Marketing Strategy Factors
The car manufacturing and distribution facility needs to develop marketing strategies in France to enable it in the distribution of vehicles to the local population so as to increase its productivity and profitability. There is need to understand the French consumer behavior in order to adequately market vehicles in this expansive market. France is the seventh largest economy in the world which has a broad consumer base that is sophisticated and also diversified. The French consumers are keen on buying digital, mechanical and electrical products and are also interested in responsible consumption. Price plays a crucial role in the French consumer’s buying and decision making process. However, they are more inclined to quality and favor products that are accompanied with quality stamps and labels. They are also keen on the quality of after-sales services which is a great factor in their buying process. The French consumers prefer products that are appealing, creative, and well-packaged. The French population is ageing and they enjoy a high spending power. The country is known for a high consumption of entertainment, gifts, and culture. Furthermore, the French consumer is rich, innovative and spends often.
Given this profile of the French consumer, the manufacturing and distribution facility needs to design cars that meet their needs and tastes. It is important for the facility to design high-quality car brands which are well known in France. The cars should also be environment-friendly owing to the French’s concern over their health and environmental matters. The facility also needs to cater for the high end consumers who have a high spending power and able to afford luxurious cars. The French love culture and this is something that the manufacturing facility needs to put into consideration in its effort to design cars that are of cultural significance to the French consumer (Santader, 2018).
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The facility’s marketing strategy should incorporate both verbal and nonverbal messages to attract the attention and excitement of the French consumer. Nonverbal messages can be used in marketing and advertising campaigns using tools such as static pictures, symbols, gestures, and music. French music, gestures, symbols, and pictures can be used in marketing and advertising campaigns to highlight the culture of the French consumer including their lifestyle to attract their attention. The strategy employed to market cars in the French market should incorporate their cherished values and perceptions. The values and perceptions should feature elements such as environmental awareness, prosperity, responsible consumption, and cultural tendencies. The messages should take into consideration aspects that provide congruence between individuals’ cognitive characteristics and their experiences. This type of marketing strategy will lead to a positive attitude towards the products that the facility will be offering (Pleše and Dlačić, 2015).
Human Resources and Organizational Strategy Factors
There are various factors that will affect the human resource and organizational strategies of the facility once it is set up in France. The country’s legal environment in respect to international employment is largely skewed in favor of the employee. There are a number of legal issues that will have a negative impact on the facility in terms of human resources and organization. In France, for companies exceeding 50 employees, the law gives employees the right to disconnect to disconnect from all devices to ensure that they have enough personal and family time. This provision can have a negative impact on the organization because it can lead to major system failures and delays which can adversely affect the operations of the manufacturing facility. Furthermore, employment disputes are handled by a specialized labor tribunal that consists of the employer’s representatives and that of the employees. The tribunals usually make skewed judgments in favor of domestic employees. This type of legal arrangement can negatively impact on the facility’s human resource management practices including its organizational structure. The facility will find it extremely hard to control its employees because it will be difficult to replace employees for misconduct or incompetence. This will adversely affect the running of the facility because of a weak power structure in the organization. Employment legal requirements in France also allow employee representatives to attend board meetings. Even though they do not vote or are subject to confidentiality rules, this type of arrangement might affect the performance of the facility because real decisions will tend to be made outside board room meetings (Joncour, 2017).
In France, the structure of most organizations maintains a clear hierarchical distinction with different levels of the pecking order. Communication between top management, middle management and low level employees is often limited or sometimes nonexistent. It is morally right for top management not to communicate with those at low levels. The type of system practiced can adversely affect the facility’s operations which require high levels all communication from top management to low management levels. Also, the notion of equal opportunities in France is a myth because women are not treated in the same manner as men. Women in workplaces are constantly subjected to remarks by their male counterparts and this is not regarded as ethically or morally wrong.
The French workers need to be motivated to acquire job satisfaction at the work place. Given their pride and esteem, the French can adversely affect the performance of the facility if they perceive that they have a poor working environment, or they are being forcefully transferred to other departments, or even fear losing their jobs. The company should, therefore devise strategies of motivating employees by offering training facilities, bonuses, and using other social criteria to improve job satisfaction. People at lower levels of employment need safety and security to guarantee high performance and job satisfaction. If employees feel insecure and fearful, they will tend to have social and professional problems which will adversely affect the operations of the facility. This will go a long way in affecting the human resource and organizational strategies of the facility to meet its goals and objectives (Stocker, 2010).
Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy Factors
There are various factors that will affect the social corporate responsibilities strategies of the company’s expansion project. The main factor is the ethical challenges that the company will face in the area of Research and development. The facility’s research and development initiatives will be closely monitored by the country’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) which represents the interests of industries and commercial companies. The CCIs in the country usually adopt ethical charters which are related to both Corporate Social Responsibility and professional ethics. The assessment of ethics is done in ethics boards in government institutions that receive funding from government. Ethics assessment is therefore, dependent on state bodies and do not have the authority for ethics clearance. They adopt rigorous legal frameworks for ethics assessments and practice within the country. This is a system that does not deal with ethics per se but one that checks for compliance with the country’s legal framework. This poses a big challenge to the organization because its research and development initiatives have to pass through a rigorous and restrictive legal framework for compliance. This challenge has the tendency to affect the social corporate responsibility strategies of the organization. For instance, the organizations might want to manufacture luxurious cars that guarantee comfort and speed. However, this initiative can be adversely affected by the country’s legal framework due to non-compliance. The manufacture of such cars might lead to high level of carbon emissions which will affect individuals and society, at large. The country has a population that places high importance on environmental awareness and aspects of environmental pollution will greatly affect their quality of life (Stoffel et al., 2015).
The environmental issues that will impact the company’s expansion plan are associated with carbon emissions and air pollution due to the production process. The country might require that only a certain amount of carbon emission will be allowed in the production process. This will greatly impact on the company’s capacity to produce and manufacture automobiles. It will consequently, affect the company’s sustainability in terms of growth and capacity.
References
Joncour, L. (2017). Ten things to know about labor and employment law in France. Norton Rise Fulbright . Retrieved from: http://www.nortonrosefulbright.com/knowledge/publications/147348/ten-things-to-know-about-labour-and-employment-law-in-france
Pleše, M. J. Dlačić, J. (2015). Creating a promotional message: exploring the role of nonverbal communication in advertising. Zbornik Veleučilišta u Rijeci, Vol. 3, No. 1, pp. 41-54
Santader (2018). France: Reaching the Consumer. Retrieved from: https://en.portal.santandertrade.com/analyse-markets/france/reaching-the-consumers
Stocker, G. (2010). Lessons in Lean: France Telecom and employee Motivation. Retrieved from: http://corporatedeathspiral.blogspot.com/2010/03/france-telecom-employee-motivation.html
Stoffel, D., Callies, I., Rojkova, K., and Rang, S. (2015). Ethics Assessment in Different Countries: France. Stakeholders Acting Together on the Ethical Impact Assessment of Research and Innovation-Satori .
