Cross Cultural Communication –

Country: United Arab Emirates

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Population, GDP & Economy
• The estimated population of UAE is approx. 10 Million. The UAE is home to over 200 nationalities. Emiratis constitute roughly 20% of the
total population, making UAE home to one of the world's highest percentage of immigrants

• Indians and Pakistanis form the largest expatriate groups in the country, constituting 28% and 12% of the total population respectively

• The UAE's economy is the most diversified in the Gulf Cooperation Council, while its most populous city of Dubai is an important global city
and international aviation and maritime trade hub. Consequently, the country is much less reliant on oil and gas than in previous years and
is economically focusing on tourism and business. The UAE government does not levy income tax although there is a system of corporate
tax in place and Value Added Tax at 5% was established in 2018.

• The economy of the United Arab Emirates (or UAE) is the second largest in the Middle East (after Saudi Arabia), with a gross domestic
product (GDP) of USD 414 billion (AED 1.52 trillion) in 2018. A third of the GDP is from oil revenues

• Tourism is one of the bigger non-oil sources of revenue in the UAE, with some of the world's most luxurious hotels being based in the UAE.
A massive construction boom, an expanding manufacturing base, and a thriving services sector are helping the UAE diversify its economy.
Nationwide, there is currently $350 billion worth of active construction projects

• The development in the real estate and infrastructure sectors during the recent year has contributed in making the country a global
touristic destination. The contribution of tourism in the Emirati GDP increased from 3% in the mid-1990s to more than 16.5% by the end of
2010. This trend is supported by the huge public investments in touristic projects (47 Billion Dollars per annum) carried mainly to expend
airports, increase their capacity, set up new airports and ports.

• UAE is ranked as the 26th best nation in the world for doing business by the Doing Business 2017 Report published by the World Bank
Group. The UAE are in the top ranks of several global indices, such as the Doing Business, the World Economic Forum's (WEF) Global
Competitiveness Index (GCI), the World Happiness Report (WHR) and the Global Innovation Index (GII). The Economist Intelligence Unit
(EIU), for example, assigns the UAE rank two regionally in terms of business environment and 22 worldwide. From the 2018 Arab Youth
Survey the UAE emerges as top Arab country in areas such as living, safety and security, economic opportunities, and starting a business,
and as an example for other states to emulate

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 Cross Cultural Communication
• Multicultural, multinational, and multilingual teams are part of global organizations of today and part of the Avaya DNA.
This highlights the importance of cultural competencies, cross-cultural cooperation, and collaboration and leadership of
multinational teams.

• How to do business in such a culturally-diverse environment?

Answer : Competence of cultural intelligence (CQ)
CQ means being interested of culturally-diverse settings and
motivated to effectively function in them, knowing how cultures
are similar and different, being aware of the moments when
CQ is needed, and finally being able to adapt one’s behavior
to specific situations.

Key Elements of CQ:

• Motivation
• Values and Beliefs
VUCA Business
• Etiquette environment
• Communication /Soft Skills (Volatile, Uncertain,
• Unconscious Bias ** Complex, ambiguous)

• In Avaya Services, we interact with customers, partners, peers, and managers across the globe. Ensuring we exhibit
cultural awareness and emotional intelligence is the basis for seamless, positive, and successful collaboration.

Impact/Outcome/Result : Customer Satisfaction (CSAT), Revenue, KPIs

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Avaya Customer feedback – Improvement Areas

LAIGHTON LEADERSHIP 2. Issue Not Fixed – 44,13%

1. Engineer Skills – 45,13% 1
31 4
7 7 13 44
8
8
10 16 3. Time to Resolve - 52,15%
45 52

5. Overall Service 24 4. Communication – 40,12%

Quality – 45,13% 17
40

45

345 FLAGS:
Issue not fixed/SR closed Responsiveness
5 Key Areas accounting
Time to Resolve Issue Communication for 66%
Engineer tech/softskill capability Language Perception of Support Execution
Team Collaboration Overall Service Quality issues
Search Capability Overall effectiveness of website
Opening a SR Other - Content, AVA
IVR vs Web Model BP Certifications
Other Entitlement Issues
Product Documentation Product Quality/Features Specific Product Documents

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Few customer comments ( via Avaya Customer surveys)
• “Technician spoke too fast to be understood. I repeatedly had to ask him to repeat what he
said”.
• “The person handled this case was very poor. My consent was not obtained before this
case was close.”
• You ask for a lot of information before opening an SR
• “I have provided the information about the issue through the Service Request form but the
person who initially contacted me by the phone did not read it and asked the same questions
I have already answered”.
HOW TO AVOID SUCH COMMENTS?
3 cross-cultural competencies that help us in a global environment
• Tolerance for Ambiguity – what is clear to us, may not be clear to someone with a different cultural background.
• Cultural Flexibility - become more aware of the cultural basis of our own behavior, perceptions, beliefs, and values to
enable us to see any interaction from a cultural perspective.
• Reduced Ethnocentrism – that is the assumption that the culture of one’s own group is right, moral and rational, and
that other cultures are inferior or not as important

** Personal characteristics such as openness, agreeableness, extraversion, conscientiousness, respect and listening
help us develop these competencies.
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Communicating with UAE customers
• UAE customers have high expectations and earning their loyalty is’nt easy. They are big spenders. They’ll happily open their
wallets for their favorite brands, with 34% saying they’d buy from them at any price point.
• UAE customers are hard to impress. Their expectations/Behavior ?
Don’t you feel good when the patron
1) Personalized Experience. brings us our favorite beverage and
recommends a special which he knows
2) Quality of the product. ( highlight the special features to prove superiority). will suit our taste ?
“ PERSONALIZATION”
3) Professionalism.
4) Beyond the obvious.
5) Do not discuss about Women or Israel.
6) Raised voice not a sign of anger.
7) Normal to interrupt but do not confront as disagreeing is seen as a sign of disrespect.
8) Less worried about logical arguments than being persuaded.
9) Ask more round-about questions to obtain the information you need.

It’s okay to be modern, extravagant and westernized, but make sure to not offend the
traditional, conservative Arab population.

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 WORKING WITH GLOBAL CULTURES
• Working in a global organization and with global customers can be a very rewarding experience.
• We also have to understand cultural differences.
• It helps if we familiarize ourselves with the behavior patterns accepted in different countries, investigate their
traditions and lifestyle. When in doubt, ask questions and let the other person know we are willing to learn. This will
help prevent issues such as asking our customers or peers to respond on a given day when in fact they are out of the
office on public holidays
• Just be sure you are respectful of the culture and make sure you sit and listen before speaking

“In the majority of cases it is simply assumed that 'if it is OK for us it is OK for them'.”

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