doing business golf 1

ICRIM International CENTER OF RESEARCH ON

iNTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT

Doing business in

the Gulf area Ing. C. Cutrona

senior consultant

Burj Khalifa

The Tallest Building in the World

Agenda

Eight item to fly over GCC market

opportunities



Local culture Customers expectations Strategy for business creation Competitors Partners The team Delivery Business development

Local culture

Hofstede analysis permits to

evaluate cultural aspects impact in

the business



Power distance

PD

Individualism (IDV)

Masculinity (MAS)

Uncertainty avoidance

(UA)

0102030405060708090

Italy Brazil China Gulf Area



Power distance

Arab Emirates scores high on this dimension which means that people accept a hierarchical order in which everybody has a place and which needs no further justification.

Individualism “I” or “We”.Arab Emirates, is considered a collectivistic society.

Arab Emiratesculture

• Hierarchical• Collectivistic• Masculine• Preference for avoiding uncertainty



Masculinity / Femininity

Arab Emirates scores on this dimension can be considered a masculine society. In masculine countries people “live in order to work”, managers are expected to be decisive and assertive, the emphasis is on equity, competition and performance and conflicts are resolved by fighting them out.






Arab Emirates scores on this dimension and thus has a high preference for avoiding uncertainty. Countries exhibiting high uncertainty avoidance maintain rigid codes of belief and behavior and are intolerant of unorthodox behavior and ideas. In these cultures there is an emotional need for rules (even if the rules never seem to work) time is money, people have an inner urge to be busy and work hard, precision and punctuality are the norm, innovation may be resisted, security is an important element in individual motivation.



Customer expectation

GCC market expects from EU

products



Excellence:is a distinguishing feature of the

"Made in Italy“Flexibility:

known for our ability to create "customized"

Competitiveness: quality at market price

Trust: to conquer with the appropriate

relationships



until we will associate to the image of the made in Italy nice and well done ... well thought out and executed, we have not comparisons ...

(Adolfo Urso, ex former Deputy Minister for Economic Development)

the good image of our products in China make sure that also the machines used are of high quality

(The Picture of Italian products in China, Russia, Sweden and the

United States-Istituto Piepoli SpA)we enjoy a good reputation and are considered to be innovative in our field the problems are related .... the difficulties in communicating with Italy (ICE)

in terms of standardization, it is true that our product can be customized also if affected by the volume limit

(Luigi Serio, professor of economics and business management from the Catholic University of Milan)

Strategy for business creation

The object



Product or services?Proprietary product o reselling?Professional or basic services?

GCC Market• High quality products for specific applications. • Medium quality product for commodity.• Reselling is local and well covered• Basic services are provided by far east Human resources• For high skilled professional services are well appreciated if delivered by European or American people


The target



Vendor or Solution provider?Final customer or local prime contractor?Niche brand or International company?

Remote support or local presence

GCC Market

• Local prime contractor is of course the best approach to start , especially for SME.• B2B market is characterized by large presence of international brand but niche products, skills and solutions are appreciated• Remote support is not appreciated. First customer question: Where is Your office in the Emirates?• New products and solutions have good opportunity in the area. It is necessary a distinctive feature


Time



Time of ROI

GCC Market

• Step by step approach is suggested for SME to limit risk and study market• GCC Market needs patience• Negotiation is time consuming• Final decision is complex and long process


Persons



Can somebody help us?

GCC Market

• A local person or team is absolutely useful if your company has never met the GCC market• A strong and kind control is necessary• Headquarter persons locally are essential to understand, control and report to top management and assist it in strategic decision


Our expectations



Business Plan in GCC Market

• No dreams but concrete target in line with present results• Evaluate potential results with local team, customer and partner• Don’t forget long time decision in the specific political scenario• Bid, door to door or a mix strategy• Our intimacy with the customer (not so easy) increases our business

Competitor

Competitors analysis is, with strategy, a key element of the

success



Define competitor profile in GCC Market

• Local or International• Full liner or niche• Well connected in local social network• Back office and local organization• Quality or quick and dirty approach

What is the added value of our company?

LocalPartners



• Mentor of local culture• Clarification of customers expectations• Support Strategy of the business creation• Facilitate competitor analysis• It is part of the team• Very often it is owner of the delivery phase• It can support Business development

Local partner covers all the items of our discussion

TechnologicalPartners



• Enrichment of catalogue• Pre sales support• Price support in competitive arena• Quick reaction• Some time new opportunities •channel• Increase team dimension• Qualify our product or service

Technological partner supports your evolution

InternationalPartners



• Recognized Brand• Price support• Pre sales support• Vehicle of• New opportunities• New partnership• Networking enlargement and consolidation

An international partner can accelerate Your business

Team

Compromise between customer expectations and

costs



Main drivers: customer expectation and cost

Team design: some suggestion

Organization evolution: localizzation and virtualization

Team: analysis of the project

19

CustomSoluzione

Prototipo

Specialista

Core business

Ricavi

Marginalità critica

VincoliCompetitività

Partner low performer

Integrator low commitment

Riconoscimento autorità

Individualismo

Apparenza

Rifiuto incertezza

0

5

10

Cultural enviro

nment

Contract

Customer

Product/Solution

Commercial environment

Solution

Solution

Critical Margin

Value

Masculinity


Specialist

Solution

Competitiveness

Power distance

Prototype

Individualism



20Cost

Cust

omer

sati

sfac

tion

3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.00.0

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

7.0

Teamevaluation

Customer satisfation

vs.cost

Delivery is the critical moment to

complete the accreditation

process with the customer



• Very often is under evaluated from the sales force.• Project Manager role in the area is expected reactive and proactive• Problem solving or mitigation: transparency is paying• Persons on field, remote support, partner role: a complex team to be well organized• Critical step to develop new business• Low profile activities are available in GCE market• Experienced skills is the key element and our add value in the area

Business development



• Look for new opportunities during on field activity• Understand better competitors capabilities and value added• Enlarge your networking• Tuning the price list• Create a climate of trust and confidentiality

The loop is closed !

Thank You



Q&A

[email protected]

doing business golf 1

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