Influences of culture on the style of business behavior between Western and Arab managers E-Book
Andrea Baumann
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- Herausgeber: GRIN Verlag
- Sprache: Englisch
Thesis (M.A.) from the year 2006 in the subject Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance, grade: 1, University of Vienna (BWZ - Betriebswirtschaftliches Zentrum), language: English, abstract: International business activities are expanding significantly and so awareness of both cultural similarities and differences is becoming increasingly important. Internationalization is no longer a foreign word and more and more business people now undertake the task of doing business outside of their home country. To succeed in international business requires an understanding of various cultures and the sensitivity to cope with differences. While doing business with people from many nations, a sense of dealing with conflicting approaches is inevitable. Managers with global views and skills in international communication are more sought after than ever. At the same time, managers are seeking ways to participate in cross-cultural management and to avoid any misinterpretation.
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2007
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LIST OF FIGUES AND TABLES
Figure 1: The Arab world………………………………………………………………..11 Table 1: Classification within the group of Arabs .…………………………………..9
Table 2: Arrangement of four economic groups……………………………….. ….12
Table 3: Worldwide population of Muslims ………………………………………... 27
Table 4: Relationship-focused vs. Deal-focused cultures…………………….91-92
Table 5: Polychronic vs. Monochronic cultures …………………………..……….92
Table 6: Expressive vs. reserved cultures ……………………………………….…93
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1. INTRODUCTION
International business activities are expanding significantly and so awareness of both cultural similarities and differences is becoming increasingly important. Internationalization is no longer a foreign word and more and more business people now undertake the task of doing business outside of their home country. To succeed in international business requires an understanding of various cultures and the sensitivity to cope with differences. While doing business with people from many nations, a sense of dealing with conflicting approaches is inevitable. Managers with global views and skills in international communication are more sought after than ever. At the same time, managers are seeking ways to participate in cross-cultural management and to avoid any misinterpretation.
1.1. Definition of the two worlds
As the title already informs, this research paper focuses on the cultures of the Western and the Arab world and so a definition of these terms is important. While doing research it was clear that both terms can have multiple meanings depending on the context and therefore to give an encompassing definition is quite challenging. The term ‘Western world’ or ‘The West’ was originally defined as Western Europe; most modern uses of the term refer to the societies of Western and Central Europe and their close genealogical, linguistic, and philosophical colonial descendants. Typically included are those countries whose ethnic identity and dominant culture are derived from European culture(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_world, 22.11.2005).To explain certain patterns of ‘The Arab world’ or ‘The Islamic world’ one has to examine several definitions and some of these can lead to misunderstanding. One possible definition would be that the Arab world refers to the 22 member states of the Arab League.“The League of Arab States was founded in 1945 in Cairo. It is a voluntary association of sovereign Arab States designed to strengthen the close ties linking them and to coordinate their policies and activities and direct them towards
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the common goods of all the Arab countries”(Gedeon, 1963, p. 997). Considering the fact that the Arab League can be used to refer to of the Arab world in general, it has to be mentioned that this definition is not totally appropriate. On the one hand, the Arab League does not include Arab minorities in countries such as Turkey or Iran, and on the other hand it includes some countries that are not typical Arab countries such as Somalia or Djibouti.
If someone refers to the term ‘Islamic world’ then this definition would include all those countries where Islam is the majority religion, and so this further would take in about one-and-a-half billion Muslims worldwide. Furthermore, the definition ‘Islamic world’ may also refer to the 57 members of the OIC (Organization of Islamic Conference). Another difficulty when referring to the term ‘Arabs’ is caused by the fact that there are Arabs who are Christians and not Muslims. These discrepancies again point out that there are many ways to refer to the Arab world, and still there is no all-encompassing definition.
Another approach refers to the Arabian Peninsula and states that the peninsula is to be linked in the north and northeast to the rest of the Asian continent, while it is separated from Africa by the Red Sea. To think that Arabia is part of Asia is of course misleading from the standpoint of geological history as from its origin more than 500 million years ago; Arabia was an integral part of northeast Africa. Thompson explained that: “theArabian Shield and Nubian Shield were formed as one entity by the same forces at the same time, and did not separate until less than 50 million years ago, while the wide Tethys Sea had lain between Asia and Arabia since the time of Gondwanaland. As the Afro-Arabian plate drifted northeast towards Asia the Tethys gradually narrowed to a gulf when the shelves of the two continents first began to make contact about 50 million years ago, and closed completely as they ground more closer together.”Arabia and Africa were still two parts of the same tectonic plate, despite the sea that now lay between (2000, p. 43). Thus it was not surprising to find out that there are various ways to refer to the Arabs: “AnArab, in the modern sense of the word, is one who is a national of an Arab state, has command of the Arabic language, and possesses a fundamental knowledge of Arabian tradition, that is, of manners, customs, and political and social systems of the culture.”(Touma, 1996, p. 18).
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To classify a person within the group of Arabs, some basic principles must first be fulfilled: A possible classification might result from several different perspectives:
By comparing and contrasting those diverse statements, it can be seen that there is no all-encompassing definition.
1.2. Problem and Objectives
The main focus in this paper is concentrated on the question of:Why are history and culture so important in the context of business behavior?The aim of this thesis is to discover certain core beliefs that inform how business has developed. In addition, this research will explain why Westerners doing business with Arabs have to adapt their behavior in order to close deals and maintain successful business relations. In this context, a number of specific cultural differences between the Western and Arab approach to successful business transactions will be given. This thesis should give the reader an understanding of the Arab executive and his environment. It might further provide valuable information on how to reduce culture shock and so increase the speed of adaptation. The thesis should also serve as a general guideline with basic hints for people who are interested in international transactions between Western and Arab countries.
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The key issue of this thesis is to demonstrate through various examples that there is a pervasive influence of culture and environment on business conditions, social behavior and on the attitudes of managers.
1.3. Structure
The following paragraph explains the use of the transcript system used in this research paper to reflect the Arabic typeface with Latin signs. The transcript system is strongly linked to the proposed DMG system (DeutscheMorgenländische Gesellschaft)and to the recommended system of the International Oriental Congress in 1935 (http://www.dmg-web.de, 27.10.2005).
At the beginning an introduction to the Arab world will give the reader an insight by presenting the main historical events. The political development and the economic profile will further provide a deeper insight into the Arab world. The meaning of the Qur’n and the traditions and influence of religion on the life of a Muslim will be introduced and explained in the Chapter about Islam.
A general definition of culture should bring the reader to an understanding of the importance of culture in business life. The need for understanding different cultures to be effective in international business will be presented by referring to well known authors such as Triandis, Ghaussy and Hall. Additionally, a brief analysis of the four dimensions of Hofstede will be used to increase understanding of people in the Arab world as they do react different in certain situations. This research could further be used to discuss its consequences among the Arab executives. How culture influenced Arab society will be another chapter in this thesis. The statement that culture is a major force that influences economic relations will further be examined in the chapter concerning Arab executives. In presenting business attitudes toward the Western and the Arab world the reader will be informed that Arab culture shows a distinct contrast to its Western counterparts in many different situations but there are also numerous similarities given. The conclusion will summarize this research paper and future thoughts will summarize and conclude this thesis.
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2. INTRODUCTION TO THE ARAB WORLD
The combined population of the 22 Arab countries of the Arab league was 280 million people in 2000. This would count for 5% of the total world population.
2.1. Classification of the Arab countries
As already stated in the introduction part, the term ‘Arab world’ often shows up with various explanations that depend on the particular approach or view of the writer. For my thesis an arrangement among Arab countries would be appropriate to classify certain economic groups. These economic groups will also show up in this thesis to explain how Western managers might react to different market conditions. According to Waterbury and Mallakah there are 4 economic groups, which were later also used by Elbashier and Nicholls for further research.
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Source: Waterbury and Mallakh, 1978, quoted in Elbashier and Nicholls, 1982, p. 7-8
These four arrangements show that for this study, the Arab world mainly refers to the Middle East, which is also called the Arabian Peninsula. This Peninsula is a vital region of the larger Middle East, and plays a critically important geopolitical role due to its huge oil and natural gas reserves. Politically, this Peninsula is separated from
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Asia by the northern borders of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The following countries belong to this peninsula: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen (Elbashier and Nicholls, 1982, p. 7-8).
Countries outside the Arabian Peninsula which are listed in groups 2 to 4, also have a great importance in my paper in terms of economic classification. These countries together can provide a good insight into what Arab management looks like and how culture influences business conduct.
