Caterpillar's Global Strategy: An International Engineering Report

This report provides an analysis of Caterpillar's international engineering management strategies, focusing on the cultural and geopolitical factors influencing business decisions in Vietnam and Kenya. The report assesses the suitability of both countries for new business facilities, considering economic stability, infrastructure, and cultural nuances. Vietnam is highlighted for its stable government, strategic location, and growing economy, while Kenya is recognized as an economic and logistics hub in East Africa with a supportive environment for foreign investment. The geopolitical characteristics of both countries, including Vietnam's strategic importance in the South China Sea and Kenya's regional dominance in East Africa, are examined to understand their impact on Caterpillar's global operations. The report concludes that both countries offer viable opportunities for investment and expansion due to their stable governance, favorable business environments, and strategic geopolitical positions. Desklib provides access to similar reports and solved assignments for students.

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Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................2
Facilities for the new business in Vietnam and Kenya..........................................................................2
Cultural specificity in the terms of geopolitical characteristics.............................................................3
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................4
References.............................................................................................................................................5

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Introduction
This report helps in understanding the cultural specification of Vietnam and Kenya. The
business situation in both the countries is analyzed to understand the cultural specifications.
Both are the convenient locations for providing facilities to the new businesses. This task
defines the facilities provided for the new business. Finally, the cultural specifications of
Vietnam and Kenya have been discussed in the terms of general geopolitical characteristics.
Facilities for the new business in Vietnam and Kenya
Vietnam has a stable government and communal structure which makes it a perfect place for
the capital investment. Vietnam is situated in the cradle of Southeast Asia and bordered by
China. The geographic advantage of the country serves as a home base to the companies. It is
one of the fast-growing Asian companies with high GDP growth. The GDP was 6% in 2014
whereas it increased to 6.7% in 2015. The country is the enormous importer of capital goods
which are essential to meet infrastructure needs and the consumer goods in order to satisfy
the expanding consumer market. The macroeconomic environment has been stabilized due to
the upgrading of the stability of exchange rates and a decrease in the level of inflation. The
country remains one of the smart locations for the foreign investors on the account of low
wages, favorable demographics, political stability, and location (Parsons, 2017).
The people of Vietnam are having a specific mix of cultures, languages, and history.
Vietnam is the most ethnically homogenous country and makes up 90% of the population
with Vietnamese. The 85% of the population belongs to the indigenous groups that are Thai
and Hmong. Most of the country’s vocabulary comes from the Chinese language (Van
Chung, 2015). In 1910, it made French the official language. Buddhism is the largest religion
in Vietnam. There are other religions such as Catholicism, Cao Dai, and Hoa Hao sects.
According to the report of the World Bank, the attractiveness of Kenya has improved to
investors. The country has been ranked third in the report of World Bank 2017 in the ease of
doing a business index. Kenya is considered the economic, viable and logistics hub of East
Africa. Kenya is the third most competitive economy. Kenya promotes both local and FDI.
The government of Kenya has simplified the business license and efforts to amend the
companies act. Most of the investment in Kenya falls under the micro and small business
sector (Ngomuo, Mneney & Ndakidemi, 2014). The country has been popular in fascinating

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private equity capital. The U.S. companies are setting up it’s operations and taking advantage
of the location of Kenya. The culture of the business in Kenya is governed by Harambee
(Choi & Glassman, 2018).
The culture in Kenya is purely Kenyan. The culture of Kenya is built on the absorption of
new and mixed cultures. The GDP of the country was 5.4% growth in 2014. Further, it is
expected to bounce to 5.8% in 2018 and 6.1% in 2019 (The World Bank, 2018). The inflation
fell to 7.2% in 2014. Kenya is one of the stable countries of Africa. The legal recourse is
expensive in the country. The application of common law and doctrines of equity are
subjected to the statutes of Kenya. The country has held consistent democratic elections.
There are various opportunities available locally and regionally. The infrastructure is also
superior in the country. Kenya simplified the process of setting up a business in 2016. The
government is open to the foreign investment (Economic Freedom, 2018). There is a skilled
labor force in the country which encourages the free flow of trade. The foreign investments
are backed by the government policies. It has enacted a law on special economic zones. The
work permit is required for the foreign nations expecting to work in the country.
Cultural specificity in the terms of geopolitical characteristics
There are three factors which play important role in the geopolitics of Vietnam:
 The major shipping route is long coastline on the South China Sea. South China is a
major shipping route and holds the substantial oil and gas reserves. Having control
over the South China Sea can interfere with the shipping route of Japan, Taiwan,
Korea and many other countries. The country also has Cam Ranh Bay on the central
coast and is one of the strategically important bays in Asia (Quora, 2016).
 Vietnam is one of the most popular countries in South East Asia. The country seeks to
counterbalance Chinese influence in the region of Asia-pacific. The country has some
degrees of political and economic influences, especially on Laos and Cambodia. It is
predicted that Vietnam is going to operate with China, Russia, and the US which
influences strongly to the geopolitics of the same area.
 The stable political situation and open foreign policy have helped the economy of
Vietnam to grow strongly. A large population and geopolitical importance make the
country an attractive destination for the foreign investment from the multinationals.

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 Vietnam is expected to be among the largest and strongest economies of the world in
the future. Vietnam is also a member of the ASEAN. Many high tech companies are
coming in the country which requires talented local workforce and encouraging
investment environment. The general business costs in the country are the lowest in
the area.
The general geopolitical characteristics of Kenya are:
 The coastal region ranges two hundred fifty miles from the southern border. Kenya
meets Tanzania on this border and it also borders Somalia in the north. This state is
categorized by various biological features. The creation of a standard gauge railway
through Tanzania is affordable and shorter in distance (Strategic Intelligence, 2016).
 The eastern plateau forelands are situated at just east of the right highlands. It
constitutes a vast plateau of ancient rocks. They are areas of scattered hills and
elevated constructions. The most conspicuous hills are Kasigau, Taita, Machakos, and
Kitui.
 Rift Valley Region stretches from Lake Turkana area, consecutively southward
through the Kenya highlands through Tanzania. The south of lake falls off to near two
thousand feet at the border of Kenya-Tanzania.
Conclusion
Both the countries Vietnam and Kenya provide the best opportunities to the investors who
want to conduct activities in the countries. Both the countries have a stable government and
social structure which makes perfect places to carry on the business activities. The
geopolitical characteristics of both the countries attract to conduct operations.

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References
Quora, 2016. Geopolitically, is Vietnam an important country? [Online] Availabale at
https://www.quora.com/Geopolitically-is-Vietnam-an-important-country [Accessed on 9
August, 2018].
Strategic Intelligence, 2016. Kenya’s Regional Dominance & Power; Nairobi’s Geo Strategic
& Political Value Uncontestable. [Online] Availabale at
https://intelligencebriefs.com/kenyas-regional-dominance-nairobis-geo-strategic-political-
value-uncontestable/ [Accessed on 9 August, 2018].
The World Bank, 2018. The World Bank in Kenya. [Online] Availabale at
https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/kenya/overview [Accessed on 9 August, 2018].
Economic Freedom, 2018. Kenya. [Online] Availabale at
https://www.heritage.org/index/country/kenya [Accessed on 9 August, 2018].
Van Chung, T., 2015. The Characteristics of Culture and Religions in Ho Chi Minh City,
Vietnam: Processes of Acculturation, Transformation and Accumulation. Tattva-Journal of
Philosophy, 7(2), pp.27-51.
Ngomuo, M., Mneney, E. and Ndakidemi, P., 2014. Control of lethal browning by using
ascorbic acid on shoot tip cultures of a local Musa spp.(Banana) cv. Mzuzu in
Tanzania. African Journal of Biotechnology, 13(16).
Parsons, C., 2017. Lauren ME Goodlad. The Victorian Geopolitical Aesthetic: Realism,
Sovereignty, and Transnational Experience. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2015. Pp. 353.
$95.00 (cloth). Journal of British Studies, 56(4), pp.911-913.
Choi, Y.J. and Glassman, J., 2018. A geopolitical economy of heavy industrialization and
second tier city growth in South Korea: Evidence from the ‘Four Core Plants Plan’. Critical
Sociology, 44(3), pp.405-420.