Womens Entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia - Research Proposal Example

Women’s Entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia Name: Course: Tutor: Date: Table of Contents 1Introduction 3 1.1Background 3 1.2Aims 3 1.3Research Questions 3 1.4Overview 4 2Literature review 4 3Methodology 8 3.1Research Design 8 3.2Research Method 8 3.3Timeline 9 4Conclusion 9 5References 10 6Appendix 12 1 Introduction 1.1 Background The participation of women in business in the less developed countries is an area that has received little or limited research. However, it is evident that there is less involvement of women in entrepreneurial ventures in these regions than in the developed countries. This can be attributed to a number of factors, ranging from government policies to cultural barriers. Saudi Arabia has been one of those conservative nations that have been very slow in helping to promote entrepreneurship among women. It is a place where deep cultural and religious barriers have immensely contributed to a lag in the participation of women. However, several factors are contributing to change in this culture, and there is hope that there will be more women participating in business. 1.2 Aims The aim of this project is to acquire and analyse information on the Women’s entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia. Once the information is acquired, it is analysed with the intention of finding out the development of women entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia. Also, the project aims to find out the role of the government in promoting entrepreneurship, as well as other factors promoting the same such as technology. 1.3 Research Questions i. What is Entrepreneurship? ii. How does women entrepreneurship add value to the women in business, society and themselves? iii. How do the business women in Saudi Arabia start, manage and growth their business? iv. What are the problems faced by women in Saudi Arabia when starting and running their own businesses? v. What is the role of e-government and other process to make establishing the business easy? 1.4 Overview Saudi Arabia is a Middle East country whose culture is very much intertwined with religious practices of the Islamic religion. For many years, many policies that were carried out were deemed to be discriminatory to women, and the role of women has been strictly confined to motherhood and other maternal duties. However, many women have started to rise and participate actively in business, although there are numerous challenges that they face. This project seeks to examine in depth the participation women in business in Saudi Arabia, identifying the various hindrances and obstacles that inhibit the participation of women in entrepreneurial ventures. 2 Literature review Entrepreneurship is a term that is associated with organizing business ventures and taking risks. It is a factor of production alongside land, capital, labour and natural resources, and it plays a vital part in the production process, and, in fact, effective production is only possible when there is a strong entrepreneurial spirit. Entrepreneurial spirit is characterized by various attributes such as risk taking and innovation. Entrepreneurship is a key factor tot the growth and development of a nation since it enables the populace to be productive and succeed in a global environment. Culture and traditions are unique and distinct in every society. They determine a range of issues to do with lifestyle and activities that an individual or a group of people undertake. Culture refers to shared patterns of behaviour and interactions, cognitive constructs and effective understandings that are acquired gradually in the process of socialization. The implication here is that culture determines who we are as well as the approach to life that a person has. Culture will, therefore, influence the entrepreneurial spirit that is present in a given group of people. It also defines the gender roles and perception; hence people will practice various activities based on their culture. On this regard, there is an obvious disparity between the participation of men and women in entrepreneurship based on their gender (Marković, 2008). Participation of women in business has not been particularly vibrant as for men, especially in the places where there are disruptive and oppressive cultures. Gender equity between men and women is still a topic of concern even today, and it has had its effect on the participation of women in business. In places such as Saudi Arabia, culture and religion are extremely much intertwined and in most instances, religion influences and defines culture (Sadi & Al-Ghazali, 2010). Since it is a predominantly Muslim country, Islamic practices profoundly influence the cultural practices that are carried out (Ramady 2005). There are several restrictions on what women can do, and these determine their position and level of success in any business. Saudi Arabia has some of the strictest rules in the world and has one of the most conservative societies. Many activities are restricted for women, such as driving, and free movement is restricted. They must also dress in an all covering dress such as hijab and niqab. It is therefore, crucial to understand the role of religion so as to clearly understand women’s entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia. The role of women in business is extremely crucial, and there has been a tremendous rise in the number of women run business. The sharp increase can be attributed to a number of factors such as rise of prime commercial centres in the region. In fact, some of the world’s largest commercial centres are located around this place. Consequently, many women have been inspired and motivated to participate in business, by being in a business environment. In addition, the success of the pioneer women in business has been hugely immense. It is reported that most of the women led businesses are 1.7 times more productive than those that are led by men. Also, women have started being recognized as successful entrepreneurs, being given opportunities to speak in prime entrepreneurship conferences. With such achievements, it becomes necessary to promote entrepreneurial spirit in the Saudi women. In establishing business ventures, Saudi women face many challenges. The process of acquiring the necessary skills is quite restrictive and complicated. In addition, it is not easy to obtain the required capital. These are some of the basic requirements for starting a business from scratch. There is also a prevailing gender discrimination that is so prevalent in every sector, and will therefore, manifest itself in entrepreneurship. Traditions have also restricted the role of women to housewife and other maternal roles. Women they face a lot of restrictions and resistance from their families when they try to venture into business. Women have to overcome the issue of acceptance first, and then struggle to gain the necessary requirements such as skills and capital. If there is a considerable support from the family, the process becomes much easier, and the process of business registration is fast. The government plays a pivotal role in helping to develop entrepreneurship. It is the role of the government to provide a conducive environment for entrepreneurship (Chamlou & World Bank, 2008). Other factors that promote entrepreneurial development in any given country include national spirit and the adoption of technologies. In Saudi Arabia, the role of government and technology has been immense in promoting women in business. Information communication technologies have the advantage that they break barriers that were once existent in the sense that they do not require limitations of space. The field is so dynamic that anyone who acquires skills has many chances of upward mobility. In addition, the skills are so evident when one has them; hence, one cannot be discriminated against when it comes to seeking opportunities. Here, it is the best skills that shine, and if an entrepreneur has the knowledge, he or she will undoubtedly shine (Maier, 2008). The government promotes women in business by providing an environment that is ever person can participate in business. In Saudi Arabia, the government has been slow in implementing the necessary changes compared to the neighbouring states such as United Arabs Emirates. There have been slow reforms in empowering women, such as in allowing women to drive and work alongside men (Ghimire, 2012). The involvement of the government in promoting gender equity through activities such as encouraging women in business has not been remarkably effective (Doumato & Posusney, 2003). However, the pace of the reforms is slowly changing as the government starts to engage its various departments such as the chamber of commerce to act. The success of the women who have been in business before acts as a stimulus or a catalyst to other women. Hence, those who have been successful have opened a way for others to follow suite. Conclusion From the analysis of the literature available above, it can be shown that there is a tremendous room for improvement in the way women participate in business in Saudi Arabia. Several social and cultural structures have been identified as a major stumbling blocks, and these require a lot of time to bring down since they are deeply entrenched in the way people carry out their lives (Ghose 2008). The government appears to have also dragged its feet in trying to integrate women in business, and instead, promoting religious fundamentalism that inhibits the development of women in entrepreneurship. Advancement if technology is seen as the surest way of getting women to participate in business since it provides easy and multiple routes for development that are open to all. The research will aim at verifying this information by using first hand information. 3 Methodology 3.1 Research Design The research is to be carried out in Saudi Arabia. The purpose is to get accurate information and analyse it in order to come up with valid conclusions. The researcher will aim at obtaining as much information as possible, hence adequate amount of time will be allocated to the data collection process. 3.2 Research Method The research will be conducted using qualitative methods. In the project, in depth interviews will be conducted amongst a selected number of women entrepreneurs in Saudi Arabia, in order to get first-hand information. The information to be obtained here is on their experiences in business in Saudi Arabia, taking into account their survival tactics and the obstacles they face. These will be face to face interviews that will involve identifying a potential source of information and administering a well-structured questionnaire. The questionnaire will contain both open and closed ended questions. The other method to be applied is examining the existing literature in Women’s entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia, Middle East and the rest of the world. This will help to get an overview of the participation of women in business in the world, and then compare it to the experiences of women in the Middle East and specifically Saudi Arabia. This will help to broaden the researcher’s scope while analysing the data that will be obtained from the direct interviews. It will also help to contextualize the experiences of business women in Saudi Arabia with those of women in other parts of the world. 3.3 Timeline The timeline of the research will run from May, 2012 to December 2012. The proposal will be submitted to the tutor for review on May fourth, and actual field work will begin from the second week of August and run until the first week of October. The draft will be completed and handed in on November 16th, and the final submission of the project will be done on 20th of December. A detailed report showing the whole timeline is attached in the appendix of the proposal 4 Conclusion The research will aim at acquiring and analysing the information with the intention of gaining an understanding on the participation of women in business in Saudi Arabia, and thus help those who want to come up with ways to promote entrepreneurial spirit amongst women in Saudi Arabia and other related places. The study is very essential for all people who want to participate in bettering the welfare of women in Saudi Arabia. In addition, it will give the researcher an opportunity to widen his knowledge base and his research skills. At the end of the research, the research questions should be effectively and extensively answered. 5 References Business behind the veil. (1999). New Zealand Management, 46(10), 7. Chamlou, N., & World Bank. (2008). The environment for women's entrepreneurship in the Middle East and North Africa. Washington, DC: World Bank Doumato, E. A., & Posusney, M. P. (2003). Women and globalization in the Arab Middle East: Gender, economy, and society. Boulder: L. Rienner Publishers. Ghimire, B. (n.d.). Working Women in the Middle East: A look into career women in the Middle East | Suite101.com. International Trade. Retrieved May 2, 2012, from http://bhumika-ghimire.suite101.com/workingwomeninmiddleeast-a828 Ghose, A. (2008). Impact of government policies on marketing strategies. Hyderabad, India: Icfai University Press Maier, S. (2008). On Their Own Terms: Islamic Feminism and Women's Empowerment in Saudi Arabia. Conference Papers. International Studies Association, 1 Marković, M. R. (2007). The perspective of women's entrepreneurship in the age of globalization. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Pub. Ramady, M. A. (2005). The Saudi Arabian economy: Policies, achievements and challenges. New York: Springer. RISK SUMMARY: SAUDI ARABIA. (2012). Middle East Monitor: The Gulf, 12(5), 2. Sadi, M. A., & Al-Ghazali, B. M. (2010). Doing business with impudence: A focus on women entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia. African Journal of Business Management, 4(1), 1-11 Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2003). Research methods for business students. Harlow, England: Prentice Hall. 6 Appendix Activity May June July August September October November December Week Number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Holiday Read Literature Finalise objectives Draft Literature Review Read Methodology Literature Devise research approach Draft Research strategy and method Develop questionnaire Pilot test and revise questionnaire Administer questionnaire Enter data into computer Analyse data Draft findings chapter Update literature read Complete remaining chapters Submit to tutor and await feedback Revise draft, format for submission Print, bind Submit KEY DATES 1 2 3 4 5 Appendix 1: Gantt Chart IMPORTANT DATE 1. May 4th : Submit proposal to tutor 2. August 10th: Begin Fieldwork 3. October 1st: Complete fieldwork 4. November 16th: Complete draft and hand in 5. December 20th: Final Submission Read More