SENECA COLLEGE

EAC 394FB
REPORT ASSIGNMENT INVESTIGATIVE REPORTDoing business in Jamaica
Instructor: Rhonda Malomet SUBMITTED BY MOSES KERR 12/5/2011

1 February 5, 2012 Mr. Moses N. Kerr Executive Director 3448 Davis Drive Newmarket, Ontario, L3Y 2J6

Mr. Lester Bird North York Telemarketing Corporation 20756 Yonge Street Toronto, Ontario, M6J 2Y7 Dear Mr. Bird I am proud to be a Jamaican and privileged to be a successful business professional in promoting business in Jamaica for the past 10 years. Having lived in Jamaica for the most part of my adult life before moving to Canada five years ago, I am at a vantage point to speak to the many challenges and benefits which can be derived from the Jamaican experience. However, it is our goal to provide you with the relevant information to enable you to invest in a profitable business venture in the beautiful island of Jamaica. Having outlined the necessary backdrop, the report will then detail five of the major concern in doing business in the second largest English speaking Caribbean economy. The five major areas of importance are: Facts and Statistics, Language, Jamaican society and culture, Etiquette and Customs, Business Etiquette and Protocol. Introduction Jamaica offers the investor a wide range of advantages which include special tax policies, government programmes that support private enterprises, infrastructure that compares with larger developed nations and business development service by its own Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO). As the world becomes one global village, trade, industry and commerce is a challenge for many countries such as Jamaica as it poised to take advantage of the vast business opportunities. With a Gross Domestic Product growth (GDP) of over 2 percent, Jamaica is set to attract more investment because of its strong culture, Business etiquette, political soundness, labour relation laws and the value it place on its human resource. Facts and Statistics play a major role in the business process planning which looks at the composition and size of the demographics. Secondly, language can be a major challenge to new investors. Thirdly, Jamaica is known for its unique culture evidenced in everyday activities. Fourthly, etiquette and customs are important ingredients for survival. Finally, Business Etiquette and Protocol forms the core of all business dealings and can only serve to create a positive image for investment in Jamaica. Your request for information for doing business in Jamaica, the following information states how to set up a successful business that is sustainable and economically viable business environment.

Doing Business in Jamaica

Facts and Statistics Population and ethnic make-up. Jamaica is located strategically within the Caribbean island south of Cuba. Its capital city is Kingston and has a population of over 2.7 million people. The vast majority of the population is of African descent which accounts for over 90.9 percent. Chinese, East Indian, whites and others share the remaining 9.1 percent. Religions. Protestant accounts for over 60 percent of active religious practise, While Catholics and other spiritual cults account for the other 40 percent. Language advantage. Jamaica is the largest English speaking country in the Caribbean and would not encounter any language barriers. Although English is the official language in Jamaica, Patois (Creole), a combination of English and some African language is spoken especially in the rural areas and becoming increasing popular in the metropolitan life. Majority of the Jamaican population speak patois or understand patois, but it is not really a written language. However, there are systems in place for persons who are not fluent in the English language and in need for interpretation. Jamaicans are known to speak in a frank and straightforward manner as it embrace and open its economy to Canadian investors. Jamaica Society and Culture Family. The Jamaican family forms an inseparable link for the wider society which includes aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents and even the wider community. The meaning of family for Jamaicans serves to provide emotional, spiritual and economic support for the well-being of its members. The Jamaican family plays a significant role in the lives of its members in providing a sense of belonging and security and to foster sustain relationship. Trust. It is quite common for Jamaicans to abhor those who are in authority but instead, rather to put confidence in people who are well known not necessary to them but to the wider community. It is customary for Jamaican to form a partnership with friend and family rather than going to the bank to secure a loan. A partnership is a financial arrangement between family, friend and neighbours where individuals would make contribution each period at an agreed payout date where one person would be given a payout or draw as it is popularly called, to purchase a home or business. Partnership is based primarily on trust and good recommendation from friends and relatives. Religion. Religion is fundamental to the Jamaican experience; it is the hall mark of every day conversation. Jamaica has the most churches per square miles with more than 120 different Christian denominations. Majority of Jamaicans are from Christian backgrounds; the largest denominations are the Seventh Day Adventist, Pentecostals, Baptist and Brethren and Roman Catholics. Christmas and Easter are celebrated with great degree of passion. Most Christian typically observes Christmas with communion services, candle light ceremonies, concert, all-night prayer meeting and the singing of Christmas carols.

3 Easter for the fundamentalist, is a time to abstain from meat and alcohol. Easter marks the time of Jesus suffering on the Cross. This takes on a different mode of worship for believers with the prayer and fasting for forty days. Rastafarians believe that they are one of the lost tribe of Israel who were sold into slavery and taken to Babylon (Jamaica) and that they must return to Zion, which they hold to be Ethiopia.(kwint). The movement finally got its recognition from the Jamaican government in the late seventies as a religion which gives them the right to have public meetings. The late Bob Marley was a member of the movement up to the time of his passing. The group was responsible for the funeral proceedings of the late king of reggae in 1981.

Etiquette and Customs in Jamaica Meeting and Greeting Jamaica is known for its warmth and polite formalities for all parties involved. The most common greeting is the handshake with direct eye contact and a warm smile. Due to the British influence, it is expected that persons are greeted with the appropriate salutation for the time of day good morning, good afternoon or good evening. People are to be addressed by their title (Mr., Mrs. or Miss) and their surname until a personal relationship is established. Like other jurisdiction, Jamaica enjoys formal business communication such as written and face-to-face meeting with strict adherence to time. The use of the wireless technology becomes the mode of modern business communication as more people are doing business via the web. Dining Etiquette the Jamaican table manners is one that is taken from the English during their occupation of the island 1655. Table manners are relatively formal for most occasions. There are times when strict adherence gives rise to protocol for special occasions. Table manners are continental the fork is placed in the left hand while the knife is held in the right hand while eating, if there is doubt, emulate the behaviour of the party around the table. It is customary to use utensils to eat at all times. It is common social grace to wait until the host invite you to start eating while doing so graciously.

Business Etiquette and Protocol In recent years the term business ethics has taken on a new dimension in wake of the many scandals with the world leading institutions such as Enron, MCI to name a few. Governments in the region are calling for a stricter system of governance to avoid a total collapse of the financial and industrial economies. Jamaica is inescapable a major part of the global system and need to have the confidence of investors who enter its shore. In a presentation on Jamaica business ethics, Dr. Michael Witter, Senior Lecturer and head of the department of economics at the University of the West Indies (UWI), said that to understand business, a clearer understanding of the meaning of the phrase is critical. In view of this, it is paramount that for new investors to the island are aware of the appropriate business practise which must be followed. The question of bribery will inevitably continue create challenge for all modern economy of which Jamaica is a part and that is why doing business moral and ethics must co-exist to succeed in a global economy (Witter).

Culture and how it affects business communication Communication plays a significant part of the everyday life and inevitably punctuates the business environment on a global scale. Jamaica with its cultural diversity, defined itself somewhere along the continuum. The following will outline the high and low context culture in understanding how the Jamaican society operates. Low context culture. According to Craig Storti (99). Communication is one of the most common of all human behaviours... Communication continues to perpetuate the lives of people from all perspectives and a sense of how meanings are conveyed, can lead to misunderstanding due to the cultural context. It is inevitable to communicate without the influence of some form of culture in the communication process in search of meaning and correct interpretation. In his writing, Edward Hall (79) context carries varying proportions of the meaning. He speaks to the ways in which meaning that is not encoded into words by the message sender, is sometimes conveyed by context. In a typical low-context communication system such as Jamaica, people translate a significant part of the meaning into explicit code (79). As a consequence, the spoken word caries most of the meaning (Storti 99). It is common for people to say what they want to say using the direct approach. Their goal is to send and receive information when communicating with other people. Moreover, with less regard to context, low-context system tends to be more intricately intertwined as the spoken words have to make compensate. United States and Germany are considered to be low- context cultures. However, it is unlikely that no country truly practice low-context communication exclusively. In the Jamaican context, the lowcontext communication system which now defines the way we do business is largely the result of the influence from our American counterpart through the process of business interaction. Format for business communication. Observance of national holidays Jamaica is largely a Christian country with many other influences and of such; the observance of religious holiday is paramount. There are nine public holiday observances in Jamaica where no form of business is conducted and for persons intend to do business the following are necessary: January 1st- New Years Day, February - Ash Wednesday, April - Good Friday and Easter Monday, May Labour Day, August 1st and August 6th Emancipation and Independence Day consecutively, October National Heros Day, and Christmas and Boxing Day in December 25th and 26th. On these days all government and commercial activities ceased. Summary In any small economy it is inevitable that corruption is likely to surface in the area of business, but one should be guarded to avoid the taking and giving of bribes. Jamaica is no exception when it comes to corruption and investors must adapt the principle of good business protocol. Jamaica is a moderately stable political and economic environment which is in line for bright business venture. Information on the business prospects in Jamaica is available from Jamaica Promotion Corporation, call me at 1-876-978-7655. Sincerely

Moses N. Kerr Executive Director

Works Cited

Guffey, Mary E, Kathleen Rhodes and Patricia Ragin. Business Communication Process and Product. Toronto: Nelson, 2010. Print.

Jamaica Promotion Corporation. Home page. JAMPRO Trade and Investment Jamaica, 2011. Web. 04 December. 2011. Jamaica Kwintessential.co.uk. Kwintessential Ltd. Web. July. 2004. 16 November 16, 2011. Storti, Craig. The Art of Cross Culture. Web. 8th May. 2001. 4th December. 2011. Witter, Michael. The importance of business ethics. Jamaica Gleaner [Jamaica] 11 April. 2004. Web. 16 November. 2011.