Comparison of Dubai and Saudi Arabia
Mastering the art of cultural negotiations is extremely helpful in conducting business in different parts of the globe. The argument that culture is inconsequential to cross-cultural negotiation is flawed and ill-advised. The proposal that if a business deal is financially attractive, the cultural aspect of the business negotiation will be just a formality is both naïve and unreasonable way of conducting business. Doing business in the Middle East is especially difficult if one has not trained in the art of negotiations across nations that have unyielding cultural ties.
When conducting business in Dubai or Saudi Arabia, there are a couple of things one needs to be aware of their cultural heritage and beliefs.
Dubai
Dubai is one of the most cosmopolitan business destination in the Middle East. It is considered as one of the most developed world trade hubs. Compared to other nations in the Middle East it is relatively easy to conduct business in Dubai. According to world business ranking on the ease of doing business, Dubai ranks an impressive 22nd among 189 countries surveyed across the globe.
When conducting business negotiations in Dubai, it is important to understand the following.
Dubai is considered to have a world class business culture, despite that there are a few tips that make them unique. For example, when conducting business in the region refrain from addressing people by their first names rather address people using their titles and avoid being causal adopt a formal business approach.
Though Dubai is considered are modernized society, it is still part of the United Arab Emirates and as such observes strict adherence to Islamic culture. Therefore, it is important to understand and respect the Islamic culture and traditions when conducting business in Dubai.
Touching women especially Muslim women or even engaging in eye contact is considered to be taboo in the region. Therefore, it would be important to note that when conducting business in Dubai. Dubai is known for lavish hospitality during business dealing. Dubai being part of the Arab world has very excellent negotiators and tough bargainers. When conducting business, it is important to be very convincing. It is also important to be sensitive to the elderly people in a business dealing.
Saudi Arabia
In Saudi Arabia, it is important to be extremely respective and save face in their culture. Saudi Arabians believe that dignity and respect to be critical aspects of any business negotiations. Making compromises for their culture is necessary. For example, putting pressure on them is considered disrespectful and makes them feel as though they are losing face.
Saudi Arabia has very highly contextualized culture. This means that particular interest is put in the meanings in rituals than on mere words. It means more attention is given to the non-verbal communication than the verbal communication. The tone of the voice, the use silence, use of particular facial cues and extensive use of body language is considered essential in doing business in Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi Arabians has a power distance of about 95. This is a very high level and goes to show that the Saudi Arabian people believe that there should be a huge difference inequality among people. The Saudi Arabians are considered to more autocratic and prefer more centralized decision-making style. In this culture, the subordinates expect high supervision from the management. When conducting negotiations, the Saudi people will not give negative feedback and as such won’t expect you to give negative feedback. Instead, use wordy statements to give feedback that would not be considered as offensive or challenging the other party in the negotiations.
Comparing Saudi Arabia and Dubai concerning how they conduct business negotiations given their cultural background draws a clear line of difference. The Emiratis (Dubai) are seen to adopt a more progressive approach compared to the conservative approach of the Saudi Arabians.
