Business Culture of Saudi Arabia

“There are seven billion people in the world but we live in a village … a global village”, Thomas and Inkson said. What they mean is that the business culture can be learned from either reading articles in newspapers, magazines, or watching television. The business culture in my country, Saudi Arabia, is something different from other cultures. But don’t worry, you can be successful if you know the three most important business culture techniques in my country. They are business appointment, greeting, and conversation.
One of the general culture aspects in my country is making appointments in advance and trying to arrive on time or casually late. In addition businessmen usually invite their visitors to dinner at a hotel or restaurants which don’t require tips. At the end of a business meeting they usually exchange gifts from both of their cultures. These are the general business culture aspects which you must know before visiting Saudi Arabia.
Another business culture aspect is the greeting between business people. The greeting between men is to shake hands when they meet or leave someone. Women shake hands and kiss each other’s check three times when they meet and only shake hands when they leave. But the greeting between men and women is talking without shaking hands or kissing. These are the general greeting traditions in my culture.
The third and most important business culture aspect is conversation. The conversation between business people is about national/international politics, weather, and sports. In order to make conversations more comfortable with others we do not talk about racial issues, religion, or private family matters. Those are how business people make conversations in Saudi Arabia.
Finally, the most important factor for business people is to learn the business culture in other countries such as making appointments, greeting one another, and conversation. They must also change their practices to be compatible with other cultures and to avoid common misconceptions about others in order to be successful in their goals.