Business Proposal in Ghana Giam's Business Proposal

2% of the population is younger than 14; 58.2% is aged between 15 and 64 and 3.6% is over the age of 65. This affect Giam's in a positive way as most of the population is properly aged to work

The median age of the population is 20.2 years, with 19.9 years for men and 20.4 years for women

The birth rate is of 29.85 births per 1000 individuals

The death rate is of 9.55 deaths in 1000 individuals

The infant mortality rate is of 53.56 deaths in 1000 live births

The life expectancy at birth is of 59.12 years, with 58.31 in men and 59.95 in women. This affects Giam's in the meaning that they will have to hire young workers. Furthermore, several personnel features might change simply due to the fact that the life expectancy in Ghana is more than five years shorter than the retirement age in the United States.

The high mortalities among both adults and infants, as well as the short life expectancy at birth are generally due to numerous infectious diseases, improperly treated. Among these, the most relevant one is HIV, or the virus responsible for AIDS. In 2003, 350,000 people in Ghana tested positive for HIV and 30,000 died during that year. Other infectious diseases common in Ghana include bacterial or protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis a, typhoid fever, malaria, yellow fever, schistosomiasis and meningococcal meningitis. The risk of contracting an infection while in Ghana is highly increased. (CIA, 2007)

The numerous diseases in Ghana, combined with the high levels of contagion pose major threats upon the proper conducting of business by Giam's Clothing. Company officials that must move to Ghana in order to coordinate the activities within the new subsidy must be well tested and treated before entering the country. They must be given numerous vaccines, but even these vaccines do not protect them entirely from the risks of contracting a disease.

Furthermore, aside the risks posed on the company members, a more sever question arises. Given the fact that the manufactured products are designed to be sold onto the United States market, is it possible that the cloths carry diseases with them? The company must clearly answer this question, based on informed opinions from specialists. But even if the answer is a definite no, the American population might still feel reticent to purchasing clothing made in a country with such high risks of infections. The American customers could be convinced by the 18 years of experience in the area of clothing and could consider Giam's reputation as a promise of safety and protection of health.

3.2 Socio-cultural background

Ghana has an impressive history and the contemporaneous features represent a mixture of all significant times in the development of the region. Ghana was the first African country to become independent. "Ghanaians are comprised of different ethnic elements, diverse in their personality, cultural and historic backgrounds, welded effectively into a unitary state. The reason for this diversity is most likely due to the migration of ethic groups from other places to settle on the land." (eBizguides, 2004) This has limited effects upon the American company and it basically points out that the company officials in charge with the hiring process will have to choose from a wide variety of individuals. However, the hiring process must be fair and unbiased by any cultural preference; no sign of discrimination must be allowed.

In addition, once Giam's Clothing commences their activity in the African country, they must promote fair treatment of all employees and must embrace and value their diversity. This should not be a problem for Giam's, moreover when they are committed to satisfying the needs of their employees and have proven this along their 18 years of existence in the United States.

Another social aspect of Ghana's population with effects upon Giam's Clothing is represented by the social structures. In this order of ideas, until recently, most of Ghana inhabitants were living in rural areas. However today, with the industrial advancements in the country, the urban communities are beginning to develop. "The essential characteristic of the Ghanaian social system is its dual but interrelated nature. Even though the majority of the population still lives almost entirely in rural areas and observes ancestral customs and practices, the process of modernization associated with urban life has, nonetheless, affected all Ghanaians' social behaviour and values." (Country Data) This social feature will affect the American company in the meaning that it will create a more open-minded labor force; it will make it more eager to work within industrialized companies and it will aid it increase its adaptability to change.On the other hand however, it will professionally educate employees and stimulate them towards increasing their demands. This is however a situation prone to occur only on the long-term.

The official language in Ghana is English and the major languages spoken are Twi, Fante, Ga, Hausa, Dagbani, Ewe and Nzema (African Guide, 1996). The fact that the official language is English eases Giam's Clothing's communication with the community. In this sense, by speaking the same language, the representatives of the American company will be best able to communicate with the country's authorities, the candidates and the employees. The official English language breaks any language barriers which might have been encountered in other international locations, particularly in the Asian countries.

Also common with the United States is the country's religion. As such, 60% of the entire population belongs to Christianity, 15% are Muslims and the remaining 25% belong to traditional African religions (Africa Guide, 1996). The Christian majority is an advantage to the American company as it breaks down and cultural barriers doe to appurtenance to different religions.

Finally, another socio-cultural variable with effect upon Giam's Clothing is the actual culture of the country. Rich in traditions, customs and festivals, Ghana attracts numerous tourists each year. These tourists sustain the development of national communities and could generate an improvement in the living standards, increase investors' interest in the region and finally lead to increased demands from the Ghanaian workers.

3.3 Legal and political affairs

The Republic of Ghana is ruled as a constitutional democracy and implements numerous laws and regulations for both national and international parties. The country is divided into ten administrative regions as follows: Ashanti, Brong-Ahafo, Central, Eastern, Greater Accra, Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Volta and Western. Ghana's current constitution is based on the English common law and customary law model and it was adopted on April 1992 (CIA, 2007).

All laws and regulations are developed to protect the people of Ghana but also to encourage international investors to take interest in the region. Increased attention is now given to maintaining stability and implementing regulations that support the development of the country. The judiciary power within the country is represented by the Supreme Court.

In the international context, Ghana implements the same regulations established by the international organizations to which it belongs to. These organizations are: ACP, AfDB, AU, C, ECOWAS, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OIF, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (CIA, 2007). The adherence or simple participation is some cases, to the international organizations ensures Giam's Clothing that while on the territory of Ghana, they will be subjected to fair regulations, established by international organizations.

The recent tendency towards increasing the levels of education of the population and improving the educational systems has also been reflected in the legal compartment of Ghana. As such, numerous students are being sent abroad to study on national scholarships and return to the country as specialists. These specialists then offer consultancy to international investors and introduce them to the regulations imposed by the country's officials. Among the institutions that offer legal consultancy, one could point out Acquah Samson and Associates, Awodnow Law Consult, Global Legal Consultancy, Council for law report or Law Reform Commission (eBizguides, 2004). The existence of these institutions supports the activity of Giam's Clothing in Ghana as it offers them the chance to constantly benefit from specialized assistance. This will aid them better understand the policies and regulations they must obey and also assess any situation in which they feel their rights might have been broken.

3.4 Economic variables

Being that it was the first African country to become independent in 1957, Ghana has managed to come before other neighbors in numerous ways. "Well endowed with natural resources, Ghana has roughly twice the per capita output of the poorest countries in West Africa. Even so, Ghana remains heavily dependent on international financial and technical assistance. Gold, timber, and cocoa production are major sources of foreign exchange. The domestic economy continues to revolve around subsistence agriculture, which accounts for 37% of GDP and employs 60% of the workforce, mainly small landholders. Ghana opted for debt.....