Business in Norway

This report focuses on MSD Lighting Ltd. and its business expansion in Norway. It discusses the application of Hofstede's model, cultural sensitivity, communication barriers, and strategies for conducting business in Norway. Subject: International Business, Course Code: N/A, Course Name: N/A, College/University: N/A

Business in Norway

INTRODUCTION
International Business refers to the various types of methods and techniques which are
used for conducting of the Business Activities in the foreign countries (Buckley and Casson,
2021). Therefore it can be stated that it becomes important for the organizations to make sure
that they are able to conduct their business activities in a proper way so that they are able to
attain their goals and objectives in the future. This report will focus on MSD Lighting Ltd. It is a
manufacturing company which provides a wide variety of products and services to the customers
in the market quite effectively and efficiently. It has selected Norway as its location for Business
Expansion so that the enhancement in its profitability level can be done. In this assignment, a
detailed and specific focus will be made on the various types of business activities which are
required to be managed in the Business Organizations to attain the desired level of success in the
international market.
MAIN BODY
Introduction to Norway- Norway is a European Country. Its Capital is Oslo. It is a
country which offers a lot of potential to the emerging businesses because it is able to make sure
that it can provide a wide range of business opportunities to the businesses so that they are able
to expand their business in the country and earn higher-level of profits in a proper manner.
Application of a model- It is quite important that a right model can be applied by the
Business Organizations for the purpose of ensuring that a proper understanding about the
International Business can be developed (Cavusgil and et.al., 2020). Therefore, this can be quite
helpful in ensuring that the management of the needs and requirements can be done quite
effectively and efficiently. Therefore, the application of Hofstede's model can be done in a right
way so that the understanding about the culture of a country can be developed quite
appropriately.
Thus, it can be stated that the application of this particular model can be done in the
following manner-
 Power Distance Index- It refers to the level of inequality which exists within a particular
society. If it is higher then this will lead towards more centralization and if it is on the
lower side then this will lead towards equal distribution of power in a country. This is
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low in the case of Norway which means that the distribution of power is equal in the
country.
 Individualism vs. Collectivism- It refers to the approach which is related with ensuring
that the attitude of the people in the society (Coscia, Neffke and Hausmann, 2020).
Therefore, it can be stated that in this way if the attitude of the people is of Individualism
then this will lead towards more concentration on personal goals and objectives. If the
attitude of the people is of Collectivism then this will make sure that the focus can be put
on the collective goals and objectives. In the case of Norway, the focus is on
Individualism which means that the people focus more on their personal goals and
objectives.
 Masculinity vs. Femininity- This refers to the distribution of the roles between men and
women. In a Masculine society, men will have greater dominance as compared to
women. However, In a Feminine society, women will be also given equal treatment like
men. In Norway, the focus is made more on Femininity which means that it is a feminine
society.
 Uncertainty Avoidance Index- This refers to the way in which people of a country are
able to cope with anxiety. If this index is on the higher side, people want to avoid
uncertainty. However, if this index is on the lower side, people will be able to deal with
the uncertainties. In Norway, there is no particular preference of people which is related
with dealing with uncertainties.
 Long-term Orientation vs. Short-term Orientation- This refers to the orientation of
the people who live in the society (Deligonul, 2020). In countries, where there is a long-
term orientation they can be pragmatic, honest and thrifty in nature. In countries, where
there is a short-term orientation, there is more focus on principles, consistency and truth.
In Norway, the people have a Long-term orientation which makes them quite pragmatic
in nature.
 Indulgence vs. Restraint- This refers to the attitude of the people in the country. If the
focus is on Indulgence, then people can express their own feelings and emotions more
freely. However, If the focus is on Restraint, then people are required to suppress their
own feelings an emotions. Norway's people are inconclusive in this regard and therefore
are not able to decide about the decision which they are required to make.
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Therefore, all of these parameters are quite important from the point of view of the management
of MSD Lighting Ltd. Because by considering them the decision which is related with
expansion can be made in a better manner so that the attainment of the particular level of goals
and objectives can be made. This will help the company to make sure that the right progress can
be made by expanding the business in the market in a proper manner.
Critical evaluation of the cultural sensitivity-
Cultural sensitivity is quite important and should be considered by the Business
Organizations while conducting their Business in a particular country in a proper manner
(Ghauri, Strange and Cooke, 2021). Therefore, it is quite important that the Businesses are able
to make sure that an appropriate analysis of the culture can be made by them in a proper manner.
This will be quite useful for the Businesses in ensuring that they are able to conduct their
business activities in quite a proper manner effectively and efficiently.
Norway is also a culture-sensitive country because it is quite important for the Businesses
here to make sure that a proper and detailed analysis of the culture can be made by them in quite
a right way effectively and efficiently. Thus, MSD Lighting Ltd's managers are required to
consider the wide range of cultural needs and requirements of the people of Norway so that the
business can be expanded there and it can be successful in a proper manner.
For this purpose, it is essential that the wide range of products and services which are
provided by the company to the people of Norway can satisfy their wide range of needs and
requirements in the short-term, medium-term and long-term and therefore this can help in
ensuring that the people can get appropriate value for the money which is being paid by them to
purchase the product (Gholipour and Foroughi, 2020). Thus, it will be necessary for the company
to make sure that the cultural sentiments of the people are respected while developing the
products and providing the services to them so that the attainment of the necessary goals and
objectives can be done in a proper manner.
It can be also helpful for the company to conduct a detailed survey among the people so
that the detailed knowledge on the culture of the country can be obtained which will be quite
important in ensuring that the right products and services are provided to the people as per their
various types of needs and requirements so that these needs and requirements can be fulfilled in a
proper manner. This will be helpful for the Business so that it is able to make relevant
adjustments as and when necessary so that the attainment of the sustainable success can be done
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in the future in quite a proper manner effectively and efficiently according to the needs and
requirements.
Communication barriers-
There are a wide range of communication barriers which are experienced in the
Businesses. It is important to develop a thorough and proper understanding about them
(Hutchings, Wilkinson and Brewster, 2020). The various types of barriers which can be
experienced can be explained as follows-
 Noise- It is a common communication barrier. This is so because too much noise can
create various types of issues for the Business Communication. Therefore, MSD Lighting
Ltd. Can face this issue in Norway as if there is too much noise during the Business
Negotiations which are being carried out in the country then this can certainly create a
particular level of impact on the company and its business in the country and therefore
this can affects its overall profitability level. This barrier can affect the way in which the
company manages its wide variety of business operations in the country while providing
products and services.
 Perceptual and Language Differences- It is also a communication barrier. This is so
because these differences can create a particular level of impact on the Businesses in the
Foreign Countries. Therefore, in this way it can be stated that for the management of
MSD Lighting Ltd. This can create issues in Norway. This is so because the company is
based in U.K. Where the language which is commonly spoken is English. In Norway, the
language which is commonly spoken is Norwegian. Therefore, it is quite important that
the assessment of these differences is made by the company and the appropriate actions
are taken so that these differences can be sorted out.
 Information Overload- It is also a communication barrier. The organization often face
this barrier in the Foreign Countries due to the fact that they provide too much
information to the customers which can create problems and issues for them as many of
them are not able to understand so much information. Therefore, in this way it can be
stated that a company like MSD Lighting Ltd. Can face this particular issues while
operating in Norway.
1. Inattention- This is also a common communication barrier. This is so because many
people are not able to pay appropriate attention towards what is being told to them. This
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therefore creates particular impact on them. For an organization like MSD Lighting Ltd.
It is an issue which can be faced while the management of the operations is being done in
Norway.
 Time Pressure- It is also a common communication barrier. This is so because in an
organization the various types of targets are required to be attained within a specific time-
period. Therefore, in MSD Lighting Ltd. This barrier can be faced when the organization
shifts to Norway for setting up its business there.
 Complexity in Organizational Structure- It is also a common communication barrier.
This is so because the complex organizational structures can create a particular level of
impact on the organizations (Markova, Modliński and Pinto, 2020). For an organization
like MSD Lighting Ltd., it can create a lot of problems while operating in Norway
because if there is complexity in organizational structure then this can create a lot of issue
for the company in communicating the desired information to its various types of
customers in the market which will therefore put a higher-level of impact on them and
will affect them a lot.
Communication Strategies-
A wide range of communication strategies should be used so that the company is able to
make sure that it can attain the desired level of success in the foreign country where it wants to
carry out expansion. Therefore, it can be stated that MSD Lighting Ltd. Is required to make sure
that the appropriate use of the following communication strategies can be made-
 Understanding the needs and requirements of the customers- It is important that the
Businesses are able to make sure that a thorough understanding related to the needs and
requirements of the customers can be developed (Peterson and Muratova, 2020). For
MSD Lighting Ltd. It is therefore quite important to make sure that it can understand
these needs and requirements which will be useful in taking the necessary actions in a
proper manner.
 Development of interactive ways of communicating with the customers- It is also
necessary that the development of the interactive way of communicating with the
customers can be done which can be quite helpful for the customers to be able to ensure
that they are able to attain the wide variety of goals and objectives in a proper manner
(Peterson, Arregle and Martin, 2020). In the context of MSD Lighting Ltd. It is quite
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necessary that the development of such interactive ways can be done so that the
appropriate communication with the customers can be carried out.
 Taking regular feedback- It is important that the regular feedback can be taken from the
customers so that the products and services are provided by the company according to
their specific needs and requirements which will therefore be quite helpful in attaining
the goals and objectives in a proper way (Shams and et.al., 2021). For an organization
like MSD Lighting Ltd., it is important to make sure that this can be done so that the
company is able to enhance its overall profitability level quite properly in the future.
 Making the improvements- It is also quite necessary the improvements can be made in
the organization on the feedback which is provided by the customers. Thus, the managers
of MSD Lighting Ltd. Is required to make sure that the necessary improvements can be
made by it so that it is able to ensure that it can effectively and efficiently progress
further in the market.
CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that International Business refers to the wide
range of methods and techniques which can be used so that the overall management of the
Businesses can be done in a proper way. Therefore, it is highly necessary that the Businesses are
able to make sure that the management of the particular needs and requirements of the customers
in the Foreign Countries can be done by them which will help them in making the required
progress in the future and ensuring that the attainment of the goals and objectives in the future
can be carried out.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
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