Individual Assignment Cover Sheet

Student Name : Felicia Sunarli

Student ID : 03011190004

Module : Academic Writing

Class : 19 M-2

Lecturer / Tutor : Ms. Lila Maria Kaban

Assignment Item / Title : Homework session 1

Date Due : Tuesday, 19 May, 2020

Date Submitted : Tuesday,19May, 2020

I declare that this assessment item is my own work, except where acknowledged, and has not
been submitted for academic credit elsewhere, and acknowledge that the assessor of this item
may, for the purpose of assessing this item:

a. Reproduce this assessment item and provide a copy to another member of the
University; and/or,

b. Communicate a copy of this assessment item to a plagiarism checking service (which

may then retain a copy of the assessment item on its database for the purpose of future
plagiarism checking).

c. I certify that I have read and understood the University Rules in respect of Student
Academic Misconduct.

Signed: .....felicia sunarli...............................................

Date : Tuesday ,19 May, 2020

Answer Sheet
a. Chinese cultural history has an enormous diversity and variety. So, if a company wants to
start their business in China, they must adapt with their culture. In this case, IKEA which is a
Swedish furniture company, in order to adapt to the Chinese market, they make efforts to
adapt its products to Chinese taste, such as released a series of products just before each
Chinese New Year. And in the year of the rat, the series ‘Fabler ‘was designed, using the red
color, which is associated to good luck. Besides that, they also uses advertising effectively,
with adverts in the local newspaper to keep customers informed of special offers and all TV
commercials are produced locally with Chinese characters so it can attract more customers.
b. Some problems that the company has faced in this market are :
 In Sweden, people are used to sleeping in single beds, or to putting two
single beds together to form a double bed. However, this idea was not very well
received by Chinese couple because they believe that the fact that sleeping in separate
beds symbolizes a poor relationship and is believe to bring bad luck.
 Chinese consumers expect free delivery and installation, and although IKEA has
reduced its charges for these, it still compares unfavourably with its competitors.
c. What could be done to improve this case study is by put more attention on their lifestyle and
their culture, what they like and what they need. Example like in Sweden, they are used to
sleeping in single beds or to putting two single beds together to form a double bed. However,
Chinese people believe that it can bring a bad luck and poor relationship by sleeping in
separate beds. IKEA must be evaluated more about their product before they sell it on
market, so IKEA can know about their culture and don’t repeat the same mistake. By this,
they can adapt well with the market environment, gain more customers, and success in the
future.