At the end of the course, the student should be able to:
– Explain what are the main characteristics of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region
– Outline the process of doing business in the MENA region
– Effectively link International business strategies and the MENA idiosyncrasies
– Create an effective organizational design to drive a business venture in the MENA region
– Describe the strategic role of intercultural arrays while building a sustainable business in MENA
– Understand key socio-economic, cultural and political factors that influence the negotiation process between Arab and non-Arab managers
With the MENA’s rapid economic development of recent years, the number of foreign ventures operating in the region has increased substantially, as has the number of expatriates living and working in that part of the world. The course analyses the cultural and marketplace challenges and failures encountered by these foreign organizations and expatriates, as they attempt to operate in the MENA region. Likewise, it scrutinizes the MENA’s organizations and managers partnering and working with foreign organizations and individuals; it finally examines numerous strategic and intercultural challenges, as to help understand foreign approaches to business strategy and relationships.
Objective
The main objective of this course is to provide participants with a practical and theoretically-based understanding of personal and organizational strategies for operating in the MENA region. The course offers insights into the intercultural adjustment aspects of living in MENA as well as the organizational strategic elements that make entry into MENA’s markets either viable or vulnerable to failure. A brief description of the course follows:
1 – Introduction to Doing Business in the MENA region
2 – MENA’s Short-term Macro-economic Outlook
3 – The Strategic Role of Information in the process of Doing business
4 – History and Context of Public Administration in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt and Morocco
5 – A set of regulations sustaining the business landscapes the MENA region
5 – Marketing in Mena Region including Turkey, UAE, Morocco and Egypt
7 – Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) in the MENA Region
8 – Key Risks and Constraints on Trade in The Middle East and North Africa in 2018
9 – Cultural Variables as dominant threads to help seize business opportunities
10 – Multilingualism as a leading array of intraregional cultural diversity
11 – The negotiation process between Arab and non-Arab managers
12 – MENA facing challenges and opportunities
