Suchergebnisse

PurposeThis study aims to examine perceptions in Kuwait about women's leadership in management.Design/methodology/approachThis study includes a review of data on the gender gap across Middle East/North Africa (MENA) countries, comparison with selected Asian and Western countries and summaries of multiple small surveys in Kuwait on women in management. The surveys were all convenience samples ranging from 100-500, targeting middle-class respondents.FindingsThe MENA is behind most of the world in closing the gender gap, but progress among Gulf Cooperation Council countries has been fairly rapid. Many Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) indicators are comparable to other non-Western cultural areas. Multiple surveys in Kuwait show fairly widespread acceptance of women in leadership positions. Respondents feel that characteristics of women vs men managers are different, but strengths and weaknesses by gender balance out, so that men and women perform about the same. Traditional Kuwaiti culture seems conducive to women in management, but some specific cultural barriers remain. In particular, thediwaniyya, social gatherings to network and discuss current affairs, andwasta, connections, are dominated by men in modern Kuwaiti society. These are essentially social capital issues.Practical implicationsFostering continued progress for women in management requires recognition of the actual social and cultural situation; simply arguing that Kuwait should be more Western in how it does things does not seem very useful.Originality/valueResearch on women in management in MENA is not very extensive, but is important for understanding how to facilitate opportunities for women. In Kuwait, there seems to be general acceptance that women can be leaders in managerial positions, and little overt discrimination. However, lack of access to traditional social capital networks puts women at a disadvantage. Research needs to focus on this issue to help develop ways to overcome this subtle obstacle to further progress.

Aims to provide an outline of current transportation conditions to
prepare companies considering entry to the Chinese market for the
realities they will inevitably confront there. The transportation sector
has not kept up with China′s rapid economic growth. Transportation has
become a major bottleneck to further development of foreign business
operations in China. As reforms have freed the economy, more goods are
being shipped for longer distances. Railways, highways and shipping are
now swamped beyond their capacity. In addition to inadequate
infrastructure, transport companies, mostly state owned, operate
inefficiently under near monopolistic conditions. Bureaucratic
inefficiency and corruption make the movement of products even more
difficult. Within the last year, Beijing has finally begun to take
problems in the transport sector seriously, but it will likely be
decades before transport operations in China run smoothly.

China's huge population and rapidly developing economy have attracted many foreign companies, but operating in China can be very difficult. Connections are a necessity for most firms, and this usually requires a partner. Finding partners in China is very easy, but finding good ones is very difficult. Most potential partners can be categorized into a few main types. Some overseas, Hong Kong, or Taiwan Chinese really do have connections and/or know how to operate successfully in China. More often, they do not. Some PRC companies, private or state, actually want an operating joint venture (JV). Many do not, they simply want the privileges that go with having a JV. Discusses connections, different types of partners, advantages and disadvantages of having them, and offers hints on how to tell the good from the bad.