- TERM PAPER -
Hanno Bötel & Christian W. Kretzmann Boston University - Metropolitan College International Business Management (MG 520) Professor Jung-Wan Lee 9 December 2009
TATA MOTORS & BMW
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT
FALL 2009
Introduction to the Background of Research International Strategic Management is the planning taken by a company to compete effectively in international markets and achieve its international objectives. Developing a strategy for global companies is far more complex than developing a domestic strategy. International companies must deal with multiple governments, multiple currencies, multiple accounting systems, multiple political and legal systems and a variety of cultures with different languages, different behaviour, and different values. International companies need to implement a strategic management which can be seen as a comprehensive framework for achieving the company’s fundamental goals in this complex environment. Strategy means the theory about how to gain competitive advantage in markets. The strategic management process includes a company’s mission, an external and internal analysis, a strategic choice, strategic objectives and an implementation of the strategy. Every step of this process is aimed at one goal: competitive advantage. Competitive advantage can be defined as conditions which enable a company to operate in a more efficient or otherwise higher-quality manner –than its competitors and which result in benefits for the company because it can create more economic value than the competition. This process is not undertaken a single time; instead it is a constant, comprehensive and repeating process of analyzing the environment, the company and adjusting the strategy to the conditions. The mission statement clarifies the purpose of doing business. Moreover, it defines the values and the direction of the business.