question archive News write up A News Write-Up is a short (min
News write up A News Write-Up is a short (min
Subject:ManagementPrice: Bought3
News write up
A News Write-Up is a short (min. 600 words) description
of a current event (no more than 6 months old). It should contain the following:
? Very brief description of the event (150 to 200 words)
? Its connection to a specific topic of International Management (250 to 300
words)
? How can others benefit and/or learn from it (200 to 250 words)
? Provide the source of the article and/or its Internet line
Each of the above sections must be shown as a bolded title with the text below it.
Example of a News Write-Up:
“Walmart in Costa Rica Begins Construction of Mega Distribution Centre” –
Inside Costa Rica
Description of Event
In an article published in Inside|Business’ Costa Rica edition news was broken
that Walmart has begun construction of an almost 50,000 square meters (just over
12 acres) distribution center that will not only be Walmart’s largest in the region,
but the largest building of its kind in the region. Located in Coyol, Alajuela, this
new facility will supply not only regional Walmarts, but other stores that Walmart
owns in Costa Rica, such as Masxmenos, Maxi Pali, and Pali. Walmart’s strategy
when entering the Costa Rican market ended with them buying out many of the
local retailers that were already established in the country. This large distribution
center will allow the company to increase availability of items by centralizing the
suppliers under one roof that is conveniently close to the businesses that need it.
The distribution center is slated to end up costing Walmart sixty-eight million US
dollars and will employ over two hundred direct employees over the next five
years. Walmart expects the new facility to begin operating in the first half of the
year 2013.
Connection to International Business
Giacomo Laffranchini, Ph.D. BUS 581 CRN 1118
Winter 2020 Page 7 of 17
This action that Walmart is taking in Costa Rica is an example of horizontal
expansion. Horizontal expansion takes place when a multinational company takes
its business practice and duplicates it overseas to supplement overseas operations,
without affecting operations in the home country. This new distribution center in
Costa Rica is not intended to replace any of the distribution centers in the United
States, so this does not fall into the category of vertical expansion. Businesses use
horizontal expansion in order to improve their operations in that separate market,
instead of using the foreign operations to help supplement their domestic market
operations. This is the strategy being employed by Walmart. We can see that in
action because they have an entirely separate division, Walmart Mexico & Central
America that handles all the business in that region. This regional style of
managing the company is known as geographic area structure, which is defined in
Global Business as a way of organizing a multinational company based on
different geographic areas, most appropriate to engage in a localization strategy.
How Others Benefit/Learn from Situation
Other companies can definitely learn from Walmart’s example. It’s a definite
Strengthening of the supply chain, allowing Walmart to provide a much more
Efficient distribution and expedite turnaround times, which is very important in
Retail businesses. Walmart’s United States distribution centers are gems of the
Industry, allowing Walmart to replenish items almost as soon as they are taken off
The shelves. With the new distribution center in Costa Rica, the company can
Begin to implement some of the same practices that are used in the United States
And never let any of its stores (whether the Walmart brand or the other local
Brands) have empty shelves. This is a great example of how to horizontally
Expand once a company has taken control of the local market. What it needs to do
Next is to increase its efficiency, which is what Walmart did in establishing this
Distribution center. This will result in gains for Walmart and its customers and
Clients. Customers will not have to deal with empty shelves and clients can sell
More of their merchandise to the giant retailer. The distribution center being very
Local will help both its Walmart brand and its local brands. Since the Walmart
Brand sells more of the American items that Costa Ricans are looking for,
Walmart stores in Costa Rica will not have to wait long to replenish their items.
For the other brands, local products will not have to be sent very far either,
Leading to faster turnaround times, as mentioned prior.
Electronic Resources
? International Business Resources
o http://globaledge.msu.edu/
? Global Business Knowledge
o http://global.broad.msu.edu/
? International Trade Law
o http://topics.law.cornell.edu/wex/International_trade
? Singapore Business Times Online
o http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/
? International Business
o http://www.internationalist.com/
Giacomo Laffranchini, Ph.D. BUS 581 CRN 1118
Winter 2020 Page 4 of 17
? Worldwide Business Executive Resources
o http://www.worldbiz.com/
? The Economist
o http://www.economist.com Twenty articles are available from the current
edition of the periodical are posted for public viewing. The free selection
changes every Friday
