prices. Export decisions would be based upon which currency would provide the most profit against the domestic currency.

Furthermore, organizations with international branches, or indeed those seeking globalization opportunities need to research foreign economic factors such as inflation and labor laws, as well as taxation and the costs of establishing a business in the foreign market. Economic viability should also be established in terms of marketability of a service or product. A service or product that is viable for United States markets may for example not enjoy the same popularity in a Japanese market environment. The costs of research to establish such viability should also be calculated before considering expansion to foreign markets.

When initially globalizing then, it is perhaps wiser to expand to markets that are culturally and economically closer to the domestic market, with expansion to markets that are further removed considered only when the domestic clientele is sufficiently representative of the foreign market.

Other economic factors influencing global marketing decisions include issues such as countries under structural adjustment, foreign currency restrictions, as well as political involvement in economic issues. These should be carefully considered in global marketing. Examples of such countries are many eastern countries such as China. This country has recently undergone extreme changes in terms of not only politics, but also in economics. Taxation and currency laws are thus still in a process of transition, and some industries would be more successful than others in this country.

Cultural Factors

Cultural factors are probably the most all-encompassing influencing factor on both the global and domestic scale of business. Indeed, with increasing heterogeneity of culture, especially in the United States, cultural factors have become an inherent consideration in all business ventures. Thus, all organizational work is closely connected with the culture in which it is established. Individual cultural mores here play an important role, because these influence interpersonal relationships and work ethics, and also to some extent business ethics.

In terms of global marketing decisions, language is of primary importance. Thus elements such as interpreting, translation, as well as cultural sensitivity need to be part of all successful business transactions. From the point-of-view of foreign markets, a working knowledge of the major scientific language is beneficial in terms of research and science organizations.