Real Handful: Cross-Cultural Management for Latvia Expansion

This report analyzes Real Handful's international business expansion into Latvia, focusing on cross-cultural management. It evaluates opportunities and risks associated with entering the Latvian market, emphasizing the importance of effective strategies, collaboration, training, customer management, and competitor research. The report identifies potential failures in adapting to the global business model, understanding regional differences, and addressing local legal and ethical issues. It further discusses management responses, including drive, knowledge, strategy, and action, to leverage opportunities and mitigate risks. The report concludes with practical recommendations for achieving cross-cultural proficiency, such as learning about the organization, exploring historical contexts, and adapting management practices to ensure success in the Latvian market. Desklib provides access to this and other solved assignments to aid students.

International Business

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
TASK...............................................................................................................................................3
Literature Review.............................................................................................................................3
Critical Evaluation on effective management of company's potential opportunities and risk of
doing business in cross cultural environment ...........................................................................3
ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION ..................................................................................................6
Critically analyse the relevant management responses that can be undertaken by the
organisation in order to realise the several opportunities that are available in the market in
context of he cross-cultural issues...............................................................................................6
Suggest several practical and justified recommendations in context to the ways in which the
cross cultural proficiency can be achieved which is essential in order to achieve the success in
the International market of Latvia. .............................................................................................7
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
International business refers to those activities which is performed by the company in
order to trade or sell their products and services all over the world. It allows companies to
expand their business in foreign market in order to make their business more strong , successful
and profitable. One of the most important advantage of it is that it help companies to increased
their revenue as well as their growth in most effective manner (van Tulder, Verbeke and
Piscitello, eds., 2018). For this project selected company is Real Handful which is a small private
limited company of United Kingdom. It is a manufacturing company and manufacture food
products. It incorporated on 24 June 2013 and its headquarters is in Cheshire, England, UK. Mr.
Joseph Richard Taylor, Mrs. Carly Emma Taylor and Ms. Aimin Li are the directors of the Real
Handful. They want to expand their business in the international market so, they select Latvia
because selling their product in this country help them to increase their growth as well as earn
maximum profit from it (Strange and Zucchella, 2017).
TASK
Literature Review
The Literature Review evaluates the company effectively manage the potential
opportunities and risk of doing business in such cross- cultural environment. Analysis and
discussion on company to realise the opportunities available in the market in relation to cross
culture issues. Justified recommendation on company achieves cross cultural proficiency which
is essential in achieving success in the international market selected.
Critical Evaluation on effective management of company's potential opportunities and risk of
doing business in cross cultural environment
Opportunity refers to those things which can become profitable in to order to get on time.
Risk refers to those things which create a chance in which company get opposite result according
to its situation. While entering in a new market company faces many opportunities as well as risk
in order to trade their product and services in that market. In regard of Real Handful various
opportunities and risk are available in Latvia in order to expand their business. In context of it,
its effective management in order to manage its potential opportunities and risk of doing business
in Latvia are evaluated below (Meyer, 2017):

Devise effective strategy- It is most important for the company in order to manage
opportunities and risk that are available while entering into new international market.
International business expansion help companies by offering an effective opportunity in order to
cover new territories and increase their sales by making new customers. In case of Real handful,
new market is great opportunity for them while expanding their business in Latvia. Its managers
need to make an Devise effective marketing strategy in order to attract more customers of new
market (Kourula, Pisani and Kolk, 2017).
Collaborating- It is important for the company to collaborate with other brands that are
available in the new market. It will help them to manage their business in new market in
effective manner. Other of companies have proper knowledge of the new market so, they will
help them in order to make new customers as well as earn profit and make strong position in the
new market. In context of Real handful, its mangers need to collaborate with small traders of
Latvia in order to manage their business in effective manner and it also help them to manage
their potential opportunities and challenges that are available in the new market ( Sutherland,
2017).
Training and development- It is important for the company to provide an effective and
development programs for their new employees of new market in order to expand their business
in it. An effective and training programs help employees to get proper knowledge in order to do
work in that company, this will help company to manage its risk as well as get opportunity in
effective manner. In aspect to Real Handful, it hired new employees that are live in Latvia so, it
is most important to them to provide proper training and development program in order to
provide them proper knowledge of their company. This will also help them to manage their
opportunity as well as risk in effective manner. By expansion of its business in Latvia, it will
become an important for them in order to reduce their unemployment rate by providing
employment (Kotler and et.al., 2019).
Using Customer management system- Using proper Customer Management system in
their business can help company to survive in a new market in effective manner and for long
time. This will also important for the company to increase their customers that are available in
new market. Customers are great opportunity and also a great challenge for the company, so it is
important for the company to use customer management system in order to manage their
customers in effective manner. In respect of Real Handful, it is essential for its manager to use its

customer management in order to manage customers that are available in Latvia. For them
customers provide them great opportunities and also create risk for them in order to manage in
effective manner customer management system is necessary.
Research about Competitors- Competitors that are available in the new market are the
great challenge for the company in order to entering in a new market. It is important for the
company to do proper research about competitors in order to expand their business in the new
market. Proper research help company to solve various problems which may occur after
expansion of their business in a new market. In case of Real Handful, it is important for its
managers to make proper research about their competitors (Hamilton and Webster, 2018).
There are further several risks too, that can be faced by the organisations during the cross
cultural environment. The several cultural impact upon the organisation, Real Handful have
been discussed below.
 Failing to adapt the global business model- The attitudes and the consumers of an
organisation tends to be highly influenced by the culture. When the Real Handful will
expand itself in the new market, it is important that the business models should be
modified in order to consider the preferences, habits as well as the customs. The failure
can lead to cost association with the foreign market. The organisation can not work upon
the approach that one size fits all as the market needs tend to vary.
 Failure to identify the regional and subculture differences- It is obvious that the
cultural barriers are quite common in the emerging international as well as intra national
market. There are probability of significant regional variations in terms of preferences of
the consumers as well as conditions of the market. The sub culture of Latvia might not be
limited to he regional as well as ethnic variations (Francis, Owyang and Savascin, 2017).
 Failure to understand the local business- The cultural barriers are a part of customer
interface as well as the development of the in depth understanding of the local business
customs. If the appreciation regarding the market is not done, then it is likely to have an
impact over the economic, political, cultural as well as regulatory influences. Hence,
there is a probability that the new entrants can back foot with the several stakeholders.
 Failure to adapt to adapt the management practices across the several cultures- The
management theories , models as well as practices can be surrounded by the culture
specific assumptions. It is understood that there is no universal theory that can be

considered as universal and also the cultural assumptions need to underlay with the
several management practices that might be left unacknowledged at times.
 Failure to identify the new opportunities- There is a probability that the organisation may
result in missing off the opportunities through the cultural barriers. The organisation
might overlook the potential of the certain development markets. It is important for the
organisations to grab the opportunity of the early market presence. The organisation may
fail to establish the early presence of in the market and this can further unable the
organisation to catchup with the several foreign organisations as well as local competitor.
Also several organisations have withdrawn from the several premature emerging markets
that can leave the relationships damaged along with leaving the legacy of the weak
commitment in the process (Di Giovanni Levchenko and Mejean, 2017).
 Failure to understand the local legal and ethical issues- There is a risk among the
organisations regarding the complex web of legal and ethical issues.
ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
Critically analyse the relevant management responses that can be undertaken by the organisation
in order to realise the several opportunities that are available in the market in context of he
cross-cultural issues.
The management of the organisation is required to respond to the several opportunities so that
the organisation can further grab the several opportunities in favour of the organisation in the
market in context of the cross cultural issues. The response of Real Handful in order to access the
opportunities in the market of Latvia have been discussed below.
 Drive- The drive is basically the willingness of the organisation and the employees to
work with the several other partners and the stakeholders that come from the diverse
backgrounds. It is very important for Real Handful to have a drive in order to overcome
the several explicit as well as unconscious bias that tends to act as a challenge in the
intercultural set up of the organisation. The positive drive will help to accomplish the
goals even when the individuals feel confuses and frustrated (Cravino and Levchenko,
2017).
 Knowledge- Knowledge is basically the understanding of the culture as well as the
cultural differences. These may involve the awareness as well as the variations in terms

of the customs, language as well as the appearances. It will help the organisation to grab
the positive opportunities in aspect of the cultural differences. Also these tend to enhance
the awareness regarding the variations in the language customs as well as the appearances
that can help the organisation to deal with the several problems while expanding its
market in Latvia (Collinson and et.al., 2020).
 Strategy- Strategy is basically the ability of the individual in terms of mentality or
psychological aspects. The strategies will help the organisation to confine the issues and
further work upon the goals of the organisation. The strategies will help the organisation
to have integrated ideas in order to accomplish the goals of the organisation.
 Action- Action is also an aspect of the organisation in order to fix the verbal and non
verbal behaviour and it will help the organisation to avoid the risk of communication
while responding the to diverse regions and building a trust and rapport.
Suggest several practical and justified recommendations in context to the ways in which the
cross cultural proficiency can be achieved which is essential in order to achieve the success
in the International market of Latvia.
The several recommendations that can be practised by the Real Handful organisation
while its expansion in Latvia in order to achieve the cross-cultural proficiency have been
discussed below. It is essential for the organisation to achieve the success of the organisation in
the international market of Latvia have been discussed below (Cantwell, 2017).
 Learn and explore about the organisation- It is important for the organisation which is
Real Handful to explore about he historical roots of the organisation along with the
beliefs and values of the organisations as well. The organisation needs to ensure about the
several exercises and tasks that tend to describe the experiences of the organisation that
have been developed in the past. The organisation must ensure the functioning of the
organisation in a groups, a team as well as an individual. It is essential that the Real
Handful characterises the most representative style of the organisation whether the
organisation focuses upon the individual approach or the team approach. The concept of
self assessment is crucial in order to realise the several pervasive goals that can be played
by the several culture in the life of the organisation. Further it is essential for the
organisation to make sure that the employees of the organisation are aware of the several

biases and work upon avoiding the personal bias regarding the culture as well. It is
important for the organisation to make sure that the organisation responds towards the
culture of Latvia with an open minded curiosity regarding the several cultures (Cairns
and Sliwa, 2017).
 Learning about the several cultures- It is crucial for the organisation to work upon the
development of a learning regarding the several cultures of the region where the
organisation plans to expand its market. The employees of Few Handful are required to
conduct a research based upon the concept of providing the therapy to the individuals
who come from the several different backgrounds. Which include seeking the cultural
insight with the help of the journal articles as well as the academic books. There is a need
for the organisation in order to provide information regarding the memoirs which can not
be captured by the journal articles. It is very important for the organisation to immerse
itself in the another culture which is the culture of Latvia. The organisation can lay
emphasis upon the concept of learning a new language that will help the organisation to
adjust and perform in a better manner in the new market. Another recommendation that
can be made for Few handful during its expansion in Latvia for gaining the cross cultural
proficiency is to learn the words and concepts that does not exist in the own language of
the region from where the organisation has its basis. Also, learning a language will help
the organisation and its employees to reach and connect with the people who would
interact and speak in the same language (Blackburne and Buckley, 2019).
 Interaction with the diverse groups- The organisation is recommended to interact with the
several diverse groups in order to blend with the culture of the new markets in the
organisation expansion. The Few Handful will require to arrange a research project in
order to practice the experience as well as the research project or the internship where the
employees of the organisation tends to work in form of the culture which is found by the
unfamiliar by the organisation which is a great way to enhance the cultural competence of
the organisation. It is recommended the the organisation must depend upon the cultural
experiences of the organisation that they are seeking within the market. Also the cultural
experiences need to be required in form of the volunteering through the community
centres, as well as the religious centres or institutions. The organisation might focus upon
the concept of spending time with the acquaintances that will help in exchanging the view

while further enhancing the cross cultural proficiency within the organisation. The
organisation can focus upon the interaction with the several member of the several
diverse groups who can further seek in order to get a full picture through the interaction
of the peers through the several parties, religious services as well as the cultural events. It
is important for the organisation to focus upon putting the the employees with the social
situations when the employees the focus upon the cultural group.
 Attend the diversity focussed conferences- The Real Handful organisation is
recommended to motivate its employees in order to provide formal training to its
employees regarding the diversity related research in order to practice the several issues
in context of the latest researches in order to meet the needs of the potential customers
(Aithal, 2017).
CONCLUSION
It can be concluded from the report that the concept of international business is a very
crucial component of a business that looks upon the several concepts of business expansion in
the geographically diverse locations. International business refers to those activities which is
performed by the company in order to trade or sell their products and services all over the world.
It allows companies to expand their business in foreign market in order to make their business
more strong , successful and profitable. It can be concluded that the organisation is required to
evaluate the several potential opportunities as well as risks in order to manage the cross cultural
environment for the organisation. Further it is essential that the organisation to realise the
response in order to grab the opportunities within the market in context of the cross cultural
issues. Further it is very important for the organisation to to implement the several
recommendations in order to accomplish the several cross cultural proficiency in order to achive
the success within the international market.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
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Business and its Environment. International Journal of Applied Engineering and
Management Letters (IJAEML), 1(2), pp.78-97.
Blackburne, G.D. and Buckley, P.J., 2019. The international business incubator as a foreign
market entry mode. Long Range Planning, 52(1), pp.32-50.
Cairns, G. and Sliwa, M., 2017. A very short, fairly interesting and reasonably cheap book about
international business. Sage.
Cantwell, J., 2017. Innovation and international business. Industry and Innovation, 24(1), pp.41-
60.
Collinson, S. and et.al., 2020. International business. Pearson UK.
Cravino, J. and Levchenko, A.A., 2017. Multinational firms and international business cycle
transmission. The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 132(2), pp.921-962.
Di Giovanni, J., Levchenko, A.A. and Mejean, I., 2017. Large firms and international business
cycle comovement. American Economic Review, 107(5), pp.598-602.
Francis, N., Owyang, M.T. and Savascin, O., 2017. An endogenously clustered factor approach
to international business cycles. Journal of Applied Econometrics, 32(7), pp.1261-1276.
Hamilton, L. and Webster, P., 2018. The international business environment. Oxford University
Press.
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Strange, R. and Zucchella, A., 2017. Industry 4.0, global value chains and international
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Online
Culture Plus Consulting, 2018. Available through:
<https://cultureplusconsulting.com/2015/06/23/top-ten-cultural-risks-global-business/>