Exercise # 4
Q1 – How culture
and dimensions influence
Life choices
Thinking
Sense of group
ANSWER
Every culture is
unique in its values and beliefs as well as its expectations from the
individuals who make part of it. The way people communicate, deal with each
other in formal as well as informal meetings, and express themselves, are
mostly dictated from the culture to which they belong. While being part of a
certain culture gives people a sense of belonging as well as nearness to their
roots, the global influence is permeating all cultures and making them change
as they adopt Western values of freedom and choice. Some cultures are more open
to adopting ideas from the other, while others are more conservative and closed
in that sense.
How Culture influences Life Choices
Taking the Asian
model, life choices are highly influenced by a need to confirm to the group.
Asian cultures are not as independent as the Western cultures. They require the
members to be closely associated to their families and work within the cultural
values and beliefs. The Asian culture is divided into many sub cultures. All of
them have varying degrees of interdependence and conformity, when it comes to
life choices. While other Asian sub-cultures like the Indian culture allows
children to select their careers, chose suitable jobs for themselves, and make
career choices, the Arab culture is still male-dominated where females still cannot
choose a profession for themselves. Similarly, the Japanese culture is highly
authoritative where juniors at work or in family cannot go against the
decisions of their seniors or elders. Thus in organisation meetings when a
senior member takes a decision, it is not considered good manners to question
or challenge his decision.
How Culture influences Thinking
In Asian
cultures, thinking is also influenced by the cultural values. It is unthinkable
to be an outlier when it comes to confirming to cultural values. Although the
Asian cultures support innovation, we see that in the last century, all major
innovations such as the Iphone have come from the West, which allows its
citizens to ask questions and supports them in their quest for the things which
may be new and unique. In the Asian cultures, the thoughts and expression are
concealed and it isnot considered good if a younger person questions the
beliefs and values which the elders have been following. Although the Western
values are permeating this part of culture, there are still restrictions on
expression that hinder innovation and challenging ideas.
The Arab
culture, like most Asian cultures, is “collectivist” as compared to the more
“individualistic” in nature. Thus decisions at home and at work are made not
just on the basis of personal choice. There is no clear demarcation between
family and work life. Thus they may even be overlapping at times, with family
life taking preference even at work hours, where employees and even managers
may be found leaving jobs early to attend to family issues (Whiteoak, Crawford,
& Mapstone, 2006).
How Culture influences Sense of Group
In the Asian
culture, there is a strong sense of accountability to the group. The Asian
culture promotes interdependence and supports belongingness to group, may it be
family or at work. Same is true for the Arab culture. There is a very strong
sense of association in the Arab culture. The Arabs from ancient times, used to
live in tribes. Being part of a tribe, or family, is still considered a matter
of pride for the Arabs. Due to this, the Arab culture does not support
individuality but rather focuses on collectivism. At work also, the Arabs tend
to be closer to each other as compared to other expatriate workers (Samovar, et
al., 2010). This is particularly true for the female workers, who prefer to
form groups with other Arab co-workers. This is also due to the fact that they
can talk in their own language, they share common backgrounds, and have similar
values and belief systems (Whiteoak, Crawford, & Mapstone, 2006).
Examples from Emirati Society
The tribal
society is still an important feature of socio-economic system in the UAE. Even
today, all Emiratis can relate themselves to a certain tribe which forms an
important part of their names (Al Abdi & Hellyer, 2001). Even today all
Emiratis can be distinguished based on their tribes. Belonging to certain tribe,
still can mean a source of importance and respect to the members, despite the
fact that they are materially rich or not (Al-Kandari & Gaither, 2011).
Family System in Emirati Society
According to
Bristol-Rhys, (2010) Emiratis prefer to move in their extended family circles
and this has not changed even though there are so many expatriates in the
country. Especially women do not go outside their close circle of Emirati
family and friends when socializing. Unmarried girls, almost always accompany
their mothers when visiting relatives. This can be thought of as a way to keep
the unmarried girls in the eyes of relatives who might then ask for their hand
in marriage for their sons or nephews. Thus the girls will remain in the family
which is the best marital arrangement even in today’s modern Emirati families.
Arranged marriages within the tribal units was the preferred pattern in the pre
oil period, but this pattern has changed somewhat. Individuals now have greater
choice, yet many nationals still prefer arranged marriages. Emiratis are
strongly discouraged from marrying non-nationals however, with the oil money,
Emiratis are more and more keeping more than one wives. This being said, the
first wife still is an Emirati who lives in the family home along with the
extended family whereas the other wives live separately in other homes and do
not enjoy the same status as the first Emirati wife.
Q2- WRITE
UP FOR THE BLOG
ARAB
CULTURE AND ITS INFLUENCE ON LIFE CHOICES
INTRODUCTION
This paper will
discuss how culture and its 12 dimensions influence life choices, thinking, and
sense of group or accountability. For the purpose of this report, we choose the
Asian model, with particular focus on the Middle Eastern culture. Although the
Asian culture is unique and similar across the continent, there are some major
difference between cultures in Japan and China from the Indian culture or that
of the sub-continent. Similarly, the Arab culture is very different from other
Asian cultures, not just in respect to the appearances but also in terms of
communication, freedom of expression, as well as thinking, life choices, and
conformity to the group.
The Arab culture
is one of the conservative cultures where both family and organisational lives
are governed by authoritarian leaders. At home, the father is the head of the
family and makes major decisions regarding the education, spending patterns,
and even when selecting life partners for the children. While boys in the
family have more freedom of choice, girls find limited opportunities to make
decisions for themselves. The Arab culture, although under influence of the
Western cultures, still holds its identity and those belonging to it take pride
in being part of the group. They do not wish to look different or act
different. Like the broader Asian model, the Arab model focuses on maintaining
harmony as well as gives strong support to family values. As is the case with
most Asian cultures, the Arab culture is more patriarchal where the men not
only control the state of affairs, they also protect the women and support them
in every way. They provide for the women, give them utmost respect, and treat
them well. However, the decision-making rests with the male members of the
family. The culture is patriarchal to such an extent that even the younger boys
in the family have more say in decision-making as compared to their elder
sisters.
In terms of the
dimensions, Arab culture in more relationship-focused when it comes to
decision-making. Being a patriarchal culture, the decision-making is centralised
and authority vests in the head of the family. In the first place, most Arab
families do not allow their women to go out and work with other men. One major
issue behind this conflict is that traditionally Arab culture promotes
segregation. Thus men do not freely mingle with women even at social gatherings
such as weddings. Thus it is not considered good that women work in the same
area where men are present and have frequent interactions with their male
colleagues (Whiteoak, Crawford, & Mapstone, 2006). Thus, this mind-set is
the root cause that makes men and heads of the families to stop the women in
their families from going out and work.
Examples
from Emirati Culture
Women from all
social strata in the UAE wish to work and be an important part in the economic
growth of the country (Bristol-Rhys, 2010). However, it is evident that the
mind-set of the general Emirati men has not yet changed. Thus they do not allow
their sisters or wives to enter in a field where they have to work shoulder to
shoulder with men. Despite all encouragement, women participation remains low
although it is growing at a very slow rate. In spite of new employment
opportunities, most women opt for marriage and raising children. UAE society
places a high value on those roles. Conservative cultural attitudes lead women
to seek jobs that do not involve mixing with men or commuting far from home.
Subsequently, most women are employed in education, health, and civil service.
Large families are encouraged by the state as a national policy, and family
size is six to eight children. With the changing times and increasing education
and awareness among the women, the husband's authority in household affairs is
declining, while the wife is gaining importance as a mother and the manager of
the domestic unit (Bristol-Rhys, 2010). However, women still have not gained
enough power to decide for themselves and their careers and mostly are left
only managing their households and keeping away from mainstream jobs.
COMMUNICATIONS IN ORGANISATIONS
According to
Whiteoak, Crawford, & Mapstone (2006) the communications in Arab
organisations, particularly where women are employed, mostly public sector
organisations, are mostly formal and rather than all male and female colleagues
intermingling during breaks or after work, the jobs and even departments are
segregated to certain extents. Thus a department head or supervisor normally
talks with the females in the department and that meeting is also formal and
work-related. Thus a propriety is always maintained in organisational dealings.
Formal Meetings
The Arabs prefer
to meet with their business acquaintances over coffee, lunch, or breakfast
(Samovar, et al. 2010). The business meetings in Arab culture are held in a
relaxed environment and they do not like to rush through the meeting agenda. A
person coming from the Western countries may find it strange but that is how
the meetings in Arab culture are held. Refusing coffee or food to the Arab host
can be considered as an offense and thus, not recommended in any business
meeting. Furthermore, Arab meetings may not be conclusive in the first meeting alone.
Many a times there is a need to meet again to finally be able to talk on the
agenda. Since the Arab culture is collectivist, the Arab businessmen and
managers prefer to work with others with whom they are acquainted. Thus making
friends and being in a comfortable semi-formal environment is very important
when it comes to business meetings in the Arab culture (Al-Kandari &
Gaither, 2011).
Based on the
above discussion as well as my understanding of the Arab culture, it is evident
that Arab culture is collectivist, like most Asian cultures. However, Arab
culture is more conservative as it still dictates what the men and women wear,
how they interact with each other and the way communications are allowed or
restricted between men and women. Furthermore, Arab culture is highly family or
tribe-oriented and individualism has still not found its place in the Arab
society. Being associated with a tribe is still considered a matter of pride in
most Arab countries. Thus, while the dressing, particularly dress-codes at
work, around the world have now moved to formal Western attire, the Arabs still
wear their own cultural dress to work and also feel proud of it.
At work also,
the organisational setting and departmentalisation is done keeping in mind the
need for segregation. Just like in families, at work too, the seniors are given
utmost importance. Their word is mostly the last word in any meeting or
decision-making. The decision-making is also mostly centralised both at work
and at homes.
The Arabs
believe, and rightly so, that their closeness to their own culture and the
“individuality” of their collective culture is the thing that gives them
strength and keeps them united. Thus, although they may prefer to wear Western
brands, they are still not influenced deeply by the Western culture.
Al-Kandari, A.,
& Gaither, T. K. (2011). Arabs, the west and public relations: A
critical/cultural study of Arab cultural values. Public Relations Review,
37(3), 266-273.
Al Abid, I.
& Hellyer, P. (2001). United Arab Emirates: a new perspective. United
Kingdom: Trident Press, 2001.
Bristol-Rhys, J.
(2010). Emirati Women, Generations of Change. Hurst Publishers
Samovar, L. A.
et al. (2010). Communication between Cultures, 7th Ed., Boston: Wadsworth,
Cengage Learning, 70
Whiteoak, J. W.,
Crawford, N. G., & Mapstone, R. H. (2006). Impact of gender and
generational differences in work values and attitudes in an Arab culture.
Thunderbird International Business Review, 48(1), 77-91.
