Cultural Comparison in Business

Paper Summary:

In this paper the writer makes a cultural comparison concerning business in the United Arab Emirates and the United States. The writer notes that the United Arab Emirates (UAE), like many other Muslim nations, is often referred to as a high-context culture by anthropologists who study the workplaces of different nations. High-context nations are nations in which one's societal position and relationship is often more important than what is directly stated during a negotiation. The writer points out that, in contrast, the United States is a low-context culture, as it is a highly pluralistic and diverse society characterized by a tolerance of diversity and fluid relationships. In contrast to high-context societies, there is a strong perceived barrier between an individual's private and public life, and business negotiations are often made between people who know one another only as associates, not as individuals with long, complex familial, ethnic, and religious histories and identities that are of vital significance when imparting meaning. The writer maintains that in the United Arab Emirates, Islamic law and philosophy permeates almost every facet of daily life, even if individuals may have different interpretations of that law, based upon their upbringing and social class.

From the Paper:

"Even in a business that caters mainly to expatriates and tourists in the region, local contacts are necessary to establish trust with government officials and employees, and particularly in these tense times during the Muslim and the Western world, it is essential that strong relationships are forged with the native populace. Also, a businessperson must be made aware of the different families who control the various regions that make up the united UAE.
"Unlike some other nations within the region, the United Arab Emirates has shown notable trends in modernizing its attitudes. For example, the government maintains an organization called the Women's Federation and promotes training, education, and the advancement of the status of women."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Beer, Jennifer. (2003) "High and low context." Culture at Work. Retrieved Aug 24 2008 at http://www.culture-at-work.com/highlow.html
• Lagace, Martha. (4 Feb 2002). "How to do business in Islamic countries." Harvard Business School http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/2745.html
• "United Arab Emirates." (26 Jun 2006). Library of Congress: Country Studies. Retrieved Aug 24 2008 http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/aetoc.html

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