Module 1

Global Market Discovery

Master of Business Administration

Oxford University

10th June, 2020

Learner ID: 1237893

Geography and history of Malaysia

Malaysia – the 66th largest country by total land area is a Southeastern Asian country with an

abundance of countless flora and fauna species bounded by countries such as; Thailand,

Indonesia, Brunei and Indonesia. Malaysia consist of two major parts; the Peninsular

Malaysia to the west and the Eastern Malaysia to the East. These two regions are separated

by the South China Sea. The federation of Malaysia consist of thirteen states with three

federal territories.

The federation of Malaysia was formed in 1963 when the British colonies of Sarawak, Sabah

and Singapore were joined with the Federation of Malaya. Singapore however, withdrew

from Malaysia in 1965 reducing the member states of Malaysia to thirteen namely; Johor,

Kedah, Kelantan, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Perak, Perlis, Sabah, Sarawak,

Selangor. Economic numbers/data from Malaysia since the recovery of the 1997 Asian

financial crisis have continued to look up as frantic efforts made by the government to

diversify the economy have continuously yielded very positive results for the economy. As at

April 2009, the economy of Malaysia in terms of Gross Domestic Product at purchasing

power parity was estimated at $999.397 Billion which was by far, the largest in the

Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the 25th largest in the world.

PESTLE Analysis for Malaysia

See below analysis of Malaysia across various factors considered in PESTLE analysis.

Political Analysis: Malaysia in recent times, have enjoyed relative stability in government.

Stability in government is a veritable ground for businesses to flourish. Corruption however,

is a factor a business must consider in Malaysia as ignoring this monster “Corruption” will

adversely affect the cost of running a business in Malaysia.

Economic Analysis: Export in Malaysia, accounts for over 30% of the country’s GDP.

Malaysia enjoys a buoyant economy not solely because of the Nations export capacity but

also because of the insightful diversification attempts by the government to invest in tourism

attracting huge foreign exchange to the country’s economy and her strategic geographical

positioning which helps a lot in promoting international trade.

Social Analysis: Flamboyance defines the average lifestyle of a Malaysian. With a great mix

of diverse cultural and religious belief system. A combination of flamboyance with disparate

belief systems and cultures can present an opportunity for ingeniously marketing fashion and

styling brands.

Technology: The government of Malaysia have consistently fostered an unrelenting effort to

dwell on initiatives and ideas that seeks to put Malaysia on the global front as regards

technological advancement Technology. This initiative by the government is expectedly

going to drive businesses and provide for a better standard of living in Malaysia

Legal: Malaysia is mostly a common law country. However, state laws are followed in

specific areas in Malaysia. The Employment Act (1955) is the main legislation on labour

matters in the country.

Environmental: Malaysia is a great hub for tourist attraction with its abundance of various

fauna and flora species. However, it is important to note that urbanization is gradually

eroding some of its great natural wildlife and forest leaving the environment with less oxygen

and more carbon dioxide.

Comparing and contrasting PESTLE analysis for Nigeria and Malaysia

See below table for the differences and similarities between Nigeria and Malaysia using the

Pestle analysis.
 PESTLE Nigeria
Political Relatively stable government
(1) Not very Bouyant
(2) ranks 131st on the ease of doing business
ranking
Economic
(World Bank Group 2020)
(3) Majorly dependent on Crude oil
(4) GDP per capita of $5281
(1) Diverse Cultures and belief systems
(2) Nigerians are flamboyant and very
fashionable. They do this, regardless
Social
of
the general poor outlook of the
economy.
(1) Nigeria is a work in progress although
government investment in towards technological
Technological advancement is low
(2) Internet penetration rate as at 2019 stands at
56.4% (statista.com)
(1) Legal framework based on the English
Legal common law
(2) Stong laws however weak enforcement
(1) Abundance of various fauna and floral
species in their wildlife
(2)Nigeria has a huge potential to grow the
Environment tourism industry however more efforts needed
from the government in this regard to arrest the
terrorism and unrest that has bedeviled some (2)A flourishing tourism industry owning
parts of the country
Malaysia
Relatively stable government
(1) Vibrant Economy
(2) Ranks 12th on the ease of doing
business ranking (World Bank Group
2020)
(3) Diversified Economy
(4) GDP per capita of $28208
(1)Diverse Cultures and belief systems
(2)Malaysians are also flamboyant and
fashionable.
(1) Major investment by the government
towards technological research and
advancement
(2) Internet penetration rate as at 2019
stands at 81% (statista.com)
(1) Legal framework based on the
English common law
(2) Stong laws with better enforcement
compared to Nigeria
(1) Abundance of various fauna and
floral species in their wildlife
to Malaysia's huge natural reserves

US Fashion brand - RicherPoorer

RicherPoorer, is a US-based fashion brand that deals in the production and sales of

sweatshirts, T-Shirts, Boxers, socks, dresses and intimates for both men and women. For the

purpose of this paper, considerations are being made to take the RicherPoorer dresses down

to the Malaysian market.

Expectedly entering the Malaysian market with the RicherPoorer dresses will come will a lot

of uncertainties. Nonetheless, it is important to carefully identify risk factors that constitutes

these uncertainties and subsequently deploy measures to mitigate them so that profitability

can be achieved. Certain cultural change strategies that attempt to not just globalize the

business but glocalize it, will be needed to ensure that the product considered to be launched
in the Malaysian markets is culturally relevant and brings about the required economies of

scales, shareholders return and efficiency. To do this, we can invest in hiring diverse and

multi-lingual personnel to facilitate the integration and interaction with Malaysian whilst also

helping to train and equip customer service personnel with the required knowledge and skill

needed to interface with customers in Malaysia. A consideration can also be given to

humanizing the brand with a vision to inspire the local market this will also help to bring

about lasting recognition of RicherPoorer brand in Malaysia.

Below is a non-exhaustive list of unique business customs in Malaysia

• Avoid scheduling appointments on Mondays and Fridays

• Malaysians are uncomfortable shaking hands with people of opposite sex. If this must

happen, then one must wait for them to reach out their hands first

• Avoid pressuring Malaysians to reach a decision in a business meeting especially for

the first time as their natural build is to concretize friendship and trust first then other

things can follow (Avoid hard selling and pressure tactics during negotiations).

• When receiving or giving out business card, use both hands and ensure the card is

translated into Malay or Chinese when meeting with Chinese.

Conclusively, global marketing strategy when correctly implemented will help businesses

achieve higher efficiency, attain strong competitive advantage, popularize and grow global

consumer awareness and ultimately reduce business cost and increase savings by achieving

economies of scale.
 References

Global Edge – your source for global business knowledge. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://globaledge.msu.edu/countries/nigeria.

Global Edge – your source for global business knowledge. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://globaledge.msu.edu/countries/ Malaysia.

World Bank Group. (2020). Doing Business 2020 (pp. 4). World Bank Publications, The

World Bank Group, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA.

M Rahman. (n.d). PESTEL analysis of Malaysia. Retrieved from

https://www.howandwhat.net/pestel-analysis-malaysia/.

Simon Fraser. (December 2012). Global Branding, Local Cultures And The Customer

Experience Retrieved from http://www.brandquarterly.com/global-branding-

local-cultures-customer-experience.

Internet user penetration in Malaysia from 2017 to 2023. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.statista.com/statistics/975058/internet-penetration-rate-in-malaysia/

Internet user penetration in Nigeria from 2017 to 2023. (n.d.). Retrieved from

https://www.statista.com/statistics/484918/internet-user-reach-nigeria/.