When an American Meets an Arab - Essay Example

 When an American Meets an Arab Part A: Executive Summary In the contemporary globalized world, business is about adjusting to and accommodating a mosaic like environment marked by varied cultural peculiarities and a culture specific approach towards things and issues (Berger & Hutington 2002). The paper intends to give an insight into my interactions with the American delegates, while working with a UAE based Telecom Company. I must say that to an ordinary person not used to cultural variations, situations marked by cultural diversity may give way to some agony. Yet, to a person capable of understanding things in the context of the existing theories of cultural diversity, cultural cross-connections could be a source of much mirth, humor and laughter. Moreover, I also intend to evaluate these experiences of mine in the light of the knowledge and insights extended by the theorists like Hofstede and Hall. Part B: Cultural Mini-Case Study Situation Background We should have known more! I would specifically like to narrow my personal experiences around the communication approaches and the accompanying differences that turned out into a mutually funny and humorous situation, when we had a first meeting with a group of US business delegates, at UAE. I worked as a junior manager with a UAE based Telecom Company. From the very start it was obvious to me that our guests were not conversant with the Arab cultural orientation. Things were not so conducive on our side also. Most of our managers were expecting the Americans to be straightforward, task oriented and punctual, based on the cursory experiences they had acquired on their short vacations to the US (Klein & Kuperman 2008). Setting the Stage The meeting took place in a hotel and the initial interactions were marked by customary exchange of pleasantries. Our team comprised of seven members with a senior manager acting as the team leader, while the American delegation comprised of six people, two of which were women. The meeting was meant to discuss the issues pertaining to a proposed technological collaboration between the two firms. Case Description Those Agonizing Handshakes! The American head extended his hand to our senior manager and I must say his handshake was firm and strong. In contrast, our manager’s handshake was gentle and prolonged. It was obvious that the guest intended to end the handshake, but our manager kept on gently holding his hand for a few more seconds, while exchanging courtesies. The consternation was quiet obvious on the faces of our guest and the American delegates. To me who was aware that the Americans doubted the sexual orientation of my manager, going by his prolonged and gentle handshake, it was getting difficult to hold laughter (Henderson 1994). Now it was the Americans’ turn to commit the blunder. There were three ladies in our delegation and the American managers moved on to shake hands with them, as they were doing with other males. However, when we avoided their handshake, they again looked disturbed and annoyed. It was obvious that they were not aware that the UAE was a culture affiliated to Muslim values, as per which women were not expected to shake hands with men (Al-Sayegh 2001). The ludicrousness of the situation was further accentuated when the American ladies proceeded to shake hands with more shy than annoyed male members of our team. Personally speaking the whole thing seemed quite funny to me, though I was sympathetic of the plight of our American friends. I hope some of them felt the same. The Way We Talk Once the customaries were over, the proposed meeting proceeded in the hotel boardroom. Though both the sides were respectful towards eachother, there existed marked differences in the communication approaches of the two teams. While, on our side, we left the important issues to the senior managers, on the American side, even the junior managers posed questions and queries regarding the salient issues (Fredrick 1995). Also, the American head felt comfortable discussing important things with our junior managers, to the dislike of our team leader (Fredrick 1995). The other funny thing was the American panache for data and information (Fairholm 1994). They wanted everything to be elaborated upon, backed by credible data and information (Fairholm 1994). I am positive that while my team members were finding the Americans to be distrusting and apprehensive, the other side positively found us secretive and devious. Overall, I enjoyed this comic interplay of cultures. It will be really interesting to analyze these differences in the light of Hofstede’s and Hall’s models. Hofstede Model Geert Hofstede analyzes cultural variations on the basis of varied dimensions like Individualism-Collectivism, Power Distance, Uncertainty Avoidance, Masculinity-Femininity, etc (1996). In the context of the above case, UAE has a collectivist culture with a high power distance index (itim International: Online). Hence in the UAE business teams, the individual members are expected to put group objectives above personal goals, while deferring authority to the seniority. Besides, UAE is affiliated to Muslim values as per which both the men and women are expected to behave as per certain set norms (Al-Sayegh 2001). In contrast, the US has an individualistic culture with a low power distance index, which encourages individual achievement and equality (itim International: Online). Besides, UAE has a feminine oriented culture that values relationships and is not averse to prolonged and gentle handshakes during business and social interactions (Hamady 1960). Hall Model Edward T Hall in his model of cultural variations places stress on the context. As per Hall, all communication takes place in a specific psychological and physical environment (Hall 1973). This approach is amply meaningful towards analyzing the above discussed situation. As per Hall, UAE has a high context culture, where people tend to rely less on verbal communication, data and information and most of the information is shared and interpreted in the light of the attributes like an individual’s status and the informal networks for sharing information, existing within the organizations (Hall 1973). Most of the messages shared in such cultures are implied and are context-sensitive. Contrary to this, the US has a low context culture, where people prefer the communication to be verbal, explicit, and objective and backed by facts and data (Hall 1973). People in the low context cultures like the US do not react or take important decisions, unless they do not have the requisite information and data. So while the managers from UAE may find the Americans to be distrusting, the Americans may also find their Arab counterparts to be evasive and secretive. Lessons Learned and Recommendations In the current business environment marked by rapid globalization and the integration of the world economies and markets, the businesses simply do not afford to overlook cultural differences and peculiarities. In a multicultural business environment, it is not about deciding which values are right or wrong, good or bad, but simply about developing awareness regarding the cultural nuances and values specific to varied cultures. In that context, my company could certainly benefit by encouraging its managers to develop cultural literacy and by providing them with the requisite sources and support. Conducting business communications while being oblivious of cross-cultural challenges will not only hamper success, but in many situations, may prove to be counterproductive. Besides, my company could learn many things from other cultures. It could adapt to the American practice of giving a chance and opportunity to the juniors to come out with new ideas and to challenge the set ways of doing things. In the times to come, the companies, no matter where they are placed, simply cannot do without a culture sensitive approach towards things. References Al-Sayegh Fatima 2001, ‘Women and Economic Challenges in the Arab Gulf: the Case of United Arab Emirates’, Domes, Vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 17-27. Berger, Peter & Hutington, Samuel P (Ed.) 2002, Many Globalizations: Cultural Diversity in the Contemporary World, Oxford University Press, New York. Fairholm, Gilbert W 1995, Leadership and the Culture of Trust, Praeger, Westport, CT. Fredrick, William C 1995, Values, Nature and Culture in the American Corporations, Oxford University Press, New York. Hall, Edward T 1973, The Silent Language, Anchor, Garden City, New Jersey. Hamady, Sania 1960, Temperament and Character of the Arabs, Twayne Publishers, New York. Henderson, George 1994, Cultural Diversity in the Workplace, Praeger, Westport, CT. Hofstede, Geert 1996, Culture and Organizations, Software of the Mind, McGraw-Hill, New York. itim International 2009, Geert Hofstede Cultural Dimensions, viewed 20 June 2011, . Klein, Helen Altman & Kuperman 2008, ‘Through an Arab Cultural Lens’, Military Review, Vol. 88, no. 3, pp. 100-104. Read More