Establishing Carpenter Tan in Australia在澳大利亚建立

1、 Establishing Carpenter Tan in AustraliaA Strategic Issues ReportCentre for English Teaching, University of SydneyBy Helen (GONG HUAN)30th October 2014Submitted to Rachel & Mark GillespieDEC 15.31Contents TOC o 1-3 h z u HYPERLINK l _Toc402380407 1.Executive Summary PAGEREF _Toc402380407 h 2 HYPERLI

2、NK l _Toc402380408 2.Background to the project PAGEREF _Toc402380408 h 3 HYPERLINK l _Toc402380409 3.Analysis: Carpenter Tan in China PAGEREF _Toc402380409 h 3 HYPERLINK l _Toc402380410 3.1 The Materials PAGEREF _Toc402380410 h 4 HYPERLINK l _Toc402380411 3.2 The Skills and Designs PAGEREF _Toc40238

3、0411 h 4 HYPERLINK l _Toc402380412 3.3 Braches and Dcor PAGEREF _Toc402380412 h 5 HYPERLINK l _Toc402380413 4.Issues PAGEREF _Toc402380413 h 5 HYPERLINK l _Toc402380414 4.1The Materials PAGEREF _Toc402380414 h 5 HYPERLINK l _Toc402380415 4.2 The Skills and Designs PAGEREF _Toc402380415 h 6 HYPERLINK

4、 l _Toc402380416 4.3 Branches and Decor PAGEREF _Toc402380416 h 7 HYPERLINK l _Toc402380417 5.Recommendations PAGEREF _Toc402380417 h 7 HYPERLINK l _Toc402380418 5.1The Materials PAGEREF _Toc402380418 h 7 HYPERLINK l _Toc402380419 5.2 The Skills and Designs PAGEREF _Toc402380419 h 8 HYPERLINK l _Toc

5、402380420 5.3 Branches and Decor PAGEREF _Toc402380420 h 8 HYPERLINK l _Toc402380421 References PAGEREF _Toc402380421 h 9Establishing Carpenter Tan in AustraliaStrategic Issues ReportExecutive SummaryChongqing Carpenter Tan Handicrafts Company Limited (Carpenter Tan) is a traditional handicrafts com

6、pany in China. The products of Carpenter Tan include wood combs, wood mirrors, ornaments and health-care series. They are widely known among Chinese people because of the healthy effect and the inherited workmanship. Recently the managers of Carpenter Tan have planned to open new branches and sell t

7、heir products in Australia. Nevertheless, they recognized that due to cultural differences between China and Australia, some issues exist in the process of transferring the products. The report explores potential cross-cultural challenges, and come up with some recommendations correspondingly.The is

8、sues are categorized in regard to the materials, the skills and designs, branches and dcor. And the related recommendations are made in these aspects. Booklets and advertisements may help Australians understand the medical effect of woods. The products need to keep in high quality. The exhibition of

9、 wooden products and the manufacturing processes should be held. More colors and shapes should be added to redesign the products. Branches should locate in shopping center and entertainment places. Fashion elements should be included in the dcor.Background to the projectCarpenter Tan is a profession

10、al woodwork company. It was established in 1997, named after its initiator who is a professional carpenter. Now, Carpenter Tan is one of the most famous handicrafts companies in China, and has branch stores in America, Malaysia, South Korea and some other countries. Its purpose is to spread the Chin

11、ese traditional handicrafts and become the No.1 brand in the global industry of wood handicrafts.The products of Carpenter Tan include wood combs, wood mirrors, ornaments and health-care series. They are all made of natural materials. Utilizing the inherited skills and wood advantages, the products

12、are beautifully shaped and good for health.Recently, the managers of Carpenter Tan have planned to open new branches and sell their products in Australia by their own team. They find Australians are so dynamic and energetic that they can accept new products quickly. However, the managers also recogn

13、ize that some cross-cultural challenges may exist in the process of transferring their products from China to Australia. This report will give a description of Carpenter Tan and its products, explore some cross-cultural issues may happen in transferring the products to Australia, and come up with so

14、me suggestions to solve the issues.Analysis: Carpenter Tan in ChinaCarpenter Tan has always been taking practical wooden handicrafts as its core, so the materials chosen by it are different kinds of woods. To be the first brand around the world, Carpenter Tan not only attach importance to craftsmans

15、hip of procedures, but also the designs of every product. Furthermore, its branches are located in some famous cities in China, even in USA, South Korea and others. All the branches are furnished in Chinese classic styles.3.1 The MaterialsThe products are made of various wooden materials such as san

16、dalwood, boxwood. According to the traditional Chinese medical principles, the materials are good for health. Taking sandalwood combs for instance, they can promote the circulation of blood, relieve stress and improve the quality of sleeping. If consumers use them for a long time, the healthy benefi

17、ts are effective. Therefore, products are always recommended to use for at least several months. 3.2 The Skills and DesignsThe handicrafts of wooden products have been passed on over thousands of years. The workers of Carpenter Tan inherited the exquisite craftsmanship, and utilize it to the complic

18、ated procedures.In order to meet the contemporary peoples aesthetic values, the company hires some well-known European designers to work with domestic designers, so they can integrate the Chinese traditional styles with modern fashion. For instance, there are various shapes in the wooden mirrors, li

19、ke round, square, curvy. The colors of the products are usually dark red, brown and grey to reveal Chinese classic culture. They are beautifully shaped with gentle texture.3.3 Braches and DcorMost of the branches are distributed in big cities in China and some other countries. Therefore, they can at

20、tract a lot of people who are interested in Chinese culture. It is also a good way to advertise the products and spread the culture of traditional woodwork. Additionally, every branch is furnished in standardized Chinese style. The products are displayed in some delicate glass cabinets with warm lig

21、ht. When customers go into the branch, they can deeply feel the cultural atmosphere.IssuesAccording to some cultural theories developed by Hofstede (in Morrison 2006), Trompenaars (in Morrison 2006), there are several prominent differences between the two countries. Therefore, transferring products

22、of Carpenter Tan from China to Australia may suffer some challenges. The main issues are showed in the following aspects.4.1The MaterialsIn China, many consumers like the products of Carpenter Tan because they believe the products have healthy benefits. It is widely known that some wood materials ar

23、e good for health even one of the most famous medical books in ancient China named Compendium of Materia Medica (Li 1590) had recorded the effect of several woods. However, Australia is considered a low power-distance culture compared with China (Hofstede in Marrison 2006). Australians always believ

24、e the products they know much them instead of accepting the recommendations by powerful authorities such as famous books. Hence, it is difficult for them to believe the healthy effect of wooden products. Additionally, the products need a long time to play the healthy effect. Chinese people always ha

25、ve the concept of long term, so they can persist to use the same product for a long time, but Australians have short-term orientation (Hofstede in Marrison 2006). It is difficult for them to find out the advantages of wooden products after a long time.4.2 The Skills and DesignsThe products are manuf

26、actured by traditional workmanship, so their qualities are in high level. Chinese people are in an ascription culture (Trampenaars in Marrison 2006), so they believe the inherited skills in no doubt, whereas Australians are in an achievement culture (Trampenaars, in Marrison, 2006), they attach more

27、 importance to the quality of products instead of their ancient skills. Hence, the traditional workmanship does not play a key role in persuading Australians to buy.In order to use Chinese traditional elements to attract more consumers, many products of Carpenter Tan are in grey, brown. These colors

28、 are dark and classic. For Australians, they get high score individualism (Hofstede in Marrison 2006), so they tend to have more specific products to show their unique personalities. But the products are always in monotonous colors. In addition, the limited shapes cannot offer enough choices to Aust

29、ralian consumers. Hence, the two factors of color and shape will cause issues in the process of transferring.Branches and DcorIn Australia, opening branches is more expensive than in China. Owing to specific culture of Australia (Trompenaars, in Marrison, 2006), people always separate work life from

30、 private life clearly. People go to city only for work instead of shopping, so it is not a good choice to open a branch in city. As for dcor, Australians may think it is too classic to appreciate, because they always go to the stores where are in bright light. This is quite different from the branch

31、es of Carpenter Tan, which are usually furnished with dark colors.RecommendationsIn order to solve these issues to open Australian market, some recommendations are suggested correspondingly.5.1The MaterialsDue to the differences of cultural background, Australians cannot believe the healthy effect o

32、f wooden products easily like Chinese. Some introduction booklets about the knowledge of woods may help Australians understand the medical principles. The places where to hand out them can be chosen in the exhibition of products (the place will be described in detail below) and shopping centers. Mor

33、eover, advertisement is also a good approach to spread the medical effect.As to the products are recommended to use in a long time, it is hard to change the concept of short term among Australians. The company needs to keep the high quality of products to make the customers prefer the products in a

34、long time.5.2 The Skills and DesignsWhile Australians seldom learn about the traditional Chinese handicrafts, there are several means the company can implement. It seems that an exhibition of wooden products (as mentioned above) can do help. Carpenter Tan should assign some experienced workers to ho

35、ld the exhibition and invite Australians to take part in. During the exhibition, workers will cooperate together to show some manufacturing processes of products, even some Australians can practice the processes. Moreover, the company can exhibit various classical products with some guides interpretation. Therefore, it may help Australian people know about the inherited woodwork.In regard to the limited colors and shapes, Carpenter Tan may need appropriate adjustment. Vrontis and Vronti (2004) point out that some basic elements of