I've always believed that the purpose of higher education is not only to prepare our students for careers but also, more basically, to make them more educated citizens of our world. The world events of this week provide us with such an opportunity. Of course, I'm talking about the evolving events in Egypt. While we would assume that all of our students are aware of what is happening in general, they may not have thought much about the implications for the US and for businesses.
I'm going to be talking about the international chapter (Chapter 3 in Marketing: Real People, Real Choices) this week in my classes so this gives me a great opportunity to use Egypt as an example for talking about the marketing environment and marketing strategy. Of course, Egypt is especially important to me as I lived and worked there for eight years. Some of the things which seem relevant to me are outlined below.
The External Environment
The TV images give us an opportunity to talk about:
- The economic environment of different countries and its importance in opportunities for "going global," and for the types of marketing opportunities available in different countries. You might want students to go to the CIA Factbook and find out what about the economy and population of Egypt. Students will note that a third of the population of Egypt is under the age of 15 with a median age of 24. The per capita GDP of around $6,000 is only a fraction of the U.S. per capita GDP of $46,000. What this means is that many people in Egypt are working one or more jobs and still cannot afford the buy enough bread and beans to feed their families. At the same time, there is a growing middle class and a perhaps even faster growing number of wealthy. This is evidenced by the thousands of incredibly large homes being built in the suburbs of Cairo. Many of the facades of these homes include three or four-story Greek column is what many would see as an ostentatious show of wealth.
- The sociocultural environment. Egypt is a country of very poor and very wealthy but with a growing educated middle-class population, providing several distinct target markets within the country. Students have probably seen that many of the people on the streets protesting speak good English and have a clear understanding of their government and the contrast with the U.S.
- The political and cultural environment. While we have thought of Egypt as one of the more stable countries in the region, this is no longer the case. Fortunately, at this time, there appears to be no strong anti-American feelings that would seriously threaten U.S. investments. That, however, could change. Certainly the TV pictures that we have seen day after day of tens of thousands of people in the streets protesting Egypt's leadership give students a clear picture of the potential for change which could lead to a new government and even the nationalization or expropriation of foreign investments. The topic of the government shutting down access to the Internet and cell phones in Egypt should bring some interesting discussion and is a good example of the problems of government interference that a business in many countries could face.
- The focus on Egypt might also give instructors an opportunity to discuss human rights issues. In Egypt, as in many developing countries many children work to help pay for necessities such as food for their families. Some people have stated that in a developing country "children have to work." Such a statement could provide an excellent opportunity for students to discuss human rights and whether or not they must be viewed differently in different countries.
- The situation in Egypt also provides an opportunity to discuss ethical issues in global business. One of the complaints of the protestors in the streets of Egypt is the corruption that has led government officials and many wealthy Egyptians to prosper while average Egyptians live without the necessities of life and the country's infrastructure has deteriorated. It is even said that President Hosni Mubarak and his family are unaware that there is a traffic problem in Cairo since any time they move through the country, the police clear all the roads-they drive through streets where there are no cars to be seen. This provides an opportunity to debate whether it is necessary for marketers to engage in bribery and extortion activities to be successful in such countries.
Most citizens of Western countries, in general, and our students in particular, have never spent time in a developing country and so can't imagine what life is like. While every country is different, the images on our TV from Egypt give us a picture of life that may surprise our students. While showing the extreme of living conditions in such countries, recent documentary films on the life of the garbage collectors of Cairo called the Zabbaleen show a shocking picture of children growing up as garbage collectors. On a personal note, I have visited the area where the Zabbaleen live and the odor that begins even before you reach the area is, as you would expect, unbelievable.
Reviews of the two films, Garbage Dreams and Marina of the Zabbaleen may be found at http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/457376/Garbage-Dreams/overview and http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/453378/Marina-of-the-Zabbaleen/overview respectively. Clips and trailers for the film Garbage Dreams can be found at the following sites.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KItW5XohpRQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rb3VHTdkR74
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjWzIkpy9OA
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/garbage-dreams/film.html
Marketing Strategies
With a better understanding of the environment in Egypt, students should be able to express ideas of such things as the level of investment in Egypt. Would it be wise to consider direct investment or even a strategic alliance in Egypt today? What changes should occur before such investment might be a good bet? Students can also discuss standardization versus localization. What types of products would be successful in Egypt? What about pricing and promotion activities? And how might distribution be different in Egypt?
