Third stage project

2. Identify and explain the different cultural problems the company has faces in order to get into the foreign market.

American food culture was characterized as practical or easy to prepare and having a strong bond with their migration.

That is why after his arrival in [1]2012 to the United States Alpina , seeks to reach the Hispanic community and increase consumption of its products in the US this company finds that some of the products offered in Colombia may not be the same in states together , since their culture to the consumption of any of these it would not be efficient , which is why After a rigorous evaluation process of different alternatives, it was determined that with Revive , a free Greek yogurt fat accompanied with granola, and Renew a 100 % natural oatmeal and rich in fiber , the company would open step in the demanding US market.

Dairy consumption in the US is not so high that is why the company decided to launch different products found in the Colombian market.

Alpina is trying to gain a foothold in the US, plans to consolidate its market covering the needs of American consumers , it is why start its proposal in the demanding market with products like Revive, and Renew.

It also has a product called ReStart a cuchareable yogurt with a base of natural fruit and granola Sobrecopa designed for the American female audience. To launch a special campaign targeting women creating an ec-message of peace, solidarity and welfare it was made.

Thinking in attracting the Hispanic culture in this country and American culture [2]products offered Alpina in the United States they are:

Alpina NBA all- stars

• or Your Up-And-Coming All-Stars

• reamy low fat vanilla yogurt fuels every active lifestyle with calcium, potassium and muscle building protein for sustained energy throughout the day. Dunk in one of the four tasty mix-ins and even the pickiest eaters will be coming back for more. Plus, each package contains a special sticker for your NBA fan. Keep your all-star in the game with Alpina NBA All-Stars Yogurt.

Avena

An Alpina classic, Avena has been a South American staple for decades and has become a household favorite among kids and parents across the world. Avena is the combination of healthy oats and milk blended together into a smooth and creamy beverage that keeps you full, balanced and ready to take on the day.

Café selections

• seamless blend of real Colombian coffee and nonfat Greek Yogurt to keep you satisfied. Plus, each cup contains 30-50mg of caffeine, which is equivalent to approximately 35-65% of a cup of filtered coffee. With only 120 calories, 0 g of fat, and 12 g of protein, it's a great snack or the perfect breakfast to start your day!

All our yogurts contain the following cultures: Streptococcus thermophiles, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus casei and bifidobacterium bifidus.

Dulce de Leche

Our Dulce de Leche, also known as Arequipe in Colombia, is a soft caramel spread made from whole milk and sugar. It's great for using in recipes, dipping or spreading on your favorite fruits, cheeses, breads or crackers, eating by itself, or even to flavor your morning coffee. Try it for yourself, Everything tastes better with Dulce de Leche.

Greek Yogurt

Our creamy strained nonfat Greek yogurt with natural fruit marmalades and syrups on the bottom make for the perfect breakfast or snack. Every cup contains at least 11 grams of protein and is made with all natural ingredients. Compare Alpina Greek to the other leading brands of Greek yogurt and notice it's lower in sugar without the compromise on taste.

Flavors: Strawberry, Raspberry, Pineapple, Peach, Mango, Blueberry, Black Cherry, Vanilla.

Greek Yogurt with granola

Our same delicious and creamy strained nonfat Greek yogurt paired with crunchy gluten free artisan granola prepared for us by Udis, the leader in gluten free baked goods. These special granola recipes were designed for you by a health and wellness chef. Each blend has a nutrient packed blend of grains, seeds and nuts to keep you balanced.

Yogurt Smoothies

• lpina Yogurt Smoothies are perfect for on-the-go, whether it is for breakfast, a snack or dessert. Made with natural ingredients and low in sugar compared to the leading brands, our creamy blend of low fat yogurt is so indulgent, you will forget how good it is for you.

With the above products Alpina searches that American culture is a potential customer for your company.

3. Explain how the company has dealt with the cultural shock of its staff or company members (if any).

The secret of Alpina to reach the summit of success is simple and is based on working with people to be more agile, efficient and flexible, to respond to consumer needs in a constantly changing world; be more competitive, to keep our company on the market; remain the market leaders in economy recently opened in Colombia borders; provide better customer service, every day to every consumer; and grow without increasing our expenses, being more efficient and productive.

The aim of Alpina in Transformation is to design and implement an agile, efficient, flexible organization, customer-focused and committed to quality and human development that will address changes in the competitive environment and new market challenges by management by processes and incorporating new technologies.

Specifically cultural change at the organizational level refers to Alpina to recognize the human dimension of our people as the key factor in the process of transformation of the company, facilitating the development of a culture of innovation and learning and training and maintenance of organizational climate to support the implementation of the three projects Alpina in Transformation.

Cultural Change program has been sponsored by senior management of the company, and involves all employees, locations and countries and that despite the cultural differences in the Andean countries want to have a similar organizational culture where Alpina is present. The program was carried out in Ecuador in 1997 and will be brought to Venezuela in 1998 taking into account cultural differences present in each country.

Due to the initiation of integration projects information systems, called Project UNO, and the need to support this proposed change from the human, we create and we are developing a system based on workshops Outdoors program. These workshops have specific goals such as share and feel the Mission, Vision, Principles and Values; Alpina communicate meaning in Transformation and the commitments we all have with organizational change; have a general understanding of the business cycle and learn about leadership, teamwork, empowerment, strategic thinking, and quality assurance among others.

The learning process followed in the workshops to better assimilation and personal transformation consists of three aspects:

Experiential: Learning from personal experience when in contact with nature. When it is in the nature the mind is open, nature and relaxing predisposes for everyone assimilates more if it is in a classroom within four walls. The experiences are also for the person, for inside and enjoy is vital. Why?, because it gives more life experiences result someone to change experiences, if he is told to do, or they learn to be told about concepts. They tell me what I remember about 20 % and that 80% live.

Conceptual: The theoretical basis for understanding the experience. Share concepts to standardize the language handled during the workshop. This facilitates better understand what is happening out in the simulations.

Context: Take what you learned to the reality of the Company, seeking each contact with itself, with its own reality and participation in the challenge of the company.

The challenge of Alpina after this transformation process is aimed at strengthening the monitoring scheme and support to strengthen cultural change and to facilitate maintain the enthusiasm of the people during the implementation of the three projects Alpina in Transformation. This space will also use tracking to strengthening the culture of teamwork, starting with the self-assessment of skills within teams and continuing natural process equipment.

4. Explain the kind of employees the company hires in order to fulfill their vacancies, explain why?

To describe a little method that uses Alpina Company to fill vacancies are used established models as give it priority to internal recruitment of employees and according to the results make way for external calls.

Internal call: is search between Alpina workers the potential candidates.

It is more economical in time and money since the candidates know the company and the company known to employees taking into account the time of learning curve that has a new person in the Organization, which shortens considerably the position of an employee who already belongs to the company. This apart from generating the benefits noted above also gives confidence and motivation to the staff who takes more commitment to perform all its functions. On the other hand this may generate a clash of employees by the preference of who you choose for the new post, as well as risk that new ideas are not generated or the philosophy remains the same.

The second model of recruitment is the external that implies to have new ideas, tendencies to innovation with new resources and a new look for processes that require implementation of improvements.

External call: this occurs once the respective internal validations have been made and is not able to process with internal candidates. This generates a higher cost for the company, might cause bad organizational climate; but also contributes the renewal of processes and new ideas as improvement of activities.

The leaves of life studied for a post of the averages company in 5 that are registered in the area of recruitment, where media are used to make the call.

In conclusion the purpose of Alpina in your selection of type of employees seeking give priority to internal candidates of the Organization in order to give continuity to the organizational climate and focusing on the contribution of methods to understand the processes of the company and thus not to start a new point of teaching a new collaborator assuming that possibly new ideas or renewals of implementation not possible.

5. Explain about the trade and investment policies this company has to trade with the foreign market.

Alpina began its business with other countries in 1985. Its first exports went to Venezuela and Ecuador, launching new products to their market, such as "Avena", and some other products aiming at children. In 1995 they started exporting fresh fruit juices taking advantage of the diversity of Colombian fruits. "In 2000, the Colombian Institute of Technical Standards, Icontec, granted the ISO 9001 certification, and Alpina was the only Colombian dairy company in obtaining it, fulfilling a requirement by the US health authorities. It has been the first Colombian company to market dairy products in North America, and the dream of investors to sell in the United States came true". (Van den Berghe, 2014).

After the strategy managers of Alpina decided to enter the US market, their first focus was on the niche market of the Latino community. "Exports to the United States were becoming larger and larger, from 200 billion dollars in 2000 to 550 billion in 2002; six years later sales had amounted to 676 billion dollars". (Van den Berghe, 2014).

For Alpina Company the export to other countries was a very important aspect of their business strategy and they therefore concentrated on doing it the most efficient manner. In order to do so they made large investments in plants and bought new companies that facilitated the export process. The company is dedicated to researching the tastes of consumers in each country where they want to enter their products obtaining great success, which is why in 2012 the company was awarded "The Colombian Exemplary" in the category of economy.
"The company has a policy of continuous research, always you want to be one step ahead of the competition, and considers that the best way is to improve existing processes and researching new techniques for future systems." (Van den Berghe, 2014)

The company is always focusing on the future challenges and increasingly wants to conquer new markets. In investment policies the company focuses on using all the treaties between countries. For example, Alpina has managed very well the free trade agreement between Colombia and the United States, initially deciding to make a strategic alliance for the production and distribution of its products in the United States. After this they concentrated on making marketing strategies that allow customers to reach their objectives.

Today, "to take advantage of the free trade agreement signed between Colombia and Canada, Alpina plans to open its plant in Toronto, to initially cover the main cities in this country as Toronto and Montreal, and then the market in the rest of the country." (Van den Berghe, 2014).