Unit 6 Managing A Successful Business Project 2 Assignment Sample

Unit 6 Managing A Successful Business Project

Introduction

Managing business in the international market is not a cakewalk. It takes a lot of efforts and resources of the organisation. In addition to this, they are many risks also associated with the business organisation. After globalisation, it has been noticed that organisations started showing interest in the international market in order to expand the business. In this report, a case of IKEA is elaborated, wherein the benefits and risks of globalisation on the company in the international market are discussed. In addition to this, the aim and objectives are also formulated and the same are enlisted in the document. Furthermore, the research work also comprises the literature review analysis. The report comprises the questionnaire that aims at collecting the data regarding the case. Moreover, the data collected is also analysed and the same is inferred in the presentation. Furthermore, the collected data is presented in the forms of graphs and charts.

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Task 1

Research Rationale

Project management is the process characterised by initiation, planning, execution, controlling, and closure of the work to accomplish the goals and objectives of the project undertaken by the company (Barotoand Abdullah, 2012). This project is emphasising on determining the positive and negative aspects of globalisation. The reason for selecting this project is to determine how organisation get affected by the process of globalisation. In addition to this, the research will help in improving researching, analytical, and problem-solving skills.

Aims

The aim of conducting this research is to determine the benefits and risks of globalisation for IKEA in order to decide whether the company should invest in the international market or not.

Objectives

• To study and understand the phenomenon of globalisation thoroughly and its impact on the business entity in general.
• To identify important areas associated with IKEA that might get affected by the globalisation
• To determine the positive and negative effects of globalisation on IKEA
• To provide recommendations for the company while investing in the international market.

Research Questions

• What are the plus points of globalisation that can be useful for the company?
• How stakeholders can be benefited by investing in the international market?
• How can globalisation jeopardise the company’s growth?
• What are the strategies IKEA should follow while investing in the international market?

Literature Review

Globalization has a very wide meaning. Globalization is a term which is used to describe how the people of the different countries and their businesses are being interconnected. According to Glavina, 2015,Several factors such as transportation, technology, global finance as well as the media have made it very easier for the people, services as well as the goods to cross the boundaries and borders of their country. There are both benefits as well as the challenges of globalization. It is helpful in making improvements in the quality of the life of people through the economic growth within the country (Glavina, 2015). The globalization can lead to the problems and challenges for the economies, worker’s welfare as well as the environment. The businesses globalize and operate their business functions shifting them to other countries also to take the advantages of the low costs as well as the wide market of doing the businesses in different world regions.

The word Globalization depicts the integration of different countries regarding the technologies, culture, information, investments as well as trades. The globalization is generally driven by certain policies of the government in order to develop the poorer countries economically. The multinational companies, doing their businesses internationally are being benefitted to a great extent due to such a concept of globalization as it has helped in creating the international market free to a great extent.

The companies get the opportunity to sell their products worldwide and have a great and wide market for their product. In the international market, the benefits are numerous of globalization. For an example, IKEA is a company which has utilized globalization by adopting several numbers of global strategies in order to make entry into several counties. It has proven to be very helpful for developing nations as it has raised the living standards of the people living in these counties. In the international markets, there has become the availability of the wide range of the products as all the brands are able to enter into different counties and sell their products. They have achieved the benefit of a wide market for their products and they can also make certain changes in their products and services as per the social culture of any particular country.

It is helpful in lowering the costs of the goods as well as the services within the international market. The lowered costs within the international market help people to live better in the less amount of money. According to Giddens, 2018, the huge costs reductions in inexpensive manufacturing, as well as the logistics, have lowered the living costs of the people within the developing nations. The variety of products is available in different countries at lower prices (Giddens, 2018).

According to Chenhalland Moers, 2015, Globalization has made it very easy to access foreign culture easily. The people are able to improve their lifestyles as per the culture of other countries. The cultures of different counties have started molding together. There is also a negative point of this concept that because of the globalization the cultural identity has lost. The success of different cultures in the world has been the cause of the changing lifestyles of other counties (Chenhalland Moers, 2015).

According to Balcilar, et. al., 2018, creativity and innovation has increased in the countries due to the globalization concept. The international market has become diversified and the companies have the opportunities to shift their business operations to other countries in order to adopt the innovation within their products and services. It has helped the countries in staying one step ahead of such competitors within the market (Balcilar, et. al., 2018). The drive of the companies towards the qualities as well as the prices has made the improvements in the products on the lower costs.

There are not only benefits of the globalization in the international market but also some challenges which are being faced by the companies as well as nations because of the globalization. One of the main disadvantages of globalization is that the richer are being richer and the nation- richer are being poorer due to the globalization. It has become very wonderful for the owners as well as the investors but it has proven to be a curse for the workers as well as nature.

According to Neubauer and Collins, 2015, the developed countries are facing numerous challenges due to such globalization as the jobs are lost as well as transferred due to the lower cost countries. The people from developed countries are losing their jobs and due to the globalization, the outsider braces of the companies are employing the people from the outsider countries (Neubauer and Collins, 2015). Western dominance is the other challenge which is being faced by the countries in Asia due to the globalization. The dominance of the western culture is being increased which is causing to the lost cultural identity of several numbers of the countries. The globalization has also been made the reason behind the rising inequalities in the wealth and income of the people. The evidence of such inequality can be collected from the growing rural-urban division within the countries like Brazil, India as well as China.

It has been identified that the national economies are more connected as well as independent. According to Bowen, et. al., 2015, the raising globalization has caused to the development of the economic risks for the countries in the international markets. Due to the globalization, the regulations within the businesses are increasing which are required to be followed by them (Bowen, et. al., 2015).

The countries are being desperate to receive the inward investment from the foreign countries which are being the reason behind the lower corporate taxes. According to Christensen, et. al., 2016, if the taxes are low then the companies will be attracted towards such a country to make an investment and establish their business there. It is being the reason behind the less development of such country due to less government income and investment on the infrastructures (Christensen, et. al., 2016).

According to Gozzi, et. al., 2015, the globalization is increasing with great speed and it has become very essential for the countries as well as the companies operating within those countries to take this concept of globalization positively. The benefits as well as the challenges or the risks are required to be considered and should be taken in a positive manner before adopting the globalization practices (Gozzi, et. al., 2015).

Globalization can be considered as one of the most useful strategies in order to achieve a competitive advantage in this highly competitive market. According to Fuertes, et. al., 2016, The businesses can go beyond the boundaries and borders of a country and can do their business overseas through adopting the most appropriate global strategies for their business. IKEA is also having a wide range of business branches in several numbers of countries (Fuertes, et. al., 2016). It adopts such global strategies which can maximize the profitability of the company in the international market. According to Elo, et. al., 2014, the competitive markets are helpful in reducing the profits of the monopoly and they also encourage the businesses in order to reduce their costs and make products cheaper. By doing so, the living standards of the people can be better by spending a lesser amount of money (Elo, et. al., 2014).

According to de Soysa and de Soysa, 2018, one of the most beneficial points to be considered regarding the globalization in the international markets is that the companies can gain the ideas as well as the skills of the people of other countries through the sharing. It will help in increasing the profitability of the business by increasing its revenue beyond the national borders (de Soysa and de Soysa, 2018).

Project Management Plan

While formulating a project management plan, it is important for the project management to make sure that each and every aspect of the project should be executed timely. In this case, IKEA is all set to invest in the international market with new and advanced product portfolio (Bartley Writing, 2017). This is done to increase the rapport of the company in the international market. For tapping in the international market, it is important to carry out quality research and development (R&D) study. In addition to this, the perception of the customers is required to be determined for the success of the new range of products in the market. Globalisation might have positive or negative impacts on the company and therefore, it is important to determine those impacts. These can also be identified by the company through a primary survey of the stakeholders. A project management plan is therefore necessary for the company to carry out each task associated with this research in a planned and well-coordinated way. A well-structured plan comprises project cost, project scope, time, quality, risk, communication, and resource.

Project Scope

This project is underscoring on deciding the positive and negative sides of globalization. The purpose of choosing this task is to decide how firms get influenced by the procedure of globalization. What's more, the examination will help in enhancing inquiring about, explanatory, and critical thinking abilities.

Project Structure

Project Milestone and Timelines

Milestone

Gantt chart

Work Breakdown structure

Project Cost

Task 2

Research Methodology

For this research project, both qualitative and quantitative method had been employed in order to introspect the quantitative and qualitative information associated with IKEA. Both research method has its own importance in accordance with this research project. These methods had helped in carrying out market research and other business-related research in order to accomplish the goals and objectives of this research (Bekhetand Zauszniewski, 2012). Through business research, the management of IKEA can be able to collect data regarding consumer demand, preference, market trends, market supply, and competitors in the market. It also helps the IKEA in managing and arranging the funds. The quantitative research was to quantify the data (Bernard, 2017). On the other hand, qualitative research was done that aimed at collected qualitative data, such as the attitude and behaviour of the stakeholders, especially consumers. For the primary data collection, the survey had been done for which a questionnaire had been formulated and used. The sampling was done randomly and 50 respondents were surveyed for this project.

Ethical Considerations

The ethical considerations for the following research project comprise issues such as honesty, respect for intellectual rights and property of IKEA, confidentiality, non-discrimination, and objectivity (Brymanand Bell, 2015). These are:-

• Informed consent of the respondent about the research which is being carried out and how the data is stored and used.
• Confidentiality of the data is must and the company stores the data in the safest place to avoid data theft
• The identity of the respondent should be kept anonymous and unrevealed.
• The data collection process should be free from any sort of biases.

Questionnaire

Question 1- Do the IKEA products satisfy the demand of the customers?

• Yes
• No
• Neutral

Question 2- Will the IKEA get a competitive advantage in the international market?

• Yes
• No

Question 3- Which types of products you prefer to purchase from IKEA?

• Kitchen Appliances
• Furniture
• Dining room appliances

Question 4- The durability of the purchased products is-

• Less than 1 year
• less than 5 years
• more than 10 years

Question 4- Will there be any change in the organizational structure while entering into the international market?

• Yes
• No

Question 5- Which entry mode must be used by the IKEA in order to make entry into the international market?

• Licensing
• Exporting
• Joint venture

Question 6- Which method should be used by the company to promote the products in another country?

• Campaigns
• Social media

Question 7- The effect of entering into the international market to IKEA will be-

• Positive
• Negative

Question 8- Do you believe that the flexibility of the company will be affected?

• Yes
• No

Question 9- Do you believe the profitability of the firm will increase?

• Yes
• No

Question 10- Do you believe the international market will be a great opportunity for IKEA?

• Yes
• No

Research Data Accuracy and Reliability

The management of IKEA should understand that data accuracy and reliability are vital concerns in conducting qualitative research. This is because unreliable and inaccurate data might result in wrong outcomes and conclusion. If the faulty data is analysed, there might be error and that would mislead the company and can cost a fortune to IKEA. For the data accuracy, the data is simulated again and again and re-checked repeatedly. Hence, this way the data is made accurate. Talking about data reliability, it is ensured by using statistical tools and correlation. This way the data is represented as graphs and charts and any discrepancies can be easily identified and checked.

Task 3: Present the project and communicate appropriate recommendations

This slide provides an overview of the whole presentation. This presentation will talk about IKEA and the benefits and risks it can face due to globalization in the international market. Furthermore, the collected data is presented in the forms of graphs and charts.

This slide includes the effective aim & efficient objectives of the IKEA, which are pre-determined. The effective strategies & appropriate recommendations are to be framed in order to accomplish all these aims & objectives.

The reason for selecting this project is to determine how organisation get affected by the process of globalisation. In addition to this, the research will help in improving researching, analytical, and problem-solving skills.

This slide includes the literature review of the research methods, qualitative & quantitative. In the words of Tavakol and Sandars, both the methods of research are being differentiated & categorised according to their own features (Tavakol and Sandars, 2014).

The research questions mentioned above direct the research. There are four research questions out of which the first question is the primary question and the other three are secondary questions.

This slide provides a general overview of the methodology used in conducting research. Qualitative and quantitative methods are employed. The sampling is done randomly and the respondents comprise the consumers, employees, etc. Validity & reliability must be taken care of by making use of analysis tools and software for better results

• 62% of the respondent believes that the Flexibility of IKEA gets affected by entering the international market and remaining disagree.
• 45% believe Joint Venture is the best option to tap in the international market, whereas 33% think that licensing can be an option as well.
• IKEA can make use of social media as a major marketing tool in the international market. In addition to this, 48% think the offline campaign is the best.

This slide provides recommendations for IKEA to reap benefits from globalization. The company is suggested to invest in R&D processes to explore the market and establish a long term relationship with the customers.

From the presentation, it could be concluded that the company should invest in the international market as it has many benefits. It would improve the profitability of the company (Devi and Reddy, 2012). It was also noted that certain changes in their products and services as per the social culture of any particular country.

Task 4: Reflect on the value gained from conducting the project

Personal Reflection

Undertaking this research project has proven to be very helpful for me in understanding the research projects and conducting the research in an appropriate manner. In order to implement the changes in IKEA, it is analyzed that globalization will prove to be a very useful concept for the company to get a competitive advantage in the market. After undertaking the research, I was able to clearly understand the importance as well as the concept of globalization to a great extent. It not only helped me in understanding globalization but also helped me in making improvements in my research skills. During undertaking the research, there were several challenges faced by me regarding the lack of appropriate resources to conduct the research. There were different opinions given by different authors who were being quite confusing for me throughout the research but after analyzing each and every concept and their applicability on different companies, I was able to understand the entire important concept regarding the globalization and its importance. The research conducted not only helped me in improving my research as well as analytical skills but it proved to be helpful in developing my decision-making skills. There were times when I needed to make important decisions regarding selecting the most suitable resources for the research. The research I conducted on the importance of globalization was made by me by using the mixed methodologies of quantitative and qualitative data. During the research project, I started understanding the different methods of collecting the data and interpreting the same in order to achieve an efficient outcome. During the formulation of the questions or the questionnaire, I was not pretty confident about the questions I have inserted whether they will be answered by the respondents appropriately and I will be able to reach to a conclusion. But at the end of the data analysis, I was happy with my choice and collection of the questions within the questionnaire.

After conducting this research, I got to develop my personal skills to a great extent which will also be helpful for me in any research project in the future. Initially, I had no knowledge about the method of conducting the research. But after this research project, I was able to decide the aim and objectives of the research project and analyze the different sources of the information in order to conduct the secondary research. There I had some problems in understanding the typologies of the research such as the qualitative and quantitative research but it was quite interesting when I started conducting the research. The professional development which took place within me during this research is very useful for me in my near future. I also started understanding the difference between the primary sources of data collection as well as the secondary sources of data collection. Conducting the deep research on the globalization will also be used to be helpful for me in future as it is a very wide topic and each and every company is trying to adopt this strategy in order to have a wide market for their products as well as cutting the costs of the business.

Reflection on Project outcomes

This research was made in order to make a decision regarding the value of globalization for IKEA Company in order to achieve a competitive advantage in the market. After making the research using several methods of collecting the data, I was able to achieve the outcomes of the project in a positive manner. I made a research on the operations of the business of IKEA Furniture and further on the benefits as well as the risks of globalization in order to make the entry into the international market. There was a confusion regarding making the investment in the international market which got cleared after collecting the data and making the research effectively. The final outcome of the research was that globalization is an important concept which is helpful in gaining a competitive advantage.

Conclusion

In this report, a major discussion on globalisation has been done. After globalisation, it has been noticed that organisations started showing interest in the international market in order to expand the business. The report talked about the case of IKEA, wherein the benefits and risks of globalisation on the company in the international market are discussed. In addition to this, the aim and objectives were also formulated and the same are enlisted in the document. Furthermore, the research work also comprised the literature review analysis. The report comprised the questionnaire that aims at collecting the data regarding the case. Moreover, the data collected was also analysed and the same is inferred in the presentation. Furthermore, the collected data was presented in the forms of graphs and charts.

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