Are you an Arab?

If yes... What would you say to me if I told you that I come from your country/town?

Chances are; you're going to ask me about my family name.

According to Farid Muna (The Arab Executive, 1980); "When Arabs meet their countrymen for the first time, they usually attempt to establish each other's family identity. In the West, on the other hand, it appears that the initial conversation revolves around a person's occupation or profession. In Japan, introductions are made with reference to one's organization or company".

In his book 'Cultures and Organizations', Hofstede states that the national culture which is acquired during the first ten years of a person's life has an influence on the superficial organisational culture which we acquire as adults.

That's why most of today's organisations which target the international market are aware of the importance of the cultural sensitivity of their businesses.

In other words, it is just as important to retain local-culture savvy employees as it is to retain technically efficient staff.

An example on the lack of cultural sensitivity going horribly wrong would be the famous Nike Air logo.

In 1997, Nike's 'Air' flame logo in English resembled the word 'Allah' in Arabic script.

Many Muslims, offended by the logo, campaigned for the boycott of Nike products.

Nike recalled 38,000 pair of shoes from Muslim markets, and diverted another 30,000 to 'less sensitive' markets, and followed the product recall with a public apology, and a playground donation for an Islamic school.

To me, there is nothing as entertaining in the engineering field as working for a multinational organisation. The interaction between different cultures at work is quite interesting to watch.

When I first started my job at an international consultant, I found so many things difficult to understand. These things varied from the bodily noises that some colleagues seemed to freely produce while sitting at their desks in the open office area, to the dynamic of the multinational meetings which seemed to be run in some form of organised chaos.

However, when my first employer failed to retain the local-culture savvy employees, that's when I really realised the importance of cultural sensitivity in business.

This realisation also made me understand the dynamic of some of the previous problems in projects which could've probably been avoided if the project managers were given cultural- awareness training.

Some of these problems were directly linked to the perception of what the client wants, and that's what made meeting the client expectations seem like an impossible task to accomplish.

I personally think that cultural diversity at work should be celebrated and considered especially when working closely with a client.

An organisation is a unique place to learn about other cultures while conducting business, and I believe that international organisations can do a lot better if proper cultural awareness training is given to key staff prior to locating them in a new international market.

The Social Impact of Organisational Culture

I have always been fascinated by organisational cultures, and the dynamic of what is perceived as the norm in organisations.

But what happens when the organisation culture breeds unacceptable norm?

I have had a recent experience in which the hidden racism was the norm in the office., and it went against the values the parent company was trying to promote, and the claims of the senior management.

I perfectly understand that the culture of the organisation influences how the employees are treated, and as a result of my understanding I chose to leave.

However, I can't help but wonder how politically incorrect behaviour find its way to become a norm in an organisation?

People and countries spent decades fighting racism, why is it still acceptable to practice hidden racism in the workplace in developing countries?

Also, international organisations are perceived to have a corporate social responsibility to the communities they establish themselves in.

Being an organisation which comes from a developed country, the values it promotes should be, at the very least, legal at the country of origin, let alone the promotional role of the organisation as socially responsible.

When I spoke to my manager pointing out this aspect of the organisation culture as I submitted my resignation I was quite disappointed with his reply.

I am glad to have moved on to another company, but I still wonder; do international organisations struggle to live up to their role of sustainably developing people in developing countries by sustaining a fair organisational culture?

Or is it that it's easier to just look the other way…