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This is an abstract from a dissertation by Hjalti Sölvason MBA student at the University of Edinburgh on developing market entry strategies as one of the main challanges facing companies wishing to expand into new market segments.

Managers are always under pressure to maximise shareholder value, and when they face a saturated market at home, they begin to search for new markets outside their home country. In other words they seek geographic diversification.

It makes a foreign market even more attractive if it is growing faster than the home market itself, and as improved communications might be considered a supportive reason for opening up new markets overseas.

Improving productivity is one reason for going abroad in order to obtain greater profits and revenue. Greater profits on overseas investments can be a strong motive for going abroad. Service companies frequently follow customers overseas to prevent competitors from gaining access to their clients.

By using foreign production to lower cost the company can move part or all of its production facilities to the country from which its competition is coming, and enjoy such advantages as less costly labour, raw materials, or energy. Protecting foreign markets is often necessary, which can lead to a change from exporting to overseas investment.

Another reason why a company should be interested in entering new markets is by following the competitor. Once a competitor has set up a production plant in a country, management must decide rapidly whether to follow suit or risk losing the market forever.

„In many cases it is a forced move by the company to enter into new markets because if not, the company would stagnate and be left behind by its competitors.“ – Hjalti Sölvason, August 1996.

Being able to claim that the firm is a “multinational” creates the impression of importance, which can influence its customers. Stockholders and financial analysts expect firms to continue to grow, and those companies operating only in the domestic market have found it increasingly difficult to sustain that expectation. The faster growth of a company, helps also satisfy the management’s desire for expansion.

A company should ask itself the reasons for entering the market and assess the internal forces and capabilities of the company itself. There are also various ways to enter new markets: Exporting, wholly owned subsidiary, joint venture, licensing agreement, franchising, contract manufacturing, management contract and strategic alliances.

The importance of screening markets, analysing market indicators and factors are also factors to address when entering new markets. What does market research say about trends in the industry and other factors like financial risk, have been discussed.

Identifying and analysing competitors in order to bring to the surface their strengths and weaknesses, and the field trip should be made in order to smell and taste the market, and collect primary data. Segment the market into those areas where the company can position its services or products by gathering information about the customers.

Entry strategies and entry modes do vary between competitors. Two companies may perceive different risk as they evaluate the same market and therefore choose different entry modes.

Hjalti Sölvason graduated as a Systems Analyst from the Copenhagen Business School in Copenhagen and is now studying for an MBA at the University of Edinburgh. Hjalti has experience in the IT industry and has worked as a software system designer and programmer.

Roc Solyd

What is a Golf Swing Launch Monitor?

In baseball, a speed gun similar to what police use to check on the speed of motorists is used to check the speed of a pitch. In golf, a device called a golf swing launch monitor is one of many golf practice aids used to study the swing aspect in a game.

Golf swing aids are designed to tell a golfer why the ball is flying in a certain direction after the golfer hits it with the club. With the information gathered, the golfer will know what is wrong so the appropriate changes can be made.

How it works is by compiling the data comprising of more than 100 swings made by the golfer. Professionals are not the only ones who use this data because even amateurs use this as well.

Now that these are produced by various companies, it is easy to find one when you go to a sporting goods store.

But what must the golf swing launch monitor have when you go out looking for one? It must be able to tell you the following information which includes ball speed, club head speed, face impact position, flight time, launch angle and yards off line.

But what does the information tell you exactly? Well, if your ball speed isn’t in proportion with your club head speed, this means that you are not hitting the ball as far as you want it to go. Ideally, there should be a 1:1.5 ratio between these two. In simple terms, a club head speed of 100 mph will let you make the ball travel at 150 mph.

If you think getting this number is easy, think again because most professionals are only able to hit a 1:1.4 ratio. If your numbers are way off, do your best to try and achieve this number.

Another thing to watch out for in the golf swing launch monitor is the launch angle. The lower it is the better because this will make the ball travel farther. Tiger Woods who is one of the best golfers of all time launches at 12 degrees. Should you do the same? Not necessarily but if this works for you, then why not.

There are other indicators that can tell you more about your golf swing but take note that these will cost a bit more. These devices can even tell you the average of your shots in various areas and compare them which will helpful to improve your game.

This monitor has Golf swing software that can be even be hooked up to your computer which is even better.

Of course to achieve the right angle and speed, it has a lot to do with your technique. There are other tools you can get to help you practice your golf swing like hiring a coach, practicing in front of a mirror, recording yourself and putting some of the aids on.

Will this make you play better? In most cases yes so you should consider using them if you are still not able to improve your game like you have hoped.

Years ago, there was no machine that could analyze your golf swings. We should be happy then with tools like the golf swing launch monitor because you are no longer guessing if you are doing well or not when everything can be seen in the numbers.

Read about my experience with a specially good vendor of cable connections. If TV viewers want to purchase a cable connection that is multisided for TV, Internet and phone, then I can advise the company Kabel Deutschland as a notably powerful and convenient German provider. For anyone, who wants cable television, this offerer is an intelligent choice. This cable TV offerer is one of Europes largest cable operators and gives an unbeatable price-performance ratio in my eyes. I am very exalted by the fancy multimedia possibilities that the cable network offers. Digital cable television is not everything that TV viewers can get. Television viewers can also browse the Internet super-fast via cable network and have favorable phone calls without being connected by another telecom provider.

There are different useful product packages for Internet surfing and telephony. Such as the classic product package and the comfort product arrangement, there is the suitable alternative available for everybody at a very opportune cost-performance ratio. If prospects want a beneficial access to the Internet and phone at the same time for free with a flatrate in all German conventional telephone networks, that is possible with the double-flat. There viewers can be sure not to pay too much for telephone and Internet.

If viewers are not needing a double-flat for Internet and phone, because they want to keep at telephoning by utilizing their existing phone provider, customers also can seize the available cable Internet separately. Here clients can opt for various Internet offers at specially opportune charges. If TV viewers only prefer to phone via the cable network, but do not need an Internet connection, television viewers can obtain a good cable telephone extension. Prospects will need no separate telephone mainlines any more. Users can use their cable junction only for telephoning and surfing and do not need to order cable TV. Consequently viewers only have to pay their favorable fee for Internet and telephone. Television may be continued as before, for example via a satellite receiving system. With the efficient comfort product set prospects have an Internet connection with Internet flatrate and a phone extension with telephone flat rate for all German fixed line networks. TV viewers can quit their current conventional telephone network and take the existing telephone numbers with them.

Television viewers can read a German report on the following site: www.fernsehen-kabel.net. With the eco Internet Award 2008 the provider has received an additional award and has been declared the best Internet provider for private customers by an independent expert jury for the best price-performance ratio. Furthermore, they won already some specialized awards for their products, e.g. in the periodical Computer Bild issue 23/2007 as the winner for DSL speeds and in the magazine PC Praxis 11/2007 with a “very good” at the cost-performance ratio for the cable bundle Comfort. With such cable connection users are able to receive more than 27 analog and approximately 99 digital cost-free TV channels. Prospects also can receive up to 68 radio stations and additionally browse the Internet and telephone at very advantageous prices. By having a cable connection, besides the amount of free TV channels prospects also may subscribe to additional channels and so arrange their individual desired TV experience. There are several countries packages available, which make television possible in the readers native language.