Dubai Cultural Environment - Essay Example

Lecturer: Dubai Cultural environment Dubai is one of the countries in the Middle East that has varied cultural beliefs, social norms and traditional values. Islamic is the official religion for Arabs and they have varied social norms; thus understanding the cultural environment by the ventures conducting business in Dubai is essential. This is because recognizing cultural environment of Dubai is significant because it will enable the foreigners or investors to carry out their business effectively. Adekola and Bruno (38) argue that understanding the cultural environment of a place where an entrepreneur wants to conduct business is significant. This is because culture may impact effective business performance in case it is not taken into considerations seriously. Dubai people who are the Arabs emphasize on generosity, respect and modesty and a persons’ honor is paramount because it is a way of communicating indirectly. The Arabs consider civility as a significant value and the status of an individual is well taken into considerations. Therefore, before the American Company make decisions of considering Dubai for their international expansion plans; they should fully understand the cultural environment of Dubai. The cultural environment of Dubai is unique because of the way cultural values of the Arabs put value on relationships an evident in which people can integrate work and socializing. The normal working period of the Arabs is from morning up to evening, and in between working period, there is a tea break and lunch break. The Arabs take a long lunch break, which is followed by resting and many breaks for praying. The Arabs beliefs that the long breaks offer a chance for the customers; thus turning out this to be an opportunity for successful business. Therefore, the American company should understand the way the Arabs integrate work and socialization. This is because the Arabs believe that too much time spent in socialization, long meetings are crucial. Thus, the relationships of people are more significant than work schedules. Hofstede is the most widely framework used for categorizing the national cultures known as Hofstede cultural dimensions. This framework was developed by a Dutch social psychologist and management scholar known as Geert Hofstede. Hofstede carried out research analysis in order to determine significant cultural dimensions. He carried out varied cultural value dimensions that came from IBM labor force surveys that were conducted in more than 50 cultures between 1967 to 1973 (Ghemawat and Reiche 3). The research study aimed to reveal varied cultural dimensions including power distance, individualism or collectivism, uncertainty avoidance and masculinity or femininity (Ghemawat and Reiche 3). Therefore, these are among the significant cultural values dimension that the American company should take into considerations before planning to expand their business in Dubai. One of the cultural value dimensions that the American company investors should take into considerations before expanding their business is a high power distance. Power distance is the degree to which a certain culture accepts and reinforces the fact that power is distributed unevenly in the society (Ghemawat and Reiche 3). Therefore, the American Company considering Dubai for its international expansion plans should understand power distance. This is essential because it will enable their business to thrive effectively; thus achieving successful business performance. The American company should understand that power distance is unfairly distributed in Dubai. This is because Dubai is one of the regions that have cultural values and customs that are rooted in Islamic laws. These laws may impact the business in different ways including on the way and when the business is conducted for organization design. Therefore, success of the American company can be based on understanding these differences and the ways Arabs approach situation better or worse than in other cultures. Some power distance varies because some are low while others are high and the powerful people are entitled to privileges, unlike their counter parts. Individualism and collectivism is another cultural value dimensions that the American company should take into considerations. The Arabs are more collectivism than individualism because the identity of a person is based on the group’s membership. Arabs are always interested in each other; thus, they are always ready to receive visitors because of their hospitality. For instance, the Arabs identify themselves using others’ first or last names and they prefer group decision making. Any hospitality offered should be accepted for preserving the honor of the visitor. Although they show a relative preference of individualist in contrast to the majority, they cultural value is more of collectivist because they show overall goodness and loyalty to the groups; thus having high power distance. The Arabs have high masculinity; thus, men tend to be more assertive and dominant than women. They emphasize on male dominance in values such as achievement, ruling, material success and assertiveness. They exaggerate on male as superior to their counterparts; thus women are supposed to respect men. They have gender equality in the place of work and work take priority over other tasks. For instance, they consider having polygamous families because a man with many women is well respected and can be given leadership or power to rule. Power and wealth is taken into considerations in the Arab community. Cultural issues can contribute to conflicts; thus impacting business. Therefore, understanding these cultural aspects is essential for the American company. This is because cultural awareness will solve misunderstandings and reduce prejudice in the new cultural environment. Understanding the cultural environment of Dubai is significant for the American company; enabling them to perform their business successfully. This is because Dubai has their own cultural and tradition values attached to them; hence, any entrepreneur who may want to become successful in Dubai should understand their cultural beliefs and traditional values. This is because the Arabs have strong social norms and values attached to their society. Cultural differences can impact the American company for expanding business activities. Al-Yahya, Lubatkin and Vengroff, (7) argue that it is imperative for the business executives to understand the cultural environment in which they conduct their business. Thus, understanding the impact cultural differences may pose to a business is crucial for successful business performance. However, many changes have taken place in the cultural environment of Dubai for the last few decades. Many of these changes have taken place because of globalization. Many companies are nowadays conducting business beyond the boundary of their countries because of globalization; thus, they should consider cultural aspects. Technological advancement has facilitated global activities because of support in current communication and information technologies. Some of the cultural changes that have been transformed include the creation of liberal government policies, advancing governance in the cultural field, increasing cultural awareness and enhancing effective cultural activities. These are among the transformation of Dubai culture by the government; thus making Dubai an effective investment environment for investors. Work Cited Adekola, Abel, and Bruno S. Sergi. Global Business Management: A Cross-Cultural Perspective. Aldershot, England: Ashgate, 2007. Print. Al-Yahya, Khalid Lubatkin, Michael and Vengroff, Richard. The Impact of Culture and Management on Development: A Comparative Review.9 (2009): 1-28. Print. Ghemawat, Pankaj and Reiche, Sebastian. National Cultural Differences and Multinational Business. Globalization Note Series. (2011):1-18. Print. Read More