Saudi Arabia vs. American Business Culture
A number of U.S. And Europe-based MNCs have, in the past, suffered huge losses due to the lack of appreciation for the Asian way of conducting business, and their culture in general. This explains why it is necessary for businesses and individuals to understand and manage diversity in culture. There is a huge cultural variation between the western and the Asian worlds. Diversity management goes beyond just changing standards and valid expectations; it entails recognizing the fact that different groups would approach different situations in different ways, and then developing mechanisms through which potential frictions could be reduced. Whereas effective diversity management is a success factor, the contrary could have detrimental effects on the success of any business unit.
Differences between American and Saudi-Arabian Cultures
Religion and Language: U.S. doctrines strongly advocate for the separation of the church, and the state. The bulk of the American population is Christian, although there exists a significant number of non-Christian groups. Of significance is the fact that "religious observances do not usually interfere with business, and it is not uncommon, therefore, to find restaurant and chain store employees working during religious holidays such as Christmas" (Chaney & Martin, 2012, p. 92). Moreover, since religion is considered a personal affair, it is possible to find people within the same family unit practicing different denominations (Chaney & Martin, 2012)
In Saudi-Arabia, Islam, the official religion, significantly interferes with business operations, with workers stopping "work five times each day for prayers" (Chaney & Martin, 2012, p. 94). Although English is widely spoken and taught as a second language in schools, Arabic is the official language. Like is the case in America, where...
Therefore, Americans seeking to do business with Saudi nationals would be well advised to research their prospective Saudi counterparts thoroughly but to make preparations to travel to Saudi Arabia first before actually initiating contact with Saudi business people. Doing so and calling after arriving in Saudi Arabia instead of initiating contact from abroad demonstrates awareness of and respect for Saudi business customs right off the bat and in a way
Saudi Arabia's International Business Law Saudi Arabia and Socio Economics Oil wealth, which led to dramatic standard of living increases in the Gulf for much of the second half of the twentieth century, no longer is enough to ensure the prosperity of several states. Living standards in Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Oman have remained at a standstill in recent years. For example, from 1980 to 1998, the Saudi economy grew at an
In order to get various information for comparative analysis, several online databases will be explored so that the scientific data and social factors that will be unearthed are factual enough and relevant to the study of obesity among teenagers. The publication year was used from 2000 to present. This is because the researcher can be access to the best data. Also, this period has showed the fast economic development that
The cultural practices are evolved and based on the financial, social and moral understanding and capabilities of the local population, and it has been observed that Americans, Asians and Africans share extremely different perspectives and understanding on these issues, therefore the cultural adoption has been intense in countries where the technological revolution has been of the same intensity as in North America (Zelli, 1993). In some of the cases,
In this scenario, two companies, one from Saudi Arabia and the other from Australia, send their top representatives to discuss business matters. The Australian company is represented by a highly professional and young woman, whereas the Saudi Arabian company is being represented by one of their directors (twice the age of the Australian representative). Due to numerous cultural differences, the business negotiations may be jeopardized. According to Hofstede's framework,
Lack of accountability, transparency and integrity, ineffectiveness, inefficiency and unresponsiveness to human development remain problematic (UNDP). Poverty remains endemic in most Gulf States with health care and opportunities for quality education poor or unavailable, degraded habitats including urban pollution and poor soil conditions from inappropriate farming practices. Social safety nets are also entirely inadequate and all form part of the nexus of poverty that is widely prevalent in Gulf countries.
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