Impact of Globalization on Arab Business - Essay Example

Impact of Globalization on Arab business Globalization has impacted the Arab countries and impacted their culture severely. The Arab world has twenty two countries with continuously increasing population which has impacted the revenues, socio-economic development and per capita income of the economy. Arab countries which have high oil and natural gas resources have benefitted from rising income despite the lack of skilled personnel. Despite, increasing income the amount of money being spent on research and development is low which has impacted the overall mechanism of growth. Globalization is one factor which has impacted the Arab countries and has impacted different sectors like hospitality, industry and tourism sector. Giving importance to globalization and shaping their performance based on it is one of the determinants which have shaped their performance. Prior to going into partnership with Arab proprietors, or establishing new subsidiaries, or organization in Arab countries, having a certain awareness of the cultural, political and economic environment should first be developed. This is due to the strong cultural influence which culture has and globalization hasn’t been able to bring major transformation in this direction. This has made organizations adjust and change so that they are able to benefit from the business in this field. There are numerous globalization forces increases that also encourage companies to be involved in businesses such as such as acquiring investments and resources and expand their sales. Thus, globalization has shaped the manner in which Arab countries work and the paper will look at evaluating the manner in which globalization has impacted the socio-culture, economics and politics of the country. Firstly, globalization has impacted the socio-cultural aspect of Arab countries as adopting the Western culture is something which the Arab people are refraining from. Despite the fact that people are looking to stay away from the western culture it has influenced them to a certain extent. The manner in which culture has changed in Arab countries can be easily seen from the fact that the eating habits, the working culture, more role to women in the society has increased (Stone, 2002, paragraph 11). Arab countries had little participation of women but with the change and transformation due to globalization women are given a much higher share in the work culture. This is purely due to the influence of western culture. In addition to it the western culture can further be seen in the clothing style (Sandikci, Sand and Rice, 2011, paragraph 9). People previously looked at having clothes which covered the entire body but slowly with globalization it has changed and people have started to visualize cultural changes which are one of the strongest area which has been influenced due to globalization. Secondly, globalization has also impacted the political structure of the economy and created an environment which results in clashes and determining the path which has to be followed becomes a major hurdle. This has given rise to clashes between the Islamic and Western civilization making it difficult for the political system to drive maximum mileage. A major change which is witnessed on the political front is the change in attitude. The Islamic political structure was more conservative where importance was given to fundamentalism, and identity which has changed (Mendoza & Quadrini, 2010, paragraph 6). The political structure now is more dispersed and open and is prone to taking more risk. This has resulted in clashes among the different groups of people and has made the political structure to be unstable. The foreign policies which are developed are more risky and open towards the west which has impacted the manner in which different decisions are taken within the economy (Korany and Dessouki, 2010, paragraph 8). Globalization has thereby created the gap in the political system which is difficult to fill as changes in the foreign policies and adopting stances which increases risk has multiplied the overall risk for the economy. Thirdly, globalization has also impacted the Arab world in a positive manner as it has increased the level of investment. The Arab world is witnessing an increase in the flow of foreign direct investment as people are willing to invest heavily in different areas so that business gains can be increased. The fact that Arab world has huge potential due to wide availability of resources has provided an opportunity where investment has grown (United Nations, 2009, paragraph 1 – 2). This is matched by the fact all countries which are part of the Arab world is witnessing growth and high disposable income. This has provided an opportunity for the country to look into different aspect through which overall momentum will be gained so that the business potential is maximized. The impact of such a change has been such that it has brought about a change in the working culture and style and provided an opportunity where through the use of different resources the economy is able to garner better opportunities of growth. This has helped Arab countries to improve their tourism and hospitality sector and has seen an increase in people visiting the country (Moshirian, 2011, paragraph 12). The overall mechanism thereby has ensured that the process looks at strengthening the infrastructure and finding a way through which gains can be increased. This will further lead towards developing and strengthening the overall process of carrying out different business objectives and will maximize the overall gains for all. Globalization has thereby shaped the performance of Arab countries in different ways providing certain benefits and also impacting at places in the negative manner. The overall impact has been such that Arab world needs to adopt the same but while looking to do so have to ensure that the socio-culture of the economy is not impacted. The process of globalization needs to be streamlined so that the different resources are used in a better way and the economy is able to find out the different path through which better growth can be ensured. In addition to it Arab countries need to focus on areas like research and development so that the different resources which they have at their disposal are used in the best possible manner. This will help to bring about a change in the manner Arab country is able to gain and will thereby create a positive and long lasting impact on the overall performance of the economy. 1050 words References Korany, B., Dessouki, A. E. H. (Eds). (2010). The Foreign Policies of Arab States: The Challenge of Globalization. Cairo, Egypt: American University in Cairo Press. Mendoza, E. G., & Quadrini, V. (2010). Financial globalization, financial crises and Contagion. Journal of Monetary Economics, 57(1), 24-39. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304393209001445. Moshirian, F (2011). The global financial crisis and the evolution of markets, institutions and regulation. Journal of Banking and Finance. 35(3), 502-511. Sandikci, O and Sandikc, O. and Rice, G. (2011). Handbook of Islamic Marketing. United Kingdom: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited. Stone, L. A. (2002). The Islamic Crescent: Islam, Culture and Globalization. Innovation: The European Journal of Social Science Research, 15(2), 121-131. United Nations. (2008). Annual Review of Developments in Globalization and Regional Integration in the Arab Countries. London: United Nations. Read More