Managers in Kuwait, Jordanian Multinational Enterprises - Annotated Bibliography Example

The Dubai 2020 expo Name Institution Ahmed, MS (2008). The Perceived Social Role of Multinational Corporations: A Study in The United States and Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Management. 25(3): 561- 578. In this article, Ahmed (2008) has concentrated his discussion in the analysis of the perception of the role that MNCs play in a given country. The author uses two different approaches in this aspect where he compares those roles of the MNCs as perceived by the Saudi students and the role of the MNCs as perceived by the USA students. Technically, each of these groups of students has their own differentiated approach and reasoning of the roles of the MNCs in different nations. On a general level, from the author’s dimension, the Saudi students think that the MNCs that exist in different nations have a more public role to play in those nations. This stems from the reasoning that most of these MNCs have the capacity (resource-wise) to be able to transform minerals they find in these nations into finished products. Ahmed (2008) has shown that MNCs have played a very significant role over time, especially in developing nations in the growth and shaping of the economy. Most businesses that are conducted on international scales in various nations across the globe are in one way or the other linked to the efforts, both directly or indirectly of the MNCs that exists in these nations. It therefore becomes extremely vital for most of these MNCs to be able to offer their services to various nations on a global scale. For this reason, they are able to graft their way into being the voices of many nations as far as economic development is concerned. They get a more public role to play in the whole situation. This makes them very valuable. A typical case occurs mostly in third world nations where these nations develop or slow down their development process because of either the insurgence, or lack of, foreign domestic investment. Ahmed (2008) states that most of these MNCs across the globe are well versed and well equipped with the necessary resources and personnel who are capable of enhancing the skills and potential of the local community in which they operate. In conclusion, Ahmed (2008) shows that from the research conducted, the Saudi students believe that the MNCs should have a more social role to play because they are also very influential when it comes to determination of conceptual roles and issues such as employment creation and general economic advancement. Most MNCs are responsible for the exponential growth of GDP in many nations across the globe. Because of this reason, it is necessary that these are also given a more active social role to play in nations where they exist. Khattab, AL (2009). The Role of Corporate Risk Managers in Country Risk Management: ASurvey of Jordanian Multinational Enterprises. International Journal of Business and Management. 6 (1). 1-15 This article by Khattab (2011) highlights the role that corporate risk managers have when it comes to the determination of credit risk in given countries. The author has narrowed down the scope of study to Jordan as a MNC enterprise and how the managers in this corporation manage to assess the risk factors involved in determining the potential investment areas across the globe. Credit risk management is a very important concept in the world of financial management today. This concept allows for the assessment of whether the resources invested will either gain in value or lose their value. Khattab (2011) states that it is vital that before any company decides to invest its resources in certain areas or fields, they must firstly ensure that they have conducted a feasibility study to ascertain that the intended investment will not go to waste. Khattab (2011) points out that the rate at which various nations have experienced unrest arising from wars and other forms of conflicts has become alarming. This has led to many companies shying away from investing their resources in these nations. The lack of investment makes most of the nations lack the necessary startup drive and acumen to enable them be on the path to economic development. Because of this reason, most of these MNCs end up either not investing or losing their investment portfolios after they invest without having conducted a proper investigation into the risk factors in the countries they target. It is stipulated in this article that company managers should be able to provide an analysis of the risk factors that are present in the market so that they may be able to advice their investors accordingly. Through a follow-up of the Jordanian multinational enterprise case, Khattab (2011) shows that every company in the world should have a credit risk assessor to evaluate the potential of an intended investment. Companies that operate on an international scale and ones that wish to set up shop in other nations should ensure that they assess the levels of risk that they would expose themselves to and contrast the same with the expected returns. If the revenues are high, then they find ways to mitigate the risks involved. Khattab (2011) states that any MNC should never make a concrete decision to invest in a given nation without having first conducted a feasibility study and a risk assessment to evaluate whether the investment would be viable for the company or not. Al-Daeaj et al (1999). Perceptions of managers in Kuwait about multinational corporations. International Journal of Commerce & Management. 9(3): 69- 78. Basically, Al-Daej et al (1999) show that for an MNC to invest in a certain nation, there are a number of issues that they look into. The nations which allow these MNCs to invest in them also take into consideration a number of factors. Al-Daej et al (1999) points out that in Kuwait, and other Arab nations for this matter, MNCs are perceived in a positive light. Many nations welcome their presence mainly because they think that they have a huge contribution to make towards the growth of the economy of these nations. There are various facets that are looked into in this case and they include political influence. Many MNCs have a large pool and source of resources, both capital as well as personnel. In politics, influence matters a lot. Many countries require the input of the MNCs to be able to exploit the resources that they have. Many nations lure them into investing in these nations. One of the ways through which this is done is through the formulation and implementation of various policies that favor these MNCs. This is one of the reasons why many managers perceive the MNCs as having a higher political clout and influence compared to other small companies. A good example of some of these benefits that these companies receive is tax breaks and tax holidays. This gives them the motivation to come to the countries and invest their resources as foreign domestic investors. In Kuwait, the role of the MNCs is very pronounced. Most of the CEOs of huge MNCs have a lot of influence politically and they are treated as VIPs. Other benefits that are accrued by the presence of MNCs from these managers’ perspectives are the capacity of these MNC to employ large number of people in the local community. This earns these MNCs a lot of goodwill among the society. Many MNCs employ local labor force to work in their industries. This goes a long way towards the establishment and growth of the economy of the nation through uplifting the livelihoods of these people. The costs involved in the presence of MNCs in many countries are not many. For instance, Kuwait nation is well known for its oil resources and reserves. Most of the MNCs who have set their base in this country exploit the oil reservoirs and export this oil to other nations. Some of these nations repatriate the revenues they earn from these exploits to their parent nations. Mellahi et al (2003). Motives for foreign direct investment in Oman. Thunderbird International Business Review. 45 (4): 429- 431 Mellahi et al (2003) investigates the motivations that occur in Oman for MNCs in this article, Motives for foreign direct investment in Oman. According to the authors, Oman is among the most upcoming and most prominent places to invest as foreign domestic investors. There are several factors that act as motivators to invest in the country (Mellahi et al, 2003). The two basic motivation factors are political as well as economic stability in the region. Oman as a nation has experienced a relatively good period of peace compared to its neighbors who are always in some form of turmoil or the other. This becomes one of the factors that make many international investors flock to the region and setup their business. Economic stability is also an encouraging factor. Oman is among the nations in Arabia which experiences some form of stability economically. This region has well built infrastructure. According to Mellahi et al (2003), many MNCs prefer to invest in regions where the infrastructure is well built so that they can be able to offer maximum utilization of the resources that the countries they have invested in have. Oman allows many MNCs to invest and utilize their resources so that they can enhance their production capacities. Infrastructure influences the location of many companies especially MNCs. Many of the MNCs like to locate their companies and industries in areas where they have unlimited access to various facilities such as electricity, water and other forms of energy. Nearness to market is also important and this is facilitated by the presence of roads. In Oman, the roads are well designed and well developed. These roads ensure that the products reach their markets at the right period of time. In Oman, the politicians and other influential personalities have managed to enlist various motivation factors that have made many companies invest in the country as foreign direct investors. There have been many policies that have been created so that they may result into the encouragement and motivation of companies to invest in Oman. From this article, Mellahi et al (2003) shows that various companies from various regions require different motivations to enable them invest in this country. Having understood this, the various policy makers in this country have managed to analyze these needs of various investors and have come up with policies that are designed to suit each one of them on their own capacity. Kashani, HA & Obay, LA. (2010).An analysis of productivity change: are UAE banks operating efficiently when compared to GCC banks? Academy of Banking Studies Journal. 9(1): 14-39. Kashani & Obay (2010) investigates the concept of productivity changes of UAE banks in comparison to those in the rest of the Gulf Cooperation Council in their article an analysis of productivity change: are UAE banks operating efficiently when compared to GCC banks? UAE banks follow the Islamic banking concept. The other banks are very conventional. These two forms of banks have different forms of productivity. The UAE region has Sharia – compliant banks. The GCC banks have also made their way into the region and this has greatly reduced the amount of revenues that these Islamic banks receive. Kashani & Obay (2010) state that in determination of the efficiency between the convectional GCC banks and Islamic banks, various parameters are considered. These are forms of inputs that have been used in this case, using an orientation of DEA. Kashani & Obay (2010) have taken an illumination into the production efficiency that is associated with the GCC banks. To conduct this investigation, the authors have applied a non-parametric approach of variable return to scale data envelopment analysis. This analysis breaks down these input factors and brings them into proportion so that the efficiency can be analysed. The authors have also estimated the Malmquist productivity index for these GCC banks so that they can be bale to provide total factor productivity and break it into efficiency and pure efficiency, technical efficiency and scale efficiency as well as monitor gains during the years between 2000 and 2005. Kashan & Obay (2010) state that on the overall efficiency concept, the banks in the UAE, both Islamic as well as conventional seemed to be doing better than their GCC counterparts over this period of time (2000-2005). The authors state that only Kuwait and Qatar banks had a superior efficiency over the banks in the UAE. Using the Malmquist productivity index, the authors show that banks in the GCC recorded very low productivity gains. The U AE banks have been recorded as having a higher level of technical efficiency ratio over their GCC counterparts on a general scale. The highest average pure efficiency gains were recorded in the Islamic banks over their GCC counterparts. In this region, the maximum gain recorded was by Conventional banks outside the UAE region at 0.5%. At the same time, the Islamic banks in UAE had a 0.1% gain in the scale efficiency while the conventional one in the same region had a loss of 0.1% recorded. Al Masah Capital (2013). Dubai expo 2020. Retrieved from http://almasahcapital.com/uploads/report/pdf/report_104.pdf This report offers an insightful outlook into the 2020 Dubai expo and the impacts that this expo will have both on the people of this nation as well as the other nations which constitute the UAE. After Dubai won the bid to host the expo in 2020, there are numerous issues that crop up in this case. The expo has the capacity to transform Dubai and the UAE into the business hub that it has always desired to be. This report shows what the expo means to Dubai and other countries in the world. It also shows why these nations compete amongst themselves to host such an event. The expo is held after every five years. There are numerous advantages that comes with hosting the expo as the authors of this report state. One of the advantage is that the expo has the capacity to bring together million of people from all walks of life and from different parts of the world together for a common purpose in one region (Al Masah, 2013). These foreigners end up spending their money in the expo. This has two main distinct advantages. Firstly, it leads to foreign exchange. When the expo will be held in Dubai, the country will have abundance of forex that will make it easier and cheaper for the country to get involved in international trade. Dubai wishes to lead the world in the provision of mobility in solutions and innovations as well as sustainability in form of extraction of minerals and natural resources. Through hosting the expo, Dubai will be able to attract the right investors for this form of theme. The authors also point to the social-economic impacts that will be a derivative of this expo. People in this nation will have a chance to interact with others and they will be able to have cultural exchanges with people from all walks of life. This will influence greatly the social atmosphere of Dubai and the UAE nations after the 2020 expo (Al Masah, 2013). The economy of Dubai will be expected to be boosted by this Expo. Already, plans have already been designed to start the process of creating this expo. The infrastructure will be boosted. The money spent in this country by the people who will come to the expo, either in form of expenses or investment of resources will go a long way in boosting the economy of this nation. In general, the authors of this report point out that by hosting the 2020 expo, the impact of this expo on Dubai will most likely be positive rather than negative. References Ahmed, MS (2008). The Perceived Social Role of Multinational Corporations: A Study in the United States and Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Management. 25(3): 561- 578 Al-Daeaj et al (1999). Perceptions of managers in Kuwait about multinational corporations. International Journal of Commerce & Management. 9(3): 69- 78. Al Masah Capital (2013). Dubai expo 2020. Retrieved from http://almasahcapital.com/uploads/report/pdf/report_104.pdf Kashani, HA & Obay, LA. (2010).An analysis of productivity change: are UAE banks operating efficiently when compared to GCC banks? Academy of Banking Studies Journal. 9(1): 14-39. Khattab, AL (2009). The Role of Corporate Risk Managers in Country Risk Management: A Survey of Jordanian Multinational Enterprises. International Journal of Business and Management. 6(1). 1-15 Mellahi et al (2003). Motives for foreign direct investment in Oman. Thunderbird International Business Review.45 (4): 429- 431 Read More