Advanced Critical Writing: Standardization vs. Adaptation Strategies

This report delves into the critical business strategies of standardization and adaptation, crucial for companies aiming to expand into international markets. It defines standardization as setting uniform product characteristics to reduce risk and adaptation as tailoring products or services to improve brand image and revenue. The report explores how organizations like Tesco and McDonald's utilize these strategies, emphasizing the importance of understanding customer needs and demands. It highlights the significance of the marketing mix, including the 7 Ps, and the use of PESTEL analysis. The report concludes by recommending that businesses prioritize standardization, especially when considering the marketing mix, to achieve their goals and maintain a competitive edge. The report also provides references to relevant journals and online resources. The report is available on Desklib, a platform offering AI-based study tools and past assignments.

ADVANCED
CRITICAL
WRITTING

Business management is generally associated with the running of company which
involves major components like controlling, monitoring, leading, planning and organization.
This process genuinely helps the business corporate in order to achieve their goals and objectives
(Longenecker and et.al., 2013). There is no as such organization has been given as this topic has
been focused on the standardization of the product or adopting the same strategy the time when
exploring into new market. Standardization in the organization context means setting new
characteristics of the product which generally reduces the risk of products which falls under the
same category. On the contrary side, adaption is considered as a change which is made by the
organization in order to improve their brand image as well as revenue. Further, companies in
order to stay raw in the industry mostly chooses these two strategies. However, at times some
organization fails in getting success and some gets the advantage which generally increase the
sale of their products and services.
Once decision taken by the business organization to tap the international markets requires
a great amount of planning, thinking and the most important financial resources. Further, the
existing organization who having a broad market in the UK can think to tap the global market as
these organizations have incurred huge amount of profits in past one or two decades and they
have so much of revenue so that they can exist their new venture their. In order to meet this,
firms can focus on two major strategies and these are standardization and adaptation. According
toJohnson, Bartholomew and Miller, (2006) a fundamental strategic decision has to made
immediately whether to employ a constant marketing mix i.e. standardization strategy as part of
a global strategy or whether to adjust the marketing mix and strategies i.e. Adaptation strategy to
take account of special characteristics of each local market. Standardization of products and
services in necessary for the business venture because all the products and services are produced
according to the needs and demands of the customers. If consumers do not like product then
organization cannot force them to purchase their product as it is the customer's perception.
Further, in order to meet this Schrepp, Held and Laugwitz, (2006) have adopted the concept of
marketing mix where companies have to judge the essential elements of the product and need to
set all the major characteristics by considering the needs and demands of the consumers.
Furthermore, the researcher has focused upto some more extent and they deliberately modified
the 4P's into the 7 P's where three more essential elements got entry. This 7 P's include product,
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price, place, promotion, people, process and physical evidence. Moreover, organization has used
the marketing mix as the base for implementing the marketing plans and they business enterprise
have set this for all the major products and services.
From the view point of Jansen, (2010) standardization refers a situation where firms
operates at the global level and generally attempt to standardize their products and also
communications to all markets within which they function. On the contrary Ang and
Massingham, (2007) stated that the adaptation is the choosing the same product and service into
the global market without making any changes. Business enterprises when extending their
market give core emphasis to the standardization as it helps in improving the productivity and
takes them to reach towards the target goals. For instance, Tesco's who is giant in the retail sector
is facing a sudden downfall in their market share and profits because their small competitors like
Marks and Spencer is giving tough competition as they are setting the price for there products by
considering that of the Tesco. Further, they are also implementing new tactics in order to
improve their market share with the help of aggressive promotional activities for their products
and services. From the view point of White and Absher, (2007) global media giants like CNN
News and other national media shows the quality of these retail outlets and also when they are
expanding into some major countries their practical implications are telecast. Further,
organizations generally incur huge advertisement expense in order to make effective sale of that
product. For instance, Lewis Jeans spent almost a million pound in order to telecast one series of
advertisement commercial and the advertisement which is been made is not telecast in UK only
but also throughout the globe.
Further, Vetro and Timmerer, (2005) stated the application of uniform (standardization)
marketing mix strategies across global markets helps the business organization to get the
competitive advantage over their tough competitors. For instance, Hilton and Marriott are the
global brand in the hospitality industry and these organizations do a proper scanning of the
environment before implementing their new venture. Organizations further focus on conducting
a PESTEL analysis in order to produce the products and services of the desired need of the
customers. Standardization done by these hospitalities firm by analyzing the need and
requirements of customers and these firms give productive results in satisfying their needs.
Moreover, business organization in UK can have their major focus on rationalizing different
varieties of products and also focus on improving the management and design of these products
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and services. Further, organization will get the standardization by facilitating the excellent
exportation of the marketing products and also make a method for simple purchase of products
for customers satisfaction.
From the view point of Katsikeas, Samiee and Theodosiou, (2006) these standards for
consumer will establish quality and safety level for the products and services and consumers will
come to know about all the major qualities of these products and services. Further, McDonald's
expansion into international markets is based on ownership, franchises and joint ventures
systems. It is further treated as a strategy where company focuses on producing different
products by considering the needs and demands for the consumers. For instance, McAaloo tikki
in India is not served in these Chinese market because people out there do not like to have such
types of products. Further, if organization had adopted the adaptation strategy then the market in
the China would have been collapsed and McDonald's would not have stood again. Moreover,
from all these instance it has been clearly evaluated that the organization in order to expand their
business should majorly focus on the standardization strategy as producing the products by
considering the need of the market along with considering the marketing mix element will lead
organization to achieve their goals and objectives.
From the above report it is clearly inferred that the business organization must focus on
implementing the standardization tactic so that firm can make necessary changes in their
products and services when serving globally in different countries. Further, this report has
deliberately focused on both adaptation as well as the standardization strategy so that company
can implement any one of them to get the competitive advantage. Further, business enterprise
should majorly focus on the standardization as it is the technique where marketing mix for the
different products and services comes into play and the organization should consider these
elements in order to get best of the result (Advantages of standardization. 2013). Further, it is
also an essential part in order to give stiff competition to their major competitors.
Recommendations in order to stay raw in the industry is that company can simplify the legal text
of the products so that customers do not find any problem in order to find that product. Further,
establishing healthy environmental and safety policy in the global world will give them core
advantage to run business.
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REFERENCES
Journals and Books
Ang, Z. and Massingham, P., 2007. National culture and the standardization versus adaptation of
knowledge management. Journal of Knowledge Management. 11(2). pp. 5-21.
Jansen, W., 2010. New business models for the knowledge economy. Strategic Direction. 26(1).
Johnson, D., Bartholomew, K. and Miller, D., 2006. Improving computer literacy of business
management majors: A case study. Journal of Information Technology Education:
Research. 5(1). pp. 77-94.
Katsikeas, C. S., Samiee, S. and Theodosiou, M., 2006. Strategy fit and performance
consequences of international marketing standardization. Strategic management journal.
27(9). pp. 867-890.
Longenecker, J. and et.al., 2013. Small business management. Cengage Learning.
Schrepp, M., Held, T. and Laugwitz, B., 2006. The influence of hedonic quality on the
attractiveness of user interfaces of business management software. Interacting with
Computers. 18(5). pp. 1055-1069.
Vetro, A. and Timmerer, C., 2005. Digital item adaptation: overview of standardization and
research activities. Multimedia, IEEE Transactions on. 7(3). pp. 418-426.
White, D. W. and Absher, K., 2007. Positioning of retail stores in Central and Eastern European
accession states: Standardization versus adaptation. European Journal of Marketing.
41(3/4). pp. 292-306.
Online
Advantages of standardization. 2013. [Online]. Available through:
<http://www.feim.org/en/standard-advantages>. [Accessed on 5th December 2015].
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