KFC Japan

Initially, KFC Japan's overall strategy was simply to bring its American product to Japan intact, with the same store design, menu and management style (such as it was) as existed in the United States. The Japan country manager had little experience in international operations and hired a Japanese manager from a printing company after six months. The unwillingness of KFC Japan to begin its strategy by examining the market and determining what would (and would not) be acceptable in terms of product at the outset, and the failure to use its joint venture partners in any type of serious senior management capacity, contributed to the poor operating results which the company has seen.

Over time, the overall strategy shifted to one which recognized the unique characteristics of the Japanese market in terms of tastes and consumer buying habits. The traditional American store layout was abandoned in favor of smaller locations which could be located in areas of heavy traffic, and the menu was expanded to include items which had more traditional Japanese appeal. At the same time, KFC Japan shifted its focus from merely fast food to a "fashion" focus and marketed the American aspect of the product to young Japanese whom KFC Japan determined to be particularly "taken" with American goods and appearances.

KFC Japan was formed as a joint venture between KFC and Mitsubishi, but KFC Japan never took full advantage of its Japanese partner's, which had a strong presence in poultry and wh

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ble success. KFC also needs to establish a scorecard for the internal business practices. Although KFC is operating in Japan, it exported its American operating practices in their entirety without any consideration to differences which might exist in the Japanese workforce with regard to the roles of managers and employees, or the ways in which everyday operations are performed. At this point, the company should audit the practices in its most successful Japanese stores and compare those to the practices in its American stores. It is critical that processes not be eliminated merely because they are not in concert with American practices. Based on these audits, the managers can develop practices at the store level which take into account the cultural differences between Japanese and American workers. It is likely that American managers working in Japan will need additional cultural training in order to understand the differences that exist there, and how to use those differences to the benefit of KFC. This training is part of the last component of the scorecard, the learning/growth component. KFC needs to establish division goals for its Japan operation which are not necessarily financial, but which might be based on gainin

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