Introduction Companies looking to expand their business into other counties need to look at just more than the six cultural preferences explained by Mr. Hofstede. Being able to conduct business in a foreign country goes deeper and requires a thorough understanding of the country’s economy, labor force, tax, and so on. By using the six-cultural preferences Hofstede (n.d.) does assist an organization in determining some of the challenges they will face regarding, individualism, or maybe choosing a country that is less feminine. Comparing the United States to Thailand will further help in proving there is great rewards for US companies to establish business with Thailand. Additionally, by looking at other business factors like; import/export tax, ease of moving product in and out of Thailand, and labor costs will identify the benefits of conducting business with Thailand. The United States and Thailand have been working together since 1832 and solidified that in 1833 with the Treaty of Amity and Commerce signing (U.S. Department of State, 2015). The two countries pledge continues to strengthen and Thailand is the third-largest bilateral trade partner with the United States (U.S. Department of State, 2015). Additionally, while the two countries cultural preferences may portray a different business culture, the U.S. directly invested $14 billion in Thailand in 2014, making the U.S. their largest investor (U.S. Department of State, 2015). When mixing other facts with the different business cultures there is definitely great opportunities for U.S. companies to conduct business in Thailand. Hofstede Cultural Comparison Initial observation when comparing the United States with Thailand using Geert-hofstede.com, may scare a company off from doing business in Thailand.
…show more content…
While there are some power differences, and drastic difference in individualism. The U.S. is a country that has been successful for its uniqueness of conducting business solely and affords every citizen the opportunity to be an entrepreneur and on the other hand, Thailand is about family business and succeeding as a group. Moreover, Thailand is a very feminine society, they are not one to compete, unlike American companies who boast about being number one. Lastly, the uncertainty should not scare an American company away; Americans are risk takers and having a little more stability with less uncertainty would be welcoming to doing business in Thailand. Thailand Offerings Moving past the cultural differences and looking at Thailand as a county overall, there are many benefits of doing business with Thailand. Thailand shares the same effort as the United States when it comes to being a member of different international organizations (U.S. Department of State, 2015). Additionally, being a member of six different organizations with the United States, reassures businesses investing in Thailand that, the United States shares in their success with the largest nation investing in Thailand’s future. Moreover, according to The Board of Investment of Thailand (n.d.), Thailand is ranked number two for the ease of doing business in East Asia. Furthermore, they share in being one of the three Asian countries with a 20 percent corporate income tax, just slightly above Singapore at 17 percent (The Board of Investment of Thailand, n.d.). Above and beyond the economic features, the 2015 Expat Experience Report, conducted by HSBC ranked Thailand as one of the lowest places for expats to live with a ranking of number eight (The Board of Investment of Thailand, n.d.). Pitfalls
While there are some power differences, and drastic difference in individualism. The U.S. is a country that has been successful for its uniqueness of conducting business solely and affords every citizen the opportunity to be an entrepreneur and on the other hand, Thailand is about family business and succeeding as a group. Moreover, Thailand is a very feminine society, they are not one to compete, unlike American companies who boast about being number one. Lastly, the uncertainty should not scare an American company away; Americans are risk takers and having a little more stability with less uncertainty would be welcoming to doing business in Thailand. Thailand Offerings Moving past the cultural differences and looking at Thailand as a county overall, there are many benefits of doing business with Thailand. Thailand shares the same effort as the United States when it comes to being a member of different international organizations (U.S. Department of State, 2015). Additionally, being a member of six different organizations with the United States, reassures businesses investing in Thailand that, the United States shares in their success with the largest nation investing in Thailand’s future. Moreover, according to The Board of Investment of Thailand (n.d.), Thailand is ranked number two for the ease of doing business in East Asia. Furthermore, they share in being one of the three Asian countries with a 20 percent corporate income tax, just slightly above Singapore at 17 percent (The Board of Investment of Thailand, n.d.). Above and beyond the economic features, the 2015 Expat Experience Report, conducted by HSBC ranked Thailand as one of the lowest places for expats to live with a ranking of number eight (The Board of Investment of Thailand, n.d.). Pitfalls