Organizational Culture, Planning, and Communication Business Strategy

Running head: BEST LOCATION AND CANDIDATE 1

Best Location and Best Candidate

Kyami Clarke

University of Maryland University College

Written Assignment 5 | Paper C1

BMGT 364 6387 Management and Organization Theory (2188)

Professor Rachel Clay

Spring 2019

BEST LOCATION AND CANDIDATE 2

Introduction

The new infant formula manufacturing plant needs to be located in a region that has a

high demand for organic products. The location should also have a population that can provide

relatively cheap labour but should sufficiently be knowledgeable. Further, the location needs to

have good infrastructure, and land policies should be favourable to foreign investors. Among

Ohio, the United States, Malaysia, and China, Malaysia is the most suitable country since it

values resource sustainability; has good infrastructure; has a relatively cheap but qualified labour

force, and land policies are favourable to foreign investors. The best candidate for the position is

Sloan since she has more knowledge in biotechnology, and her interests are aligned with the

company's mission and vision.

Best Location

Ohio

The state of Ohio covers approximately 116,100 km2. It has a total population of 11.4

million people. The number of infants can be estimated at a third of the total population. The

people of Ohio put high priority to consumption of healthy organic food. The majority of farmers

in the state prefer farming methods that do not degrade the environment, and they grow foods

that they believe are good for human consumption. The people of Ohio also value organic food

and prefer manufactured food products and dietary supplements to be as natural as possible.

Ohio Farmers Association have are increasingly, Environmental Protection Agencies, and self-

help groups in Ohio are encouraging the residents to avoid consuming artificially manufactured

food products and instead embrace products that contain natural products (Black, 2015). There is

also enough supply of the raw materials needed for the production of the infant formula.

BEST LOCATION AND CANDIDATE 3

United States

The US is the superpower country in the world can arguably be regarded as the most developed

country in the world. The criteria for the country's advancement include industrialisation,

production, and environmental conservation. The Department of Human Health Services, the

Environment Protection Agency, CDC and other related organisations in the US are on the

global forefront to ensure that lifestyle diseases are minimized and that the environment is

appropriately taken care of (Homer et al., 2015). As such, the organisations and agencies are

always encouraging the citizens to embrace healthy lifestyles, which include consuming

manufactured foods that pose minimal health hazards to consumers such as products that have

been made using organic formula. As such, there is a high likelihood that the demand for the

infant formula that has been made using natural formula will be on high demand in the US.

There are also readily available raw materials for the manufacture of the infant formula in the

US.

Malaysia

Malaysia is an Asian country with a population of about 32.1 million people by 2017.

The country occupies a total surface area of about 330,803 km2. It is among the countries that are

on the forefront concerning resource conservation and the protection of biodiversity. Malaysia is

a signatory to the Rio Convention on Biological Diversity, which has guided it to form the

National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan. This and other environmental protection policies

have enabled the country to put environmental conservation activities on high priority. The

Malaysian cuisine consists mainly of organic foods, with minimally processed foods. This has

greatly been influenced by the culture of its people who highly value organic foods and products

BEST LOCATION AND CANDIDATE 4

made from natural formulas. As such, the infant product can readily be appreciated both by the

country's health agencies and environment watchdogs since the infant formula is made from

natural ingredients, and the new production plant will utilise green production methods.

China

China is an Asian country in the Far Eastern part of the globe. It is the most populated

country in the world, with a population of approximately 1.386 million, which is about 18% of

the total world population. The country’s economy is among the fastest growing economies in

the world. The country is rich regarding the availability of raw materials since the majority of

people rely on farming as a source of living (Lu et al., 2015). As such, it will be easy to get raw

materials, and with the high population, it is possible to get cheap labour. However, most of the

labourers in China are not as highly skilled as may be expected for the new company that is in

need of innovative minds. Most Chinese entrepreneurs copy or imitate the technologies of other

companies. Nevertheless, the country’s environmental protection policies are not as effective as

required since China is among the biggest polluters of the environment due to heavy reliance on

coal, and absence of real laws that can govern environmental pollution.

The Most Suitable Location

Out of the four locations, Malaysia is the best country for the company to create the infant

manufacturing plant. Although China has a significant population, there are high rates of

counterfeiting, and trade policies do not favour foreign investors since investors are sometimes

forced by Chinese government agencies to reveal their trade secrets in order to be allowed to

operate in the country (Wang & Wing, 2018). The land is also a limiting factor in China due to

the country's high population and government unfavourable land policies. Although the US is

BEST LOCATION AND CANDIDATE 5

highly developed, it is not quite the best choice for the new manufacturing plant. This is because

the environmental policies are too harsh for a starting company, and there are also well-

established companies that are likely to give high competition to the new company. The land is

also expensive in the US as compared to the other locations. Ohio is also a suitable location for

the new manufacturing plant. However, there are many well-established competitors in Ohio,

which will provide significant challenges for the new manufacturing company to kick off. The

price of land in Ohio is also higher as compared to Malaysia. Malaysia is the most suitable

location for the new manufacturing plant. This is because the country has well established

environmental protection laws, and the number of companies manufacturing infant formulas is

not as high as those in other countries. This means that it will be easy for the new manufacturing

plant to pick up and quickly establish a market base in Malaysia as compared to the other

countries. The price of land and land policies in Malaysia are also the most suitable than in other

countries, meaning that it will be easy for the company to acquire land in Malaysia. There are

also efficient and effective transport infrastructures that reach the rural centres, which will

facilitate the secure distribution of raw materials and final products. The country also has

relatively cheap but knowledgeable labour as compared to with the US and Ohio that have

skilled but expensive labour.

Best Candidate

Sloan

Sloan has been an Executive Director of the company’s branch in Europe. This means

that she is capable of taking up managerial roles in the new company without difficulties since

she has sufficiently worked as the branch leader. Sloan has been liked by the employees she

BEST LOCATION AND CANDIDATE 6

worked with since she is considerate and inclusive. This means that she has the capability of

making employees work passionately and like their work. The practice in which managers

become inclusive and allow employees to come up with new ideas has been shown to increase

employees' innovativeness (Honkaniemi, Lehtonen & Hasu, 2015). Sloan’s interests also align

with Biotech’s mission, vision, and philosophy since she is concerned with issues of

environmental-friendliness, and products that are good both for human and animal health.

Although she does not have marketing experience, she can effectively run the company.

Maddie Cooper

Cooper has 25 years of experience in running an infant formula company. This gives her

an advantage over Sloan who has 12 years of experience in managerial issues. Cooper can thus

run the new branch of the infant formula effectively due to her many years of experience.

However, her leadership approach is the bureaucratic hands-on approach, which tends to be

dictatorial at best. This means that the employees will not be given enough opportunities to

express their ideas freely for consideration, and the employees will highly likely to work under

pressure. This is likely to reduce their motivation and creativity.

Further, Maddie's perspective does not align well with the company's interests since she is

against the company's idea of sustainability and green production initiatives. Maddie is not the

best candidate to lead the new branch. This is because her interests conflict with the company’s

objectives, and her leadership style does not encourage employee innovativeness, which is

against Biotech’s policies.

Bentley Hughes

BEST LOCATION AND CANDIDATE 7

Hughes has been the owner of the newly acquired plant and has run the company effectively

with advancement in sales. However, he is more suited for performing logistics functions rather

than overseeing green production methods and fostering innovativeness. The main point that

makes him be considered is the sales agreement rather than his qualifications. There is no

evidence that he can effectively encourage employees' innovativeness, and that he has skills

regarding issues to do with biotechnology. This means that he can face significant challenges and

experience difficulties when it comes to manufacturing or improvising diverse brands of the

infant formula. For these reasons, Sloan is the best candidate for the position. A sales and

marketing manager can be appointed to take care of sales and marketing.

Conclusion

The best location for the new infant formula manufacturing firm among the four regions

in Malaysia. This is because, among the four countries, it is the one with relatively cheap labour

that is highly skilled. The cost of land is also fair, and there is no stiff competition. The best

candidate for the leadership position in the new manufacturing plant is Sloan. This is because her

interests are aligned with the company’s, and she is qualified on issues regarding biotechnology.

References

BEST LOCATION AND CANDIDATE 8

Black, K. J. (2016). The Relationship of Food Security to Health Parameters of Women Using

Free Cervical Screening Sites in Appalachian Ohio (Doctoral dissertation, Ohio

University). 1-17.

Homer, C., Dewitz, J., Yang, L., Jin, S., Danielson, P., Xian, G., ... & Megown, K. (2015).

Completion of the 2011 National Land Cover Database for the conterminous United

States–representing a decade of land cover change information.Photogrammetric

Engineering & Remote Sensing, 81(5), 345-354.

Honkaniemi, L., Lehtonen, M. H., & Hasu, M. (2015). Well-being and innovativeness:

motivational trigger points for mutual enhancement. European journal of training and

development,39(5), 393-408.

Lu, Y., Jenkins, A., Ferrier, R. C., Bailey, M., Gordon, I. J., Song, S., ... & Feng, Z. (2015).

Addressing China’s grand challenge of achieving food security while ensuring

environmental sustainability. Science advances, 1(1), 1-6.

Wang, Z., & Wing, M. (2018). Asymmetry and helplessness: the copyright ecology of online

literature writers in China.Queen Mary Journal of Intellectual Property, 8(4), 348-357.