Literature Review on the Libyan Revolution

2. Literature Review

The most important part of the research process is the literature review. This part involves that we make a good judgement on each and every part, by organizing the ideas. In 2009, Saunders stated that there are two major reasons that exist for reviewing the literature. The first concerns the initial search that this assist to make and improve the research ideas. The second often referred to as the critical literature review. Moreover in this chapter, the literature review will be regarding the challenges encountered by Medilink International from Malta to Libya after the revolution in 2011.

2.1 Culture

Many researchers define culture in different ways since it has different meanings. According to Adhler et al., 1986, p.298 has described that even so culture and culture influences are an idea which neither an anthropology has defined culture consistently. Mostly culture can be defined as the learned beliefs, values, rules, norms, symbols and traditions that these are common to a number of people and for Northouse (2007) this is what makes a group different from one to another. (Northouse, 2007). Kluckhohn (1961, p. 86) refers to culture as:

Culture consists in patterned ways of thinking, feeling and reacting, acquired and

transmitted mainly by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievements of human groups,

including their embodiments in artifacts; the essential core of culture consists of traditional

ideas and especially their attached values.

Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner (2005) uses a different a different method to explain culture; the onion assumption. "Culture comes in layers, like an onion. To understand it you have to unpeel it layer by layer"

One can say that there are many definitions of culture and one can notice that they may seem difference but at the same time they are similar. In a few words the anthropologies has defined culture as ideas, values, beliefs that are for a group number of people. As Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner described, culture has so many layers and it is difficult to get a description of it in one sentence.

Culture influences people's as well as organizations during their social structures such as values, attitudes, goals, political systems and regulations. Hofstede (2001) has studied the connection between organizations and national cultures that in a few words this describes the behaviour on societal level by developing a number of cultural dimensions.

2.2 Culture Differences

Between one country to another cultural differences do really exist but even with neighbour countries exist. Malta is situated a mere of half an hour flight from the Libyan Capital in Tripoli but there are also culture differences and similarities. The culture of doing business in the Mediterranean might be different from doing business with the Northern Europe. Maltese companies such as Medilink International culture have fully understood and comfortably do business with their Libyan counterparts. From the research that was made Austin Sammut (2008) stated Libya is the "ideal business partners for non- Mediterranean entrepreneurs" and they can easily communicate among the two countries. Throughout the years Malta and Libya have built a strong mutual respect and trust. In the same article Austin Sammut (2008) stated that there are a lot of opportunities in every sector especially in oil and gas to agriculture to telecommunications and tourism. Before the revolution in 2011 the number of business visitors from Malta in Libya has increased. There were also plans for wide spread privatisation, in schools, hospitals, and existing hotels. Austin Sammut refers to this as the "just the tip of the iceberg". According to Amereller in 2013, after the fall of Gaddafi it was a bit difficult to forecast what direction will take in the future. Everyone thought that after the death of Gaddafi things where returning to normal especially in Tripoli by getting people get to work, ports will be open, airports will be functioning and businesses may return back to Libya to see whether they can start their business again. (Claire Spenser 2013)

2.3 Unemployment Opportunities

The effects of the Libyan Revolution, Medilink International kept its clinic in Tripoli functional with the service of a skeleton staff ; was yet its working environment has surely changed in the meantime since the revolution left a significant impact on their expatriate clients and the majority of them just left the country. The World Banks provides data from 1991 to 2012. This diagram shows the average value for the period was 8.9 %. One can notice that during the revolution in 2011 this has decreased to 8.1 % (Global Economy)

Libya's unemployment in 2003 to 2004 was estimated at 30% and here Libyans still depended on the state for their livelihood (Diederik Vandewalle 2011) The International Monetary Fund reported that the challenges that Libya is facing in both medium and long term and there needs to sustain a high rates of the economic growth to have more employment opportunities. Through this the authorities have agreed that this goal will not be achieved with a radical reduction in the leading role of the public sector unemployment, since this will remains one of the Libya's greatest problem. (Diederik Vandewalle 2011)

2.4 Communication (Technology)

Today's technology is affecting us in every aspect of our lives since this has changes the face and the pace of today's businesses. Nowadays businesses have been at the forefront of technology for ages. (Jane McGarth n.d)

During the Libyan revolution in 2011, Steven J.Vaughan-Nichols explained that Libya started to block news sites and also Facebook and a few hours later Arbor Networks (a network security and Internet monitoring company) announced that the country has cut itself from the Internet. Libya's internet, telephone services and the mobile phone services are controlled by the government through a telecommunication company (Libya Telecom & Technology) At that period of time, the CEO John Borthwick wrote "Should Libya block Internet traffic, as Egypt did, it will not affect http://bit.ly or any .ly domain." then the CEO continued that all the root servers have to be offline or else will respond with empty responses.

In 2011, Declan McCullagh has explained that Craig Labovitz the chief scientist of Arbor Networks said that during the revolution Libya has experienced a significant Internet outage with traffic volumes 60 percent to 80 percent below the normal levels.

2.5 Education (Language)

2.6 Economy

Bibliography

1. Saunders, M, Lewis, P, Thornhill, A; 2009. Reserach methods for business students. 5th ed. Essex: Pearson Education Limited

2. Adler, N. J., Doktor, R., & Redding, S. G. (1986). From the Atlantic to the Pacific Century:

Cross-Cultural Management Reviewed [Electronic version]. Journal of Management, 12 (2),

298.

3. Northouse, P.G; 2007. Leadership: Theory and Practice. 4th ed. California: SAGE Publications, Inc.

4. Trompenaars, F., Hampden-Turner, 2005. Riding the waves of culture. London Available at:

<http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/culture> [Accessed date 3 December 2014]

5. Mondaq, Austin Sammut, 2008 Doing Business In Libya Through Malta Available at: <http://www.mondaq.com/x/68012/Doing+Business+In+Libya+Through+Malta> [Accessed date 4 December 2014]

6. Zdnet, Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, 2011 Libya turns off the Internet and the Massacres begin Available at: <http://www.zdnet.com/article/libya-turns-off-the-internet-and-the-massacres-begin/> [Accessed date 7 December 2014]

7. Cnet, Declan McCullagh, 2011 Libya's Internet hit with severe disruptions Available at: <http://www.cnet.com/news/libyas-internet-hit-with-severe-disruptions/#!> [Accessed date 7 December 2014]

Information:

http://www.ehow.com/about_5075345_effect-internet-businesses.html

https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-net/2012/libya#.VISvmE0tCP-