Communication For Leaders And Managers In The Seafood Industry

Background and situation analysis

Discuss about the Communication for Leaders and Managers.

Communication is the most important aspect for both the leaders and the managers. A good leader needs to adapt the communication style depending on the audience in front of him. An important aspect of communication is the capability to listen. However, effective communication skills do not come naturally for most of the individuals. The individual includes both the leaders and the managers who need to practice repeatedly in order to improve their skills (Habermas, 2015). 

The Marine food Limited was established in the year 1996. It is a 100 percent New Zealand owned Company that mainly exports seafood. Seafood is also an important part of the diet in South China. The increasing demand for the frozen seafood has provided the company to target the South China market in order to supply the product (Simmons & Stringer, 2014).

The Marine food Limited is an enterprising seafood industry that is located in Tauranga, New Zealand. It has an extensive knowledge about the seafood market around the globe. The Marine Food Limited mainly deals with the frozen products such as Arrow Squid, Alfonsino, Barracouta, etc. as they are mostly targeting South China. In South China, the individual mostly prefers the frozen seafood rather than homemade food (MacDiarmid et al., 2013).

South China is known to be the largest seafood consuming countries in the world. China is the largest export market of food and beverage products in New Zealand. On the other hand, New Zealand is the ninth largest supplier of the food and beverage products to China. New Zealand has a free trade agreement with China and as a result, this will act as a business opportunity for New Zealand. The changing taste in China is creating an opportunity for import of the seafood business. As a consumer society is rising, the demands for the new products are appearing with increasing constancy. The increase in the demand for the new foods includes the frozen seafood. The rise of the labour cost and the increasing shortage of the land and water are leading to the increase in the imports of the seafood products (Cao et al., 2015).

The increase in the average annual income and a greater tenure of fridges had led to the exposure of the seafood products. The greater consciousness of the frozen foods and the emergence of the young generation had led to the increase in the fast-food chains that mainly supplies the frozen packed seafood products.

Cultural variables, business practices, and communication strategy

China heavily relies on the Asia-pacific neighbours as the import sources of the seafood products. The competition is not high as most of the domestic food producers provide home-grown products to the Chinese Super Market. As a result, the Marine foods Limited will be able to provide the best distribution of the seafood products. The cost structure and the cheap labor cost are the major competitive advantage in the global marketing of seafood (Villasante et al., 2013).

However, one of the major competitions that a Marine food Limited is likely to face in South China is that the company needs to convince the individuals about supply stability in the market. The company also needs to create a strong relationship with the society in order to make sure that the seafood products are cleared swiftly (Zhang et al., 2014).

The demand of the frozen and the pre-cooked seafood products are high in the Southern part of China. The target consumers are mostly the internet-savvy youths who mostly prefer the frozen seafood rather than fresh products that are cooked at home (Jones et al., 2013).

The positioning of the company is that the company is trying to meet the diverse and the growing demand of the consumers in the Southern part of China. Hence, they are  setting up their own distribution channel to strengthen their position in South China.

The deregulation in trade and the improved technology had led to the development of the competitive seafood industry in China. This has led to the improvement of the transportation of the international products and commodities. There is modern as well as domestic and foreign-owned chain that brings the raw materials from the traditional fishing grounds from other oceans. The fishing processing in South China is characterized by less-advanced technology as compared to the other parts of the world. As a result, The Marine foods Limited will gain competitive advantage if they start the supply of the frozen seafood products in South China (Lin et al., 2016).

The power distance index will measure the extent to which the less powerful members of the organization recognize and expect that power be distributed unequally. As far as China is concerned, PDI is very high as China ranks on 80. This means that there is a lot of power distance between the subsidiaries and the superiors. However, the individuals have accepted it. On the other hand, New Zealand scores very low that is 22. This indicates that there is more equality within the culture.

Action Plan

The individualism vs. collectivism indicates the degree to which the individuals in South China will relate to the new business. China ranks 91 on the individualism vs. collectivism index. This indicates that China is highly collectivistic and thinks as a group. On the other hand, New Zealand scores 79. They mainly emphasize the achievements of the individuals.

Masculinity vs. femininity is a preference in the society for achievement. China is a Masculine society with a score of 66. That is the country is success oriented and driven. The Chinese will frequently put work before family. On the other hand, New Zealand scores 58 and it is also a Masculine society. They are proud of their achievements.

Long-term orientation vs. short-term orientation relates to the challenges of the future and the past. In this dimension, China scores 87 that indicate that it is a very practical culture. The individuals belief that truth depends on the situation. On the other hand, New Zealand scores very low that is 33. The individuals are concerned with establishing the absolute truth.

Indulgence vs. restraint measures the degree of happiness. China scores 24 and is a restrained society. They have a tendency to pessimism. On the other hand, New Zealand scores 75. The individuals mainly possess a positive attitude.

The characteristics of the country should include the values and the behaviours in such a way that contributes to the exclusive social and psychological environment of the Marine foods Limited. The cultural framework represents the collective values of the company. The characteristics of the country are such that the workers who are associated with the seafood industry perceive their task towards the outside world as completely given.

The communication strategy should be built in such a way that it becomes possible to gather the information about the individuals. The information in this case should include the age as well as the taste so that it becomes easier to understand the target group. A productive workforce needs to be created so that the cultural differences can be eliminated (Li et al., 2015).

The four tips that need to be kept in mind while developing communication strategy by paying special attention to cultural differences are as follows:

1. It is important to have at least some knowledge of the cultural background of the individuals

2. It is important to keep an important mind

3. It is also important to practice active listening

4. It is also imparting to maintain personal touch

The company needs to do a market research before launching the product in a new market. Starting business operation in a new market is always associated with some kinds of risks. Therefore, market research and preplanning about the product helps the company to evaluate own potential. The action plan of the company involves three aspects such as division of tasks, determination of time schedule and resource allocation (Sadgrove, 2016). The possible action plan of the company is presented below.

Table 1

	Tasks	Time duration	Predecessor	Responsible person
A	Market research	30 days		Business analysts
B	Project planning	25 days	A	General Managers
C	Advertisement	60 days	B	Marketing manager
D	Physical resource allocation	40 days	B	Operation manager
E	Financial resource allocation	35 days	B	Finance manager
F	Construction	50 days	D, E	Operation manager
G	Product lunch	7 days	F	Project team

Tasks

Week 2

Week 4

Week 6

Week 7

Week 8

Week 9

Week 11

Week 12

Week 13

Week 14

Week 15

Week 16

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

The market analysts in the company have the responsibility to assess the target market before launching the product. Before entering into the market, the company needs to know about the target customers, demand for seafood products in the market. In order to do the market analysis, the company can conduct a primary survey to evaluate the consumer preference in the targeted market directly. The primary survey can be conducted through face-to-face interview with the consumers. If direct interview is not possible due to some difficulties, the company can conduct interview through telephone or internet (Daim et al., 2012).  The marketing manager of the company can arrange or participate in a workshop regarding sea food business development.

Figure 2: Marketing plan of Marine foods Limited

(Source: created by author)

Product positioning is an important part of marketing, which helps the company to reach the product to the target customers. Operation in new market requires creation of a unique brand that can attract the customers (Hackman & Johnson, 2013). Pricing strategy is an important factor in marketing. Keeping low price always give competitive advantage to a start up company. However, keeping price low at the initial stage is not possible for firm, if it has high investment costs (Westwood, 2013).

Company’s qualification

Entering into the Chinese market is tough for western countries due to unique nature of business. The existing companies in Seafood industry of China enjoy economies of scale and thereby cost advantages. Seafood industry of China has large share in the international market. In order to compete in the local market of china, the company has to enter into the market with large potential. As the company follows low cost strategy in the business model, it can be said that, Marine foods Limited is sufficiently qualified to launch new product in the southern China.

Assessment of team qualification

Team building is an important factor for the success of a new project in oversees. The management and leaders have important role in building a cohesive team.  The team members need to be dedicated to their works. Te objective of every team member requires to be built in compliance with the objective of the company (Kuehn, 2016).  The project team members of the Marine foods Limited are qualified as they follow diversified culture in the business. The selected team member has sufficient knowledge about the target market and the product. The team members have ability to use their skills efficiently in the project implementation process.

The seafood market faces some issues regarding quality of products. Excessive use of chemicals, poor quality feed to the sea fishes are major concerns in the Chinese seafood market. The government has not been able to mitigate the issues successfully. Therefore, Marine foods Limited have to prepare its business strategy accordingly. As there is quality issue regarding local fish, use of local product can affect business performance of the company. Therefore, it would be safer for the company to import fish from other countries.

Moreover, during 2015-16 Chinese economy is experiencing low growth. Low growth affects Chinese export. Local demand has also decelerated in China. Hence, the company needs to choose proper time to start business in China. To start a business at the recessionary stage is not prospective for a start up business. The company can start business at the prosperity stage. According to different market analysts, the Chinese market can recover this slow growth stage soon. Therefore, proper marketing strategy can help the company to acquire Chinese market. Above all, it is required to evaluate customer choice each time of the business cycle.

Conclusion

It has been concluded that China heavily relies on the Asia-pacific neighbours as the import sources of the seafood products. The Marine food Limited is one of the most vital seafood industries in New Zealand that will be able to provide the best distribution of the seafood products in South China. The main reason for which the company has targeted South China is that the changing taste in China is creating an opportunity for import of the seafood business. Seafood industry of China has large share in the international market. The company mainly prefers to sell the frozen seafood products in South China as the demand of the frozen and the pre-cooked seafood products are high in the Southern part of China.

References

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Habermas, J. (2015). Communication and the Evolution of Society. John Wiley & Sons.

Hackman, M. Z., & Johnson, C. E. (2013). Leadership: A communication perspective. Waveland Press.

Jones, K. G., Wozniak, S. J., & Walters, L. M. (2013). Did the proposed country-of-origin law affect product choices? The case of salmon. Journal of Food Products Marketing, 19(1), 62-76.

Kuehn, S. (2016). Exploring US Business Leaders’ Strategies for Enhancing Team Communication.

Li, H., Liao, X., Chen, G., Hill, D. J., Dong, Z., & Huang, T. (2015). Event-triggered asynchronous intermittent communication strategy for synchronization in complex dynamical networks. Neural Networks, 66, 1-10.

Lin, Z., Yuegang, L., Jing, K., Zhanqun, S., & Andrew, B. (2016). Development of Transportation Supervision Information System of Frozen Seafood Processing Enterprises Based on ERP. Journal of Applied Science and Engineering Innovation, 3(1), 18-21.

MacDiarmid, A. B., Law, C. S., Pinkerton, M., & Zeldis, J. (2013). New Zealand marine ecosystem services. Ecosystem services in New Zealand–Conditions and trends, 238-253.

Sadgrove, K. (2016). The complete guide to business risk management. Routledge.

Simmons, G., & Stringer, C. (2014). New Zealand׳ s fisheries management system: Forced labour an ignored or overlooked dimension?. Marine Policy,50, 74-80.

Villasante, S., Rodríguez-González, D., Antelo, M., Rivero-Rodríguez, S., de Santiago, J. A., & Macho, G. (2013). All fish for China?. Ambio, 42(8), 923-936.

Westwood, J. (2013). How to write a marketing plan. Kogan Page Publishers.

Zhang, D., Tveterås, R., & Lien, K. (2014). China’s impact on global seafood markets. Aquaculture Economics & Management, 18(2), 101-119.