Are Arabs from Venus and Westerners from Mars?
There's no shortage of Western bankers in Dubai. But culturally, are Arabs and Westerners planets apart?
Maybe - Kwintessential, a consultancy which specializes in such things, says Arabs tend to be more tactile than Western businessmen: "Be prepared to be held, touched, kissed and felt. Recoiling from such behavior would seem cold."
On the other hand, it seems the money-focused, self-serving and competitive attitudes of some Western bankers don't sit well with Arab norms. One HR manager at an international bank, who spoke at a recent conference, says: "When we originally came to the Middle East we struggled, not because of the business plan but because of the culture gap."
So is the banking sector in the Middle East one of tolerance and appreciation of different cultural traditions? Or are there more clashes than at a particularly violent ice hockey match?
Your thoughts please...
