The Country Notebook, Research Paper Example

Apple Inc. is one of the hottest and fasted growing companies in the United States.  They were established 1977 and have broadened their products and their name along the way.  The Iphone is one of the highest demanded products on the market to-date.  With the release of the Iphone 5 hitting the United States a little over the month ago, they have yet to matriculate too many of the international countries.  Mongolia has had a great success with prior Iphones, and is eager to get this product in their country.  The goal is to accommodate those wishes, and trade the Iphone 5 with Mongolia.

Mongolia operates with nomadic roots, having no major cities in this country.  In 1990, Mongolia began to practice a multiparty parliamentary democracy.  They allow all of their citizens over 18 years of age an opportunity to vote.  The population is right under 3 million people.  The President is the head of state.   These executive powers are shared with the Prime Minister.   The responsibility to nominate the Cabinet is performed by the Prime Minister and authorized by the legislature.   Based on the laws of continental Europe and Russia, Mongolia has a civil law system.  Mongolia’s economy is dependent on mineral mining, animal products, textiles, and livestock.  The minerals are typically exported; these are tungsten, molybdenum, tin, copper, and gold.

Mongolia is land-locked country that is bordering Russia and China.  The climate can be considered severe and very different based on the time of the year.  ” The climate of Mongolia is characterized by “short dry summer (June to middle of August) and long cold winter (end of November to April) with spring (April to beginning of June) and autumn (end of August to end of October). Summer rainfall seldom exceeds 380 mm in the mountains and is less than 50 mm in the desert areas.” 1.  The topography is vast plateaus and mountainous regions.  The southern portion is a desert with rocks and sand.

The social institution of Mongolia is similar to the culture we know.  The families are large and children are valued.  The nuclear family consists of a mother and father with the children.  On certain occasions a widowed parent may be a member as well.  The extended-family does not have a valuable role in the family setting.  The parental role is to train their children in the family profession or in one of their choosing.  Marriages were previously arranged, but in modern day they are often allowed to be chosen by the couple.   The male role is the head of the house, the provider.  This role has been static, but the female role has changed. They are allowed to work and be an active part of society. They are still expected to raise the children.

Education in Mongolia use to be limited to religious education.  Now education is geared for all children in society.  The primary schools are covered in the first four years.  This is the basic elementary education.  The secondary education is the next four years.  This is what they classify as high school.  Some children choose to stop after the eight years of education, while others choose to go onto earn a higher education.  This is college. “Besides Mongolian State University there were seven other institutions of higher learning: the Institute of Medicine, the Institute of Agriculture, the Institute of Economics, the State Pedagogical Institute, the Polytechnic Institute, the Institute of Russian Language, and the Institute of Physical Culture.” 2 The literacy rate is high, estimated at 97.4%.

In 1991 the political structure was moved into a democracy.  This means a multiple party structure.   The political parties are democratic as well.  Due to the economic growth rate, Mongolia’s governmental stability is very high.  Special taxes in Mongolia are comparative to that in the United States, being corporate, local, and personal tax obligations amongst others.  There is not local government; this is a unitary state with four levels of government.  This includes on central and three sub national tiers.   The legal system is operated by various levels of courts.  The organization of the judicial system is Capital City Courts, District Courts, Appellate Courts, and Supreme Court.  Mongolia is a common-law country.  Mongolia participates in patents, trademarks, and other conventions.

Social organization includes nobility, herders, artisans, and slaves. The group behavior is considered rigid, meaning that it is easy to move from one class to another.   Social classes are based on money.  The more money that an individual possesses the higher the social class is, and vice versa.  There are many clubs and organizations based on interest, religions, and social standings.  The basic business customs and practices coincide with the common practices in the United States.

The religious belief is Buddhist Clergy.  The only other religious practice listed was Shamanism.  The Buddhist orthodox is, ” in the speech of the people, which is rich in Buddhist expressions and proverbs; and in the common practice of including statues or images of the Buddha on families’ special shelves with photographs of relatives and other domestic memorabilia.” 3 There are no powerful or influential cults. Religion in Mongolia is by choice, not a force practice or belief.  The visual arts consist of plastic, public art, and lots of color.  The music consists of overtone singing and the horse-head fiddle.  They participate in drama, song, poetry, ballet, and other forms of performing arts. A common folklore is a tribe called Mongu fighting with other tribes for years.

Mongolia’s diet and nutrition’s consist of hearty food to help get through the winters.  Their diet consists of meat for the most part.   It is consumed in every meal.  Meat and vegetables is a common meal.  Malnutrition rates are estimate to be at 27%.  Food may be available, but the proper type of food is not always there, aiding in the malnutrition and vitamin deficits they are facing.   Housing has some brick buildings, however many use tents for houses.  Many people rent when they stay in actual buildings.  The tents are single family dwellings, the apartments have several units attracted.  The Del is the traditional clothing and national dress.  They also wear hats and boots.  This is the type of clothing worn at work as well.   The clothing can be recreational specific; however some choose to still wear the Del.  Due to the level of poverty and the demand for school and work, there is not a high percentage of time spent on sporting activities.   Mongolia has a social security and healthcare system as well.  Mongolian is the official language of Mongolia.  Mongolian script is the written language.

The population is estimated to be at 2.8 million.  The growth rates are 1.469%.  The number of live births 964/1000 and the birthrate is 20.7/1000.  The distribution of population is growing.  The number of births yearly is adding to the overall population.      The males have a higher percentage than females.  The majority of the population is between 15 and 64.  The geographic areas are higher urban than rural.  The ethnic groups are Mongol 90%, Kazakh 4%, Chinese 2%, Russian 2%, other 2%.

The total GNP, gross national product, is 12.21 billion.   The rate of growth is about 4.6% yearly.  The personal income per capita is $4,800.   The average family income per person is around a $150 a month.  The distribution of wealth is based on money earned.  The rich are rich, and the poor are poor.  The income classes are high and low.  The majority of the population falls into the lower class of income.  The distribution is distorted because it weighs much heavier on the lower income side.

The Mongolian mineral and resources are mineral rich in gold, copper, coal, uranium, iron ore and oil.  Surface transpiration consists of road passenger and freight transport, urban passenger transport and aviation.    These are readily available and necessary to keep the growing economy.  The usage is significant and there are many ports depending on type of transportation.  The communication systems in Mongolia consist of phones, internet, fax, wireless, and mail.  These are available to anyone who can afford to use them.  The working conditions are eight hour days six days a week.  They get holidays, vacations, and sick days as well.  The employer-employee relations is a standard the boss give orders and the employee do the work.  They are required to complete the tasks given to them.  They are given a fair salary for the market and benefits include paid time off and sick time.

There are many Mongolian retailers.  This includes malls, free standing stores, wholesalers and virtual retailers.  It is estimated that there is 881 retailers currently operating.  The typical size of retail outlets is small.   The customary markups are based on time of need. For example it is more likely that winter goods will be priced higher during the winter seasons.  Credit cards are accepted by some retailers like hotels, but for the most part it is a cash only country.  The scale of operation is considered small.  The role of the chain stores, department stores, and specialty shops is large in Mongolia.  They are the main retailers and directly aid in the economic growth.  There are also wholesale middlemen.  There is no specified number or size of wholesale middlemen; however this is a commonly used resource in Mongolia.  The markup is significant as well at an estimated thirty percent markup.  The middleman will operate with cash and credit in most cases.  They utilize their own import/export agents.  The warehouse is typically located in their native country wherever that is located.

Media is an essential part of brining any new product into the market.  The same media outlets that we utilize are available in Mongolia as well.  The cost associated with television, radio, print, and outdoor billboards are quite expensive.  The specific dollar amount can only be determined based on the size project.  Advertising agencies are available for use in Mongolia, however many of them are located in other countries.  The coverage of various media has begun to lose effectiveness.  They have an excessive amount of paid for articles which do not effectively reach the readers.  In 2006 it is reported that the number of prints are: 4

Newspapers 147

Dailies 10

Biweeklies 5

Weeklies 24

Bimonthly 70

Others 38

Of which local newspapers 36

Magazines 84

Television stations 50

National 1

Ulaanbaatar 16

Local 33

Radio stations 63

National 1

Ulaanbaatar 20

Local 42

The number of resources used has increased in the past six years, but this gives a very good idea of the media resources and their effectiveness.  The resources for advertising is similar to that used in the United States as well.

References:

“Geography and Climate”. Embassy of Mongolia. 2012. Print.

“Education”. US Library of Congress.  Print.

“Buddhism”. US Library of Congress, 2012. Print.

Nielsen, Poul Erik. “Media in Post-Communist Mongolia Challenges and Opportunities in the Democratization Process”. Nordicom Review 30, 2009. Print.