Although books have been written about doing business in the Arab world and Arabs have increasingly become used to Western expectations in international commerce, some basic lessons, often need to be learned over and over again – especially by those living in the West.

Cross-cultural studies often begin with aspects of nonverbal communication that are problematic when members of Western (individualistic) cultures meet Middle Eastern (collectivistic) cultures. In a business context, a chief aspect of nonverbal communication is dress.

Presentation

The way you dress makes a first and lasting impression; this is as true in domestic situations as it is within the international business arena.

Your Arab counterpart may be wearing his traditional thobe (a garment resembling a long white shirt) and gutra (headdress) which to you might look identical to any similar garment you see men wearing on the street in the Middle East. But you can bet there will be a difference. Traditional dress differentiates itself by quality.

Arab business people will wear only the best; this includes accessories such as the silver watch or ring down to the brand of cologne. If your contact has a beard you can be sure it will be neatly trimmed, the moustache does not touch the upper lip (there's a hadith — thousands of sayings and doings of the Prophet Mohammed, to be followed literally by the Believers — advising this). Basically, in every way, your counterpart will appear dignified and respectable.

Should you show up for a meeting in a shabby suit and tie, with an unruly moustache or beard, shoes not shined or too well-worn, sporting an obviously cheap watch on your wrist, expect to meet a disappointed and sceptical counterpart.

Status

Status expectations even carry into how you deport yourself. When meeting an Arab colleague for the fist time, if you exercise your habitual egalitarianism, in his eyes your status will probably hit the floor.

I recall one businessman from the States who insisted on carrying his own bags into and out of hotels when porters were standing by. This attitude contrasts with the Arabs' keen awareness of where people are in the social hierarchy, and what behaviours and attitudes are appropriate. In Arabia, porters carry bags: important people do not.

Dignity and respect

The way you sit and move also says a lot about you. If you have met Arab businessmen at all, you might have been struck by the dignity with which they carry themselves. They do not slouch. They also do not put their feet up on desks or chairs, and they never point the bottom of the shoe in anyone's direction. To do so would be a grave insult.

In a business situation try to avoid walking and talking at the same time. Middle Easterners prefer eye-to-eye conversation; and as far as haste goes, they mind the proverb ''Haste is of the devil.'' Social status and personal dignity are behind everything done in Arab culture.

The theme of dignity and status are found again in modes of address. If you have a title, use it. If your Arabian counterpart is a PhD, he is ''Doctor'', followed by the family name when you introduce him. He is ''Ahmed'' or ''Abdullah'' only after you know each other well, and then only in private. Again, the easy-going Western attitude that disregards social position, family name, profession, will only ruffle feathers in societies that are very hierarchical, with vast power-distances between people.

I recall a Western contractor attempting to be familiar with the head of a respected company in Saudi Arabia. The Westerner had communicated a complaint and had attempted to ''lighten'' it by pasting a picture of a frowning President Clinton to the bottom of the letter. The Westerner was trying to make a joke. Need I recall the Arab executive's reaction?

The value of dignity, respect, or ''face'' is as important in the Middle East as it is amongst the Chinese, Koreans, and Japanese. Face goes beyond the individual. It equals the reputation of the family. Like Far Easterners, Arabs will go to great length to guard the collective ''face'' of the family. This concern informs all aspects of their dealings with you. It means that they want to know who they are dealing with; they want you to be as reputable as they are. It means they will take their time getting to know you and the company you represent.

For you, this means exhibiting patience as you are feted, at times to degrees that you might find worrying. The idea that ''time is money'' exists in the Arab world, but time is also an investment in the business relationship, so you would be wise to realize this. Once your Arab counterpart is sure about you, once he feels at ease and trusts you, things will move faster.

Language: the value of eloquence

Related to the idea of status and reputation, is the use of language. In the Western, Anglo-Saxon Protestant, world eloquence has come to be synonymous with duplicity. Those who speak too well, who use ''flowery'' expressions, those who do not ''get to the point'' as soon as possible in oral or written communication, are thought to be ''putting on airs'', trying to display superiority or to fool others. Our sense of egalitarianism and verbal economy bristles at this.

Yet, in the Arab world, eloquence connotes social status and believability. Those who speak well have education behind them; hence they are more credible than those who sound pedestrian.

In contrast, to the Western ear, vague, indirect or ''ornate'' speech belongs to the Victorian era, not to modern business culture. Imagine a luncheon meeting at which an Arab speaker reads a poem he has especially written for the occasion of introducing you. Contrast this with what you would do to introduce him at a similar function. Now you have the difference between the Middle-East and the West.

Women in business

According the Koran, women are permitted to engage in commerce: Men shall have a benefit from what they earn, and women shall have a benefit from what they earn (4:32).

Although I have never met an Arab woman engaged in business, according to news reports in the Arab press, some women today are in e-commerce or own and operate beauty parlors or shops for women only — in malls exclusively for women.

In the event that you meet a woman face to face in any context in Arabia or outside it, extend your hand to be shaken only if she does so first, and do not prolong eye-contact — you will not only embarrass her but send the wrong message to Arab men who may be present. Moreover, avoid being alone with an Arab woman under any circumstance.

I heard about a young British manager based in Saudi Arabia, who invited himself to the table of one of his female clerks during lunch hour in their corporation's cafeteria. As innocent as this might seem in the West, the young woman was duly fired and the Brit was dismissed immediately and flown back to Britain.

My impression of working in the Middle East is that cross-pollination of the genders is something to be avoided at all costs and, for men, meeting Christian Arab women in business inside the Arab world is as problematic as meeting Muslim women. Of course, if you are a woman it's a different matter.

In the second article of this series, Straub looks at the expectations behind business negotiations and Arab business practices that frequently perplex the uninitiated..

May 2004

Hans Straub is an intercultural trainer who has worked in Canada, Germany, Hungary, Mexico, Taiwan and Saudi Arabia. He also teaches English for academic purposes (EAP) and English as a second language (ESL).