United Cereal: Lora Brill’s Eurobrand Challenge

United Cereal: Lora Brill’s Eurobrand Challenge

Question One

Global area design significantly describes the United Cereal Europe before the proposed organization change based on various reasons. As seen from the case, the activities of the corporate get organized in a specific region of the European market, which comprises a country as well as a group of nations. As per Bartlett and Carlson (2011), The UC entered the European market in 1952 through a joint venture with the primary production of the breakfast cereals. The design enabled the company to create the national subsidiaries due to the difference in the market system and needs of the customers, each headed by the country manager. The country manager handled activities of making a product and marketing system that significantly maximized the local revenues (Bartlett & Carlson, 2011). On the same note, the country manager in the European market understood well the company procedures, policies and values enabling them to adjust manufacturing procedures, customize products as well as creating new techniques of product promotions and advertisement based on the specific country in the region.

Advantages

Global area design offers various benefits to the UC since the organization highly focused on the differences in the regions hence coming up with products that meet the customers’ expectations. Furthermore, the design offers country manager flexibility to respond in changes in the market environment of specific countries hence not affecting the entire company but just a portion (Bartlett & Carlson, 2011). On the same note, the design offers a uniform image of the corporation in the European region, which built a significant brand name and reputation. Equally, the country managers system used by UC enhanced effective coordination and communication in the region as well as to the parent company in the United States.

Disadvantages

The Global area design posed various challenges to the UC Company. For instance, it had to duplicate functions and resources in each country in the entire European market, which occurs as an expensive process. According to Bartlett and Carlson (2011), the design further accompanies the risks of slow and challenging coordination and among the country managers to the top leadership of the parent company. Adaptations to the local market system could result in a low cost of efficiency and economies of scale based on reasons such as overemphasis of the differences in regional market structure.

Question Two

The brand management employed by United Cereal occurs as the global functional design due to different explanations. As witnessed from the article, the brand managers would offer the brand for a specific population or based on the wants and needs of the consumers in various countries. The global functional design helped the country to come up with multiple products that are suitable for multiple customers in the diverse European market. Bartlett and Carlson (2011) explain that brand managers in different countries across Europe would focus on the demands and the prevailing situation and come up with adjustments in the production process to come up with a brand that meets the customers’ expectations. For instance, brand mangers across the countries performed various cross-functions such as marketing of the products, manufacturing, and related activities. They further directly controlled R&D actions and involvement in the process of product development hence ensuring the desired product is produced as per the requirement of the customers. The design possessed various benefits, such as enhancement of vertical communication in the organizational structure (Bartlett & Carlson, 2011). On the same note, the model gave the brand managers critical opportunities in decision making about various developed brands hence limiting different signing offs up to corporate VIP level.

Question Three

United Cereal Europe used the polycentric marketing strategy. The polycentric approach occurs like the one kind of global marketing that makes the companies advance their services and products into other countries. Equally, the process happens when the company broadens its operations and market beyond its home country, such as in the case of the United Cereal. In such cases, the company considers foreign sales as critical factors in the entire business. According to Bartlett and Carlson (2011), the united Cereal entry into the European market started as a joint venture through companies such as General Mills and Nestle, with most of the manufacturing conducted through the United States line. Moreover, the company started to develop products with prices, market positioning, and advertisements suitable for the specific country of operation and managed by the country managers. For instance, the subsidiaries of the company were established in each state under country managers that managed the various process of different product productions as well as making critical decisions on the marketing system (Bartlett & Carlson, 2011). Furthermore, the company adapted its various products to suit the customers’ expectations and the situation in the respective countries of operations in Europe (Bartlett & Carlson, 2011). Despite the country managers working within the corporate policies, values, and procedures, they customized the advertisement and promotions system, products and manufacturing procedures as per the market requirements of the specific country. The polycentric marketing strategy employed by United Cereals significantly helps the company to penetrate most of the national markets around Europe (Bartlett & Carlson, 2011). On the same note, the strategy enables the production of the company to flourish its products through the local customization structure. Moreover, the company experienced various challenges from using the strategy, such as differences in the product marketing strategies and positioning as well as profiles in different countries.

Question Four

The United Cereal’s frozen juice line occurs as the product standardization. The process of the standardization of the product occurs as maintaining the consistency and uniformity of the commodity produced by the firm in the different market systems. Arne Olsen aimed at maintaining the taste of the juice in various European countries of operations. Furthermore, Olsen targeted at the production of the juice that has the same quality, taste as well as appearance throughout the Europe market (Bartlett & Carlson, 2011). On the same note, the standardization process of the frozen juice, like by Olsen, required uniformity in the guidelines and followed by country managers and employees in production the identical products in all the production plants across the European countries.

Olsen aimed at gaining various benefits by the use of the frozen juice standardization. For instance, effective and convenient advertisements and promotions process as well as marketing across the countries of operation due to uniformity characteristics of the product. Furthermore, Olsen aimed at reducing the cost of production due to adherence and a coherent production process to produce similar taste, quality, and appearance of the frozen juice in the all European market. On the same note, instead of buying the material for different forms of the same product, the cost gets reduced by purchasing the same raw materials for the product for the entire market segment. Equally, Olsen’s standardization idea of the frozen juice line targeted maintaining the standard quality of the product. In such a case, any deviations from the standards process of production would easily be detected as compared in the scenario of product customization. Notably, Olsen aimed at creating as well as strengthening the brand of the frozen juice in the European market. Existence of the same product in the whole European market with uniform characteristics intended to enhance recognition of the product by customers, hence building trust. Similarly, one of the purposes of Olsen conducting frozen juice line standardization exists as improving production efficiency. Dealing with similar production for identical products would create chances for automation of the process, which results in inefficiency.

A significant mismatch occurs between the marketing strategy of product standardization and the organizational structure based on various reasons. For instance, each country has its country manager in which have different control over the production process, marketing, and other functions despite following the company values and practices (Bartlett& Carlson, 2011). In such a scenario, the managers would view the system of production as an inconvenience since each of them have various production processes and marketing strategies depending on the country of operation. For instance, such an option was viewed by the country managers as a challenge to their local autonomy leading to reluctant in implementation of various strategies like product positioning in the marketing as well as advertisement directive and offered limited effort on multiple activities concerning the product.

Challenges

Solutions

Lora Brill would face various problems such as competitions as well as from leadership decisions. Brill could manage to launch the Euro brand “Healthy Berry Bruch” by the company would incur various losses since the cost of launching such a new product exists as expensive.

Brill could highly invest in promotion and advertisement of the product after launch, which would ensure attraction form customers as well as their retention.

The launch of the products in the countries such countries would encounter various problems due to the high presence of the Kellogg’s Special K, which deals with the same product made from the natural strawberries. The process of launching and advertising such products would be costly if launched unplanned.

Brill should employ the use of the R&D department in coming up with a more attractive model of the product despite using the same raw material such as strawberries.

Brill’s decision gets significantly affected by the entire organization’s leadership based on the failure of the same product before.

Brill could involve various leaders at all levels of the organizational system to get multiple advice and solutions about the viability of the product.

Launching the problems would result in some challenges in decision making due to the idea of coming out with a European team that would oversee product activities such as packaging, marketing position, pricing, advertising, as well as promotions. In such a scenario, team members could differ in decisions making despite having common company visions and practices.

Brill should inform all the country managers about the project and ensures their cooperation in the production and marketing process.

References

Bartlett, C. A., & Carlson, C. (2011). United Cereal: Lora Brill’s Eurobrand Challenge.