CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT

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#1
Multiculturalism in Singapore

Singapore is widely recognized as a successful multicultural society. Its population of about 5

million consists of roughly 74 percent Chinese, 13 percent Malays, 9 percent Indians, and the
rest Eurasians and others. Together they represent numerous diverse religious faiths –
Buddhist, Christian, Muslim, Taoist, Hindu, Sikh, and Jewish – all crammed into an area of a
little over 700 km2 , making it one of the most densely populated countries in the world. This
diversity of peoples living in close proximity to one another is potentially explosive but,
remarkably, Singapore is distinguished by a high level of social and cultural harmony.25

Why? From independence in 1965, the fledgling democracy sought to integrate the various
racial and cultural groups into a peaceful, workable society, with a unifying identity. Without
this, many understood that this tiny state, with few natural resources, would likely not have
survived. How did the new government accomplish this? Mainly through a high degree of
state centralization and intervention; separation of state and religion; maintaining a secular
neutralism vis-à-vis religion; recognition of the languages of the major communities, Malay,
Chinese [Mandarin], and Tamil, as official tongues, with English as the first language; a system
of meritocracy as opposed to one of nepotism and cronyism; and what some opponents call
a de facto one-party government, which has ensured continuity of government policy.

A principal tool the government used to forge cultural and religious harmony was the
education system. Instruction in the public schools is in English, although pupils also study
their mother tongues. A sense of national pride and identity, as well as racial, religious, and
cultural consensus, is instilled through a broad-based social studies program. Another means
to bring the various groups together was an ethnic integration policy in which each of the
major cultures were given a representative quota of homes in various housing blocks. Once
that limit has been reached, no further sales of flats to that ethnic group were allowed.

According to one survey, Singaporeans rate citizenship higher than the demands of their
religion because of the high degree of religious tolerance, both between government and
religions, and between the religions themselves. Second, the main state language, English,
does not conflict with the “languages of religion.” Third is the lack of a clear ethno-linguistic-
religious majority, which prevents the political dominance of a particular group.

Lastly, Singapore’s phenomenal economic success and prosperity have served both to
minimize tensions and to motivate the various groups to work together to maintain the
state’s position as one of Asia’s more dynamic economies. While not all the citizens of the
country are rich, the standard of living is comparable to that in North America and Western
Europe. A recent survey found that 11.4 percent of Singaporean households are considered
millionaires, the largest proportion in the world.

Think about it . . .
Questions:

1. Why do outside observers describe Singapore as a successful multicultural society?

2. Are these characteristics easily transferrable to other multi-ethnic societies? Why or

why not?

3. What are the challenges facing Singaporeans in living in a multicultural society?

Explain.

4. What are the implications for foreign firms doing business in Singapore?

5. What can other countries learn from the example of Singapore in seeking to develop
more successful multicultural societies?
#2

Women executives in the Middle East

Nahed Taher is the first woman CEO of the Gulf One Investment Bank, based in Bahrain. As a
former senior economist at the National Commercial Bank, Taher has been immersed in plans
for financing public sector projects, including expansion of the terminal that handles Mecca
pilgrims at Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport. She also oversees financing for a
water desalination plant for Saudi Arabian Airlines, as well as Saudi copper, zinc, and gold
mines. Taher may be an unusual example of an Arab executive, but she is increasingly
becoming a common one. In fact, business leaders such as Taher are gaining power despite
the odds. Ten women executives from the Middle East made the Forbes “World’s 100 most
powerful women” list.

How are women such as Taher managing to break through the global glass ceiling in the
Middle Eastern region? In many cases, the increasing globalization of the world’s economy
has played an important role. The economic liberalization of several Muslim countries in
recent years, along with the privatization of large parts of government-run companies, has
helped Muslim businesswomen get a greater foothold. “Now opportunities are open to
everyone,” says Laura Osman, the first female president of the Arab Bankers Association of
North America. “The private sector runs on meritocracy.” In fact, banking in the Muslim world
is populated by a growing number of women, even in the historically all-male executive suite.
Sahar El-Sallab is second in command at Commercial International Bank, one of Egypt’s largest
private banks. Indeed, four out of ten Commercial International Bank employees and 70
percent of its management staff are women. Similarly, Maha Al-Ghunaim, chairman of
Kuwait’s Global Investment House, has steadily grown the investment bank she founded into
more than $7 billion in assets. Recently it won permission to operate in Qatar, and next wants
to establish a presence in Saudi Arabia.

Muslim businesswomen also sit in the top ranks of large conglomerates. Imre Barmanbek runs
one of Turkey’s largest multinationals, Dogan Holding. Lubna Olayan helps oversee the Olayan
Group of Saudi Arabia, one of the biggest multinationals in the Middle East, with investments
in more than forty companies. The top ranks of the conglomerate run by the Khamis family
of Egypt also include several women. Originally from India, Vidya Chabria is chairman of the
United Arab Emirates’ Jumbo Group, a $2 billion multinational that operates in fifty countries,
with interests in durables, chemicals, and machinery products. It also owns Jumbo Electronics,
one of the Middle East’s largest Sony distributors of consumer electronics, as well as
worldwide brands in information technology and telecom products. Thus, while Muslim
women may still have a way to go to reach “equality” in the business world, progress can be
seen. “Just being a woman in our part of the world is quite difficult,” says El-Sallab of Egypt’s
Commercial International Bank; “but if you have the proper education, credibility, and
integrity in the way you handle your job, intelligent men will always give you your due.”

At the same time, an increasing number of young educated Arab women are finding their way
into the lower and middle managerial ranks as well, albeit slowly. In Saudi Arabia, for example,
new government policies are working to recruit more women for vital private and public
sector jobs by offering child care, transportation and, in some cases, segregated factories. The
state-run Saudi Industrial Property Authority, for example, is building special zones designed
to encourage business owners to hire more Saudi women. The zones are located near urban
areas to make commutes short and offer training centers to teach manufacturing skills. Still,
much of the recent hiring of women is by foreign companies. An example is Zahra al Khalifa,
a young engineering graduate recently hired by GE for their Saudi operations. Multiple
hurdles for women still exist, however, and the toughest part of the job is often outside the
shop. “Most of our customers are men,” al Khalifa observed. “They are not comfortable
dealing with females yet.”

Think about it . . .

Questions:

1. How can we reconcile stereotypes about Arab and Muslim women with examples of
successful businesswomen working in the Middle Eastern region such as those
mentioned here?

2. Do the women discussed here exhibit any common personal characteristics that may
have helped them succeed?

3. What other examples of cultural stereotypes from other parts of the world can you
identify that are either overly simplistic or simply incorrect? Why do we have such
stereotypes?

4. Considering the example of Zahara al Khalfi, what else might the Saudi and other Arab
governments do to overcome traditional impediments to women working in industry?