Business Expansion in Africa
I pick south africa to be my country to expand my business.
Over the past several weeks, you have been learning about the various issues surrounding the challenges and numerous situations that exist legally that differ from those of the United States. You have been placed in charge of the Business Development and Expansion committee for your company. You are charged with the task of researching and identifying a country to expand your company’s operations. Take the feedback from the Phase 4 DB into consideration, and make any additions or deletions as you deem necessary.
Your international business expansion plan should include the concepts and ideas that were covered over the past several weeks. You are to select a country that does not recognize all of the established legal guidelines reviewed previously, but the potential profit that could be realized warrants the risk. The following points need to be addressed in your international business expansion plan:
The issue of common and civil law systems internationally
Intellectual property, copyright infringements, and legal ramifications
Violation of human rights of employees and child labor law violations
Public perception of companies doing business with companies that engage in that kind of activity
What has been the impact of the European Union of the business environment?
Anything else that you deem important to support your international business expansion plan
The deliverable length is 1,300-1,500 words. Do not forget to include a cover page and reference page with all of your resources.
Business Expansion
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Executive Summary
Every business usually has its growth cycle. Depending on how good its operations are, the time for the respective growth might differ in one way or the other. The bottom line however, is that there is always the need to expand, for any business that is doing well and making profits, so as to increase its income streams. Expansion is an integral phase of the business cycle that each company must undertake. With the current stiff competition in various industries, it becomes more evident that the only way to survive the onslaught is to keep expanding, though within the sustainable parameters of the business.
Having successfully provided unmatched quality clothes to millions of Americans, time is ripe for House of Wear Corporation to expand internationally. With a population of approximately 57.7 million people, South Africa represents everything that aligns with House of Wear expansion objectives. In fact, despite the South African government supporting Made in South Africa initiative, the country’s clothing industry has been significantly affected by mid- and high-end international fashion brands. Therefore, House of Wear’s efforts to expand in South Africa will be a success because the country is attractive both as a source of apparel production and consumption.
Common law and civil law
When it comes to legal systems, there are five main ones that are practiced by countries around the word. These are the civil, customary, religious, mixed and common law systems. The mixed legal system is also known as the hybrid system. It is perhaps one of the best ones to use for any nation, considering that with the current globalization process, there is more and more embracement of diversity in the various global societies. Coming up with a legal system that encompasses all or almost all aspects of the other distinct legal systems is quite crucial in establishing a cosmopolitan environment.
South Africa uses a hybrid legal system that has elements of common law from Britain, customary law from indigenous Africans, and civil law from the Dutch. Generally, company activities are regulated by the Protection of Investment Act of 2015. This Act ensures that all companies conform to the Bill of Rights and affirm the government sovereign right to regulate foreign-owned companies. However, amendments to the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment law in 2014 enhanced the ability capability of foreign companies to conduct operations in South Africa. The amendments to this law only restricted the registration of foreign-owned companies that engage in insurance, banking, and mining. This implies that once an apparel business is registered and incorporated by the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC), it can immediately start operating because it is not required to register with any other agency. Nevertheless, foreign-owned companies are punished more severely than local companies when they engage in prohibited conduct. Currently, foreign companies that engage in tax evasion are required to pay the outstanding taxes together with funds totaling 40% of their revenues (Games, 2012).
Intellectual Property, Copyright infringement, and legal ramifications
South African Copyright legislation resembles British copyright legislation but favors copyright holders than patent holders. Generally, the ownership of intellectual property and copyrights is defined by the Copyright Act 98 of 1978 and the Merchandise Marks Act 17 of 1947. Under the Copyright Act 98 of 1978, copyright infringement constitutes an offence that is over and above civil liability. Therefore, despite being a matter of civil law, the punishment of copyright infringement in South Africa is similar to the punishment that is handed out in rape or armed robbery cases. On the other hand, although the Merchandise Marks Act 17 of 194 recognizing patents, designs, and trademarks as intellectual property, there is less protection for holders. The vagueness of the law regarding intellectual property is not ignorance but rather as a means of enhancing creativity and innovation among businesses (Abbott et al., 2019).
Impact of the European Union on South Africa’s economy
The European Union (EU) is South Africa's main trade partner. Likewise, South Africa is the EU's main economic partner in Africa. Economic ties between South Africa and the EU are regulated by the Trade Development and Cooperation Agreement (TDCA) that was established in 1999. This agreement was amended in 2016 and currently includes a clause that permits the EU to eliminate custom duties on 98.7% of products from South Africa (Guei et a...