Global Business Entering Islamic Marketplace in Iraq - Research Paper Example

?Running Head: Global Business Global Business [Institute’s Global Business – Entering Islamic Marketplace in Iraq Since few decades, there have been significant advancements in almost every field due to achievements of human race in information and technology. In the result, huge numbers of business organizations are putting efforts to enter into the international marketplace by expanding from home country to a new country, in order to increase profits. In this regard, it is an observation that such trend has become common nowadays; however, organizations are confronting a number of challenges during their entrance into a new marketplace. Experts believe that it is happening due to a saying, “People don't plan to fail, they fail to plan” (Moore & Ellis, pp. 610-611, 2002). In addition, it has now become survival of the fittest where organizations are competing with each other on the international platform while coping up with the identified challenges. From this perspective, globalization has become a common notion now; however, it is still enjoying its significance and analysis has indicated that it will continue enjoy such importance in the coming years as well. Unfortunately, individuals and organizations have been unable to acquire a clarified definition and understanding of the term globalization that is another major issue identified during the analysis of different global business concepts. According to the European Commission, “Globalisation can be defined as the process by which markets and production in different countries are becoming increasingly interdependent due to the dynamics of trade in goods and services and flow of capitals and technology” (Held, pp. 92, 2000). However, the definition does not remain limited here but a number of factors play a crucial role in the process of globalization, and thus, it is a complex process, thus, one of the major reasons of huge amount of research on the topic. In particular, this paper will include attempts and efforts to acquire a critical understanding of different aspects of global business in the context of entrance of a business organization into an Islamic marketplace, such as that in Iraq. Experts (Coe, 2003) once considered the Middle East region as a doubtful and vulnerable region for the international business; however, nowadays, there has been a significant alteration in perspectives of business experts, as the region has been able to attract huge number of investors and business organizations with its attractive trade and investment policies. In the result, one can observe huge investments and establishment of new businesses by multinational organizations in countries, such as UAE, Israel, Jordan, etc. Iraq is one of the major stakeholders in the Middle East; however, during the last few years, there have been adverse security conditions in the country that resulted in lack of interest of business organizations (Fleisher & Bensoussan, 2007). However, nowadays, business organizations are planning to enter into this Islamic country considering it a lucrative business marketplace for international business. In this regard, organizations will have to consider a number of factors that will be under discussion in following section of the paper. In particular, marketing is the most imperative component of every business planning, and it decides the success or failure of a business venture. In this regard, it will be important for a company to analyze different aspects of the region while creating its marketing strategies that will be crucial while entering into the new marketplace (Longenecker, 2008). In order to acquire a realistic understanding, the paper has chosen Starbucks Corporation as one of the case studies to suppose entrance of their coffeehouse stores in the Iraqi Islamic marketplace that will make it easier to understand different concepts embedded in the topic. Briefly, Starbucks Corporation (2011) has now become a leader in the coffeehouse business that has approximately fifteen-thousand stores in roughly forty-five nations globally that offer a range of products, such as “hot coffee, coffee beans, hot drinks, snacks, etc” (Starbucks, 2011). One of the significant reasons of its huge global success is its notion of ‘third place’ that endeavors to provide a peaceful soothing environment to its customers with “luxurious furniture, lavishing environment, and high-tech products” (Starbucks, 2011). In this regard, while entering into the Iraqi marketplace, Starbucks Corporation will be confronting the foremost governmental interference that will be the determining factor in deciding entrance of the company in the country. In this regard, it is very important that business managers should do some homework to learn about different business policies of the country, as every government practices a different business structure. (Stone, 2001) Therefore, it will be very important to pass the government hurdle, and thus, employment of different marketing and business mixes will be efficient in coming up with a business plan that will be in line with the policies of Iraqi government. In other words, one should understand that a business plan that was successful in USA might result in a huge failure in an Asian or Middle Eastern country, and thus, consideration of governmental regulations should be the foremost step in planning process. It is an observation that government of developed nations encourages foreign investors by offering subsidies and safety schemes while on the other hand, organizations confront price restrictions in the developing nations (Lymbersky, 2008), thus, consideration of government’s perspective will be very essential in ensuring successful entrance in the Iraqi marketplace. Besides government, one important factor that plays a crucial role in success or failure of every business venture is culture (Usunier & Lee, 2005). It is an observation that since last few decades, experts have carried out noteworthy amount of work on the cultural aspect of business, and thus, while entering into the Iraqi marketplace, the company should be aware of different and diverse cultural practices in Iraq. In particular, religion is an important component of a society, and avoiding this component mostly results in the business failure. As Iraq is a Muslim-majority country, Starbucks Corporation must create its marketing and business strategies according to the religious restrictions, as utilization of something against the religion will be a determining factor in ensuring failure. For instance, analysis has indicated utilization of Islamic concepts of ‘Haram’ (prohibited) and ‘Halal’ (allowed) (Usunier & Lee, 2005) by various companies in Islamic countries that allow the companies to build a relationship with their consumers and customers by showing that they value their religion and their culture. In this regard, consideration of cultural diversity stays important and significant for every business organization that enters into a new country and especially a country with majority of a different culture and religion. It is an understanding that technology is the single factor that enabled business organizations to enter into the globalized world that resulted in the creation of an international business environment (Scarborough et. al., 2011). In this regard, it is very important that global businesses should benefit from emerging technologies by the utilization of internet, and nowadays, a huge number of companies are marketing its products and services through the social marketing sites. Thus, while entering into the Iraqi Islamic marketplace, technology will be helpful for the organizations to target consumers in a creative and innovative manner. In this regard, while planning to enter into a new international market, various factors need noteworthy consideration by the business organizations. As discussion indicated, various notions play a significant role in the success or failure of global businesses, and thus, it is imperative that decision-makers in such organizations should identify and acknowledge key concepts that are central in the process of globalization and international business. Conclusively, the paper included attempts to identify and analyze significant aspects of globalization, and particularly, global business environment that one have to confront and deal with, for instance, during entering the Islamic marketplace in Iraq. It is anticipation that the discussion will be fruitful for students and professionals in better understanding of the topic. References Coe, J. (2003). The Fundamentals of Business-to-Business Sales & Marketing. McGraw-Hill Professional. Fleisher, C. S., Bensoussan, B. E. (2007). Business and Competitive Analysis: Effective Application of New and Classic Methods. FT Press. Held, D. (2000). "A working definition of economic globalisation." A globalizing world: culture, economics, politics. Routledge. Longenecker, J. G. (2008). Small Business Management: Launching and Managing New Ventures. London: Cengage Learning. Lymbersky, C. (2008). Market entry Strategies. Management Laboratory Press. Moore, C. W. (2008). Managing Small Business. Cengage Learning. Scarborough, N. M., Wilson, D. L., & Zimmerer, T. (2011). Essentials of entrepreneurship and small business management. Prentice Hall. Starbucks. (2011). Starbucks Corporation. Retrieved on June 18, 2011: www.starbucks.com Stone, P. (2001). Make Marketing Work for You. How to Books Limited. Usunier, J., Lee, J. (2005). Marketing across Cultures. FT Prentice Hall. Read More