...Business Cultural Analysis Outline Saudi Arabia 1. What are the major elements and dimensions of culture in this region? 1.1. Introduction 1.1.1. Brief history of Saudi Arabia 1.2. Communication 1.2.1. Verbal and Nonverbal 1.2.2. High Context vs. Low Context 1.3. Languages 1.3.1. Arabic is the official language 1.3.2. English is widely spoken 1.3.3. Other languages spoken by non-Saudi population 1.3.3.1. Urdu 1.3.3.2. Farsi 1.3.3.3. Turkish 1.4. Religion 1.4.1. Islam 1.4.2. Christianity 1.5. Ethics 1.5.1. Business Ethics in Saudi Arabia 1.5.2. Issue of Corruption 1.6. Values and Attitudes 1.6.1. Concept of time/time management 1.6.2. Dealing with change 1.6.3. The role of gender 1.6.4. Social Status 1.7. Business Manners and Customs in Saudi Arabia 1.7.1. Business etiquette 1.7.1.1. Relationships and Communication 1.7.1.2. Business Meeting Etiquette 1.7.1.3. Business Negotiating 1.7.1.4. Dress Etiquette 1.7.1.5. Business Cards 1.7.2. Customs 1.8. Social Structures and Organizations 1.8.1. Social groups 1.9. Education 1.10. Hofstede's Dimensions of Culture 1.10.1. Individualism in Saudi Arabia 1.10.2. Power Distance 1.10.3. Masculinity 1.10.4. Uncertainty Avoidance 2. How are these elements and dimensions integrated by locals conducting business in the nation? 2.1. Integration of communication in local business 2.2. Integration of language in local business 2.3. Integration of religion in local business 2.4. Integration of ethics in local business 2.5. Integration of values...
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...religious beliefs, traditions, work ethic ( culture) The full name of Saudi Arabia is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Arabic is the official language. In the 7th century, the successor of the Mohammed who was the founder of Islam established Arab empire. The 8th century is a heyday for Saudi Arabia, and its territory crosses Europe, Asia and Africa. However, in the 16th century, Arab empire was ruled by the Ottoman Empire. In the 19th century, The Great Britain invaded into Arab, it was divided into two parts, Hejaz and Nejd. In 1924, the chief of Hejaz in Saudi Arabia merged Nejd and then gradually unified the Arabian Peninsula. Finally, in September 1932, he declared the establishment of Saudi Arabia kingdom. Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam. Islam has become the world’s second large religion. The founder Muhammad established Islam approximately A.D 600 in Mecca; the sacred city of Islam is located in Saudi Arabia. Islam prospers in northwestern Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, Pakistan, and some Southeast cities. Religion strongly affects consumption behavior of Arabian. For example, Muslim consumers are not allowed to consume alcohol and pork, besides that, the nation is governed under the Law of Islamic. Muslim pray five times a day, the local people usually go to the mosque to do religious service. Women must wear black robes in that day. Some of the traditions and customs in Saudi Arabia are similar to the other countries, but some of them are not. Most...
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...Saudi Arabia is a kingdom that located in the Middle East region. It is the leader country in OPIC and that show’s how large is the Saudi’s economic power. The average of the Saudis are educated. From the beginning history of this kingdom, the government showed the importance of education for both men and women. Decades ago, the Saudi government started a project to give scholarships to the students who wants to complete their education abroad. The Saudi culture is very sensitive issue. Most of the Saudis are conservatives. A lot of changes happened in the Saudi’s economy, education, and cultures after five years of king Abdullah being in charge. The Saudi’s economy had major changes in the last five years. Before, the Saudi’s economy was relying on the oil business. Today, the Saudi economic policy has been changed a lot. King Abdullah established one of the four economic cities. The economic cities are a government development plan for the future. The goal of this plan is to diversify their economy away from oil, by generating foreign interest and bringing big corporations to these economic cities. The Saudi education has been changed to the better during the last decades and it at its best these days. King Abdullah is very interested in the education field. He established international universities for men and women. These universities afford full scholarships to Saudis and international students. Good example of these universities is King Abdullah of Science and Technology...
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...I am sorry i was not able to write to you earlier, as no one must know about this letter. I had to be completely alone. If the government ever saw this then i would be imprisoned or worse, the death penalty by beheading. Informing a journalist like you who lives in USA with this opinion on my country would not be deemed acceptable. To introduce myself, my name is maysa karim and i live in Saudi Arabia,Jalajil. I am 23 years of age, have two children which i am aware of and am forced by my arrogant husband Amir to be unemployed. Instead i am forced to stay at home to clean, cook and do everything in my power to please Amir. Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy system ruled by King Fahd Al Saud. Who has the most power and can overrule any judjment or descion made, controlling the entire country. He is both the head of state and government.The al Saud-Royal family completely overpower the Saudi Arabia political system,controlling most of the country, having involvement at all levels of government. The government of Saudi Arabia consists of the King, 13 regional Governors to rule the 13 regions who are appointed by the king, all from the royal family. Who are in charge of things such as finance,health,education ect. The government of my country also consists of the council of ministers/cabinet who are appointed by the king and is composed of 22 ministry departments.The cabinet controls laws, draft regulationsand implement policies but the king has the end say and determines whether...
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...between Saudi Arabia and China, which centre on the crude oil and petrochemicals industries China mainly exports to Saudi Arabia textile, clothing, light industry products, food like grain etc. It imports from Saudi Arabia crude oil, chemical fertilizer and petro-chemical raw materials the import trends between china and Saudi Arabia in the recent years (2012,2013,2014) is while there was a decline in the imports of goods from Saudi Arabia in 012 and 013, the was a general rise in 2014 placing Saudi Arabia as the 10th largest import market for china (2.5% of china’s imports) Exports trend: increased exports from 2012 to 2014, in 2012 at $18.5, in 2023 at $18.7 and at $20.6 in 2014 placing Saudi Arabia as one of the largest export markets for china. In the recent years, the bilateral trade volume of sino-saudi has achieved steady growth since the establishment of diplomatic relations while the trade balance is reducing in comparision to the China views Saudi Arabia with great importance for several reasons: (a) Saudi’s history as a reliable partner with all of its customers (b) saudi is the world’s largest petroleum exporter with capacity of 12 million barrels per day; (c) vast amount of oil which China desires, 17 percent of the world’s proven oil reserves are located in the Saudi Arabia (d) Saudi Arabia has the largest economy among the Arab countries and - (e) China recognizes that Saudi Arabia, the leading...
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...Country Briefings: Azerbaijan and Saudi Arabia Marvin Labre Sarah Garstecki Kalle Stenbaek Trenton Norton Table of Contents Economic Environment………………………………………………………………………....3 Azerbaijan…………………………………………………………………………….....3 Saudi Arabia………………………………………………………………………….....5 Political and Regulatory Environment...………………………………………………………..6 Azerbaijan………………………………………………………………………………6 Saudi Arabia………………………………………………………………………….....6 Cultural and Societal Framework………………………………………………………………7 Azerbaijan………………………………………………………………………………7 Saudi Arabia………………………………………………………………………….....9 Technological Environment…………………………………………………………………....10 Azerbaijan………………………………………………………………………………10 Saudi Arabia…………………………………………………………………………....10 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………...10 References………………………………………………………………………………………12 Economic Environment Azerbaijan Azerbaijan is a developing country that is heavily dependent on the exportation of gas and oil for its economic status. Other forms of sustainable economic consistency are from non-export organizations such as construction, banking, and real estate (CIA: World Factbook). Even in times of various economic trends, the country maintains its middle-class economy through the increase/decrease of the prices of their main resources. It’s from the positively consistent results that the government permits pervasive corruption and structural economic inefficiencies from these local companies to pose as an obstacle to their...
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...Econ201 Macro-economy Spring 2013 Wesam Almadani LAG140 Table of Content Overall state of Economy in Saudi Arabia Demographic profile of Saudi Arabia GDP in Saudi Arabia CPI and Inflation Rate in Saudi Arabia Unemployment Rate in Saudi Arabia Economic problems in Saudi Arabia Economy in Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia is the largest Arabian Country which is located in southwest Asia. It clenches the largest free market economy in the Middle East and North Africa. The geographic setting of Saudi Arabia provides an easy entrée to export the markets of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Saudi Arabia is an oil-based economy with a robust government control over the main economic activities; it approximately holds 17% of the worlds established petroleum assets. Saudi Arabia grades the largest exporter of petroleum, and plays a primary role in OPEC. The petroleum sector alone interprets for roughly 45% of GDP, 80% of budget revenues, and 90% of export earnings. The following shows the demographic profile of Saudi Arabia: Population | 26,939,583 includes 5,576,076 non-nationals | Dependency Ratio | total dependency ratio: 46.9 % youth dependency ratio: 42.6 % elderly dependency ratio: 4.2 % potential support ratio: 23.6 | Population Growth Rate | 1.51% | Net Migration Rate | -0.62 migrant(s) / 1,000 population | Urbanization | urban population: 82.3% of total population (2011) rate of urbanization: 2.38% annual rate of change...
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...1 – PURPOSE The sole purpose of offering physical precious metals to the ARB clients is to increase the product offerings to its client, which in turn will increase the profitability and the bottom line of the bank. It has been established that Gold and Silver retailers, who are among ARB corporate clientele, usually buy USD from ARB and use the funds to acquire their precious metals from ANCB. Hence, herein lies the market basis of the proposed offering for the precious metals. Currently, ANCB is the only organization in the financial trade market that deals in the trade of precious metals and ARB envisions it to be its only competitor. ARB will limit itself to the corporate clients, who buy on a continuous and regular. Seasonal request to buy either gold or silver by private and affluent clients will not be accommodated. 2 – EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3 – INTRODUCTION Precious metals have been traded for eons. Fairly common are gold and silver which apart from their ornamental value, they have a variety of industrial and commercial uses. Among these precious metals, gold has been chosen as a special interest metal. Gold is a precious metal that a whole industry has developed and evolves into a multibillion-dollar industry led by huge corporations. The gold industry is stratified with many major and minor players working together. Key among these relevant stakeholders includes the mining companies, the gold processing companies, gold traders, and consumers. Gold mining is one...
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...LOCATION: Saudi Arabia is a monarchy in southwestern Asia, and occupies most of the Arabian Peninsula. Saudi Arabia is bordered on the north by Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait; on the east by the Persian Gulf and Qatar; on the southeast by the United Arab Emirates and Oman on the south by the Republic of Yemen; and on the west by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aqaba. The southeast and southern boundaries are not precisely defined. The Middle East, bordering Iraq 814 km, Jordan 744 km, Kuwait 222 km, Oman 676 km, Qatar 60 km, UAE 457 km, Yemen 1,458 km Capital: Riyadh Climate: harsh, dry desert with great temperature extremes Population: 25,795,938 including 5,576,076 non-nationals (July 2004 est.) Ethnic Make-up: Arab 90%, Afro-Asian 10% Religions: Muslim 100% Government: monarchy Language in Saudi Arabia Arabic is the official language of Saudi Arabia, but English is widely spoken. It is used in business and is a compulsory second language in schools. Among the non-Saudi population, many people speak Urdu, the official language of Pakistan, and other Asian languages such as Farsi and Turkish. Arabic is spoken by almost 200 million people in more than 22 countries. It is the language of the Qur'an, the Holy Book of Islam, and of Arab poetry and literature. While spoken Arabic varies from country to country, classical Arabic has remained unchanged for centuries. In Saudi, there are differences between the dialects spoken in urban areas and those spoken in rural areas. Saudi Society...
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...raised their voices. They demanded equal justice for all people. Many of them are planning to be part of the coming elections. Driving car in Saudi Arabia has always been controversial issue. The Human Rights organization has raised concerns and requests the government to up lift the ban. Saudi Arabia is not rule by the Royal family. It is rule by religious conservative scholars.’ Although, there is no word in the Holly Quran saying women never drive cars. These religious leaders make women accept the ban as a part of their culture. We saw democracy is uprising in the Middle East. Women in Saudi Arabia saw it is a window of opportunity to over throw that law. Since the uprising Saudi young women have been put in jail by violating the law. The King never succeeds to convince these religious leaders to change their view. He is now suggesting up lifting the ban and allowing women to vote. Millions of religious supports are questioning how the vote will pass these conservative figures. Women in the Muslim world are empowering themselves. This is important step for women in Saudi Arabia. These women who never drive cars are one step closer to achieve their dream. This is one of many things they like to change. They are focusing to take a concrete step to change how their government sees Saudi women. They want to create environment where Saudi women not men and women can both have equal rights. They like to have a voice in the parliament. As a Muslim female I feel what these women...
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...1. What forces that shape modern Saudi culture? How similar to different police forces from those that shaped the culture of Western Nations? Because modern Saudi culture is rooted in the nomadic tribes that once roamed the Arabian Peninsula, some modern day Saudi Arabia culture can be traced to the Bedouins. Islam has also influenced modern Saudi culture. Stores and restaurants still do the daily prayer dictated by the Koran and the strict dress codes followed by women make it unlike any other Western culture because the values and the social norms are based on religious teachings that still continue. 2. What kind of misunderstanding or likely to arise between an American company and the Saudi enterprise, if neither of which has experience in dealing with the other? Different cultures have different ways of doing business. In Saudi Arabia, family and friendship plays a big role in career advancement whereas in the US individual success is more important. Woman make up a share of the workforce but in Saudi Arabia women have little freedom. It is important that both sides are sensitive to each other’s culture for effective business conduction. 3. If you were in a position to advise a Western company that was considering doing business in Saudi Arabia for the first time, what would your advice be? The most important piece of advice would be to take time and learn about the Saudi culture and the Saudi way of doing business In order to avoid any misunderstandings...
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...Doing Business in Saudi Arabia 1) Prepare a short description of the most striking cultural characteristics that may affect business interaction in this country. Doing business in Saudi Arabia requires significant research if I expect to be successful. There are many cultural differences that must be taken in consideration prior to and during business interactions. The Saudi Arabian culture, its shared values and norms, is distinctly different from our western culture. Saudi Arabian social structure emphasizes a group rather than individualism. Saudi’s are more likely to identify themselves as a part of something (e.g., “I am from Exxon Mobil”) rather than identifying their individual role (e.g., “I am an engineer”). It will also be important to understand the social stratification within Saudi Arabia. Having a working knowledge of the significance of the tribal affiliations as well as the varied groups of which someone can be a part will help me to understand which individuals I need to approach and build relationships with in order to be successful in the region. It will also be incredibly important for me to understand the role of religion, specifically Islam, in the region and how it affects work ethic, business decisions, and simple logistics throughout the day. As Americans, we are focused on our work and we allow very little to get in the way of our accomplishments. Saudi’s are very different. Work is secondary to many things, most notably, religion...
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...Saudi Arabia is located in the Middle East and it is the home of Islamic religion. It has two of the holiest Islamic shrines located in Mecca and Medina. King Abdullah, as ruler of the country, takes his job very seriously. Therefore, his strict laws make Saudi Arabia a very conservative country. The Islamic principals are extremely strict and must be obeyed. The schools, work areas and malls are completely segregated, unless its family. Moreover, the main issues Saudis face are not being able to drink and have sex before marriage because it’s illegal. Luckily, Saudis are able to circumvent these restricted laws by making their own alcohol or smuggling it into the country and ethically handling the sexual urge before marriage. The Islamic Religion does not allow alcoholic beverages. In Saudi Arabia the same law applies but if broken it comes with circumstances. If a Saudi is caught with...
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...In pre-Islamic times, apart from a small number of urban trading settlements (such as Mecca and Medina), most of what was to become Saudi Arabia was populated by nomadic tribal societies in the inhospitable desert.[38] The Islamic prophet, Muhammad, was born in Mecca in about 571 A.D. In the early 7th century, Muhammad united the various tribes of the peninsula and created a single Islamic religious polity. Following his death in 632, his followers rapidly expanded the territory under Muslim rule beyond Arabia, conquering huge swathes of territory (from the Iberian Peninsula in west to modern day Pakistan in east) in a matter of decades. In so doing, Arabia soon became a politically peripheral region of the Muslim world as the focus shifted to the more developed conquered lands.[39] From the 10th century to the early 20th century Mecca and Medina were under the control of a local Arab ruler known as the Sharif of Mecca, but at most times the Sharif owed allegiance to the ruler of one of the major Islamic empires based in Baghdad, Cairo or Istanbul. Most of the remainder of what became Saudi Arabia reverted to traditional tribal rule.[40][41] In the 16th century, the Ottomans added the Red Sea and Persian Gulf coast (the Hejaz, Asir and Al-Ahsa) to the Empire and claimed suzerainty over the interior. One reason was to thwart Portuguese attempts to attack the Red Sea (hence the Hejaz) and the Indian Ocean.[42] Ottoman degree of control over these lands varied over the next four...
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...the foreign policy of Saudi Arabia, this paper aims to show the ways in which Saudi foreign policy is unique and then go on to highlight the fact that Saudi policy is characterized by moderation and centrism. Its stance on issues pertaining to security and international relations will be demonstrated to be unique for a Middle Eastern state due a number of inter-linked issues; Saudi Arabia's geographical location as the ‘Heart of Islam', its significant oil reserves, and geo-political security issues. Having highlighted the special conditions in which Saudi foreign policy operates, it will then be argued that Saudi policy is dominated by themes of peaceful diplomacy and centrism, meaning that the Saudi approach to international affairs and security is one of pragmatic real politk rather than the more ideological approach adopted by other states in the region. In making such an argument, we will examine Saudi policy in relation to a number of key issues: the Israel-Palestine conflict and Iranian nuclear disarmament. Saudi Arabia holds a unique position in the Middle East. It is the ‘Heart of Islam' as it is home of to two of the holiest places is Islam, Mecca and Medina. Its oil reserves mean that it is the World's leading exporter of petrol. Furthermore, in the tinderbox-like atmosphere of the Middle East, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia plays a crucial role of peace-maker in the region and is the closet Middle Eastern ally of the United States. The Saudis have significant influences...
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