Business Opportunities in Brunei - Essay Example

Business Opportunities in Asia Business opportunities in Brunei are determined by its unique culture and geographical location: Brunei is located inthe north part of the Borneo Island, or in the Southeastern Asia. The geographical position determines it effective positioning in the region: it borders the South China Sea and Malaysia (see Appendix). On the one hand, this geographical location will require additional costs spend on sea transportation, but on the other hand it will help to avoid transit zones and additional spending on land transportation.

In Brunei, two-third of the population has Malay origin. Brunei is a members of ASEAN, United Nations Organization and the Organization of Islamic Conference. In spite of great political changes, Brunei is still a sultanate headed by Hassanal Bolkiah. The official language is Malay but business companies and organization understand English and Chinese. The currency of the country is Brunei dollar (Brunei. Brunei Country Reports 2008). The uniqueness of Brunei business culture is that it is influenced by Hinduism and Islam.

Similar to other Asian coulters, Brunei culture has no clearly defined division between religion, philosophy and business. Faith and philosophy are lived every day as a way of life. To understand the Brunei businessmen, for example in the context of business leadership, it is important to understand the principles by which they live and to what extent the teachings of their philosophers are still applicable today (Brunei. The World Factbook 2008). They are extremely good at exploiting opportunities and at deal-making; they are masters of financial, in particular cash, management; in short, they are a result of a long series of opportunistic tactical moves.

They are persistent, enduring and may survive in business for a long time by simply accumulating slim short-term gains. Historically, one characteristic of the Brunei business leaders is that their power rests on high flexibility, adaptability and political pragmatism. (In general, the Brunei businessmen have a pragmatic view on how to get things done (scruples or no scruples) by considering each situation on its own merits, not following general guidelines. Directness combined with a lack of the Western world type of abstract thinking (more details of this will be discussed later) are shown, among other places, at the negotiation table as a focus on the immediate transaction and as an immunity to logic (Ganske and Hamidon 2006).

Islamic and Malayan cultures also accord high respect to the aged. Local personnel would be more comfortable in dealing with mature, middle-aged superiors than with younger ones. Respect for elders is a primary value in Eastern cultures in general. Power distance connotes the differences in values and role models between higher- and lower-status individuals in a given culture. In Brunei, consumption of alcoholic beverages except beer is prohibited (Backman and Butler 2003). Historically, Brunei was an underdeveloped region with weak economy and low economic growth rates.

Modern economy represents a mixture of local and international companies. The main industries are petroleum, liquefied natural gas and construction. In this country, there are conventions as well as constraints, which are not planned or impersonal, and these are given by the person in the centre of the organization (the owner or his or her representative). The main advantage of modern economy is a stable growth and positive investment climate. Concentrating so much on sales and sales numbers may occasionally mean that quality becomes of less significance (Ganske and Hamidon 2002).

Lack of quality control is also often a problem in the Brunei workplace. Brunei enterprises may often appear impressive in terms of market capitalization and growth. Brunei employees have little experience of working in formal organizations which, combined with belonging to a high-contextual culture, means that much of what goes on as planning, supervising and controlling is more symbolic than substantive, as will be seen. Many institutions and business organizations are not very efficient, which is one reason why executives prefer to use personal (family and friendship) ties instead of formal channels and apply a very personalized and informal management style.

BibliographyBrunei. Brunei Country Reports. 2008. Available at: http://www.bestcountryreports.com/Brunei_Country_Reports.html {accessed 20 October 2008 }Brunei. The World Factbook. 2008. Available at: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bx.html {accessed 20 October 2008 }Backman, M., Butler, Ch. 2003, Big in Asia: 25 Strategies for Business Success. Palgrave Macmillan. Ganske, L. Hamidon, L. 2006, Technological Immersion in Brunei. International Journal of Instructional Media 33 (1), 55.

Menkhoff, Th., Gerke, S. 2002, Chinese Entrepreneurship and Asian Business Networks. RoutledgeCurzon.AppendixGeographical Map of Brunei