Establishing and Maintaining Successful International

Establishing and Maintaining Successful International Business Relationships With Libya: An Evaluation of the Major Factors Involved

Establishing and Maintaining Successful International Business Relationships with Libya:

An Evaluation of the Major Factors Involved

Libya is a country that has always had a rather tenuous truce with the United States and most of the rest of the world. We are not at war, but we are not at peace, either, and there is suspicion and discomfort on both sides. With that in mind it is important to be aware of what Libya has to offer and how successful international business relationships can be established and maintained between it and the United States. There are important and significant factors involved, and looking at them is one of the best ways to address the issue.

Once they have been looked at, however, more still needs to be done. Simply saying what the issues are and then ignoring what can be done to address those issues and move toward a business relationship does not solve the problems or work at beginning to create solutions to them (Schmitz, 1997; Viotti & Kauppi, 2006). It does not do any good for the people of the United States or the people of Libya who would otherwise be able to work together, if not in harmony than at least with a realistic international business relationship not fraught with suspicion and difficulties. The politics of the country and the culture of business there are far different than the politics and the culture of business within the United States and other countries, and these are the two main areas that have to be addressed.

Aims and Objectives:

The aims and objectives of this study will be to:

Address the culture of Libya's business climate and compare it with the business climate and culture of major countries with which it does business.

Address the politics of Libya's business climate and compare it with the business climate and politics of major countries with which it does business.

Determine what other issues Libya faces when it comes to international business relations.

Propose suggestions as to how Libya and the countries that wish to do business with it can better their international relations and therefore do business more efficiently.

Methodology:

The methodology for this study will involve a comprehensive review of the literature regarding international business relations, Libya, and the main countries that do business with it or plan to do business with it in the future. It will also involve case studies of businesses to more clearly show the difficulties that Libya has with other countries from the perspective of the business climate and what businesses go through in 'real life' as opposed to only what is talked about in past studies. Attempting to contact enough businesses throughout the world to survey for this particular study would not be cost-effective, realistic from a time standpoint, or prudent for the researcher to undertake.