Saudi Arabia vs. American Business Culture

Saudi Arabia vs. American Business Culture

A number of U.S. And Europe-based MNCs have, in the past, suffered huge losses due to the lack of appreciation for the Asian way of conducting business, and their culture in general. This explains why it is necessary for businesses and individuals to understand and manage diversity in culture. There is a huge cultural variation between the western and the Asian worlds. Diversity management goes beyond just changing standards and valid expectations; it entails recognizing the fact that different groups would approach different situations in different ways, and then developing mechanisms through which potential frictions could be reduced. Whereas effective diversity management is a success factor, the contrary could have detrimental effects on the success of any business unit.

Differences between American and Saudi-Arabian Cultures

Religion and Language: U.S. doctrines strongly advocate for the separation of the church, and the state. The bulk of the American population is Christian, although there exists a significant number of non-Christian groups. Of significance is the fact that "religious observances do not usually interfere with business, and it is not uncommon, therefore, to find restaurant and chain store employees working during religious holidays such as Christmas" (Chaney & Martin, 2012, p. 92). Moreover, since religion is considered a personal affair, it is possible to find people within the same family unit practicing different denominations (Chaney & Martin, 2012)

In Saudi-Arabia, Islam, the official religion, significantly interferes with business operations, with workers stopping "work five times each day for prayers" (Chaney & Martin, 2012, p. 94). Although English is widely spoken and taught as a second language in schools, Arabic is the official language. Like is the case in America, where there are differences in dialects between the languages spoken in Black-American dominated and Native-American dominated states, there are dialectal differences between the languages spoken in Saudi-Arabia's urban and rural areas (Chaney & Martin, 2012). Religious observances such as the Holy Month of Ramadan are marked by business closure, or a maximum of six hours of work, and people fasting from dawn to dusk (Chaney & Martin, 2012).

Value and Attitude: The Saudi culture, unlike America's, highly values the buffer of hierarchy (CESL, 2008). In a family setting, the man solely makes the decision, and women are not allowed to make important decisions without men's consent (CESL, 2008). American families, on the other hand, believe in sharing and holding negotiations with each other. In work settings, Saudi people leave the decision-making role to the boss, and are largely close-minded, contrary to Americans, who value changes, and consultations. Unlike Americans, who value freedom, the Saudi society largely relies on rules, in the absence of which they "would not achieve, come to work on time, and leave on time" (CESL, 2008). The Saudi culture is characterized by a strong old generation-new generation relationship. In the U.S., this relation is weak, and the new generation largely disregards advice from the old (CESL, 2008).

Education and Technology: The American culture values education and advocates for it to be made accessible to all. Its educational system advocates for the development of social skills, in addition to academic achievements. In developing these skills, it puts emphasis on school clubs, sports, and other kinds of interaction within and without the classroom (Chaney & Martin, 2012). In Saudi Arabia, the system screens people and then avails education to a select few (Chaney & Martin, 2012). Moreover, "academic development rather than social development is of primary concern" (Chaney & Martin, 2012, p. 94).

Social Organization: In the U.S., people separate work from family, and would often choose work over family, when forced to make such choices (Chaney & Martin, 2012). The Saudi culture, on the other hand, places work below family. This explains why businesses, in this case, are mostly family affairs, and why nepotism is seen as an indicator of healthy business, rather than one of corruption (Chaney & Martin, 2012). Saudi people value collectivism; they prefer working with others to working individually. Americans, on the other hand, are often jealous of others' success, and love doing their activities alone, for their own benefit (Chaney & Martin, 2012).

Manners and Customs: The Saudi culture values etiquette, and strongly limits interactions between men and women, at the personal as well as business level (Chaney & Martin, 2012). Men and women, for instance, have to dine in separate rooms during social functions. Women have to dress in a manner that conceals their collarbones and knees. Although American culture emphasizes good manners, such kind of dressing etiquette is not strictly observed (Chaney & Martin, 2012).

Aesthetics, Material Culture, and Appointments: The Saudi culture is highly polychromic, where people's concept of time is largely flexible. They frequently break schedules and appointments, and change or fail to meet deadlines (CESL, 2008). In the U.S., people value time and consider it a valuable resource that should not be wasted. Of significance is the high degree of importance placed on the concepts of deadlines and punctuality (CESL, 2008). On the other hand, the Saudi culture can be considered configurational (Zaharna, 1995). Contrary to the linear American culture, the Saudi culture values images, and incorporates the same in its music, advertizing symbolism, architecture, and product packaging (Zaharna, 1995). For instance, the green color is associated with prosperity; customers would purchase a product packaged in green for this reason (Zaharna, 1995).