Global Business Analysis of Uae

The major elements and dimensions of culture in the UAE

The elements and dimensions of culture include communication (language), religion, ethics, values and attitudes, manners, customs, and social structures and organizations. The understanding of these principles, relative to culture, is imperative to the success of international businesses, marketing scholars, and practitioners alike. Within this insight lies approved goals and objectives to meet the needs of merchants and consumers internationally.

Social Structure of the UAE

The UAE is one of six members belonging to the Gulf Corporate Council (GCC). It is also a member of the United Nations (UN), International Monetary Fund (IMF), Oil Product Exporting Countries (OPEC) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) (Rees, C. J., Mamman, A., & Braik, A., 2007). Compared to other nations in the Middle East, the UAE is regarded as the most politically stable (Akoum, 2008). After declaring its independence from British parliament in 1971, the UAE formed a federation of seven independent emirates (Akoum, 2008). Those emirates are: Abu Dhabi, which is the largest city and capital of the UAE, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Qaiwain, Ras Al Khaimah, and Fujairah. Governed by Hereditary rule, each emirate consists of a Sheikh from the supreme council of rulers who work alongside a Crown Prince and a deputy ruler (Rees, et. al., 2007). These rulers control general policy and federal laws.

Values and attitudes

In keeping with Islamic tradition, families in the UAE share the view that men are guardians over women (Crabtree, 2007). They also believe that marriage is a means for procreation and to promote social stability. Patriarchal views are dominant throughout the region as well. Sons are valued more than daughters, a viewpoint that can be seen through the celebrations that occur following births. For example, two goats are slaughtered for the birth of a son as opposed to one for a daughter (Crabtree, 2007). This notion is contradictory to Islamic teachings which have been credited with raising the status of women compared to their position in pre-Islamic societies (Crabtree, 2007). Family sizes are considerably larger than those of Western societies with an average of five or more children.

Religion

Ethics

Manners

Ethics

Ethics play an important role in developing a business' strategic plan, as it serves as the backbone of the firm's principles. The firm's goal is to provide services and products, and acquire profits through the business' sales and operations (Goby & Nickerson, 2012; Ethics Resource Centre 2009). In spite of the business' goal to acquire profits and get a good return of investment, it is important that the strategies they employ in their operations in the UAE region are bound by moral and ethical standards for their stakeholders (Lewis 2002).

Such measures are not only applicable to their customers, but also to their employees, the community they operate in, the government, and the media (Johnson 2004; Elango et al 2010). However, common business practice in UAE dictates ethics and corporate social responsibilities may not be overlooked due to the firm's drive to increase sales and revenue. The launch of marketing campaigns and sales advertisements as a means to market their products and services must be bound by ethical guidelines, which would then ensure the safety of the stakeholders, without compromising the effectiveness of the company's operations (Ferrell and Ferrell 2011; Lewis 2002).

Customs

Culture presents the standard, or the defined collective norm that serves the guide to which individuals are expected to follow in terms of the behavior they should display. Based on the construct of normative structure, a strong culture possesses a normative structure; as such cultures define the proper behavior that must be demonstrated within the organization or state. In the UAE, businesses aim to share a common set of values and principles, as well as objectives and purposes in their investments. Such standards in the region present a clear definition of the organization's beliefs and code of conduct. A normative structure enables an organization to judge behavior based on what is ethical or not ethical within a company due to the specified set of values, as well as the people responsible in carrying out and reinforcing the aforementioned values and beliefs. A weak culture would present a contradiction in the system and cause the manifestation of sub-cultures (Ferrell and Gresham 1985).

Communication

Communication is vital to all nations as it promotes sharing of information among people and various departments or sectors of the economy. UAE utilizes open house discussions, employee-management meetings, suggestion boxes and idea capturing tools that are positioned in the building blocks that help the managers to identify and develop the talents of the employees. This helps in the adoption of a systematic approach to ensure that knowledge sharing is encouraged.

Language is perceived by scholars to be a vehicle of culture. Different languages affect consumer behavior. Historically, trade in Middle East had predominant Arabic language with most of beliefs and customs revolving around Islam. But with rapid economic growth and development, along with modernization, adoption of other languages has been paramount to ease business operations and transactions (Schvaneveldt, P. L., Kerpelman, J. L., & Schvaneveldt, J. D., 2005). Nowadays, it embraces English language in its systems for easy communication among business people from all corners of the globe. This has also allowed the UAE to be well connected to different parts of the world via television, radio and online. News from Western Nations such as U.S. flows to their residential places of Emirates either as CNN, BBC, documentaries, business and course of politics. People living in U.S. and UAE have language teaching and learning skills that fully connect in both the innovations from the East and West, besides helping to understand the reminiscence of past Islamic interventions in business.

Integration of cultural elements and dimensions by locals in conducting business

Presently, government leaders and educational institutions are committed in nurturing a global perspective among the locals to make easily integrate with the rest of the world in all spheres of life. For instance, Zayed University undertakes its learning instructions in English, as the