International business 6

Please go to page 198 of your eTextasking to look at the websites Lenovo.com (A company from China) and HP (Hewlett Packard). I give below the questions posed by the authors:

Visit Lenovo’s website at lenovo.com, and review some of the latest developments. In particular, pay close attention to its product line and international expansion. Using the country/language tab in the upper center of the screen, choose three different countries where the firm is doing business: one from the Americas, one from Europe, and one from Southeast Asia or India. (The sites are all presented in the local language, so you might want to make India your choice because this site is in English.) Compare and contrast the product offerings and ways in which HP goes about marketing itself over the Web in these locations. What do you see as some of the major differences? Second, using Figure 6–2 and Table 6–3 as your guide, in what way are differences in organizational cultures internationally likely to present significant challenges to Lenovo efforts to create a smooth-running international enter- prise? Look at the web page showing Lenovo’s leader- ship team. What do you notice? What would you see as two of the critical issues with which management will have to deal? Third, what are two steps that you think Lenovo will have to take in order to build multi- cultural team effectiveness? What are two guidelines that can help it do this? 

this is page 198

INTERNET EXERCISE: LENOVO'S INTERNATIONAL FOCUS

Based in China, Lenovo is one of the largest computer brands in the world. Several years ago Lenovo purchased IBM's PC business and now sells more computers to retail customers and businesses than any company in the world. From its base in China, it is moving aggressively into global markets, especially emerging countries like India.

Page 198Visit Lenovo's website at lenovo.com, and review some of the latest developments. In particular, pay close attention to its product line and international expansion. Using the country/language tab in the upper center of the screen, choose three different countries where the firm is doing business: one from the Americas, one from Europe, and one from Southeast Asia or India. (The sites are all presented in the local language, so you might want to make India your choice because this site is in English.) Compare and contrast the product offerings and ways in which HP goes about marketing itself over the Web in these locations. What do you see as some of the major differences? Second, using Figure 6-2 and Table 6-3 as your guide, in what way are differences in organizational cultures internationally likely to present significant challenges to Lenovo efforts to create a smooth-running international enterprise? Look at the web page showing Lenovo's leadership team. What do you notice? What would you see as two of the critical issues with which management will have to deal? Third, what are two steps that you think Lenovo will have to take in order to build multicultural team effectiveness? What are two guidelines that can help it do this?