global economies and markets
meriii
task1-KenyaandAustralia.docxRunning head: KENYA AND AUSTRALIA 1
KENYA AND AUSTRALIA 5
Kenya and Australia
Irem Okdemir
Stratford University
Kenya and Australia
General Electric is a public company headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts in America. The company is a conglomerate, which means it is a combination of different companies that manufacture different products such as health diagnostic equipment, airplane engines, electric turbines, and lighting gadgets among others. Due to it vastness, it may wish to expand to other countries. Consequently, the paper discusses the general business environment in two countries, which are Australia and Kenya. Australia is one of the OECD countries; it belongs among the developed countries in the world. In terms of economy, it is ranked the 13th largest economy in the world; its economy is primarily based on agricultural commodities, mineral, services, and energy (OECD, 2017). Importantly, the country has a stable political climate due to adherence to the law and respect to the established constitutional institutions. The country is a democracy and conducts elections peacefully. On the other hand Kenya is among the developing countries in the world, whereas it gross domestic product-GDP is among the lower middle income countries, it experiences political instability and high levels of corruption that affect its economic progression (Cytonn Asset Mangers Limited, 2018). The country is a net importer of products and primarily export agricultural products and tourism.
The table below describes the two countries in terms of location, resources, transport infrastructure, political conditions, and culture.
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Australia |
Kenya |
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Description of the Country |
Australia is located in Oceania; it neighbors New Zealand. It has an area of 8,600,000 Km2 and a total population of 22,015,576. In terms of Area, Australia is ranked 6th in the world. |
Kenya is located in the East Africa region in Africa. It has an area of 525,685 Km2 and an estimated population of 40,000,000. |
|
Resources |
Australia is rich in minerals such, land for agricultural activities that include dairy farming, wildlife that attract tourists among others |
Kenya is rich in minerals such as Magadi Soda, Fluorspar, Titanium, and currently, it discovered petroleum. It has fertile land used for agricultural activities where horticultural products, coffee, tea, macadamia and avocadoes are planted |
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Transport Infrastructure |
The country has advanced transport infrastructure that include air, ship, and modern railway network and well maintained road networks particularly in urban settings and those linking major urban settings. 80% of the population lives in urban settings; therefore, the products made in urban settings can be transported to the large market in towns. Other products can be exported via air or by ships. |
Kenya developed the standard gauge railway that transports products between Mombasa and Nairobi (Cytonn Asset Mangers Limited, 2018). It has relatively good road network compared to other African countries. It is a busy seaport and four international airports that can be used as exit and entry points of products |
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Political Conditions |
Australia is a stable democracy that holds peaceful elections where dispute is solved using the constitutional mechanisms. |
The country is currently stable politically. However, it experiences political upheaval during electioneering period that sometimes lead to destruction of property and loss of life |
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Culture |
Australia is multicultural due to migrants from different parts of the world. However, the dominant cultures are the indigenous Aborigines and the migrant British (OECD, 2017). Despite the different cultures and its closeness to Asian countries, the Australia associates with the western country cultures specifically Britain. The Aborigines are mostly based in rural areas and while the whites and other immigrants live primarily in urban settings. |
Kenya is dominated by Africans, whoever, due to the number of immigrants particularly Indians and other Africans from the region, it is multicultural. The official languages are English, and Kiswahili. |
Based on the comparison between Australia and Kenya, Kenya has relatively high population that may be potential market for products; however, its citizens have low purchasing power compared to Australians. Importantly, 80% of Australians live in urban settings; consequently, it is easier to transport finished products to the vast market at a relatively lower costs compared to in Kenya where products make in urban settings have to be transported to rural settings where 55% of the population live.
Furthermore, Australia is politically stable and peaceful compared to Kenya. In this regard, the internationalization of company should consider the political stability, the economic stability and the cost of transport.
References
Cytonn Asset Mangers Limited (2018). Kenya’s Attractiveness as an Investment Destination, $ Cytonn Weekly #49/2018. Web. Accessed on 16/8/2019
OECD (2017). OECD Economic Surveys: Australia Overview. Web. Accessed on 16/8/2019
