Culture #3
When doing business in a country such as Saudi Arabia there are many things you have to know about their culture and their business etiquette. Most of the rules and things that should be known revolve around the religion of Islam and the manners of the prophet Muhammed (pbuh).
Greetings:
The greeting when greeting someone from Saudi Arabia you should greet them with a greeting from there language which is Arabic some greetings are (Asalamualakum), (Marhaba), (Kefak), and many more and while saying that you also greet them with a firm handshake if you are talking to a male but if it is a female due to religious reasons it would be better if you greet here with just a verbal greeting.
Language;
The national language of Saudi Arabia is Arabic but when doing international business most businessman are fluent in both languages so you could say the language of business could be both.
Gifts:
Some gifts that are appreciated by the Saudi Arabian people are usually sweets. Sweets are a big factor in the Arab culture some examples of Arabic sweets are baklawa, knefa, Arabic ice cream, cake, etc. Also, another appropriate gift would be a bouquet of flowers it shows your appreciation for the space.
Appropriate Business Dress:
Many local Saudi Arabian business men dress in the cultural Saudi Arabian Attire which is a white thobe with a checkered white hata or a checkered red hata. A business man that is not from Saudi Arabia is not entitled to wear the cultural clothing and isn’t encouraged to either, a male businessman is encouraged to dress in a suit but due to the hot weather you don’t have to wear the jacket but at least have it over your arm. It is known that the Saudi Arabia is a very religious country that is very sensitive about women due to that women should wear conservative business attire.
Negotiating:
The people of Saudi Arabia dislike being rushed into a decision when negotiating let the other side think about there decision don’t rush them into doing something they do not take that lightly. Next, it is also known that if a Saudi business man is selling the product he will start with a really high price but if he is buying a product he will start from a really low price.
Country overview #2
Saudi Arabia is a country in the middle east that is surrounded by many neighbouring countries. Saudi Arabia is in the heart of the middle east some of the countries surrounding it are Kuwait, Iraq, Yemen, Sudan, Lebanon, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, etc. How can Saudi Arabia transport their products to some of these countries? One thing that Sudan and Egypt have in common is that they both have a border between then and Saudi Arabia that is created by the Red Sea, so they can transport there products easily by using ships. Next, another way they can transport their products or shipments can be by using the main roads and traveling by vehicle, some countries this can apply to is Jordan, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, etc. All of these countries share a land border and an efficient way to transport would be by using the main roads. After that, Some other ways you can transport products out of Saudi Arabia would be by plane or aircraft this would be most efficient to countries such as Canada, USA, Russia, etc. this would be efficient for them because they don’t have a clear land border between them and Saudi Arabia so by air would be more convenient noting that Saudi Arabia has 6 international airports.
Saudi Arabia has a very unique type of government. Saudi Arabia’s government consists of a Monarchy with the kingdom’s leadership being displayed in the House of Saud where the King stays. This all goes back over 200 years in the past when Muhammad bin Saud produced this kingdom in 1744 and all the kings that came after him where produced in the house of Saud. A quick explanation, a monarchy is a government that consists of a king/queen that signs off on laws and legislations and when the king passes away the kingdom goes into the hands of the king’s oldest son. Next, according to “Flexmize” a monarchy government is very supportive of free trade and entrepreneurship and it also has very fair laws and tax rules. According to “mideastlaw” a loss is “Saudi Arabia imposes a Business Income Tax (there is no personal income tax). The Tax Regulations tax the income of foreign companies in Saudi Arabia and the foreign partner’s share of net income from mixed Saudi/foreign companies.” So, tax is collected from foreign companies but not from the personal income of the people.
In Saudi Arabia school is very important and taken very seriously. In Saudi Arabia there is both private schools and public schools. //////////////////??????????????????///
Saudi Arabia and Canada use the almost the same communications. An example of that would be social media; in Saudi Arabia they use many of the social media apps that we use here in Canada such as Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook. One difference would be the language, in Canada most of the time we communicate on social media in English and French but in Saudi Arabia it would be Arabic and English. Next, in Saudi Arabia there is a certain apps and websites that are blocked by the Saudi Arabian government. Some examples of blocked apps: Whatsapp, Skype, Line, etc. In Saudi Arabia freedom of speech is either limited or non-existence. According to the “freedom house” Saudi Arabia is one of the worst countries when it comes to freedom of speech and media freedom.
SECTION #4
77.4% of Saudi Arabia’s exports is mineral fuels including oil, this is Saudi Arabia’s gold mine considering that this is there top export. Next, Saudi Arabia’s second most exported product is plastics which totals out to 7.7% of Saudi Arabia’s total exports. After that, Saudi Arabia’s third most exported product Organic chemicals which is 4.4% of Saudi Arabia’s total exports. This clearly proves that Saudi Arabia is known for the oil natural resource that they obtain it is the country’s most valuable asset.
A good reason for a Canadian business to move or expand to Saudi Arabia would be the condition of the labour costs. In Canada it is known for having high minimum wage rates which is good for Canadian workers but is bad for Canadian businesses. A way to save on this is moving your business to Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia has minimum wage exceptionally lower than compared to Canada’s minimum wage. How will this benefit the business? This will benefit the business by lowering their expenses and then potentially increasing their net income.
SECTION #5
First, one of the trade organizations that Saudi Arabia is part of is WTO (World Trade Organization) Saudi Arabia joined in 2005. Next, another world trade organization that Saudi Arabia is part of is
Section #6
The Saudi Arabian has a very consistent government but they do also have pollical risks of a terrorist groups taking over. According to the “CIA World Factbook” in the land of Saudi Arabia there are 3 main terrorist groups: al-Qa'ida, Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham, and al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula. This shows that there is a risk of war and a political risk of having the government overthrown.
Saudi Arabia is known to be a really wealthy country