Week 12 – International Business Systems

International Variations Countries have important differences in how business is conducted. Computer systems need to respond to those differences. Telephone numbers – US numbers are always 10 digits plus the country code of 1 1-888-345-4545 Other countries may have more or fewer digits Websites must allow for differences if they seek foreign business.

International Variations Payment Methods US – credit cards Europe – debit cards Japan – cash Problem – you want to sell a product over the internet, but customers refuse to give you a credit card number. How do you make the sale?

International Variations Language Most languages can be encoded in ASCII – 8 bits can represent any letter a = 01000001 ASCII can handle any alphabet up to 256 letters Unicode is used to other languages Problem – website translator software is very rough. Most web pages have to be translated by a human. Problem 2- web pages change, so translation needs to be redone.

International Variations

International Variations Culture Images used on web pages need a cultural connection. Colors matter – Chinese love red. Other cultures think black is bad, some think white is bad (the color of funerals). Images matter – how women are clothed, how their hair is done.

International Variations Encryption Credit card and debit card information needs to be encrypted to protect it, but encryption rules vary around the world. Governments set different standards, and the standards change over time (this is especially true now with the concerns about ISIS). Problem – which encryption method do you use? What records do you have to share with the government?

International Variations Political Restrictions Some topics are not allowed on websites in some countries. China monitors and restricts access to some sites and to many topics. Problem – while it is unlikely a business would put politically sensitive information on its website, it may refer to web sites that customers are not allowed to use. News sites that may mention your product, may be blocked. For example, you may refer to a good review in the New York Times, but the Chinese cannot get that newspaper online.

International Variations Measurement standards Does you site – Put dates with the day first, or the month first? Use 24 hour times or 12? Use Fahrenheit temps or Celsius? Use miles or kilometers? Problem – how do you make it clear to viewers which forms you are using on your website?

International Variations Privacy laws Can you keep information about your customers? Can you sell it to other companies? Rules vary from country to country. In general, Europe protects privacy, the US does not. Problem – You are operating a US website and a French customer buys a product on your site. Can you keep his personal information?

International Variations Legal Challenges If you buy a product on-line and it is defective, what rights do you have? If you are buying internationally, are you protected in your country or in the country where you bought the product? Problem – If rights are not clear, buyers will not buy. Would you order anything from a Nigerian company? Do foreigners trust Omani companies? How can Oman build confidence in its consumer protections?

Review What are 3 things from today’s class you want to remember?