RMIT University Vietnam

BUSM 3311 – Global Business

A2

Subject Code:
BUSM-3311/4626

Subject Name: Global Business

Location & Campus RMIT Vietnam, HCMC

Class Group Number: G01

Student Name: Tran Nguyen Gia Anh

Student Number: S4029565

Your Teacher: Adam Corrall

Word Count: 1638

I declare that in submitting all work for this assessment I have read, understood and agree
to the content and expectations of the assessment declaration".
A2 Individual Reflection Report

Tutorial 1

Lecturer: Adam Corrall

 Topic 1.1: Module 1: Understand globalisation
Country: Vietnam

Globalization of production (arbitrage) involves sourcing goods and services from various
countries to leverage national differences in the costs and quality of production factors such as
labor, land, capital, and energy.

MNEs:

Benefits:

Operating costs can be reduced by accessing high-skill cheaper labour, raw materials
(economics of scale) with advantageous geographic locations. For instance, Samsung has
outsourced production to Vietnam, with 6 manufacturing plants across the country to optimize
production costs by utilizing large-scale manufacturing, leverage benefits from logistics and
supply chain power (Mellisa C 2024).

Challenges

Raising the concerns of intellectual property risks due to suppliers replicating design,
counterfeit goods, and patent infringement, making business less likely to invest in this country
(Maskus K; Roy S and Sivakumar K 2010). From my personal experience, there are some
Vietnamese have attempted to counterfeit IELTS certificate, which is copyrighted and
trademarked. Moreover, MNEs may encounter challenges due to cultural disparities, political
risks (Teodora C and Adriana M 2024)

Local partner

Benefits:

Globalization creates opportunities for collaboration between local suppliers to internation

business. In terms of fast food, I used to eat ‘Pho’ burgers which are made from McDonald's
Vietnam. They depend on local businesses, such as contractors, food suppliers, and financial
institutions, to provide the right preferences to Vietnamese people.

Challenges

In developing nations, resource-intensive industrialization is often driven by globalized

production. However, they are insufficient knowledge to ensure environmentally sustainable
practices, especially meeting the cost efficiency of global supply chain. For example, the
Formosa steel plant disaster in 2016 caused severe water pollution, destroying marine
ecosystems and harming coastal communities reliant on fishing (Fan et al.2020)
 Topic2.1: Module 2: International players and institutions
World Bank-Vietnam

The involvement of Transaction organization (TNOs), characterized by the World Bank

contributed tremendously to the Vietnam’s development due to extensive support, including
support trade growth, economic, infrastructural, and social development of Vietnam. Since 1993
after the economic reform of Doi Moi (Renovation) , WB committed to raised fund up to
$25.792 billion , demonstrating a long-standing partnership with Vietnam(WB 2024)

 Trade growth
Vietnam’s trade growth has been supported by several WB’s projects, including integration into
Global Value Chains (GVCs) . For example, they increase the domestic private sector’s
participation in GVCs by fostering linkages between foreign-owned exporting companies and
local suppliers. This improved Vietnam’s firm competitiveness, gained knowledge from foreign
firms, promoting Vietnam’s export capacity(WB 2018). From my personal experience , World
Bank also contributed to the Northern delta transport development project, enhance trade by
upgrading waterway corridors, maritime access. This initiative reduces logistics costs, transport
time to internation while Vietnam’s context is difficulty to export.
 Economic reforms
World Bank has played a crucial role in shaping Vietnam’s economic policies. They Support
SMEs into global production networks in Vietnam to compete globally. For example, by
focusing on underserved regions, providing opportunities jobs such as textile, agricultural ,
including women to promoting gender equality, low-skilled workers to access decent job and
increase their income, contributing poverty reduction. This helps Vietnam’s economic reforms
comprehensively by fostering the Vietnam economy development not only by larger firms buts
also the local communities and smaller businesses.
 Infrastructure projects
Infrastructure Development is one of the key components of WB’s commitment in Vietnam,
supporting economic growth. For example, One of the WB groups, The International Bank for
Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), provided a $500million loan and technical support to
Viet Nam Transmission Efficiency Project(WB 2022) . This project increased the capacity and
reliability of the electrical system, allowing for the integration of renewable energy while
lowering maintenance costs. Moreover, Vietnam also known as one of the countries that
consume the most electricity in East Asia, so this electricity system help Vietnam serve
electricity demands(Hien P 2024)

 Key achievement
 Poverty reduction:
Vietnam’s poverty rate fell to less than 4% by 2023 due to World Bank-supported
program(Statista 2022), showing the increase in standard of living in remote areas.
The Mekong delta integrated climate resilience and sustainable livelihoods helped over 1
millions farmers change to climate-smart practices, promoting livelihoods and lower
environmental risk. As a result, Vietnam scored the history by receiving a $51.5 millions in
carbon credit from the World Bank, supported Viet Nam’s transition to a low-carbon
economy(MARD 2020)
 Shortcomings
Dept dependency: The raised concerns about increasing public debt because of Vietnam’s
reliance on World bank loan.
Undemocratic decision-making structure (what I learn in class): Wealthier countries such as US
has a weighted voting power based on WB’s voting system, giving it effective to reject the major
decision and tent to democratic. These primary recipients of World Bank Loan have limited
influence in their countries policies
Uneven Development: Regional disparities is still remail, with ethnic minorities falling behind in
terms of economic opportunity
 Topic3.1: Module 3: economic context:
Industry: electric vehicles (India)

Economic system

India operates as a mixed economy system,blending socialism and capitalism. Since the 1991
reform, It became more liberalized and market-driven economy (Ahluwalia M 2019). This
reform reduced trade barriers, encouraged private sector participation, while government
maintains control strategic sectors,particularly infrastructure and social development.

Economic indicators and how it affects MNEs.

 India is one of the most fast-growing economies (Goldar 2016), with GDP surging
from $2.03 billion in 2003 to $3.55trillion, despite the difficulties caused by the COVID-
19 pandemic (figure 1). Besides that, Table 2 shows the massive total Gdp’s growth at
PPP indicator from 2.75 trillion to 14.52trillion during 2023-2024, ranked fourth largest
economy. This indicates potential market for increasing demand for goods and services,
where MNEs can focus on India’s sustainable transport (EVs)

India
4000000000000

3500000000000

3000000000000

2500000000000

2000000000000

1500000000000

1000000000000

500000000000

0
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023

India GDP (World Bank n.d)

 Chart Title
16000000000000

14000000000000

12000000000000

10000000000000

8000000000000

6000000000000

4000000000000

2000000000000

0
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023

India GDP, PPP (world bank n.d.)

 India’s Inflation rate: expected to decrease to 4% in 2029(statista 2024). indicating

investment return increase, a stable price environment that makes MNES,particular
EVs industry to plan long-term investments and set affordable prices.

 Labour: As the second-largest population,India provides the intensive, youthful labour

market for MNES (Statista 2024),which account for 65% of the population by 2031.It
supported development goals in India such as production cost. MNEs will use this
labour availability to scale up their operations.
Opportunity
 Income growth and urbanization
Economic growth is associated with the urbanization speed, increasing income levels, and
leverage infrastructure. As a result, EVs are becoming an attractive choice due to government
incentive and lower operating costs.
 Sustainability focus:
 74% of Indian people want to pay for sustainable product (figure 3), making it promising
market for EVs,especially in young-age market, who their attitude towards sustainable product
(Jaiswal et al. 2021).

People willing to pay more for sustainable product in India(statista n.d.)

 Challenges

Inferior Infrastructure: Limited charging station and and highly independence on import
batteries an as well as the CO2 emissions needed to manufacture the EVs are higher more than
59% traditional vehicle, which can affect to EVs ‘s performances in India (Goel et al. 2021)
Economic risks
the urban transport crisis in India results from continuing population growth and urbanization,
which impact economic decision and reducing demand because of limited EV charging stations
and inadequate infrastructure (Mishra 2023).
 Indian has large, cheap labor , however, they are unexperienced, shortcoming of skilled. (Lele
U and Goswami S 2017).
Ranking 93 in 180 countries of corruption (indianexpress 2024), which raises the operating
costs and cause license delay when MNEs entering the market. They must deal with complicated
regulations or may use bribery, which affects vitals areas such as manufacturing and
infrastructure for the EVs.
 Topic4.1: Module 4: Cultural factors

McDonald’s corporation

United States-Japan

 United Stated: Low-context and Individualistic culture

The US is well known for low-context communication, which is defined by high independence,
minimal social connections and values personal freedom first (Kim et al. 1988)

Customization

To meet these US’s culture, MCD’s offers ‘Create Your Taste’ features(McDonald 2015),
allowing consumers to personalize theirs’s preferences .This shows aligns with Hofstede’s model
Individualism vs collectivism dimension.

Direct Marketing: McDonald’s applying explicit, direct and emphasized advertising to

appeal to American customers (Hamamura T 2011). These methods resonated with the Hall’s
Low-context communication strategies that I have learn in the class.

Operation

McDonald’s pioneered the drive-thru window, catering to the fast-paced, convenience

American’s lifestyle (Mark K 2019). By applying technology such as apps for ordering, highlight
the company’s adaptability to the US culture focus on time efficiency. This aligned with
Trompenaars ‘s Sequential time dimension.

 Japan: High-Context and Collectivist Culture

 Since 1971, McDonald’s has become the popular fast-food chain in Japan (MCD’s Annual
report 2021). MCD has adjusted its business to the high-context communication, and collectivist
culture, where relationships and group consensus are prioritized (Triandis H 1988).

Customization:

MCD’s Japan has changes their menu to suit with Japan’s customs, where people score higher
on collectivism and prefer familiar and predictable experiences, like Teriyaki Burgers, rice
burger, etc, (Lemanski et al. 2017). This reflects Individualism vs. Collectivism and Uncertainty
Avoidance of Hofstede’s framework.

Marketing Strategies:

 MCD adjust standardized menu options that align with Japanese culture ,includingfamily
values and group-oriented dining. As a result, McDonald’s advertising Japan emphasizes
harmony, share their feelings and experiences with people, aligning with Hall’s High-
Context Communication.

 Consensus-based decision-making: In Japan, McDonald’s operation based on collaboration

and trust-building with local supplier, even their performance is suboptimal (Spector et al.
2014). This reflective the High-text communication in Hall’s framework.

 Customer service: The organization actively contributes to a range of community initiatives

and corporate social responsibility efforts that resonate with local values and principles,
reflecting Hofstede’s Long-Term Orientation vs Short-Term Normative Orientation
framework.

Limitation of frameworks:

 United state

Hall’s framework misses the complexity of culture, especially in US culture. Some people
tend to like strong connection marketing that makes them empathy (Dwivedi YK 2021). From
my experience, My US friends expressed that they prefer emotional-storytelling advertising,
giving them empathetic. In term of Trompenaars’s dimension, urban people value, rural people
prefer value slower and personal service interaction.

 In Japan

This model oversimplifies Japanese behaviour, the increasing in urban youth who prefer
globalized, Western menu options (Hossin MZ and Mohiuddin M 2015), showing and a blend of
individualism and collectivism. Moreover, although Japan is highly in uncertainty avoidance,
The evolving consumer trends, influenced by westernization, is increasingly experiment with
new product.

Reference List (Harvard)

Ahluwalia M (2019) ‘India’s Economic Reforms’, Asian Economic Policy Review, 14(1):46–
62, doi: 10.1111/aepr.12239.

Dwivedi YK, Ismagilova E, Hughes DL and Carlson J (2021) ‘Setting the Future of
Digital and Social Media Marketing research: Perspectives and Research
Propositions’, International Journal of Information Management, 59(1):1–37, doi:
10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2020.102168.

Fan M-F, Chiu C-M and Mabon L (2020) ‘Environmental Justice and the Politics of
pollution: the Case of the Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Pollution Incident in Vietnam’, Environment
and Planning E: Nature and Space, 5(1):189–206, doi:10.1177/2514848620973164.
 Goel S, Sharma R and Rathore AK (2021) ‘A review on barrier and challenges of electric
vehicle in India and vehicle to grid optimisation’, Transportation Engineering, 4:100057, doi:
10.1016/j.treng.2021.100057.

Goldar B (2016) 'Manufacturing growth in India in recent years: Is it getting overstated in

India’s new GDP series?', Indian Growth and Development Review, 9:102-113,
doi:10.1108/igdr-08-2016-0037.

Hamamura T (2011) 'Are Cultures Becoming Individualistic? A Cross-Temporal

Comparison of Individualism–Collectivism in the United States and Japan', Personality and
Social Psychology Review, 16:3-24, doi:10.1177/1088868311411587.

Hien P (2024) 'Excessive electricity intensity of Vietnam: Evidence from a comparative

study of Asia-Pacific countries', Energy Policy, 130:409-417, doi: 10.1016/j.enpol.2019.04.025.

Hollweg C (2016) VIETNAM TRADE AND COMPETITIVENESS PROGRAMMATIC

APPROACH PROGRAM: Multi-Donor Trust Fund for Trade and Development 2 TEAM
LEADER. https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/202231590680563977-0090022020/original/
VietnamTradeandCompetitiveness.pdf.

Hossin MZ and Mohiuddin M (2015) ‘Urban Youth Culture in Bangladesh under the Sway of
Cultural Globalization: A Descriptive Analysis’, Sociology Mind, 05(03):213–226, doi:
10.4236/sm.2015.53019.

indianexpress (2024) Corruption index: India ranks 93 among 180 nations, The Indian
Express, Accessed 4 December 2024. https://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-corruption-
index-cpi-2023-corruption-perceptions-index-public-sector-corruption-9135717/

Jaiswal D, Singh B, Kant R and Biswas A (2021) ‘Towards green product consumption:
Effect of green marketing stimuli and perceived environmental knowledge in Indian consumer
market’, ProQuest, (2022): 45-65, doi: 10.1108/SBR-05-2021-0081.

Kim D, Pan Y and Park HS (1988) ‘High-versus low-Context culture: A comparison of

Chinese, Korean, and American cultures’, Psychology & Marketing, 15(6):507-521, doi :
10.1002/(SICI)1520-6793(199809)15:6<507::AID-MAR2>3.0.CO;2-A

Lele U and Goswami S (2017) 'The fourth industrial revolution, agricultural and rural
innovation, and implications for public policy and investments: a case of India', Agricultural
Economics, 48:87-100, doi:10.1111/agec.12388.

Lemanski J, Falk LK and Hinojosa D (2017) ‘MCDONALD’S AND ITS MENU -

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS?’, ResearchGate, 6(1):1,
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/362883418_MCDONALD
 Mallikarjun S (2020) ‘Mcdonald’s: Global Marketing’, Mcdonald’s: Global Marketing,
6(2):16–27. https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/mcdonalds-global-marketing/
docview/2428113569/se-2?accountid=13552

MARD (2020) Project report: Mekong delta integrated climate resilience and sustainable
livelihoods (MD- ICRSL/WB9), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of The Social
Republic in Vietnam website, accessed 4 December
2024. https://www.mard.gov.vn/en/Pages/environmental-and-social-impact-assessment-
report.aspx

Mark K (2019) ‘Drive-Thru Dreams: A Journey through the Heart of America’s Fast-
Food Kingdom’, Proquest, 115(77), https://www.proquest.com/docview/2220757074?
accountid=13552&pq-origsite=primo&sourcetype=Trade%20Journals

Maskus K (2024) 'The Globalization of Intellectual Property Rights and Innovation in

Services', Journal of Industry, Competition and Trade, 8:247-267, doi:10.1007/s10842-008-
0040-3.

Mcdonald (2015) McDonald’s UAE Launches ‘Create Your Taste’, accessed 4 December
2024. www.mcdonalds.com,
https://corporate.mcdonalds.com/corpmcd/our-stories/article/uae_create_taste.html.

McDonald (2021) Annual Report, McDonald website, accessed 3 September 2024.

https://corporate.mcdonalds.com/content/dam/sites/corp/nfl/pdf/MCD%202021%20Annual
%20Report.pdf

Mellisa C (2024) 'Samsung's US$1.8bn Investment into Vietnam OLED Manufacturing

Plant', Vietnam Briefing News, accessed 3 December
2024. https://www.vietnam-briefing.com/news/samsungs-us1-8-billion-investment-to-boost-
vietnams-oled-manufacturing-capacity.html/#:~:text=Samsung's%20cumulative%20investment
%20in%20Vietnam%20is%20growing&text=Samsung's%20cumulative%20investment%20in
%20Vietnam%20now%20totals%20US%2422.4%20billion,entity%20established%20across
%20the%20country.

Mihas A (n.d) Consumer readiness to pay for sustainable products in India 2023, Statista
website, accessed 3 December 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1320623/india-
consumer-willingness-to-pay-for-sustainable-products/

Mishra A, Nakhate A, Bagra Y, Singh A and Kar B (2023) 'The Impact of Directional
Global Economic Policy Uncertainty on Indian Stock Market Volatility: New Evidence', Asia-
Pacific Financial Markets, doi:10.1007/s10690-023-09421-y.

Roy S and Sivakumar K (2010) ‘Managing Intellectual Property in Global Outsourcing for
Innovation Generation’, Journal of Product Innovation Management, 28(1):48–62, doi:
10.1111/j.1540-5885.2010.00780.x.
 Spector PE, Liu C and Sanchez JI (2014) ‘Methodological and Substantive Issues in
Conducting Multinational and Cross-Cultural Research’, Annual Review of Organizational
Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 2(1):101–131, doi: 10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-
032414-111310. (japan)

Statista (2022) Vietnam: poverty rate 2020, Statista,

https://www.statista.com/statistics/1240081/vietnam-poverty-rate/

Teodora C and Adriana M (2024) Globalisation – Advantages and Disadvantages from the
Perspective of the Manufacturer, econstor website, accessed 3 December
2024. https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/198214/1/ceswp-v04-i4-p747-757.pdf

Triandis H (1988) ‘Collectivism v. Individualism: A Reconceptualisation of a Basic Concept

in Cross-cultural Social Psychology’, Cross-Cultural Studies of Personality, Attitudes and
Cognition,60–95, doi: 10.1007/978-1-349-08120-2_3.

Vietnamnews (2024) Carbon credit market to benefit exporters:

insiders (2024) vietnamnews.vn, accessed 3 December
2024.https://vietnamnews.vn/economy/1662762/carbon-credit-market-to-benefit-exporters-
insiders.html.

World Bank (2018) Overview, World Bank,accessed 4 December 2024.

https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/vietnam/overview#3

World Bank (2022) The World Bank FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY, accessed 3 December
2024. https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/555291656602735072/pdf/Vietnam-
Transmission-Efficiency-Project-TEP.pdf.

World Bank (2024) Việt Nam, World Bank website, accessed 4 December
2024. https://www.worldbank.org/vi/country/vietnam

World Bank Group (n.d.) GDP (current US$) - India, World Bank Group website, accessed
3 December 2024.
https://databank.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD/1ff4a498/Popular-Indicators

World Bank Group (n.d.) GDP, PPP (current international $) - India, World Bank Group
website,accessed 3 December 2024.
https://databank.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD/1ff4a498/Popular-Indicators