Unified/single currency for GCC: Success and Limitation Factors and a Comparison

Running head: RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Unified / single currency for GCC: success and limitation factors and a comparison
of unified/single currency and different currencies for different countries
Name of the Student:
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1RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Research aim and objectives........................................................................................................3
Research questions.......................................................................................................................3
Literature review..............................................................................................................................4
Concept of single currency and its advantages and disadvantages..............................................4
Operational management in supply chain industry.....................................................................5
Supply chain growth in the GCC and Middle East and North Africa (MENA)..........................6
Research methodology.....................................................................................................................6
Research philosophy....................................................................................................................7
Research purpose.........................................................................................................................7
Research approach.......................................................................................................................8
Research design...........................................................................................................................8
Data collection process................................................................................................................8
Data analysis process...................................................................................................................9
Ethical issues...............................................................................................................................9
Timeline.......................................................................................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................10

2RESEARCH PROPOSAL
Introduction
Gulf Cooperation Council or GCC refers to a regional and intergovernmental economic
and political union of 6 Gulf countries. The member states of GCC are Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman,
Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) (Britannica.com 2019). The council
was established in 1981 and all the member states operate as monarchies. The objectives of
forming the council were to form customs union, common or single market and a common
currency for all these member states as in case of the European Union (EU) (Legrenzi 2016). In
the broad perspective, the council was formed to formulate and establish similar regulations in
the fields such as, economy, finance, trade, tourism, customs, religion, administration and
legislation, foster technical and scientific progress in different fields of business, such as,
industry, infrastructure, agriculture, water, mining and animal resources, to establish scientific
research and development centers and projects, set up various joint ventures, to develop
cooperation between the private and public sectors of the countries, strengthen the cultural ties
among the people and to establish unified military for all the countries (Al Hassan 2014). There
has been a proposal to establish a single currency for the member states of GCC in 2009, and 4
states, namely, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia agreed for the proposal. However, due
to reasons like political differences and financial crisis, the other two members, that is, Oman
and the UAE withdrew their support and hence, a unified currency was not established (Ganguli
2016). This research proposal aims to explore the research issue of the importance for a unified
or single currency for the GCC countries by evaluating the benefits and disadvantages of single
currency and their difference with the current practices, that is, usage of different currencies for
respective countries. The research study will particularly focus on the impact of single currency

3RESEARCH PROPOSAL
in the operation management of the supply chain industries in this region. The paper will
commence with the introduction to the research topic, followed by research aim and objectives,
research questions, review of previous literatures and a research methodology that will be
followed for conducting the study.
Research aim and objectives
The aim of the research study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a unified or single
currency for the GCC countries by exploring the pros and cons of single currency and its
difference with the existing currency system of the countries, that is, usage of different
currencies.
The objectives of the study are:
 To evaluate the existing currency system of the GCC countries and its effectiveness in the
supply chain industries
 To explore the advantages and disadvantages of a unified currency for the GCC
 To compare the potential impact of the single currency on the operational management of
the supply chain industries with the existing practices
 To provide recommendations to the supply chain industry of GCC based on the findings
Research questions
1) What is the impact of exchange rate and different currencies on the operations of supply
chain industry of the GCC region?
2) What are the benefits and costs of single currency unit?
3) What would be the difference in the operational management of the supply chain industry
of the GCC if single currency unit is established?