STANDARDIZATION AND CUSTOMIZATION OF PRODUCTS BY INTERNATIONAL COMPANIES

This could result from the different characteristics portrayed by each countries together with their different geographic regions. A business strategy, for instance marketing method, might seem to work in one country, such as Canada, but fail to work in another, like China, as a result of differences in culture. For instance, business is usually done more between friends than strangers, in European countries, usually as a way of getting to the details of a deal only after establishing a good relationship. Moreover, in North American countries, marketing forms, such as advertisements, tend to pay more emphasis on selling than in Europe where advertising emphasizes on intellectual approaches and subtler lifestyle. In order for international companies to get a proper knowledge on the local markets, exporters usually do their businesses with the help of a local agent in every region, who could either be commercial representatives, distributors or even marketing firms that have been hired.

d. , pp. A petroleum company: Shell Oil Company (Shell Oil) As a result of their globalization, Shell has looked for ways to customize its oil, gas, and chemicals products. One way is the nuclear power, which though short-lived and costly, is effective in the international market. Shell Coal, metals (Billiton, a Dutch metal-mining company since 1970) as well as generation of electricity (Intergen- jointly done with Bechtel) are different ways that Shell has customized its products. They knew that there are cultural differences in different parts of the world and that’s the main reason they adopted this way of customization of their product (Essays, 2013). A soft drink company: Coca-Cola (Coke) Coke is sold in more than 200 countries all over the world.

Almost all products sold is different depending on the country. On several occasions, Coca-Cola has released a specific type of soft-drink that they create that's exclusively to certain countries in the world. For instance, Coca-Cola C2 was only available to Japan, Canada and the United states of America and its newest invention Coca-Cola Orange is only available in the United Kingdom and Gibraltar. Moreover, Toyota has begun to design multiple product lines, such as Electric technology, Plug-in hybrids and all electric vehicles, for countries demands. Toyota develops their cars based on research and available resources in the country. This is done with the intention of making use of their available resources (Essays, 2013). Herbal medicine industry: General Nutrition Centre (Herbal Plus) With over 6,000 stores in the U.