Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Research one multinational corporation like Procter and Gamble, Unilever, IBM, Microsoft, Honda and etc. Identify and describe how their subsidiaries are managed and how technology has assisted them in their corporate and/or local operations. Further, identify one Philippine company that has gone worldwide (eg. Jollibee and BENCH) and describe their strategies. Evaluate the strategies of foreign companies with that of Philippine corporations.


The Coca-Cola Company's long history in China sets it apart from the crowd of more recent arrivals. The company built its first bottling plant in China in the decade following World War I and was the first US company to distribute its products in China after Deng Xiaoping opened the country to foreign investors in 1979. Today, Coca-Cola has an ownership stake in 24 bottling joint-ventures--in most cases indirectly through two Hong Kong-based companies that it partly owns: Swire Beverages and Kerry Group. Coca-Cola also operates a wholly foreign-owned enterprise that produces beverage concentrate in Shanghai and is the direct joint-venture partner in a similar facility in Tianjin. Coca-Cola's long-term strategies of localizing production and building infrastructure through partnerships with the Chinese government and domestic companies have allowed it to establish nationwide operations and generate a strong market presence. Coca-Cola products currently account for 35 percent of China's carbonated beverage market and generate annual sales of up to $1.2 billion, according to press reports. The company has earned a gross profit in China each year since 1990. The benefits of the company's success are widespread. A 2000 study by Beijing University, Qinghua University, and the University of South Carolina found that in addition to the 14,000 employees Coca-Cola directly supports in China, the company's suppliers, distributors, wholesalers, and retailers employ an additional 400,000 people (see Box). Coca-Cola has updated the country's old state-owned facilities, introduced improved product-quality testing, and provided training programs for managers in the industry. The company's total investment in China during the last 20 years has exceeded $1.1 billion.

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