The Culture into the United Arab Emirates - Essay Example

Culture:
The indigenous people of the UAE have maintained the grace of their Islamic way of living. Indigenous women of UAE can be seen today burqa-clad in a crowd of foreign women wearing jeans, full-length skirts, and knee-length skirts. The difference is huge if critically analyzed yet it has done little to flare up cultural differences. Local people of UAE and the foreigners have lived in peace and harmony for a long period of time, and the present conditions suggest that it will continue to remain like that forever. UAE is not a melting pot.

Original cultures in UAE have maintained their original identity despite having lived together for decades and have not merged. This is particularly true when the indigenous culture of UAE is compared with the Western culture that has been sustained in UAE for a long period of time. “We create an identity based on what we do or what we like” (Madore). There can be many reasons why the indigenous culture of the UAE has not caught a single shade of the color of foreign cultures.

A society’s culture is a reflection of the identities of its members in general. Rituals make an important component of the culture that determines the level of consumption of a society. People belonging to a single culture share the same habits of exchanging gifts, grooming, and holiday celebrating. Culture essentially serves as a lens through which products are viewed. A product’s priority and its success or failure depend upon the culture of consumers. While analyzing the consumer behavior of the people of the UAE, it is important to note that their beliefs and preferences are governed by Islamic culture. In an Islamic society that is fundamentally reserved, it is odd to predict that such things as “Pastel carrying cases for condoms” would have a good market value. People of the UAE are generally global agnostics. This essentially means that their tendency to buy a product is not influenced by the product’s global attributes. UAE is one country where Western decadence is considered infectious.

People of the UAE derive their learning from the teachings of Islam. They may not be good practicing Muslims, though Islam still remains the standard. They distinguish between right and wrong according to the teachings of Islam. Thus, the indigenous people of the UAE derive learning from Islam. As the traditional environment is fundamentally Islamic, the people of UAE tend to stick to it rather than adjust to the fast pace new world. Additionally, their inherent richness of both cultural and monetary leaves them in no complex to run after the global standards. The UAE government has more than sufficient funds to provide the indigenous people with a rich and elite standard of living. People have much more money with them than what they would need to purchase things of their want. Because of the abundance of money, people are not as thirsty for things as people from other cultures normally are.

The indigenous people believe more in collectivism than individualism. UAE society is generally extroverted. People make a lot of friends and spend most of their time with family and friends. Increased social interaction causes people to share similar standards. This promotes collectivism in their approach.

The lowest Hofstede Dimension for the Arab World is the Individualism (IDV) ranking at 38, compared to a world average ranking of 64. This translates into a Collectivist society as compared to Individualist culture and is manifested in a close long-term commitment to the member 'group', that being a family, extended family, or extended relationships. Loyalty in a collectivist culture is paramount and overrides most other societal rules. (Taylor).

Governmental rules are strictly observed because there are severe penalties for violating them. The etiquette of business recognized internationally like dress code is generally violated. The indigenous men of the UAE would wear their traditional white cloak, named Kundra or dishdasha in the workplace instead of the suit (Grapeshisha).