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Introduction
This case study is related to an international dilemma associated with management information systems and the global market. Being a newbie at a well-known social media company, I was informed by CISO about the repeated security breach into a corporate server located in Asia. Hackers are targeting accounts of well-known political dissidents regularly. However, hackers are not putting much effort into covering their tracks.
As our company is planning to expand its operations internationally to the same region, these intrusions pose an enormous amount of pressure on our team’s shoulders to guarantee that company data is 100 percent secure and far from hackers’ reach. There are always some risks and barriers associated with global business expansion. Three major risks associated with global business expansion are operational inefficiency, political risk, and legal risks. We will be discussing the five components model and its functionality in the international dimension to better understand the problem.
Information systems are made up of different components that provide value to an organization and support business objectives. Each information system is comprised of five component models, as explained in the Week-7 lecture.

 
As explained by Dr. Denis Simion, each component plays a significant role in an organization’s information system. These components collect, store, organize and distribute data throughout the organization.
Hardware: Hardware could vary from small handheld devices to large supercomputers or any computer peripheral such as keyboards or routers.   
Software: Software is a set of instructions that make hardware useable. It tells the machine what to do and how to do it. An example of an operating system is M.S. Windows and applications like M.S. Word or Excel.
Data: The third component model is data, which is a collection of information using language. The data can be retrieved by querying one or more specific criteria. This data is later used for analysis and effective decisions making.
Procedures: It’s a series of steps involved to achieve a desired outcome or goal. It reflects laws, local cultural values, and norms that a business must abide by when expanding globally.
People: People supports the process such as helpdesk, programmers, analyst, and CISO.
Analysis 1. 
The first analysis is related to the legal and cultural norms that may hamper business expansion plans to the Asian region. Social, cultural, and religious norms are the agreed-upon values that shape society’s members and guide their behaviors. Many things need to be considered when expanding a business into the international market. The greatest challenge any business would face is related to cultural, legal, and regulatory differences. When not having enough international market experience, it is always better to hire locals who speak the same language, understand cultural norms, taboos, traditions, and know the local market.
Culture and Language:
Chinese culture focused on collective national identity, which is quite different from the American way. Chinese culture emphasizes the hierarchy to show respect to those higher up. China has heavy censorship on social media networks and is only granted access to controlled content. For instance, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook are not available in Chine. Similarly, many western media channels are blocked, making it hard for social media companies to expand their business offshore. Many Chinese don’t speak English; thus, language becomes another barrier that must be dealt with to manage a workforce.
As Scott McCulloch stated, mastery of a second or third language can go a long way towards increased revenue in globalization. Effective communication is the key to success. A recent article published in Forbes states that having a multilingual team is crucial when expanding business globally (Monarch, 2019). A business can exponentially target the vast majority of the audience and reap the benefit of hiring multilingual staff with improved performance, increased confidence, and work engagement. An unsuccessful interaction with the customer is often due to language complexities that directly impact business profitability (McCulloch, 2019).
Legal:
Following an appropriate guideline set forth for the international business owner must be followed. Keeping an up-to-date knowledge of political situations concerning legislation is crucial for the business. In a given scenario, social media might face some content restrictions due to religious or governmental laws. Any change in government stability can impact production, distribution, or even workforce availability.  If the account of political dissidents were targeted before, there is a chance it will get target again. These political dissidents might get controversial, contributing to an overall decline in internet freedom. A government can restrict internet service for political, ethnic, or religious reasons without prior notice. For instance, according to research published in “The Diplomat,” China’s internet freedom hit a new low in 2019 (Cook, 2020).
When expanding globally, business stability depends on many factors besides the few discussed above. Currency exchange rate, some topics might be too sensitive to be discussed openly, government sanctions, security issues, political agendas, transportation, and access to useful resources. This part is associated with the three components of an information system: software, data, and procedure. The software will help encrypt and back up the data, providing the cloud storage with a firewall to prevent unauthorized access. Installing operating system updates and ensure the software updates periodically can help secure a wireless network providing digital security to online information.
Analysis 2. 
Most of the time, these hackers are state-sponsored; they work for the government to disrupt any efforts made by dissident that targets their regime’s sovereignty. Political dissidents challenge the established political system by uncovering their hidden agendas to create a robust, transparent, and accountable political structure.  
These hackers want to gain access to valuable data to provide intelligence to government officials about their upcoming activities; thus, expecting any help from foreign government officials to catch the hackers is worthless. A news article published in Ars Technica in July 2021 edition states that U.S. Warns China over state-sponsored hacking as Chinese state-backed hackers perpetrated “massive cyber-espionage operation” (Brodkin, 2021). A statement released by Justice Department holds China responsible for its irresponsible and disruptive behavior in cyberspace.
Dambisa Moyo is a Zambian-born economist who shared her believes in the TEDx presentation; as she explains, China is a new idol for emerging economies as they have challenged a centuries-old tenet of western political thought. Moyo further explains the approach China has adopted that helped it surpasses the U.S. economy.  China has introduced a new cooperation model intending to eradicate poverty and build a moderately prosperous society. China’s State capitalism has propelled the country’s development and growth. The Cooperation model has made China’s governance mechanism stronger, reliable and confident (Stevic, 2021). This cooperation model narrates a development plan that is jeopardizing the Western economy more aggressively. However, the corruption perception index is a factor that must be considered as a threat to globalization. According to recent research, more than two-thirds of counties scored below fifty. That means much work still needs to be done to improve this index number (Transparency International, 2021).
Manuel Pistner explains in a TEDx presentation how a virtual team saved his business. Digital leadership and remote work helped him restructure his business model. He was able to find the required talent offshore. Instead of limiting his search using principles of old-school economy, he focused on empowering his team to work independently (TEDx Talks, 2019).  In the time of globalization, limiting business to a traditional style will not get the required results. Manuel Pistner believes that virtual business can act like an engine that propels development and opens new opportunities.
Analysis 3.
Global business expansion can benefit the company; however, a foreign government can ask to mend social media policies to adhere to the local laws. It may include giving up the freedom of speech based upon biased opinions. Content accessibility might get impacted as well. The foreign government might limit debate on sensitive issues. As people often get engaged in direct dialogue with politicians, civic, and government officials. However, it comes in handy in an unprecedented global crisis like the Covid-19 pandemic (Tran, 2021). It can be an effective mode of communication to deliver timely information. It can facilitate the public sector to get the message out in a calm, composed, and professional way. Therefore, performing a research analysis or SWOT analysis for expanding business operations to check market feasibility.
Conclusion:
Business expansion in a new market requires a lot of funds, the right kind of team partnership with locals, analysis, and research. Overseas business expansion can be treacherous as it has many challenges associated with it. However, it is up to the company to evaluate the con and pros either it could be beneficial in the long run or not. Zoe Morris is a president of Frank Recruitment Group who promotes awareness among new entrepreneurs to evaluate their international business path before embarking on this journey (Brooks, 2019).
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Reference
 
Brodkin, J. (2021, July 19). U.S. warns China over state-sponsored hacking, citing mass attacks on Exchange. Ars Technica. https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2021/07/us-warns-china-over-state-sponsored-hacking-citing-mass-attacks-on-exchange/
Brooks, C. (2019, May 9). Going Global: How to Expand Your Business Internationally. Business News Daily. https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/8211-expand-business-internationally.html
Cook, S. (2020, November 10). China’s Internet Freedom Hit a New Low in 2019, and the World Could Follow. The Diplomat. https://thediplomat.com/2019/11/chinas-internet-freedom-hit-a-new-low-in-2019-and-the-world-could-follow/
McCulloch, S. (2019, July 2). How Language Barriers Affect International Business. Retrieved from https://familyenterprisefoundation.org/resources/resources/our-insights/articles/2019/july/how-language-barriers-affect-international-business/
Monarch, J. (2019, December 30). What To Consider Before Expanding Into International Markets. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2019/12/30/what-to-consider-before-expanding-into-international-markets/?sh=7b65fa8e4da9
Stevic, L. (2021, July 31). CPC leads China toward a new, cooperative model. Opinion – Chinadaily.Com.Cn. http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202107/31/WS61049b06a310efa1bd665abe.html
Transparency International. (2021, January 27). Corruption Perceptions Index 2020 | Transparency International [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gJ5HVzmcKU&feature=youtu.be
Tran, T. (2021, May 20). Social Media in Government: Benefits, Challenges, and How it’s Used. Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard. https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-government/
TEDx Talks. (2019, August 28). How new work and virtual teams saved my company | Manuel Pistner | TEDxRuhrUniversityBochum [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAgyzl-z4bc&feature=youtu.be