case study analysis cross cultural management Foreign influences expats force locals to as, Essays (university) of Culture & Society

Download case study analysis cross cultural management Foreign influences expats force locals to as and more Essays (university) Culture & Society in PDF only on Docsity! Foreign influences: expats force locals to ask who they are By Nada El Sawy To begin with, the percentage of expatriates in the UAE is equal to 80% of the population. Emiratis started worrying that their culture and identity will be gone or forgotten one day. In 2008, the president Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed alNahyan declared this year as UAE national identity year. The percentage of foreigners is significally growing and it is time for the government to address this issue. Some of the solutions that were discussed in this case study like: reducing foreign workers from any single country to a maximum 25 per cent of the population and that property ownership be opened mostly to Emiratis and Arabs, and that increased childbearing should be a national strategy. From 1975 to 2004, the growth in population number of nationals was half that of expatriate. We can see that the problem was not that big at the beginning since those who were coming are mainly Arabs, or Muslims. However, things have changed today since people have started coming from Russia or The Balkan countries. These countries cultures and values are totally different. A good example of this is the way people dress to go to work. It is clearly stated that Emiratis don’t judge other different cultures. But, they are afraid how these foreigners are behaving would somewhat kill the dominant culture of their country. Prof. al-Katb says that foreigners should only be welcomed on a temporary basis and he does not accept the fact that they are benefiting from 99years if they are buying properties. He says that only 5 years is enough for them. Mishaal al-Gergaw suggested increasing national activities. He also encourages to make Arabic the main language of communication. In my opinion, I completely agree with what was mentioned in the case. Emiratis do not judge other cultures. But this is legitimate for a country that wants to preserve and protect their nationality, language, identity, culture, tradition and religion. I also want to suggest to make and enforce laws regarding the way people dress like the locals and also impose on them respect for the culture and traditions of the country and behave like the national people especially in the country’s public places and the most frequented ones if they want to live there. Moreover, they should prioritize Arab or Muslim foreigners whenever they need manpower and expertise before considering other nationalities in everyone. Otherwise, impose the Arabic language as the official language in the country and oblige all foreigners to take a language test as do European countries and the United States. In addition, encourage foreigners to participate in all cultural and religious events in order to attract them more to the culture and religion of the country.