8/7/2019 Cultural Consideration ofSaudi Arabia[1]

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Presented By 

Lauren Gerber,

Johanan Toth, &Julien Cameron

8/7/2019 Cultural Consideration ofSaudi Arabia[1]

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Religion Impacty Cultural setting is Arab and Muslim

y Islamic law and Arabic custom is to be observed by 

everybody including visitorsy Alcoholic Beverages, Pornography, Narcotics, & Pork

are prohibited and lead to arrest and imprisonment

y Until recently No theatre or public exhibition of films

Segregation of sexes must be taken seriously .Dress modestly for both sexes

- No Tight clothing and No shortsAvoid topics concerning politics or laborunions

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How to Work with their Customs?y The Arab people are very hospitable and will go to

great lengths to make guests feel welcome and

comfortable.y The devout Muslims of Saudi Arabia pray five times a

day. Should you come across an associate orcounterpart mid-prayer, there is no need to be

embarrassed. Back away politely and let them finishtheir devotions.

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Personal Relationshipsy W hen entering a meeting full of people, everyone

expected to greet each individual with a handshake.

This is important Arabic custom.y Learning Arabic greeting and phases is ideal.

y Saudis generally entertain at home but are happy toaccept a foreigner's invitation to a restaurant as part of 

W estern custom.

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Gender Considerations

y More challenging for women due to gender separation

yW oman expected to dress conservatively, with longskirts, long sleeve (at least elbow length), andnecklines that unrevealing

y Muslim man usually will not shake hands with a

women or engage in any conversational body contactcommon when speaking to another man.

y Best to ask about family and children, but be carefulNOT to ask about a mans wife or daughters

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Teamwork

Boss

Individual

another

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Communicationy The standard greeting is Assalam alaikum (Peace be upon you')

to which is replied Wa alaikum assalam (And upon you too bepeace'). Visitors should wait for this reply before entering aroom.

y Avoid talking about politics and religion.y In Arabic, an individual is addressed by his or her first name, and

any title they possess. A "Dr. Ahmed Bin Al-Rahman" would beaddressed as "Dr. Ahmed."

y Arab names follow a simple pattern. The given name is

followed by bin or ibn (literally from', but meaning son of')followed by the given names of father and grandfather andthen a family name preceded by al-, meaning from thehouse of'.

y Many Saudi business executives know the English language

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Body Languagey Stand closer than normal

comfort zone

y

Emphasize a point by body contact

y Do NOT Drawback

y Right for shaking hands,eating, drinking &

passingy Impolite to talk with

hand gestures

y Impolite to point the soleof the foot at the personwhom you speaking

y Always drink one cup of tea or coffee when served

y Oscillate the cup to signalthat a refill is not desired

y Best to refrain fromdrinking and eating incompany of someoneobserving the fast

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Writing Styley There are two main types of written Arabic:

y Classical Arabic - the language of the Qur'an and classical

literature. It differs from ModernS

tandard Arabic mainly in style and vocabulary, some of which is archaic.

y All Muslims are expected to recite the Qur'an in the originallanguage, however many rely on translations in order tounderstand the text.

y Modern Standard Arabic - the universal language of theArabic-speaking world which is understood by all Arabicspeakers. It is the language of the vast majority of writtenmaterial and of formal TV shows, lectures, etc.

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Negotiating Tacticsy Unlikely to finalize any serious negotiation without such a

face-to-face meetingy Bear in mind that until the discovery of oil, the Kingdom

relied on skill in trading to prosper.y In Saudi Arabia you are dealing with one of the oldest

merchant cultures in the world, awash with expertbargainers, ready to discuss the price of almost anythingexcept a postage stamp.

y Saudis are also skilled at using silence as a bargaining tool.Never be intimidated by a period of silence.

y At a meeting, the person who asks the most questions islikely to be the least important. The decision maker is likely a silent observer.

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Significant of Timey Meeting can be long and interrupted by other visitors or

phone calls does not reflect on seriousness of proposaly Appointments are necessary and should be made several

weeks to one month in advance if at all possible.y W hen meeting with government officials, a firm date will

not be settled upon until you are physically in the country.y Try to schedule meetings in the morning.y You should arrive at meetings on time, although it is an

accepted custom to keep foreigners waiting.y It is not uncommon to have a meeting cancelled once you

arrive.y Meetings are generally not private until after a relationship

of trust has been developed

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Businesses in the Kingdom generally open at nine in

the morning,Closes for Dhuhr prayer just after midday, then open

for half an hour again before closing for the afternoon.

They then reopen between 5pm and 10pm, closing for

two more prayer sessions, M aghr ib (just after sunset)and I sha (an hour and a half after sunset).

Muslim holy day is Friday, the business week runs fromSaturday to W ednesday, with Thursday an optional

working day The religious holidays of Hajj and Ramadan should be

taken into consideration when planning a businesstrip.

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ReferencesBusiness and Social Customs in Saudi Arabia from

http://www.the-saudi.net/business-center/business-

etiquette.htmCultural guide to doing business in Dammam

http://www.flybmi.com/bmi/en-gb/flight-and-airport-info/where-we-fly/saudi-arabia.aspx

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