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  • Essay / Cross-cultural business experience in the Middle East

    1. Introduction Almost everyone in business today works in some type of multicultural environment - in the office or with clients and colleagues around the world. Working in a multicultural environment requires a good understanding of basic workplace etiquette, communication processes and behavioral aspects. All communication is cultural. It builds on the ways we learned to speak and convey nonverbal messages. We don't always communicate in the same way on a daily basis, as factors such as context, individual personality, and mood interact with the variety of cultural influences we have internalized and which influence our choices. The challenge is that even with all the goodwill of the world, communication problems are likely to occur, particularly when there are significant cultural differences between the communicators. Poor communication can lead to conflict or worsen an already existing conflict. The cost to a business of a communications breakdown is difficult to calculate, but the cost of preparing to understand a new culture is minor in comparison. To improve an organization, its members must be able to apply understanding of the other culture in their missions and be able to observe and make appropriate behavioral adjustments when cross-cultural issues become important to their productivity or the effectiveness of the organization. organization as a whole. The following is a transcript of the interview with Mr. Nityanand who worked in Middle East Asia for over a year. In this interview, he reveals some interesting insights into the work environment of a multinational company working in Kuwait.2. InterviewQuestion 1: What do you think is the most significant difference in work environment between India and Kuwait? The significant difference was the lack of trust between management, engineers and workers. I was an engineer in a production site. I wanted to finally come back to India to pursue my career goals, but I was afraid to let management know for fear that they would put a damper on my plans. Lack of confidence is a very common attitude in the workplace and living space. You can't be very open about your plans because you never know who will veto them. As migrants, we always had to be on our guard.Question 2: How was the relationship between you and management?Cordial. This may seem contradictory to what I said earlier, but the fact is that as long as both parties do not have problems, the relationship remains cordial. I enjoyed my work in Kuwait more than in India because I was paid three times. more than a third of the work I did in India and on top of that I was able to spend valuable time with my family.