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Common Mistakes by New VP's

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Scenario:
You have achieved great success at Physical Movement Company (PM Co.) as their Sales Manager. PM Company is a three year old, US$25 million home healthcare company, headquartered in the northeastern part of the United States. The firm creates and sells wheelchairs, walkers or other types of "mobility products" that give a person some level of mobility when they can no longer completely ambulate on their own. Recently due to an influx of inquiries about your mobility products and some very large, direct sales to customers outside your home country, you have been promoted to the position of Vice-President of International Sales, responsible for all sales outside the United States. The job sounds simple enough - just sell your great mobility products around the world! Benefits of the job include traveling globally, eating great food and shopping for bargains in your free time. Life is good!
However, after a few days in your new position you begin to realize there is more to this job than what you were previously accustomed to as a Sales Manager who sold only in your own country. Your previous job responsibilities included finding a need for your mobility products, overcoming any objections and closing the sale. You were very comfortable in this role. As you begin to call on companies around the world by phone and e-mail, you realize that the global business environment is far more complex, involves many more details, and requires much more knowledge than you ever realized! Because of the time zone differences, you are finding yourself working all the time as business is conducted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week around the world, so there is always someone you need to contact or follow-up with. No one in the company has ever sold internationally before. There are a few employees in the company who were not born in this country. They can provide some language skills and can share their cultural knowledge, but they do not have international business experience. However, you are now the global business leader for your company.
Late one night between calls to Singapore and China, you realize you need to quickly learn as much as you can about global business issues and their implications and to communicate these issues and their solutions to senior management so that together you and the company can achieve your new worldwide revenue objectives.

Task Type: Discussion Board Deliverable Length: 4 paragraphs single spaced times new roman

What are some common mistakes new Vice-Presidents of International Sales make, such as PM Company's VP, and why? Be sure to cite specific companies and include web links or books you used in your research, if available, so others may become familiar with these resources. Do not use the classic example of Chevy Nova (nova meaning "no-go")

To clarify, this would be like an American company expanding to Europe or Asia. What mistakes are commonly made when VP's don't know the customs, culture, laws and other stuff. The assignment is calling for a specific company's mistake.

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THE MONSANTO DISASTER
Monsanto VP plans to introduce genetically-modified (GM) wheat. Monsanto has inserted a gene so that the wheat crop can be sprayed with Monsanto's weed spray Roundup: killing other plants but not the wheat. There are many reasons that -consumers and farmers alike-don't want GM wheat, here are ten.
1. Market loss The international customers that buy 82% of Canada's wheat crop say that they will stop buying if Canada introduces GM wheat. They are clear: they will stop buying all wheat from us: GM and non-GM alike. One customer, Warburtons (a large British bakery), received 6,000 customer inquiries in 2001 regarding food safety and GM wheat. GM wheat kills markets.
2. The end of organic agriculture GM wheat threatens to destroy organic agriculture in much of Canada. GM canola has made it nearly impossible for organic farmers to grow that crop: seed supply contamination and pollen drift mean that organic farmers cannot be sure that their canola will be free of GM seeds. The introduction of GM wheat and subsequent GM crops will leave organic farmers fewer and fewer crops to grow. Organic crop production will become nearly impossible and Canadians will lose access to locally-grown, organic food. GM wheat yes = organic no!
3. Lower prices for farmers GM wheat will dramatically decrease demand for Canadian wheat. Lower prices to farmers are easy to predict. On the other hand, producing GM-free Canadian wheat will give our farmers a marketing advantage if the U.S. and other nations introduce GM wheat. High-quality, GM-free Canadian wheat could be our competitive advantage, our premium product. Stopping GM wheat means higher prices for farmers.
4. Health concerns Many Canadians, like citizens around the world, question the safety of GM foods. Further, Canadians have grave doubts about Canada's food safety regulatory system-a system based, not on independent testing in government labs, but on reviewing data from Monsanto and similar companies. Finally, farmers and consumers cannot trust the government to regulate because it is too busy promoting the GM food industry. Why take a risk on GM foods?
5. Environmental damage GM wheat, once released, cannot be hauled back in. Once this life form is in the environment, it is there forever. Not only can we not recall GM wheat, we cannot contain or control it. GM canola is flow cross-pollinating with non-GM canola and with related wild species. Monsanto's wheat genes will similarly "flow" through the environment. Again, Canadians know that there has not been sufficient, independent testing done on the long-term ecosystem effects of genetically-modifying the planet's food crops. This is a completely unnecessary threat to the environment.
6. Agronomic costs some farmers now grow GM Roundup Ready Canola. Spray that canola with Roundup, and the weeds die and the canola is unscathed. But introduce GM Roundup Ready wheat and the equation changes. Farmers will need additional chemicals to control volunteer Roundup Ready wheat in their RR canola and to control volunteer RR canola in their RR wheat. One agronomist estimated the additional weed control costs at up to $400 million annually.
7. Segregation won't work Monsanto says that segregation systems are ...

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