International Business Strategies of Woolworths: A Case Study

Desklib provides solved assignments and past papers to help students succeed.

International business across the border

Executive summary
The process of international business is connected to the deal of goods, services, knowledge and
technology across the national border of a particular country. It can provide the global operations
of goods and services. The below report will demonstrate the characteristics of international
business. The report will also analyze how the international business process can help an
organization to grow their business in another area.

Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................4
Report- Main body...........................................................................................................................5
Foreign entry strategy..................................................................................................................5
Competitive Dynamics................................................................................................................8
Organizational Structure............................................................................................................10
Knowledge management...........................................................................................................12
Innovation in Woolworths.........................................................................................................14
CONCLUSION..............................................................................................................................16
REFERNCES.................................................................................................................................17

Introduction
International business is the important abstract for an organization because they can achieve an
international recognition by using the international business strategies. Woolworths is an
Australian supermarket retail organization which provides its services throughout Australian and
New Zealand. According to the revenue it is the second largest retail organization of Australia.
The below report will analyze the international business strategy of Woolworth. In the above
report the effective international strategy of the respective organization would be explained. The
organization is specialist in selling groceries, packed food for the people. The organization is
also selling health and beauty products, Magazines and DVD’s, pet and baby supplies. They
below report will explain about the global strategies of Woolworth.

Report- Main body
Foreign entry strategy
Expansion of business is the dream of each and every organization. As this helps them in
growing and developing their business, so that sales and profit of them can get increased. For
expanding the business, some organization use to provide their products and services of them in
different of the nation in which they use to perform their operations, but some uses process of
globalization (Cano-Kollmann, et. al., 2016). This is a process which helps an ample number of
organizations, in providing the products and services of them in different nations of the world.
Globalization is a process which helps organizations in expanding their business different parts
of the world. This process is very much helpful for a business, as this helps them in expanding
their business, and also helps them in providing their products and services in different nations of
the world. This process helps them by increasing the sales and revenue of them, so that
organization can achieve their goals and objectives. Woolworth is a well known brand name of
Australia and the organization is regular trying to maintain their image at the global level. The
organization is known for its planned internationalization strategies. These strategies have helped
the organization to grow their businesses on the global level. For this, they can adopt different
approaches of globalization, which can help them in growing their business in effective manner.
Beneath are some approaches of globalization, so which Woolworth can adopt, so that they can
globalize their business in effective manner –
 Direct Exporting – This is the approach which Woolworth can adopt. In this they will
produce their products and services in Australia and from there they will export produced
products and services in different parts of the world. This will help organization in
exporting and providing the products and services of them in different nations of the
world without making a huge amount of investment in different nations of the world.
Also, this is helpful for the organizations which do not huge amount of financial
resources for investing in different parts of the world. Also, in this organization do not
need to make huge investment in human resources of them ( Brannen, et. al., 2017). This
helps organizations which do not have huge number of man power working in their
organization.

 Licensing – This is another approach of globalizing a business. As in this, organization
use to take license for their work in the nation in which they are going to provide their
products and services. This helps Woolworth in providing their products and services in
different nations, in proper legal manner. This also will help them in opening an outlet of
them in the nation, where they can make interaction with an ample number of customers
and also can provide them their products and services. This is very much helpful
approach of globalization, as in this organization gets detail that why people love their
products and services (Cravino and Levchenko, 2017). Along with this, it helps in getting
detail that what changes in required in their products so that customers in nation start
loving their products.
 Franchising – This is another method of globalization which is used by an ample number
of organizations, for globalizing their business. As in this, organization like Woolworth
use to provide franchises of their products and services. Against the offered franchise
organization get some fixed amount of money. This is very much helpful for an
organization, as this helps them in globalizing their business in different nation without
making any type of investment. Along with this, this helps organization in getting huge
funds for globalizing their business. In this, organization just has to provide detail about
the products and services of them, to the person and staff of new franchise. This will
reduce the work pressure of globalization from the organization and also helps them in
earning high amount of funds by globalizing their business.
 Partnership – This is another approach which is used by organizations for globalizing
their business. In this, organization like Woolworth use to make collaboration with the
organization of the nation in which they are thinking to expand their business. In this,
organization from the venue nation and also organization which is going to expand their
business come together and makes an agreement on some agreements. This all help both
in producing products and services of them in effective manner and also helps in
providing those products and services to their customers (Deresky, 2017). This type of
globalization approach is very much helpful for an organization in expanding their
business. This helps them in getting a label which is already performing their operations
in that nation and also very much popular among people of that nation. This all will the

organization in providing their products with goodwill at workplace, so that huge number
of customers will get attracted towards it.
 Joint venture – This is another type of approach which is used by organizations for
expanding their business. In this, two or more individual and organizations use to make
agreements, where some terms and conditions are mentioned which all of the parties have
to follow. This will help organization which is going to expand their business in another
nation of the world. As in this, investment of the organization may get divided with their
partners or may other resources will get distributed with them (Hovhannisyan and Keller,
2015). This all also helps the organization in performing different operations of them in
effective manner, so that they can gain some profits by this and also can achieve their
goals and objectives in effective manner.

Competitive Dynamics
A term which is used for explaining the actions and reactions of an organization which they use
to take part in some competitive market is known as competitive dynamics. This is the term
which can be more easily defined by the competitive rivalry between organizations and
businesses. Woolworth is an Australian organization which uses to perform their operations in
different part of the nation. Therefore, it is very much important for them to make their
competitive dynamics stronger as compared to their competitors. This all will help them in
getting some extra benefits at the market place in which they and competitors use to perform
their operations (Kolk, 2016). Along with this, competitive dynamics have their own set of
model, Woolworth can use this model in effective manner, so that they avail some additional
competitive advantage as compared to their competitors. Detail of this model is given below –
 New competition action – This the step of this model, where an organization use to make
plans and strategies for making analysis of the competition which they are going to face
in future. Along with this, it is the step where organization like Woolworth is going to
make strategies, which can help them in making analysis about the competition which
they are going to face in future. This step is very much helpful for an organization, as
this helps them in getting idea that which organization is going to become biggest
competitor for them. Also, this helps them in making themselves aware, so that they can
adopt effective plans and strategies for reducing the effect of that competition.
 Threat analysis – This is the step of this model, where an organization use to make
analysis of threats which their organization going to face in future due to competition.
This all will help organization like Woolworth in getting idea that what issue or problem
or challenge their organization may face due to the competition among rivals present at
the market place. Therefore, it is very much important for an organization to make
analysis in this step in very effective manner. This all will help the organization in
making strategies and plans which they can implement, so that the effect of that threat
can get reduced with huge rate.
 Motivation and capability to response – This is the step, in which organizations use to
measure about the capability of them, that how much they are capable to handle the
competitive risks, and how much they are capable to make strategies for that and how

they are going to implement it (Morschett, et. al., 2015). This step is very much helpful
for an organization like Woolworth. This will help them in taking an estimate about the
power of them, which can help them in fitting against the competition which their
organization is facing. Also, this helps them in getting idea that what strategies they have
to adopt, so that that they can g some competitive advantage at the market place in which
they use to perform their operation.
 Types of competitive action – This is the phase of this model, where organizations use to
identify the type of actions which they can adopt, so that they can get some competitive
advantage at the market place in which they use to perform their operations (Stahl and
Tung, 2015). Also, this will help the organization like Woolworth in finding out the way
which that can help them in increasing their sales and revenue in the conditions of
competitive work place. Along with all these, this also use to give a pat which an
organization have to adopt, so that they can attract huge number of customers towards the
products and services of them and also can achieve their goals and objectives.
 Likelihood of competitive action – This is the last step of this model. In this,
organizations use to set the behavior of the action which has been used by them for
getting some competitive advantages. This will help organization like Woolworth in in
making a path, that they can use for monitoring the performance of actions and plans of
them which they are going use for getting some competitive advantage. Therefore, this
step is very much important for an organization, so that they can set some path for
analyzing that how effectively they are going get some competitive advantages.

Organizational Structure
Organizational structure is the hierarchy of management, which is used by an organization, so
that they can perform their operations in effective manner and also can grow and develop
themselves in effective manner. It is very much important for an organization to make an
organizational structure, which will help them in performing their operations in effective manner.
Also, an organization have a good management hierarchy in their function are more likely to
achieve their goals and objectives in effective manner, so that organization can achieve their
goals and objectives and grow and develop themselves (Stahl, et. al., 2016). Woolworth is one of
the biggest organizations of Australia, it is very much import for them to have a management
structure that will help them in performing different operations of them in effective manner and
also helps them in achieving their goals and objectives. Beneath is the organizational structure of
Woolworth –
The management structure of Woolworth has been divided into 4 different levels. Each and
every level of them has some list of authorities which have work to manage work related to that
level. Beneath is detail about these levels –
Level 1 – This is the level of this hierarchy where, employees are there which use to perform
their operations, so that organization can grow themselves and also can perform some ground
level operations of them (Zellmer-Bruhn, et. al., 2016). Along with this, the employees listed in
this category are those which have to work as per the instructions given to them from their higher
authorities. The main work of this level is to provide complete detail of the work and job role to
their subordinates, so that they can perform their operations in appropriate manner.
Level 2 – This is the stage, where higher authorities of first level are presented. Also, they have
to manage the work and performance of first level employees and also have detail them about the
duty which they have to perform during executing their jobs. Also, this is the step where
members of management are presented which have the duty to handle one or different
departments of the organization (Teagarden, et. al., 2018). This helps organization in performing
an ample number of operations of them in effective manner.
Level 3 – This is the level higher authority of the organization is presented and they have the
duty to monitor to monitor the operations performed by different departments of the

organization. This is the level where CEO of the organization has been placed. They have duty to
monitor working of each and every department and also have to make plans strategies for better
working of them.
Level 4 – This is the top most level of this hierarchy of Woolworth organizational structure. At
this level, non-executive authority and also chairman of the organization are presented, which
have duty to make plans and strategies for future growth and development of the organization.
Also, they have duty to take report of all the work performed by different departments of them,
so that they can set goals and objectives for the organization (Zander, et. al., 2015). Also they
have duty to execute huge number of strategies and plans that can help the organization in
achieving their goals.

Knowledge management
Knowledge management refers to the systematic management of knowledge assets of an
organization which helps in creation of value, meeting tactical and strategic requirements.
Knowledge management involves various initiatives, strategies and system that support and help
in enhancing the storage, refinement and creativity of knowledge. Basically, Knowledge
management is all about application of knowledge by the company for facing problems
effectively and efficiently. Every organization should focus on implementation of knowledge
management system for achieving the goals and objectives effectively. In Woolworth, this is an
Australian supermarket retail organization knowledge management helps identifying the external
risks to the company and also provide steps for dealing with that risk by applying knowledge.
Application of knowledge management provides various benefits to the company. These benefits
are: -
 Supports better and fast decision making: - knowledge management in Woolworths helps the
management of the company to access fast and better decision making as it manages the
information and let the company know how to deal with the situations in a better way. Which
saves time and energy of employees as well (Dalkir, 2013).
 Helps in increasing rate of innovation in company: - the process provides information about
changing trend and preferences of various customers and implements that knowledge in
creating new products or innovating the existing product according to customer needs and
demands.
 Support growth and development of employees: - Woolworth conducts internal and external
surveys for gathering information, and also chooses staff that can manage knowledge in such
a way that it proves beneficial for the company. Company provide employees of knowledge
management system exceptional training so that they can perform their activities efficiently,
this leads to development and growth of employees.
 Better communication level: - for taking better decisions company involves its management
into decision making process. For better knowledge management company conducts
meetings that help in creating better communication level among employees and
management.