nto the kitchen for use. Also refrigerators also tended to be smaller and more colorful. When Asian countries first began to experience significant economic growth, some East Asians viewed their refrigerators as status symbols (Vlasic, Bill & Zachary, 1996).These external factors put numerous pressures on Whirlpool. In addition, other external factors- intensified competition in Europe, Mexicos peso devaluation crisis, unprecedented raw materials cost increases- did not help to improve the situation either. The internal factors, such as manufacturing inefficiencies, start-up costs associated with production of a redesigned mid-size refrigerator and restructuring of the pan-European sales forces, also created many complexity for the company. ConclusionFew companies or industries lend themselves to "naive" global strategies. All require some degree of adaptation to regional and national conditions. The international strategy agenda has over-emphasized standardization. Integration and coordination bring great benefits if companies are sufficiently skilled to implement them effectively. Greater clarity of information will create an increasing requirement for consistency in quality, delivery, and marketing of products and services across borders. Not all companies will be able to allocate the resources or develop the capabilities for such management of quality and responsiveness across wider and wider geographic boundaries (Babyak, 1995). Companies are also in danger of foregoing the benefits of differentiation from recognizing and capitalizing on country-specific and regional opportunities. In pursuing a global strategy, companies should not ignore the existence of individual countries altogether. Many successful product or service innovations have resulted from ideas observed elsewhere. A presence in international markets creates tools for gathering market intelligence and is considered an important benefit of a varied internat...
