Mackie's Crisp: International Business Environment Analysis Report

This report analyzes the international business strategy of Mackie's Crisp, a UK-based company manufacturing and exporting chips. It examines macro-environmental factors affecting the company's global expansion, utilizing PESTLE analysis to assess political, economic, socio-cultural, technological, legal, and environmental factors in France, India, and Jamaica. Porter's Five Forces are used to evaluate competitive dynamics. The report also explores International Human Resource Management (IHRM) approaches – ethnocentric, geocentric, polycentric, and regiocentric – and their application to Mackie's operations. Finally, it considers Hofstede's cultural dimensions to understand cultural influences on business practices. The analysis recommends strategic market choices and IHRM approaches for successful international ventures, providing insights into the challenges and opportunities in the global market.

Running head: MANAGING INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
MANAGING INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
Name of the student
Name of the university
Author note

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................2
PESTLE Analysis of Mackie’s Crisp:........................................................................................2
Porter’s Five Forces:..................................................................................................................7
International Human Resource Management Approaches:........................................................8
Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions:...............................................................................................9
Conclusion:..............................................................................................................................10
References................................................................................................................................11

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Introduction
The major section of the report discusses the macro-environmental factors that help
the concerned company to expand its business worldwide. The company for this report is
Mackie’s. It is a United Kingdom based company, which manufactures chips and exports
them to the foreign markets. The Mackie’s came into existence in the year 2009 and then
those started undertaking exports from the year 2010. The major issues faced by the company
in exporting their manufactured commodities will be discussed in the analysis. The purpose
of the report is to understand the important macro-environmental factors that affect the
company’s dependence on the international trade and thereby determine the availability of the
products in the international markets. The SWOT analysis of the company, the PESTLE and
the Porter’s five analysis of the company helps in the better understanding of the company’s
macro-environmental conditions. These tools also help to analyze the position of the
company in international market.
PESTLE Analysis of Mackie’s Crisp:
Macro-Environmental Analysis forms an essential part of any business. These factors
do not lie within the domain of a business but can harm the working of a company especially
the one like Mackie. One of the primary tools to conduct a macro-environmental analysis is
the PESTLE Analysis. A PESTLE Analysis tends to identify the various factors that are
present in the external environment of the business and have a direct effect on the working of
the given company. Since the external environment of a business is dynamic, these external
factors need to be taken into consideration before operating in the business environment.
PESTLE stands for Political, Economical, Socio-cultural, Technological, Legal and the
environmental factors. For the given company, the PESTLE Analysis of the three given
choice of countries will be done. This shall help the business in identifying the various

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factors, which are present in the respective countries and help in comparison among the
different countries. For the analysis, a country is being chosen in the three different
continents. For Asia, the country India will be chosen, For North America, Jamaica will be
chosen and for Europe, France will be chosen.
Factors France India Jamaica
Political Although the political
environment of France
is very strict with the
elite group containing
most of the power,
France as a country is
open to investments. It
is a liberal country with
many incentives being
offered to promote
business. With Brexit,
the United Kingdom is
in a turmoil and thus
France can be a right
choice
India has turned out to
become a super power.
There are various tax
benefits and the concept
of an unexplored market
present in India where
Mackie can establish
itself. However, the
country is on a self-
production mode, which
may form a barrier.
Since Trump has become
the new President, his
laws can affect the
company’s operations and
expansion plans.
According to this law, no
external company will be
given additional facilities,
which can stimulate the
growth and job
opportunities of the nation
(Stone 2016).
Economical The economic condition
of France is very stable.
The country was not
greatly affected by the
recession, which took
place in 2007-2008
periods therefore the
Although India has been
doing well, there is vast
inequality in the income
of the people. Majority of
the people earn low
wages and may not be
able to afford the crisps.
Jamaica is more of a
tourist destination and the
economic condition of the
country is restricted by
legislation. The
legislation is enforced on
the exported products and

4MANAGING INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
country is suitable for
operations.
Thus, the product will
only be consumed by the
rich who comprise of
only 10% of the
population. On the
brighter side, there is
cheap labor available in
India and various tax
benefits.
the taxes are imposed on
the same. Although the
economic condition of the
country can be labeled as
stable, various new
policies by Trump can
affect the trade.
Socio-Cultural The socio-cultural
perspective can be
reflected in the tastes of
the people. Known for
good food, the French
are open to new tastes
and products.
People in India are not
that open to change. They
have a pre-set taste,
which will enable them
to not accept the change
in flavor of Mackie
crisps. There are various
ethical norms that are
different in India and
have to be considered.
There is a young
population present in the
country, which is open to
new tastes and products.
Hence, from this point of
view, Jamaica may be a
good choice.
Technological The country is
technologically
advanced and therefore
the business of the
company can reach the
country very quickly.
India is becoming
technologically
advanced, however a
major portion of the
population do not have
an access to the
advancements. Hence,
the business might face
problems while reaching
Just like France, Jamaica
is quite advanced in terms
of technology and
therefore the company can
take advantage of the
advancement and make
their move.

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out to the company.
Environmental There are various laws
and legislations present
in France which puts
restriction on the
production and packing
facilities. These need to
be abided by while
doing business in the
country.
India is a developing
country and therefore
they do not have very
strict rules for the
protection of the
environment. However,
the persist on using
recycled materials for
packaging and other
processing steps.
Jamaica is very strict in
terms of packaging and
producing while adhering
to the environmental laws.
Conservation of
environment is there
ulterior goal and
therefore, the company
needs to abide by these
rules in order to establish
connections.
Legal As stated earlier, France
has a strict set of rules
for the establishment of
a new business or in
cases of export taxes
and custom rules. There
are various acts
pertaining to exports as
well as anti dumping
laws, which need to be
abided by.
India has strict rules and
laws with respect to
business in order to
protect their economy.
They have anti dumping
laws, minimum wages
and various other
business laws pertaining
to foreign companies that
often make business
difficult. However, these
laws are simple and can
be adopted.
As Trump became the
President, the laws have
changed adversely. Trump
is totally against foreign
products and companies
and therefore has formed
strict legislations. Export
laws have been made
stringent thereby making
it difficult to export to the
country as well as setting
up business there.
(Handford et al. 2014).
From this PESTLE, analysis performed on the given three countries the following
conclusions and implications can be drawn:

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The company is based in United Kingdom and therefore it has been advised that the
Mackie should avoid expanding to Jamaica in North America. This is because, as Donald
Trump became the president there have been many rules and regulations which have been
altered and these are anti-foreign companies and therefore Jamaica should be avoided. (Stone
2016). Hence, it can be stated that India will be the most suitable market. Although the
economic stability of the country is not as advanced as compared to that of the other
countries, however, the laws are easy to follow and the labor available in cheap. The young
population present in the country is open to new tastes and it is advisable that the country
should export and invest in India to experience a new market. The number of customers in
India is high and diverse which makes the risk a calculated one. It is advisable that the
company follows ethical considerations and norms of India in order to become successful.
Porter’s Five Forces:
Figure 1: Porter’s five force
CompetitveRivalryNewEntriesBuyers'BargainingPowerSuppliers'BargainingPowerThreatofSubstituteProducts

7MANAGING INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
(Source: Verbeke and Kano2016)
The Porter’s five helps in understanding the factors that the company might face
while marketing the product. The intensity of competitive rivalry of the product in the
international market is high due to the existence of the numerous companies in the same
industry (Spence2015). The threat of the new entries in the industry as well as in the global
market is high due to the demand of the products and the profitability of the same. On the
other hand, the threat of the substitute products is moderate as there lays a question of
acceptability of the new products by the consumers. The bargaining power of the suppliers
is again high as there are many companies belonging to the same industry in the market.
Similarly, the consumers are also provided with many options of the companies from the
same industry to choose from which consequently increases bargaining power of the
customers.
International Human Resource Management Approaches:
Ethnocentric, Geocentric, Polycentric and Regiocentric, refers to the approaches
undertaken by the international human resource management in order to understand the
necessity of the placement of the type of employees that are required for the
internationalization of business. The Ethnocentric approach refers to the hiring of the
employees from the home country where the organization is based. The Geocentric approach
refers to the hiring process where the most suitable candidate is being selected in order to
meet the requirements of the organization irrespective of the nationality that the person
belongs to (Kangand Shen2016). The Polycentric approach refers to the hiring process in
which the personnel are selected from the host country based on the qualification and the
preferential job role that the person can perform to meet the expectations of the organization.

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TheRegiocentric approach refers to the hiring process in which the employees are hired
based on the regions and the subparts of the host country (Myers2015).
In cases where the business decides to expand its operations whether nationally or
internationally. The need to follow a specific approach given above or a combination of them.
The concerned company for this report, Mackie aims at making the most out of the
employees and therefore undertakes ventures in the host countries. In order to undertake the
exports efficiently and employ the right person for the right job, Mackie focuses on the
approaches of the International Human Resource Management (IHRM). As the company is
based in UK, it is recommended that Mackie must take ethnocentric approaches for operating
successful business in France (Jordan and Lawrence 2012). This will help the company in
retaining the outputs of the company and thereby retain the economy of the nation. On the
other hand, Mackie must consider the polycentric approach while operating in the Jamaica
market. The policy prohibits the entry of any foreign companies in the American market in
order to retain the economic condition of the states and to maintain a uniformity of the job
that are being provided to the Americans. In order to outnumber the law, the company
employs the Americans. India enriched with diverse cultures and social practice, which is
based on the regional differences, therefore the regiocentric approach, will be the most
suitable for performing the firm’s business operation in India. (Hjartardóttir. and
Lundeborg2017).
The issues faced by the international human resource management are based on the
diversity of the culture and the heritage of the people. The globalization of the organizations
and their involvement in the international trades has helped the organizations in taking hold
of a diverse range of employees. The human resource is one of the major strengths that help
the company to prosper. The issues such as the compliance with the international
employment laws, cultural and social diversity are the major among the all issues. On the

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other side, some of the major challenges of the IHRM are the employee retention, ethical and
legal employment according to the host nation, culturally and socially diverse staff
management and others (Stash, Bookman and Morris2012).
Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions:
Culture is an important phenomenon that helps in the process of making the gradual
development of the company based on the resources that are being provided. It helps in the
proper functioning of the systems determined by the four dimensions that are being related to
the culture. As opined by Hofstede the major four dimensions are the approaches of the
individualism and collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, power and distance, masculinity
and femininity (Minkovand Hofstede2012).
The chosen country for the organization’s international expansion is the India and the
first dimension for India refers to the collectivism. People living in India are the member of
the collectivistic society and therefore are the believer of harmony, conformity and
belonging. The cultural or social practices of these countries dominate the individualism
(Cushen et al. 2012). People of this country tend to maintain the conventional and standard
rules for living. The uncertainty avoidance is high in the consumers of this country.
Considering the fact of the power and distance, the Indians consider the power to be the
integral and central part of the society and this central power dominates the people of the
society. In fact, most of the collectivistic societies are the followers of the high power
distance. Lastly, in terms of masculinity and femininity the gender diversity is strong and
apparent. In addition, people here have tough values for their livelihood and morality.
Therefore, the company must comply with the cultural orientation of India for the
international business expansion within the same context.

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Conclusion:
Therefore, it can be concluded from the above discourse that the for Mackie’s Crisp
the most suitable country for the internationalization of its business is India. However, the
discussion through different analysis presents the major challenges and issues that are
available in the market of India, with primary reference to the culture of the country and the
human resource aspect. In addition, the discourse also discusses the cultural dimension of the
chosen international country for effective internationalization of the business.

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References
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risks. Trends in Food Science & Technology, 40(2), pp.226-241.
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