Introduction
Nowadays, businesses irrespective of their sizes are searching for the customers and supplies for the labor and materials on a global level. They are also maximizing the advantages of growth in other countries. As a result, they are expanding their business activities to benefit from increased market opportunities. The full implementation of globalization and market integration has created chances for companies to expand their operations in the international economy. The increased global business environment has necessitated entrepreneurs and managers to consider cultural differences when approaching negotiation processes. Failure to recognize the cultural diversity of the targeted market will reduce companies’ success, increase barriers, and chances of failing in the international business. Organizations should consider different factors before establishing in an international market (Yuksel, 2012). The paper will discuss the factors that the fast-food restaurant will examine before it starts operating in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), China, Mexico, and Israel.
Political Factors
The factors contribute significantly to understanding the systems and key figures in a country that are relevant to the business. For instance, different government regulations and political stability of a nation can affect the performance of the fast-food restaurant (Kozlinskis, 2008). UAE has stable political systems, and its leadership follows absolute monarchy. All of the seven emirates have separate government organizations that allow for the flexible running of the country. UAE practices strong trade relations. However, it experiences political conflicts with neighboring nations concerning the control of land and oil reserves. The government of China has been promoting the rule of law. It also insists on the observation of human rights as provided in the constitution to enable the smooth running of businesses. Political factors in Mexico have contributed to the increased poverty levels because the government has not implemented enough policies that will encourage local developments. However, it is a politically stable country. Israel encourages foreign direct investments in most of its sectors. The most important political issues include Israeli conflicts with Arabs and Palestinians.
Economic Factors
The factors indicate the economic variables that attract investors in a country (Yuksel, 2012). UAE has exceptionally high GDP per capita and a low unemployment rate. It is among the countries with high FDI in the region. China has reformed and opened its economy since 1972 and has transformed its economic activities into market-oriented benefiting individuals and entrepreneurs initiatives. The poverty level has been reduced significantly. It is among the largest economies worldwide. Mexico is an upper-middle-income country, and the poverty level is widely spread. It has an FDI of about $ 20 billion and has a 4% annual growth in GDP. High numbers of citizens live below the poverty line. Israel’s economy is a high-tech market. It is advancing regarding technology advancement at a high rate. It is a developed economy that has a GDP per capita of approximately 22,860 US dollars.
Social Factors
The factors help fast-food restaurants to understand the demographics variables of their customers (Yuksel, 2012). Inhabitants in EAU earn high salaries, and they hence live comfortable lifestyles. There are also diverse cultures due to globalization. Religious affects society, for instance, native women wear particular clothes. China has a high population of approximately 1.3 billion people that creates huge markets for products and profuse workforce. Standard of living in Israel is high, and the majority of the populations live in urban areas. Mexicans immigrate from rural to urban areas to seek employment opportunities.
Education
Education level helps in determining the competence level of workforce and the quality of technology that the company will apply in different nations (Kozlinskis, 2008). The majority of young people in UAE are tech-savvy indicating that residents value learning. China has a high literacy rate of approximately 90%. The country emphasizes on education and majority of the citizens are literate. It has about 420 million internets users indicating that large population shop online. Mexico has considerably improved in increasing accessibility to education over the past decades. Israel has a solid education background at it is evidenced by the high levels of enhanced entrepreneurship and innovation. It is a destination for the majority number of students that want to pursue a quality education.
Contrasts in cultural values
Individuals from UAE, Mexico and China give more weight to maintaining their societal status while those from the U.S and Israel are less concerned with face-saving. People from China, Mexico and UAE prefer using indirect language since it is considered polite or civil while those from Israel and U.S do not view direct language as impolite or offensive. China, Mexico and UAE cultures give more respect to formal agreements than personal promises. Conversely, Israel and U.S cultures have give more respect to individual promises than formal agreements. In UAE, China and Mexico individuals’ authority is determined through ranks or status. Contrary, in the U.S and Israel it is determined by a person’s ability to provide a convincing argument (Lee, Adair, & Seo, 2013).
Addressing Language Barriers
The UAE, Mexico and China have high context cultures while the U.S and Israel have low context cultures. It will be essential to address the tone of voice, gestures, postures and facial expressions when making the presentation. The communicator should also use appropriate wording since few words can carry multiple messages in a high context culture. The meeting needs to be explicit to reach out for the low-context people in the meeting. In the absence of the translator during the meeting, the communicator should translate all the relevant documents into national languages of all parties. Translations could be through free websites. The communicator can also use visual methods of communication, for instance using pictures to give instructions. The communicator can also use a bilingual member in the team to assist during negotiations, development and implementation processes (Lee, Adair, & Seo, 2013).
References
Kozlinskis, V. (2008). Evaluation of business macro environment: Case of economic slowdown. Journal of Business Management, 4(1), 30-34.
Lee, S., Adair, W., & Seo, S. (2013). Cultural perspective taking in cross-cultural negotiation. Group Decision & Negotiation, 22(3), 389-405.
Yuksel, I. (2012). Developing a multi-criteria decision-making model for PESTEL analysis. International Journal of Business and Management, 7(24), 52-67.