Expansion plan of an international business

Research is critical in identifying opportunities for market growth and expansion. This is based on the fact that different market developments and expansions are driven by an organization’s external and internal environments, which must be considered within the corporate approach to ensure that the business not only remains a going concern but also achieves various degrees of operating performance, productivity, and profitability. Concerning the organization’s efforts to establish operations in Singapore, this paper would examine questions of common and civil law on a global scale. intellectual property, copyright infringement, and legal ramifications and the violation of human rights law. The paper will also analyze concerns in public perception arising from organizational relationships, Impact of the European Union (EU) on the business environment of the country, and organizational growth expectations because of expansion in the aforementioned country.

The decision towards the expansion of business in Singapore considered factors pertaining to the rule of law, government size, regulatory efficiency and the open market. According to (The Heritage Foundation, 2017), Singapore is ranked the second-most economically free country amongst 186 countries. This is based on the country_x0092_s government policies that allow for increased global trade, investments through established and controlled property rights, stable gross domestic product, efficient business environment and openness to foreign investment. This has enabled for the elimination of barriers to entry due to its location as a hub for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region, lack of corruption, favorable taxation, and the strong protection attached to intellectual property rights. These factors are discussed further in the proceeding parts of the paper.

First, as concerns, the common and civil law on a global scale, Singapore has adopted common law aspects but has made several alterations as a means of establishing its laws with local jurisprudence. This has allowed for the judicial system to be set up in a format that allows for the resolution of civil matters based on amounts that define which court deals with the matters at hand. As such, civil matters not exceeding $250,000 are handled by the District Courts while those limited to $60,000 and $10,000 are matters for the Magistrate courts and small court tribunals. In addition, the system has allowed for the development of arbitration and mediation as complementary efforts towards ensuring efficiency in the delivery of justice (Singapore Academy of Law, 2017). As such, on a global scale, the country offers an optimal environment for the establishment of business and resolution of disputes that the organization can rely on as concerns setting-up and operations.In addition, As (Singapore Academy of Law, 2017) indicates, the country has aligned itself with international law and is involved in the process of international law-making which evidences the high level of commitment of Singapore towards ensuring the application of global laws within its judicial system.

Secondly, matters pertaining to intellectual property, copyright infringement and legal ramifications in the country, are established in a manner that allows for transparency and protection of the same. As such, a favorable environment to develop new processes, as well as the continued use of those developed earlier, exists in the business environment of the country. The (Government of Singapore, 2017) indicates that it has a clearly defined legal system that not only defines instances where infringement of copyright and intellectual property exists but also offers remedies towards owners of the same. As such, the business environment allows for intellectual property and copyrights to b protected and where instances of infringement occur, are viewed as criminal offenses. Owners are offered a range of remedies if they are successful in proofing that intellectual property or the manner in which the copyright has been expressed have been abused. This allows for the protection of the owner’s goodwill to be protected under copyright law as concerns literal work for periods of 25,50 or 70 years depending on the work that is protected (Singapore Academy of Law, 2017). To this end, legal ramifications are determined based on the nature and purpose, flagrancy, losses suffered, benefits accrued to copyright owner, and ensuring such infringements will act as detriments to future acts of the same nature (Government of Singapore, 2017) and bolstered by the country_x0092_s compliance to Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights .

Thirdly, the factor of human rights law as regards employees and child labor are developed and monitored by the Ministry of Manpower. The Ministry indicates that the economic environment determines the minimum pay that any worker may earn in the country and as such does not prescribe minimum wage (Government of Singapore, 2017). However, the use of the Progressive Wage Model (PWM), as well as the Inclusive Growth Programme, is employed towards ensuring the salaries of workers increase through programs that upgrade worker skills (Government of Singapore, 2017). In addition, the ministry prescribes the manner and duration that employees are paid as well as any deductions thereof as well as other employment laws as covered in the country_x0092_s Employment Act (Government of Singapore, 2017).

In addition to the above, child labor laws as contained in Part VIII of the employment act places an age limit allowing for those aged over thirteen years and restricts the work they can do. This allows for those aged between 13 and 15 years to only carry out light duties in non-industrial settings with those aged over 15 are allowed to even work in an industrial organization after notifying the ministry. Further, children who are employed must have a 30-minute break after every three hours, must work for a maximum of six hours daily, and cannot work at night.

Fourth, public perception arising from organizational relationships plays an important role in the survival and profitability of a business. This is because public perception alters the market and the environment that a business operates in and as such, it is essential that an organization ensures that it has a public perception. As discussed above, the legal system of Singapore is well developed and as such, where non-conformity to set laws arises, it is highly probable that a company will experience negative public perception. This when considered with the cultural diversity of the country, it is imperative that a company ensures that tensions exist internally as a measure towards ensuring that external perceptions are influenced by adherence to the set laws as well as an understanding of the diverse cultures present in the country. Further, as (Swee-Sum & Zhang, 2016) there is a shift in regards to buying decisions from the traditional motivational factors to cause and mission of organizations.Further, it is essential for technological developments to be a part of the strategy given the importance of high-quality products and services that the populace prefers over low-quality goods. As such, the organization has to strategically consider all the relationships within the environment of Singapore

As concerns, the impact of the European Union (EU) on the business environment of Singapore, there has been considerable growth from 2013 as regards singular partnerships that the country has entered as regards investment and other trade elements (European Commission, 2015). From this partnerships, Singapore has increased the levels of trade despite the risks in the international economic environment with the EU based on the similarities of economic structures between the EU and Singapore. This has acted as an advantage since the EU has selected Singapore as the entry market for ASEAN market as concerns international trade.

In conclusion, the organizational growth expectations seem high from selecting Singapore for the expansion of the business. This is based on the political stability of the country, established and favorable common and civil law systems, and the protection of intellectual property as evidenced by the above discussion. Further, given the government’s involvement in employee relations and its lack of a fixed capital requirement, the organization can be able to set up its operations at a cost that is favorable to its finances as well as benefit from the trade that the country has with the EU. However, it is essential that the company ensures that it considers all the aforementioned aspects and the diverse culture of the country’s population to ensure that this expansion financially favors its geographical expansion policy.

References

European Commission. (2015). EU-Singapore Trade and Investment 2015. Retrieved from eeas.europa.eu: http://eeas.europa.eu/archives/delegations/singapore/documents/eu_singapore/eu_singapore_trade_investment_2015_en.pdf

Government of Singapore. (2017). Employment Act. Retrieved from Ministry of Manpower: http://www.mom.gov.sg/employment-practices/employment-act/who-is-covered

Government of Singapore. (2017). Infringement and enforcement of copyright. Retrieved from Intellectual Property Office os Singapore2017: https://www.ipos.gov.sg/AboutIP/TypesofIPWhatisIntellectualProperty.aspx

Government of Singapore. (2017). Is there a prescribed minimum wage for foreign workers in Singapore? Retrieved from Ministry of Manpower: http://www.mom.gov.sg/faq/work-permit-for-foreign-worker/is-there-a-prescribed-minimum-wage-for-foreign-workers-in-singapore

Government of Singapore. (2017). National Wages Council (NWC) Guidelines 2016/2017. Retrieved from Ministry of Manpower: http://www.mom.gov.sg/newsroom/press-releases/2016/0531-national-wages-council-guidelines-2016-2017

Singapore Academy of Law. (2017). Ch.05 Singapore and International Law. Retrieved from SingaporeLaw.sg: http://www.singaporelaw.sg/sglaw/laws-of-singapore/overview/chapter-5

Singapore Academy of Law. (2017). Ch.12 Intellectual Property Law. Retrieved from SingaporeLaw.sg: http://www.singaporelaw.sg/sglaw/laws-of-singapore/commercial-law/chapter-12

Singapore Academy of Law. (2017). Singapore Jurisdiction & Law. Retrieved from SingaporeLaw.sg: http://www.singaporelaw.sg/sglaw/singapore-legal-system/singapore-jurisdiction-law

Swee-Sum, L., & Zhang, W. (2016, October). Public Perception Study on Social Enterprises in Singapore. Retrieved from raise.sg: https://www.raise.sg/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Public-Perception-Study-Full-Report.pdf

The Heritage Foundation. (2017). Singapore. Retrieved from 2017 Index of Economic Freedom: http://www.heritage.org/index/country/singapore