Compare and Contrast the Western and Middle Eastern Culture Essay

Compare and Contrast the Western and Middle Eastern Culture - Essay Example Eating with fork and knife is culture in the west but eating with hand is culture in the Arab world. Cultural differences can be found in all aspects when we compare the east and the west. Even when we commence a business activity in a foreign land we need to give importance to the culture followed so that the company is accepted globally. Situated between Africa, Asia and Europe, the Middle East has been the dream destination for travelers, empire builders and traders. The population includes Kurds, Iranians, Arabs, Jews, Turks, Armenians, and Nubians. The diversified population gives rise to the cultural richness in Middle East. Completely in contrast to the eastern culture, the western culture evolved in ancient Greece, slowly spreading over the European countries. The two traditions which contributed to this culture is the inheritance of the classical culture and Christianity. Today this culture has moved out of European countries and gradually spread across the entire globe. This culture mainly dominates in the central European nations and western countries like the US and Canada. We can also see the increasing influence of this culture in Asian nations like India, China, Thailand and Singapore with the liberalization of the economy. The people of the eastern world give great importanc... The people of the Arab world follow Islam. The Koran is the holy book which is considered as a spiritual guide, a system of law, code of ethics and a way of life. All Muslim members are expected to read the holy book everyday. The teachings of the Koran forms the foundation for Islamic culture and tradition. The teachings of Prophet Muhammad are considered paramount in the Koran. Friday is considered as the holy day and no business activity takes place on this day. Facing east (direction of Mecca), kneeling, forehead and palms touching the floor, Muslims pray five times a day and Friday noon prayer is led by a spiritual leader. All the male members of a Muslim family go to mosque compulsorily and the female members pray at home. All Muslims are expected to make a pilgrimage or Hajj to Mecca once in their lifetime. The month of Ramzan is considered as the holy month for rejuvenating oneself by abstaining from food, drinks and personal pleasures in the daylight. (Religion in the cultur es of Middle East. 2006). However, the Christian religion dominates the western culture. The Bible is considered as the force which has created religious identity to the western culture. The religion encourages freedom of expression and speech to both genders equally. Christmas, Easter and Thanksgiving are the important celebrations of this culture. Sunday is considered as the holy day and no business activities takes place on this day. The Vatican City is the place of pilgrimage for this religion, and decisions taken by Pope play an important role, in the progress of the world economy, as the Christian population remains the largest in the world. Family and

Business Strategy Report for H&M Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business Strategy Report for H&M - Essay Example the UK fashion market in 1976, and eventually became one of the leaders in the UK fashion-apparel retailing market, with 234 stores across the country, and the second-biggest apparel retailer in the world. (H&M’s Annual Report, 2013) The fashion industry is one of the most vibrant and creative business sectors in the UK. It directly contributes nearly  £21 billion to the UK economy. (British Fashion Council, 2014) H&M is currently ranked as the second-biggest apparel retailer in the world, following the Inditex, the parent company of Zara. H&M states that it vision is that all its operations are run in a way that is economically, socially and environmentally sustainable. (H&M, 2014) The company is helping to meet the needs of both present and future generations by supporting fundraising program, ensuring the working condition in its supply chain and continuously developing new and green materials in production. The main mission of H&M is to offer quality fashion at the best price. In its company report, H&M states numerous of times that quality is more than making sure that products meet or exceed consumers’ expectation. H&M is constantly working towards its vision and mission. And this is the key for its profit and growth. It is not rare to find high quality clothing or clothes at a low price within the fashionindustry. Therefore, by utilizingresources and depending on strong design team, H&M is combing the core competencies of quality, fashiondesign with a best price strategy, to ensure its competitiveness. The idea of the fashion industry is to spot the right trends on catwalks and have the items on shelves before your competitors do. This makes the rivalry level is high since there are a large number of similar retailers including both large and small firms. The rapid change in the industry leads firms constantly renewing their product to appeal to fickle customer bases as well. In addition, the loss of consuming interest on apparel caused by