Page 20 - Aamir Rehman - Dubai & Co Global Strategies for Doing Business in the Gulf States-McGraw-Hill (2007)

6 Dubai & Co.

● What is the optimal human capital strategy for managing
business in the region? How can multinationals find the
right talent, and what are the key development initiatives
needed for business leaders working in the region?
● Can the GCC be a source of capital for global businesses?
What could multinationals do to make themselves more
attractive to GCC investors?
● How can the GCC region be integrated into global
companies’ operational logistics and supply chains? Are
there operational efficiencies to be captured by investing
in the region?
● How should a GCC-specific business unit be organized
and managed? How can multinationals foster awareness
at headquarters of the strategic opportunity in the GCC?

This book will provide practical and concise answers to these
questions and more. In addition to analysis of macroeconomic data
and commercial information, you will find case studies and illustra-
tions based on the real-life experiences of multinationals and lead-
ing local firms. Trend analysis and forecasts for the future will also
draw on interviews with key business leaders and decision makers
in the public policy and commercial spheres.

A STROLL THROUGH GCC MARKETS

Understanding the Opportunity
The early chapters in this book give you the essentials—the macro-
economic and historical background—needed to understand the
business potential of the region. Chapter 1 describes the GCC’s
positioning within the broader Middle East. Although often viewed
as a monolith, the Arab world is composed of three distinct clusters:
the Levant, North Africa, and the GCC countries. Viewing the
Middle East as a single, uniform bloc causes many business leaders
to associate the entire region with stereotypical images of conflict,
instability, and low standards of living, which causes them to miss
out on attractive and dynamic markets.
The Levant, traditionally referred to as bilad al-Sham within the
region, consists of Iraq, Lebanon, Israel and the Palestinian Territories,
Jordan, and Syria. In recent years, many of these areas—especially