International Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

International Management - Assignment Example The market was one of rising costs, reduced prices, high competition, and low-cost models. The average selling prices were down by a whopping 35% and there was a clamor for cheaper models in emerging economies and developing markets. The basic phones were available for $ 50, with low end models being available for as low as $ 25 and even $ 10. Multinational set up operations and set new standards for wages, training and technology transfer. An environment of meritocracy was being created and which hard work, ethical behavior and a desire to learn were the watchwords. The fall of the iron curtain in Europe and the transition of State Societies, opened up new markets for Western Europe. Eastern Europe was expected to move towards 100% penetration levels in 2011, from the current 85%. The manufacturing process was being off shored to low cost countries, lately Eastern Europe. Labor costs much lower in Central European Countries than in other Western European Nations. Additionally, they also offered huge advantages in terms of high productivity and simple taxes. However, of late, wage costs were on the rise and labor force was beginning to shrink with people migrating to richer European nations like Britain and Germany. There are three levels of strategy – Corporate Strategy, Business Strategy and Functional Strategy. The corporate strategy deals with the vision and mission of an organization. The Mission of Nokia is â€Å"Connecting people†. Its strategic intention is to â€Å"Build great mobile products†. The word â€Å"Nokia† is named after the Nokia river in Southern Finland. Beginning as early as in 1865 and with a rich history of a century and half of innovation, Nokia transformed itself from a riverside paper mill in Southern Finland to a global telecommunications leader. A conglomerate of paper, rubber, cable and electrical companies, it was only in 1996 that Nokia turned its focus on the telecommunications business. This was an important strategic shift and by 1998, Nokia was the world leader in mobile industry. Its new strategy drive includes changes in leadership and manufacturing specialized products. Its recent strategic direction has taken multi-faceted dimensions : Broad strategic partnership with Microsoft Renew group to capture volumes and value growth Forward investments in next generation technologies Focus on specialized products. The business strategy talks about the strategies related to a specific business of an organization. More specifically, they deal with its products, markets and competitive advantages. Nokia had always prided itself on innovation, differentiation and in building great products through continuous investments in research and development. It does not shy away from investments as well as divestments and focuses on shareholder value by concentrating on core competencies. It always had the larger picture in mind and its decisions were based on global operations and internatio nal strategy and not country-focused. Adapting itself beautifully to global trends, Nokia increased its market presence in China, India, Germany, Indonesia and Russia. It slowly extricated itself form markets like Brazil, Spain and Italy. In 2008, Nokia was the