Doing Business in Post-War Iraq

Today's business world stretches well beyond national borders. Multinational and global companies have been existence for hundreds of years, but on a limited basis until the twentieth century. During the twentieth century, advances first in transportation, and then in communications, made it possible for even small companies to expand their business offerings around the world. Until the last years of the twentieth century, conducting international business required extensive international travel. With the rise of the Internet, however, it became possible for sellers located in one country to find customers, receive payment, and ship goods to a different country, or even to many countries. Web designs, some good and some bad, proliferated, and companies realized the importance of the Internet as a marketing channel. After the exuberance of the dot-com boom that plagued the American stock market in the 1990s and early 2000s, companies around the world recognized that the Internet was not an entirely new way of doing business, but a new tool to include in traditional businesses.

At the same time as the Internet was proliferating around the world, the world underwent significant political change, as well. The Soviet Union collapsed, and some of the former Soviet republics became strong markets while others struggled to maintain economic viability. The American military found itself participating in actions in Bosnia and el

scent Web Design will offer full-service Web design for Arabic-only and Arabic/English web sites. Services will include working with clients to determine their Web needs, assisting them in finding an appropriate Internet Service Provider (ISP), and working with the service provider to ensure that the Web design is efficient from a technological standpoint. Working closely with the client, Crescent Web Design will develop Web sites that meet the needs of the client from an easy-to-navigate home page to complex sites with shopping carts. It is important to note that Crescent Web Design will not be an internet service provider, but will provide content for the Internet. Although the Internet is widely available in Europe and the United States, its penetration of the Middle East is far more uneven. In Iraq, for example, there is only limited experience with the Internet among native Iraqis; expatriates returning after the war and Western advisers have far greater experience--and expectations--regarding the Internet. The Internet is widely available in the United Arab Emirates ("UAE: Highest," 2003), and experience from those users will help guide design for Iraqi customers. Because of the limited familiarity with the Internet

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