Andres Galindo
Creating and succeeding with a new business entails jumping over many hurdles. The world of business itself deals with so many different aspects of a person’s life whether they are a part of the creating that business, a consumer of the products of that business or a competitor of the new business. Andres Galindo encountered several of these hurdles when he decided to create Electra, a sports ware and product store in the South American nation of Colombia, a nation of which its citizens have been in conflict with its government for more than four decades.
Nevertheless, Andres Galindo, like so many other Colombians, strived for financial success, and as a lover of the world of business he believed that despite the growing underground market for everything he would produce in his new business he refused to go that route, and he created a business that was legal, legit and worth the effort he and later his family would put into it.
The first of Andres ' hurdles would come in the form of the cultural issues he faced within the Colombian market which would be consistent with Geert Hofstede 's explanation of Collectivism. Societies that fall under this form of social orientation believe that in essence the group is greater than the individual, thus families, tribes, co-workers and the like are all included in small and large decisions, also what is culturally accepted may very well become legal or accepted above the law. An example of this would be the "Informal Market" which is located on the Colombian Island of San Andres. "Exempt from long-standing bans on imports, the quaint island had grown into a popular destination for Colombians in search of deals on a wide range of brand-name merchandise" unfortunately many consumers did not realize that much of what was sold on the island were counterfeit products. However, they were still sold at a price considerably less than what was found in major retail stores, thus making the Island a booming place for that kind of
Nevertheless, Andres Galindo, like so many other Colombians, strived for financial success, and as a lover of the world of business he believed that despite the growing underground market for everything he would produce in his new business he refused to go that route, and he created a business that was legal, legit and worth the effort he and later his family would put into it.
The first of Andres ' hurdles would come in the form of the cultural issues he faced within the Colombian market which would be consistent with Geert Hofstede 's explanation of Collectivism. Societies that fall under this form of social orientation believe that in essence the group is greater than the individual, thus families, tribes, co-workers and the like are all included in small and large decisions, also what is culturally accepted may very well become legal or accepted above the law. An example of this would be the "Informal Market" which is located on the Colombian Island of San Andres. "Exempt from long-standing bans on imports, the quaint island had grown into a popular destination for Colombians in search of deals on a wide range of brand-name merchandise" unfortunately many consumers did not realize that much of what was sold on the island were counterfeit products. However, they were still sold at a price considerably less than what was found in major retail stores, thus making the Island a booming place for that kind of
Cited: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/co.html http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0709/24542.html http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0107419.html