Assignment 2: Keys to Success in Multinational Companies

Assignment 2: Keys to Success in Multinational Companies
Due Week 6 and worth 220 points

It is widely known that Knowledge Management Systems are the key to success in multinational companies. Imagine that you are a Vice President of a company that is ramping up to go global.
Please choose one (1) of the following industries for the purposes of this assignment:

• Jewelry
• Fashion / Apparel
• Chemicals
• Consumer electronics, electronic components
• Medical supplies or equipment
• Bins, totes, crates, material handling
• Food products
• Drug products
• Children’s products, clothing, toys, etc.

Note: You may create and / or assume all necessary assumptions needed for the completion of this assignment.

You have been tasked with designing a comprehensive best practices policy list geared towards managing existing knowledge and any new knowledge as it becomes viable. The best practices policy should include a compiled task list that will help your company to handle not only the regular issues of conducting business within a foreign country, but also the unexpected events (e.g., earthquakes, demonstrations, bomb threats, etc.), no matter the country or countries into which you will be expanding. The policy list should also take any unique challenges that your company may face into consideration.

Write a six to eight (6-8) page paper in which you:

1. Design a comprehensive best practices policy list that includes policies on the following:
   1. Sanitation (e.g., hand washing, toilet facilities, etc.)
   2. Eating and / or drinking (e.g., at desks, on the company grounds, inside in the manufacturing area at designated tables / areas, etc.)
   3. Conflict resolution (e.g., settling disputes, mediation and / or arbitration with designated mediator on staff, etc.)
   4. In-house teams (e.g., minimum meeting times, scribes, appointed leaders, etc.)
   5. Online team (e.g., 24-hour coverage on phone due to time differences, etc.)
   6. Security (e.g., leaving doors open, locks, key return policy for departing workers, etc.)
   7. Emergency evacuation procedures
2. Determine the key benefits of creating such policies. Provide a rationale for your response.
3. Speculate on the major ramifications if such policies are not created. Provide a rationale for your response.
4. Predict the significant ways in which the best practices policy that you created will contribute towards the long-term sustainability of the company. Provide a rationale for your response.
5. Determine whether or not your best practices policy would provide a competitive advantage over other international companies. Provide one (1) example of a company using a best practices policy to support your response.
6. Use at least three (3) quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and other similar websites do not qualify as academic resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

• Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
• Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

• Evaluate strategic management and participation strategies in a global business.
• Use technology and information resources to research issues in global management.
• Write clearly and concisely about global management using proper writing mechanics.