Case Study Jack in Soudi
1. Current situation
After five years of a great success on the Saudi Arabian market American manufacturer of precision steel products – Bladeco Corporation had been made to make some changes. In order to protect the local producers, government levied costly tariffs and trade restrictions on the foreign enterprises. The only way to avoid those regulations was forming a joint venture with a national company. Therefore Bladeco signed a contract with Mid-East steel Merchants, a subsidiary of the Al Amin family conglomerate. Initially everything seemed to be right. Al Amin family had a benefit of understanding the local business and cultural practises. Their name was also well regarded in Saudi Arabia. Over the time, however, Americans started to experience communication problems. The most important issue was the promotion strategy. Mustafa Al Amin did not want to accept the Blandeco’s former advertising. Moreover he refused talking to the CEO as she was a woman. Company’s management decided to sent the replacement – Jack Adams, who was supposed to resolve the problem of decreasing sales. In his home state Jack was really successful, but in Saudi Arabia he failed. Following paragraphs contain the analysis of his actions and proposals for the future of the company. 2. Diagnosis of the problem
Jack’s difficulties in achieving his goal in Saudi Arabia are coming from the lack of knowledge and understanding of the Arabic culture. When doing business with people coming from other cultures, person has to be aware of the different norm, habits, values and behaviors. Absence of that can lead to misunderstandings, conflicts or eventually business failures. Jack is not the only responsible for that situation. The Bladeco’s management did not provide a proper information and did not train him before sending him to Saudi.
Doing business in USA and Saudi Arabia differs a lot. First of all, unlike in America, there is no time pressure in negotiating the contracts in Arabia.
After five years of a great success on the Saudi Arabian market American manufacturer of precision steel products – Bladeco Corporation had been made to make some changes. In order to protect the local producers, government levied costly tariffs and trade restrictions on the foreign enterprises. The only way to avoid those regulations was forming a joint venture with a national company. Therefore Bladeco signed a contract with Mid-East steel Merchants, a subsidiary of the Al Amin family conglomerate. Initially everything seemed to be right. Al Amin family had a benefit of understanding the local business and cultural practises. Their name was also well regarded in Saudi Arabia. Over the time, however, Americans started to experience communication problems. The most important issue was the promotion strategy. Mustafa Al Amin did not want to accept the Blandeco’s former advertising. Moreover he refused talking to the CEO as she was a woman. Company’s management decided to sent the replacement – Jack Adams, who was supposed to resolve the problem of decreasing sales. In his home state Jack was really successful, but in Saudi Arabia he failed. Following paragraphs contain the analysis of his actions and proposals for the future of the company. 2. Diagnosis of the problem
Jack’s difficulties in achieving his goal in Saudi Arabia are coming from the lack of knowledge and understanding of the Arabic culture. When doing business with people coming from other cultures, person has to be aware of the different norm, habits, values and behaviors. Absence of that can lead to misunderstandings, conflicts or eventually business failures. Jack is not the only responsible for that situation. The Bladeco’s management did not provide a proper information and did not train him before sending him to Saudi.
Doing business in USA and Saudi Arabia differs a lot. First of all, unlike in America, there is no time pressure in negotiating the contracts in Arabia.