Planning on visiting or doing business with an Arab company? Listed here are few tips on Arab business and culture for visitors, exporters, and international traders to know the culture, business culture, and the way to do business with Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Yemen, and other Middle East countries.
Conservative behavior: In public, Arabs behave conservatively. Display of affection between spouses is nonexistent. It’s a non-public society and display of 1’s feelings is kept private. You can even notice that laughter and joking in public is toned down, which is just not the case in private gatherings. Arguments between spouses, friends, and folks typically are also kept private or conducted in a way that guarantees nobody else is aware of it.
Invitations: When you are invited to dinner or lunch, you should not expected to bring food, drinks, or gifts. Upon entering the home notice the guest room you’re taken to. If shoes and sandals were left on the door by other guests, then take off your shoes. It’s customary when entering guest’s room or office to greet everyone there by saying Alsalamo-Alikom, which suggests “peace be with you”. The reply to this greeting is “Wa’alikom Alsalam”. Once inside, everyone will rise up to greet you and shake your hand. Start with the person standing in your right side or the one who’s approaching you. Notice that in each modern and traditional Arab guest rooms, attendants are seated in a circle to make sure that nobody is facing someone’s else back. Also note that the soles of your feet shouldn’t point directly toward another person. At all times use your right hand when giving or receiving objects.
Save Face concept: The Arab culture is a non-confrontational one which seeks the least conflict possible. An idea called “save face” is a solution to solve conflicts and avoid embarrassing or discomforting the parties involved. Saving someone’s face or dignity involves using maneuvers or holding one’s reactions to provide the opposite party a solution to exit the situation with minimal discomfort or harm to their dignity. It involves compromise, patience, and sensitivity. The “save face” concept is checked out as a behavior of top quality ethics and manners. The Arabian culture encourages people to act humbly and with sensitivity to an individual’s dignity, especially when that person’s dignity and self respect is endangered. This is a vital tip for many who is likely to be involved in managing businesses in an Arab country.
Family structure: In an Arab family, gender and age plays an enormous role in deciding responsibilities. The daddy is generally the top of the family and the provider for its needs, while the mother plays a serious role in raising children and caring for the home. Although culture, traditions, and Islam strongly stress the importance of ladies’s roles in caring for the home and raising children, it’s a mistake to think that Arab women are confined to this role. Before Islam there have been many successful Arab businesswomen they usually still exist throughout the Arab region, but due to cultural reasons, they conduct business in an not noticeable way. A daughter lives at her family house so long as she is just not married. Sons might move to their very own houses after they get married, but at the very least one son will still live on the family house even when he’s married in an effort to care for the parents. When a girl gets married there are not any changes made to any a part of her name.
Business Meetings with Arab corporations: Sometimes when attempting to arrange meeting dates together with your Arab clients you will see that their answer is something like “At any time when you’re in the realm give us a call”. Don’t interpret this as an indication of lack of interest in your enterprise. It is the same as a solution that sets a particular date and time. Allow enough time for social chat together with your Arab clients before you open any business discussions.
Promoting and Marketing to the Arab Market: Your online business Commercial must be conservative in content and appearance and doesn’t present any social values or situations that contradict with the Arab culture or Islam. In just about all the Arab countries commercial should circuitously or explicitly contain comparison between two different brands for a similar variety of products. Message should place more emphasis on the standard and functionality of the product. The essential commercial outlet sources are newspapers, magazines and tv.
