NORTH SOUTH UNIVERSITY

Fall 2021

INB 372

International Business

Section:10

Group Case Study:

“Culture”

Submitted to:

Mahtab Muntazeri (MBT)

Department of Marketing and INB

Course Instructor

Submitted by: Team BLUE

Name I’d

1. Md. Rakibul Hasan 1612782030

2. Tania Sultana Tisha 1913052630
3. Md. Shahriar Rahman Pritom 1931058030
4. Afia Ebnat Ruponty 1931116030
5. Simi Das 1931633630
 1. What forces shaped modern Saudi culture? How similar or
different are these forces from those that shape the culture of the
Western nations?
Answer:

Saudi iArabia's iculture iis iinfluenced iby ia iblend iof iIslamic iand iBedouin itraditions. iSaudi
iculture iis iheavily iinfluenced iby ithe ihardline iWahhabi isect iof iIslam. iStores iand irestaurants,

ifor iexample, iclose iduring ithe ifive idaily iprayer ihours. iMen iand iwomen ihave iseparate idining

ispaces iin imany irestaurants, iespecially iwestern iones. iIn iSaudi iArabia, iwomen iare inot

ipermitted ito idrive ia icar, isail ia iboat, ior ifly ia iplane, inor iare ithey ipermitted ito istand

ioutside iwith itheir ihair, iwrists, ior iankles iexposed. iSaudi iculture ihas ibeen ishaped ialmost ias

imuch iby iBedouin itraditions ias iby iIslamic ibeliefs. iLoyalty, istatus, ia istress ion iinterpersonal

irelationships, idepending ion iestimated itimings irather ithan iexact iones, iand ian iaversion ito

imanual ilabor iwere iall isignificant ivalues ito ithose iproud inomads. iIt’s ivery idifferent ifrom

iwestern iculture iwhere iwomen ihave imore ifreedom ito iwear iwhatever ithey iwant, ialso ihold

imajor iroles iin ibusiness. iIn imost iplaces, istores iand irestaurants iare iopen itill imidnight. iWhen

iit icomes ito imeeting itimes iand ischeduling, ithere iis ia isense iof iprofessionalism. iPeople iaren't

iafraid ito ido imanual ilabor iif iit's inecessary. iPeople iform isocial ities ithat iare ifriendly ibut inot

inecessarily iintimate.
 2. What kinds of misunderstanding are likely to arise between an
American company and a Saudi enterprise, if neither of which has
experience dealing with each other?

Answer:

At the time of dealing between two different cultural people, misunderstanding habitually take places. We
know that all countries aren't same in cultures, societies, comprehensions, and behaviors and business
policies too. Different countries own different cultures; different cultures own different way to do
business.

If neither an American company nor a Saudi corporation has dealt with each other before, many
misunderstandings are likely to occur. In Saudi Arabia, people aren't permitted to sit in same place both
men-women. Women have very little independency whereas in America, women have more autonomy to
be part of manpower. Likewise, in America individual success get further precedence than personal
relationship whereas in Saudi Arabia it's exactly oppose, their family and friend get further precedence
before making any kind of decision. They also don't reply well if a foreign company sends inferior
executive to distribute business. These artistic or cultural issues might lead to misunderstanding in
business between American Company and Saudi Enterprise.

Saudi CEOs routinely interrupt meetings as a result of the "open office culture" in Saudi Arabia. This will
clash with westerners' approach to professional gatherings. Saudis will often conduct business only after
establishing confidence through a large number of face-to-face meetings, which might be off-putting to
Westerners. They don't like being pushed into making a business decision. Westerners may find this
stressful. In business, nepotism is a major force, and job security and progress may be dependent on
family and friendship relationships instead of, or in addition to, demonstrable technical or management
competence. This could be interpreted as nepotism by Westerners. Also, in meetings, if a foreign
company sends a junior executive to transact business, Saudi executives will respond negatively. Friends
and family have an impact on business decisions, Before making a commercial choice, Saudi executives
would speak with family and friends, and they may value their advice more than that of professionals they
don't know.
 3. If you were in a position to advise a Western company that was
considering doing business in a Saudi Arabia for the first time,
what would your advice be?

Answer:

To a Western corporation intending to do business in Saudi Arabia, the recommendation would be to be

sensitive to the cultural difficulties and keep in mind their unique culture. As a result, they must
comprehend the cultural components emerging from the Islamic and Bedouin pasts.

If I would be in a position to advise a western company that was considering doing business in Saudi
Arabia for the first time, my advice would be-

1. The western companies should learn about the Saudi culture.

2. Saudi is religious country, so western companies should follow the restriction with timings of
workers and respect their religious needs of prayers.
3. The westerners are straight forward people they always take decision quickly and also
considering expert’s decisions but Saudi are not like to take decision quickly always considering
family advice, so western companies should give time for decision making.
4. Saudi people always do business with trustworthy people, so the western companies should give
good impression for first time doing the business to gain their loyalty.
5. Before doing business with Saudi, American company should research about company and
manners which following in the Arabic nation. Saudi people are always hard to negotiate so;
American company should prepare for that.