Read the scenario below and research to answer the requirements in a report. 2000-2500 words, 12 pt. fonts, APA format, 5-8 references.
Scenario:
Andrew Cooper and his wife were attending the screening of the film The Chocolate Factory. He had accepted attending the screening of the movie on the condition that he would stay around for the reception. The documentary showed how developing countries’ cacao farmers struggled to make a living under the strenuous conditions in which they worked. Moreover, the movie suggested that some of these farms forced children into labor at ages as young as 9. At the end, the movie suggested that the dynamics and the uncertainty generated by globalization were driving many developing countries further into poverty. Andy, as his close friends liked to call him, did not feel comfortable going to the screening of a film that he considered biased and antibusiness. However, his wife’s parents had offered him the screening tickets during a family reunion. He later wondered if his in-laws were sending him a subtle message.
Despite his young age, Andy had just been promoted to brand manager in his father’s fine-chocolates distribution business located in Atlanta, Georgia. His father had developed a successful line of fine chocolate brands, which he developed over a period of 20 years and that marketed across the continental United States. The business imports raw cacao beans into the United States through the port of Savannah from growers in West Africa, including the Ivory Coast; converts the beans into cocoa powder; produces the bars of chocolate candy; custom-packages it; and distributes it as a private brand to its clients.
After the end of the film, Andy felt a knot in his gut. He knew he had to start doing things differently from the way his father conducted business. He was especially concerned about the well-known fact that cacao growers in the Ivory Coast did not receive an adequate payment for their hard work. Also distressing were the suggestions of forced child labor. He could not help but recognize the premise of the film at the screening and that the so-called fairness in international trade was the exception rather than the rule. In addition, the economies in Western Africa did not seem to be getting any better.
Andy knew that cacao futures in New York, Chicago, and London were traded primarily among major European and U.S. wholesalers that controlled the marketing of the commodity to the largest chocolate manufacturers in the world. Some cacao cooperatives in Ivory Coast were going bankrupt because prices for their crop were not high enough to cover operational costs. He decided to investigate the possibility of marketing fair trade chocolate brands. He knew there were organizations in the United States and Europe promoting the marketing of a growing range of agricultural products from developing countries. The goal of these organizations was to take advantage of developed countries’ increasingly conscious consumer market that wanted to do something about the perceived inequalities in the global marketplace.
Andy was determined to speak to his father about his newfound approach to doing business and incorporating the idea of fair trade into a new line of chocolate brand. Moreover, he wanted to suggest the possibility of internationalizing this line by offering it to chocolate markets in Central Europe; he was particularly interested in Belgium. Because of Andy’s promotion to brand manager, the company has gone through a mild restructuring.
You have been with the company for several years and have gained some seniority over other marketing staff. Andy has asked you to help him in the next few weeks. He will be asking for your assistance in developing the marketing plan to enter the Belgian market.
Research Assignment:
Andy’s dad liked the idea of trying a new line of chocolate brands under the fair trade labeling movement, but he needed more information before presenting the idea to the company’s board of directors. Andy has asked you to prepare a report containing the following information:
- Develop a new mission statement that incorporates both the pursuit of social causes and the internationalization of the business.
- Determine the new competencies the company would need to meet the new corporate direction.
- Determine the impact of European Union (EU) legislation on the trade of packaged chocolate from the United States to Belgium.
- Determine the external environmental factors affecting the marketing of gourmet chocolate to Belgium and affecting the industry in this country, including the following:
- geographical and technological factors
- economic and financial factors
- cultural and social factors
