International Management Strategy For Intrepid Travel Group In Sri Lanka
- December 21, 2023/ Uncategorized
Background of Intrepid Travel Group
The business which is operating at an international level needs to possess knowledge about international management. This knowledge is important for the organization to grow as well as to expand globally. This management requires the skill set and knowledge beyond normal business knowledge (Morschett, Schramm-Klein & Zentes, 2015). The company needs to be familiar with the regulations set for the business in the countries where they want to operate or presently operating. The company also needs to understand the laws as well as customs and should be able to carry with the transaction with the multiple currencies (Sinkovics, Richter, Ringle & Schlaegel, 2016). These are very much important for the Intrepid Travel Group to grow as well as to operate effectively in the domestic as well as in the international market. This report will reflect how the Intrepid Travel Group has adopted the strategy to manage its business internationally and mainly in Sri Lanka. The knowledge is important as the Intrepid Travel Group mainly deals in the foreign country, so extra cautions, as well as knowledge, is required by the company so that they can earn profit along with that they can sustain in the market (Knight & Cottrell, 2016).
Intrepid Travel Group considered the world’s largest small adventure travel company. The company provides a planned route for the journey. The company provides this in more than 120 countries all around the world and targeting the major continent around the globe. The company Intrepid Travel Group has become the carbon-neutral company in the year 2010. In the year 2014, Intrepid Travel Group became the first tourism company around the globe to ban the elephant ride, which was considered to be a great initiative taken by the organization (Kivela, 2017). The company has also invested a huge sum of money in health care, child welfare, environment as well as human rights along with the wildlife protection program. This initiative helped them to become popular all around the world. The company also launch a program where they will provide vegan food to safeguard the wildlife in the year 2018, which is consider to be a bold move taken by them. Along with this move, the company also become ‘B Certified’ in the same year (Gardiner & Dolnicar, 2018).
The country which will be the main focus of this report was Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka considered one of the developing countries in tourism. The country is located in an elite position with many sea routes to connect the country with the world. The economy which is generated by the country is mainly dependent on the tourism of the country. Sri Lanka considered the third-largest country to earn the economy through tourism. The main attraction of the country which is being select is the tropical weather along with that natural resources and rich culture as well as the heritage of the country (Central Intelligence Agency, 2019). In the year 2015, Sri Lanka marked as the top ten coolest countries of the world. It considered that the country possesses a high growth rate in tourism in the next decade, and any investment done will be of high value for the country to generate revenue in the tourism sector.
Tourism Industry in Sri Lanka
From the last three-decade, there is a decrease in the tourism of Sri Lanka due to political tension. This tension caused by the civil war, along with ethnic tension. The country was facing instability in politics due to terrorism (Stauvermann, Kumar, Shahzad & Kumar, 2018). After the 30 years of the civil war that has been faced by Sri Lanka, the instability of the country eliminated in the year 2019. Due to the recent attack in Sri Lanka, the country has become insecure for international travelers. But the government of Sri Lanka has taken strict measures to safeguard the tourists from any damage as that is the only way for the country to generate revenue in the process. Therefore, the country needs to continue its tourism as this will automatically help the country to become economically strong with the help of tourism. The country needs to look into the matter as that will be helpful for the growth of the country as well as the tour company to operate over there Sri Lanka (Tourism Development Authority, 2018).
In the global market, tourism considered an important economic factor for the country to generate revenue, and it creates a huge impact on the GDP of the country. The tourism sector can generate revenue on a larger scale (Jeyamugan & Cooray, 2018). In the global market, the tourism industry is marked to be a great contributor to the world GDP that is 10.4%, as well as create job opportunity for the employee so that they can earn money from this sector (Buultjens, Ratnayke & Gnanapala, 2016). Tourism also enriches the other markets that are somewhat dependent on them, and they are, namely, real estate, catering, and transport companies. In the case of Sri Lanka, it is consider to be the third-largest revenue-generating industry of the country, and there is a huge potential for the industry to flourish in the country. This industry automatically encourages the tourism company to start its business in the country (Siriwardena & Silva, 2017).
The company Intrepid Travel Group’s main target to enter the Sri Lankan market should be clear, and they should focus on the potential of the country in the tourism industry. The company should initially survey so that they can get a clear idea about what is needed by the market, which will help them to grow as to target the customers on a large scale. These will help them to penetrate the Sri Lankan tourism market, which will automatically generate revenue for the company in the market (Nagahawatte & O’Connell, 2016). The company should keep in mind about the tropical weather as well as the rich cultural background of the country. These will provide extra credit to the company if they can advertise accordingly. The advertisement plays a major role in the company to grow in the international market. The advertisement can be in print form along with the commercial made by the company to enter the market (Sabraz Nawaz & Mubarak, 2015).
International Management Strategy for Intrepid Travel Group
The company Intrepid travel Group should target travelers all around the world in a specific way by providing offers, which will helps them to grow along with that helps them to earn a large amount of profit from the market (Prakash et al., 2019). These need to be done by the organization so that they can enter the market and attract customers to avail of their service in the process. The organization needs to look into every aspect of the market. The survey will enable them to evaluate the potential of their company in the Sri Lankan soil and should plan accordingly by the company (Buultjens, Ratnayake, Gnanapala & Nedelea, 2017).
The entry in the tourism market is quite easy, but to sustain as well as to earn a profit is hard as it is a growing sector and there is a large number of competitors in the market (Fatima, 2017). The company needs to plan some accordingly so that they do not face any crisis shortly and should be able to grow in the market.
Organizational structure is necessary for the business to become effective and to run smoothly in the market. The structure helps the organization to expand along with that to earn profit from the market (Winham, 2017). In the traditional organizational structure, there is four main structure which can be followed by the organization, and they are namely functional organizational structure; divisional based organizational structure; matrix structure and flat organizational structure (Mazumder & Jain, 2017). The functional structure states that all the people who possess the same qualification or specialization are clubbed together in a group so that they can work efficiently, and the organization can earn more from the market. In this structure, the organization divides the human force into departments that look after that specific action so that the company can run smoothly and effectively (Ahmed, 2016).
The divisional based organizational structure states that the organization or department works according to the projects that they acquire from the market. It is quite effective for the organization. On the other hand, the matrix organizational structure is that type of structure, which is the combination of both the functional as well as the divisional based organizational structure (Ullah, Badshah & Shaheen, 2017). Lastly, the flat organizational structure which eliminates the concept of top-down management and implies that everyone is their boss and can make decisions freely so that the organization can benefit in the process and also the efficiency of the employees can test in the process (Bina et al., 2017).
Organizational Structure for Effective Business Management
Intrepid Travel Group should follow the flat organizational structure, which will helps them to grow in the market and also enables them to eliminate the risk that might arise in the market. As in these types of organizational structures, there is no concept of the boss as well as no concept of top to down management structure, the employee can make the decision, and the risk can be overcome immediately by the employee (Strasdas, 2019). These automatically benefit the organization, and risk will be lower. As Sri Lanka was facing problems namely terrorism and there is political tension, so, therefore, the company need to take necessary steps, and the freedom of taking decision given to the employees, which will help them to take appropriate decision while remaining present over there where the issue appears (Takata, 2017). These will help the organization to provide quality service to the tourist and safety of the customers should be the priority of the company so that the company can gain the goodwill in the market and can provide quality services to the customers.
This business structure will helps the organization to grow in the market as well as to earn profit from it. These also help them to provide quality services to the customers and help the tourists to avail of the service shortly (Barreda, Bilgihan, Nusair & Okumus, 2015). These will automatically helps the organization possesses control in the international market.
As a human resource manager, the person needs to address the following issues that are present in an organization. These issues need to addressed in a way that will ultimately benefit the organization to grow along with that help the company to earn a large amount of profit from the market. They are:
- Eliminating the favoritismin the organization, which will automatically helps the employee to work hard to gain a position in the organization. These will benefit the organization and help them to expand on the international level (Vovchenko, Holina, Orobinskiy & Sichev, 2017).
- Building a databaseso that the company can hire a large number of employee, who are talented and possess some skills.
- Identifying the leadership skillsthat are there in the employees, which will help the organization to pick up the potential leaders in the process (Ahmad, 2015).
- Proper reward and recognitionshould provide to the employees for all the hard work that they do for the organization.
The communication is important for the organization to grow in the international market as it is considered to be an important factor for the organization to expand and make aware the customers regarding the product or service provided by the organization. They are namely:
- The communication should be done formally, i.e., by sending an emailor by calling the person as this is considered to be the mannered form of communication.
- The communication in the global market can also be done by following the trendthat is there in the market to make aware of the customers who are there in the market (Razeghi et al., 2015).
- The communication can be done by creating an attractive website. These will automatically helps the organization to expand and make aware of the customers about the product or service provided by the organization.
- The communication can also be done with the help of the chatoption, which will helps the organization to expand in the market as well as to attract a large number of customers towards the company (George, 2019).
The leaders who are chosen by the organization should possess some qualities to motivate and showcase their leadership skills in the cross-cultural environment. These happen as the organization tries to expand in the international market. Therefore, cross-culture always prevails in this type of scenario, and they are:
- The leader should provide chances to everyone equally, which will help them to give input about what they think in a particular situation to overcome it.
- The leader should be flexibleso that they can work efficiently and can motivate others.
- Every employee should train in the corporate norms, which will provide an idea about what they can and cannot do in the organization. These will help them to work efficiently that will automatically motivate them (Lvina, 2015).
- The leader should be a good listenerthat will help them to encourage the employees. These will result in motivating the employees to work hard for the organization.
- The leader should encourage the small talksthat take place in the organization as that is essential for the employee to feel fresh to do their work (Ko, 2015).
The company should adopt the Porter’s Diamond Model for the national competitive advantage. Porter’s Diamond Model possesses four parameters, namely firms strategy, structure, and rivalry; demand condition; related and supporting industry & factors condition.
According to Porter’s Diamond Model, the firm needs to look after a strategy that they are using along with that they need to focus on the structure of the firm and the rival firm that are there in the market. In the case of the Intrepid Travel Group, who wants to enter the Sri Lankan market need to take up an effective and beneficial strategy so that they can earn a large sum of money from the market globally as well as from the Sri Lankan market (Al Shobaki & Naser, 2017).
Intrepid Travel Group needs to well versed with the demand of the market so that it can sustain itself in the market. These are important for the organization as it is important for the organization to possess the knowledge about the market demand so that they can provide products and services accordingly to the customers. These will helps the organization to capture a huge market share and to grow in the market (Carney, Duran, van Essen & Shapiro, 2017). Therefore, it is important for the company if they are willing to sustain itself in the market and wants to earn a huge market profit from it.
In the next step, the company Intrepid Travel Group need to look after the related and supporting industry namely food caterer or transport company along with that lodging company as they are the ones who will provide services and product on behalf of the company. The company needs to look into the matter so that they can eliminate the competitors from the market also helps them to grow in the market. These are important for the organization to have a clear idea about the companies that will support them to provides quality service to the customers so that they can attract huge number of customers towards the company and help them to become popular in the market (Rosenberg Hansen & Ferlie, 2016).
Intrepid Travel Group needs to look into the factor conditions, as well as they are important for the organization so as to capture the new market. Therefore, it is important to possess the proper knowledge about the favorable factors that need to look after by the organization. These will automatically helps the organization to capture the market share and become powerful in the market. Hence, it is considered as an important factor for the organization to become successful in the international market as well as in the national market (Ferreira, Serra, Costa & Almeida, 2016).
Thus the company needs to look thoroughly into these four factors, which will helps the organization to grow along with that to earn a huge amount of profit from the market as well as attracts more customer towards the company.
Market consideration is important for the organization as this helps the organization to strategize their market strategy in such that they will be able to meet all the needs and wants of the customers along with that provide good quality of products as well as services. These will helps the organization to become popular in the market, and as the company deals with the travelers, therefore, the organization needs to provide better quality services to the customers and gift them with the best experience possible. These will increase the customer base of the company (Kotler, Bowen, Makens & Baloglu, 2017). The consideration which needs to look after by the organization are namely
- The seller should identify the needsof the customers, and in this case, as the company mainly deals with the tourism industry, therefore the organization needs to look after the needs of the customers. These will helps the organization to grow in the market as well as to earn a large sum of money from it.
- The company should produce those productswhich will satisfy the needs of the customers. These will automatically help the organization in attracting customers towards them.
- The products should design according to the needsof the customers. These are essential for the company to provide quality products to the customers.
- The producer should be able to estimate the pricethat the customers will be willing to pay. If the cost of the product is higher than the customer’s expectations, then they will not purchase those products. To achieve this accuracy survey need to be done by the organization (Ting, Fam, Chan & Cheah, 2019). In the case of the tourism industry, the products are packages for the tour that the customers will avail from the company.
- The customers are demographicallysegmented by the sellers so as to the products and services can reach to the customers. These will help the organization to maintain goodwill by delivering the products in a less possible time.
These are important for the Intrepid Travel Group as they are dealing in services to travelers in domestic as well as at the international level. The company also wants to expand its business in the Sri Lankan market, which is quite good for the organization as they want to expand in the market. But the company needs to keep in mind what is the market demand of the customers all around the world as well as for the Sri Lankan market. These will help them to develop a plan which will be effective and helps them to attract the number of customers (Markovic, von Wallpach & Gyrd-Jones, 2018). Thus, the company needs to know the market thoroughly so that they can enter the market and can earn a large amount of profit from the market. These will ultimately lead them to earn profit from the market along with that the customer base that is important for the organization to sustain in the new market.
Intrepid Travel Group mainly deals with tourism and hospitality, and as they want to enter the Sri Lankan market, there is a huge benefit for the company as Sri Lanka consider as the third-highest growing country in the tourism and hospitality industry. The country possesses a high culture as well as a rich environment. These will automatically helps the company to grow in the market and to earn a large amount of profit from the market. These are the potential benefit that the company will be able to get in the future if they enter the Sri Lankan market. These will helps the organization to attract customers all around the world. The organization needs to attract customers to run their business smoothly. Some risks are there in Sri Lanka as the terrorist attacked the country; therefore, the company needs to look into the matter and provide security to the customers who are booking from the company. These should be the prior concern for the company. The company also needs to adopt change according to market demand and customer’s needs. The organization needs to sustain itself in the market. These parameters need to look after by the organization so that they can attract several customers towards them, and these will helps them to grow in the market.
The company can also take up other ways to successfully run their business in the international as well as in the Sri Lankan market. These will help the organization to be ready with the backup plan so that they can become successful in the market. Intrepid Travel Group can appoint strong leaders to look after the team and should give importance to the cross-culture that will arise in the process. These will helps the organization to grow in the market so as to attract customers towards the brand. The company can also look into the needs and how often the demand is being met by the competitors’ brand, which will provide them with an idea about how they can approach people to select their company and not the other brands. The study need to be done by the organization to know the business structure of the competitors. These will helps them to grow in the market along with that helps them to earn a huge sum of money from the market. The company also need to advertise their product and service to the customers which will help them to attract customers, but this advertisement should be done in the social media as people are more active in the social media. The company also needs to be technologically strong and should structure the business in a digital market as well. These will automatically attracts the customers towards the brand, and the company will earn the profit.
Conclusion
In the end, it can be concluded that Intrepid Travel Group will be able to earn profit from the market if they are willing to enter the Sri Lankan market. The market in Sri Lanka is flourishing, and it helps the organization to grow so as to attract customers due to its rich cultural and tropical weather. Therefore, the organization needs to use the opportunity that they are getting and should be able to earn the profit. But the company needs to look into the safety of the travelers as political disputes are going on. Hence, the organization needs to sustain and grow in the Sri Lankan market.
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