...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 Arabian Business Culture Abstract People have different cultural characteristics that affect the way they conduct business. This paper will educate the reader on how religion, relationships, communication, different concepts of time, culture and family values, building respectful and trusting relationships, business meeting etiquette, dress and appearance, and gender considerations all influence the way the Saudi Arabians negotiate business. I chose to write about this topic based on a personal experience I had with a male Saudi Arabian Officer that was my classmate during BOLC (Basic Officer Leadership Course). Due to my lack of cultural knowledge, I found myself struggling to communicate with him until I took the time out to learn about their cultural differences. Country Information Saudi Arabia, formally known as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, is a desert country, encompassing most of the Arabian Peninsula. The country is positioned between the Red Sea in the west and the Arabian Gulf in the east. It is bounded on the north by Jordan, Iraq and Kuwait, and on the south by the Yemeni Republics (north and south), and on the east by the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Oman (“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Brief,” n.d., para 1). The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is approximately 1,960,582 sq. km and occupies an area about the size of the United States east of the Mississippi River. Riyadh is the capital city of Saudi Arabia. The name originated from the Arabic...
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...International Business Report between Saudi Arabia & U.S.A Culture in International Business Culture Culture refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge, experiences, beliefs, values, attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religions, nation of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts of the universe, material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the course of generations through individual and group striving. Culture is a fuzzy set of basic assumption and value, orientations to life, beliefs, policies, procedures and behavior and his/her interpretations of the ‘meaning’ of other people’s behavior. (Spencer- Oatey 2008:3) ‘Culture consists of patterns, explicit and implicit, of and for behavior acquired and transmitted by symbols, constituting the distinctive achievements of human groups, including their embodiment in artifacts; the essential core of culture consists of traditional (i.e. historically derived and selected) ideas and especially their attached values; culture systems may. On the other hand, be considered as products of action, on the other. As conditional elements of future action.’ (Kroeber and Kluckhohn 1952: 181; cited by Adler 1997: 14) Culture differences in International Business Doing business with others countries, the difference culture is a point that a business man should aware of. A key to being successful in business internationally is to understand the role of culture in international business. Whatever sector...
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...problems as perceived by Saudi Arabian and American managers, International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 5, Pergamon Press Ltd., 349-363. Retrieved 31 October 2012 from http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/science/article/pii/014717678190047X Ahmad, S. Z. (2011). Businesswomen in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 30(7), 610-614. Retrieved 1 November 2012 from www.emeraldinsight.com/2040-71-49.htm Ahmad, S. Z. (2011). Evidence of the characteristics of women entrepreneurs in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: An empirical investigation. International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, 3(2), 123-143. Retrieved 2 November 2012 from www.emeraldinsight.com/1756-6266.htm. Al-Kandari, A., Gaither, T. K. (2011). Arabs, the west and public relations: A critical/cultural study of Arab cultural values. Public Relations Review, 37, 266-273. Retrieved 2 November 2012 from http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/science/article/pii/S0363811111000646 Al-Khatib, J. A., Malshe, A., Mazen, A., (2008), Perception of unethical negotiation tactics: A comparative study of U.S. and Saudi managers, International Business Review, 17(1), 78-102. Retrieved 31 October 2012 from http://www.sciencedirect.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu:2048/science/article/pii/S0969593107001448 Al-Qahtany, M. D. (2002). Doing business in Saudi Arabia: Implication for international...
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...Negotiating in Saudi Arabia The differences in doing business between Saudi Arabia (or “the Kingdom”) and United States can be great, but being prepared and ready to conduct business is key to a negotiator. Many Saudi executives and government officials have studied or worked abroad in the United States therefore many are familiar with western culture and our business approaches and are comfortable using these as long as respect is shown for Saudi customs. (Business and Social Customs in Saudi Arabia) Saudi Arabians tend to be very polite and will not embarrass their guests no matter how much they like or dislike the person and this makes it hard for Americans to figure out how the negotiations are going. Islam governs everything in Saudi Arabia so the upmost respect must be shown in order to build relationships. Gift giving can be done but only if there is a strong relationship already built. Pork, pornography, alcohol, etc. should not be given as gifts as they go against their religious beliefs. In general be aware of the prayer times and religious holidays like Ramadan, as they take precedence over everything else. (Parker) When scheduling a meeting it is best to wait until you are actually in the country. You should inform your hosts of your travel plans and agenda but the setting up of actual meetings should wait. Also time is flexible so be prepared to wait. Face to face meetings are the only way to complete any negotiation. It is suggested to only have one meeting...
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...1. What forces shaped modern Saudi culture? How similar or different are these forces form those that shaped the culture of Western nations? Saudi Arabia is a historically conservative country where a large segment of the population desires to preserve the religious values and ancient the business sector. The culture of the country has been shaped by combination of Islam and Bedouin traditions. The strict Wahhab sect of Islam still has a profound influence on Saudi culture, something that is very visible to foreign travelers. They follow Islamic rules that shapes difference from culture of western nations. For example-stores and restaurant close at the five of the daily prayer times, and many restaurants, including western ones such as McDonalds have separate dining areas for men and women. Women in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to drive a car, sail a boat, or fly a plan or to appear outdoors with hair, wrists or ankles exposed-something that western companies need to keep in mind when doing business in the country or with Saudis elsewhere. Indeed, women traveling on their won have generally needed government minders or permission slips. From the above statement we can say that, Saudi Arabia run their business on their religious culture norms and values, that has created a lot of differences between them and western nations. 2. What kinds of misunderstanding likely to arise between an American company and Saudi enterprise, if neither of which has experience dealing with...
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...Culture and Business in Saudi Arabia 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...
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...Business Communication 04/19/2015 How to prepare business in Saudi Arabia and China There are a lot of elements that make life different between countries around the world, which makes it harder for people to communicate and understand each other. Elements like geography, population, features, economic systems, verbal and nonverbal languages, religions, genders and customs are common important elements that make conflicts between people around the world. Understanding and respecting these elements will make a safe life. However, the most important reason that attracts people to know more about each other is business. Countries like Saudi Arabia and China are two of the most important business countries around the world. So, learning about how to prepare international businesses in China and Saudi Arabia are necessary. Geography Saudi Arabia is located in the Middle East, which has very important navigational routes that connect between the east and west. That location gives Saudi Arabia an advantage when it comes to international trading. Saudi Arabia shares borders with Iraq 814 km, Jordan 744 km, Kuwait 222 km, Oman 676 km, Qatar 60 km, UAE 457 km and Yemen 1,458 km. Those countries are unstable and that makes it hard to do business and investments in such a region. Although, Saudi Arabia is on the borders of those countries, the investment still is going well. On the other hand, China stretches about 5026 kilometers across the East Asian landmarks. It is bordered...
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...international business plan are; Saudi Arabia, South Korea, and Brazil. Each country has a different economic system, political system, and management style for doing business with respect to the culture and traditions of the country. Each country can be a real consideration for expanding your business in if the research is done by the business desiring to expand. If the research is not done properly, then without a doubt your business plan to expand will not be productive. Each of these countries it is easy to cause a great enough offense to the host country that it will be virtually impossible to enter into this country and have an effective business. The business must have a market advantage to expand in any country. The host country must feel they have respect and the wellbeing of their country before they will allow a business to enter into their country. A good example of this is when McDonalds entered into China. McDonalds needed to make some serious changes to their menu for the culture in which they intended to setup their business and they had to give certain guarantee’s to China about labor, customs, courtesies, and business involvement for political issues (Thuermer, 1998). A similar business move was required when McDonald’s established their self in England. England required a large amount of the product be produced by England for the product used. This research will look at Brazil, South Korea, and Saudi Arabia for a proposed business plan for implementation...
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...Summary Report Executive Summary After analyzing PEST analysis of Indonesia and Saudi Arabia, I came to know it has some advantage and disadvantage in term of legal policy, economic factor, social, geographic and technological factor. Although GDP growth rate, labor force, and lending interest rate are more in Indonesia, they have unstable central government, huge population, high inflation, persistent corruption and natural disaster. Indonesia’s investment climate ranks poorly in international comparisons. The World Bank’s Doing Business 2007 report ranks Indonesia 135th out of 175 economies on ease of doing business. Macroeconomic instability is still viewed as the biggest obstacle, followed by poor transportation service and corruption in electricity such as stealing. Other major obstacles include labor skills, tax administration, cost of financing, and labor regulation which raise the cost and uncertainty of doing business. In Indonesia FDI is restricted in most of the sectors and the business environment is not good，so I recommend do not invest in Indonesia and Saudi Arabia has the strongest political, economic, legal systems providing the best opportunity and potential for overseas expansion. Friendly government business regulations and vast petroleum reserves might be indicative of low political and financial risk for foreign direct investment and therefore a strong candidate for overseas growth. The year over year increase in GDP might also indicate that the general...
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...What forces shaped modern Saudi culture? How similar or different are these forces form those that shaped the culture of western? Saudi Arabia has super modern cities like that at other development countries, but it strict Islamic religious connection and ancient social customers. On which it laws and customs depends, often clash with modern economic and technical realities. Saudi Arabia authorities sometimes latitude in legal formation and enforcement of ease these classes. 2) What kinds of misunderstanding are likely to arise between an American company and a Saudi enterprise, neither of which has experience dealing with the other? Today, the strict Wahhab sect of Islam still has a profound influence on Saudi culture, something that is very visible to foreign travelers. For example, stores and restaurants McDonald’s, have separate dining areas for men and women. Women in Saudi Arabia are not allowed to drive a car, sail a boat, or fly a plane or to appear outdoors with hair, wrists, or ankle exposed-something that western companies need to keep in mind when doing business in the country or with Saudis elsewhere. Indeed, women traveling on their own have generally needed government minders or permission slips. 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 you advise be? There are nothing to scare or afraid to expands business to Saudi Arabia, because the law enforcement...
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...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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...3/4/2015 Global Fixed Income 1. Key Macro Indicators: | China | Saudi Arabia | Comments | Population | 1,300 million (growing at 0.47%) | 28 million (growing at 2.28%) | China has the edge | GDP | 9.10% | 6.77% | China has a stronger GDP | Trade as a Share of GDP | 55.84% | 92.24% | China is more of a self serving nation than Saudi Arabia | CPI | 5.41% | 5.01% | China has slightly higher inflation | Approximate Real GDP | 3.69% | 1.76% | China has higher real GDP | Exchange Rate (e0) | 6.37 Yuan per $ | 3.75 Riyals per $ | Saudi Arabia has a stronger currency. It is also pegged making it more predictable | Wood Product consumption (WPC) | 250 million CMB | 1million CBM | China has the edge on total consumption. Of the 250 million China consumes, China imports roughly 100 million CBM (150million produced locally). Chinas demand import is expected to go to 150million by 2015. | Consumption per Person (WPC/Population) | .0192 | .0357 | Saudi Arabia has stronger consumption per person | 2. Factors that should be monitored are: * Supply/Demand Factors * Monitor Consumption and new demand (ie monitor for developments in construction in current territory and China/Saudi Arabia) * Exchange and inflation risks * Inflation is higher in China slightly. Also, Saudi Arabia’s currency is pegged; China’s is not * Inflation in Lebanon is roughly 5.2% * Tax rates and changes * Taxes are a major concern when...
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...Medical Equipment Inc. In Saudi Arabia Medical Equipment Inc. hired Ankur Grover as a US sales account manager. When he returned to his office after the meeting, he was disappointed from the rejection of his proposal. Although, he worked very hard to secure the sale, but Saxman told Grover that Sulaiman Al. Humaidi, the purchasing director has given the order to Hamad Najjar from Wilson’s Company; the main competitor of Medical Equipment Inc. Grover was sure that the product of his company was superior from Wilson’s and he wondered that how he could secure the sale. The case study aims to answer the questions that did Grover understand the culture of Saudi Arabia and what were the possible options through which he could retain the sale. Question 1 Saudi Arabia was founded in1932 and the local business culture of Saudi Arabia was different from other foreign cultures. Grover did not understand the local culture. He thought that he understood the culture and had a good understanding of culture as he was raised in Saudi Arabia, but in reality he grew in an expatriate environment and had a limited contact with the people of Saudi Arabia. The reason that he did not understand the culture was he studied in an Indian school and then completed his degree from USA. He did his internship in France and USA. Although, he got the work experience, but the business concepts of Saudi Arabia was different from the foreign business (Anna, Schuster, Norberg & Helander, 2013). When he...
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... Class: Elective International Business (2830006) Faculty: Pratiksinh Vaghela A Report on Module V Case Study Presentation “Culture and Business in Saudi Arabia” Submitted by: Group No: () Sr. No. Enrollment number Name 1 148050592058 R. Suraj 2 148050592066 Azhar Shah 3 148050592077 Sunil Tiwari 4 148050592082 Kalpesh Vasova 5 148050592085 Jay Viththlani Subject: International Business (2830006) Submitted to: Mr. Pratiksinh Vaghela S.R. LUTHRA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT – 805 Summary Western enterprise wants to do their business in the Saudi Arabia but it was not easy to start the business in the Saudi Arabia. Western aerospace company (boeing and Lockheed) sold their aircraft in the Saudi Arabia in past year. Also from a decade now Saudi Arabia has open the foreign investment in certain sector but they had kept oil and gas sector for the foreign investment. Saudi Arabia is a conservative country where large segment of the population believe in the religious values and ancient tradition of region, due to this they spill over into the business sector. As a culture shape by Islam and Bedouin tradition. In 1744 after nomad and ibn abd-al-wahhab has implement which was expressed in the Quran and that law is applicable till today. If the foreign company want to do any business in the Saudi Arabia they had to face the certain problem regarding to their business in the country like Saudi Arabia for example, stores and restaurants close...
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