Monthly Email Newsletter
September 2003
IN THIS ISSUE:
I. Message from the Editor
II. Articles:
**** FEATURE ARTICLE: Doing Business in the Middle East - Part I
1. Successful Strategies for Conducting Business While Respecting Middle
Eastern Cultural Values - by Bill Tierney
**** FEATURED LANGUAGE: Arabic
2. The Current State of E-Commerce in the Middle East
3. The Middle East is the Fastest Growing Computer Gaming Market in the World
III.
Helpful Web Tools
-- Online Arabic Language Tools
IV. In Our Next Issue
V. Your Feedback
VI. How to Subscribe
I. MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR
While the history of the United States spans only a couple of hundred years,
the history of the Middle East spans more than 5,000 years, dating back into
ancient times. The earliest farms, cities, governments, laws, and alphabets as
well as three of the world's major religions -- Islam, Christianity and Judaism
-- began in the Middle East. Since so many of mankind's great ideas,
institutions, and inventions have spread from this area to other parts of the
world, the Middle East has become known as the Cradle of Civilization. Traders
and invaders have crossed into the Middle East in search of food, raw
materials, labor, manufactured goods, or political power. A keen understanding
of Middle Eastern cultural values and the Arabic language have become essential
to establishing successful business ties in this part of the world.
Our featured language section focuses on Arabic speakers in the Middle East.
This month we are very excited to present you an article written by Bill
Tierney who has extensive experience in the Middle East and is an expert in
translating and interpreting Arabic into English. In the first article of this
issue Mr. Tierney provides you with valuable tips that will help you to conduct
business successfully while respecting Middle Eastern cultural values. Our
second article updates you on the current state of e-commerce in the Middle
East so that you can develop a more effective plan to promote your web site or
sell your products or services online to the Arab world. The final article in
this section informs you about the exciting growth of the computer gaming
market in this region of the world.
Our helpful web tools section provides you with links to various Arabic
language tools including a course that will help you quickly learn some
fundamental Arabic vocabulary using visual association, online dictionaries,
translation tools and other online courses that combine text and sound clips to
help you learn the Arabic phrases.
Since this newsletter is meant to create a virtual community where we share the
latest news and advice, we invite you to submit your suggestions, story ideas,
statistics and web site tips to
mailto:newsletter@globallanguages.com.
-- Inna Kassatkina, Editor
mailto:editor@globallanguages.com
II. ARTICLES
1. FEATURE ARTICLE: Successful Strategies for Conducting Business While
Respecting Middle Eastern Cultural Values
-- by Bill Tierney
After spending my life teaching, working, traveling, translating and
interpreting (from Arabic to English) and providing business consulting
services to clients in the Middle East as well as in the United States, my
experience has shown that the following list of practical pointers may be
helpful as you seek to conduct business in the Middle East in a
culturally-sensitive manner.
(1) Initial Business Contacts Should Focus on Senior Decision-Makers.
When interacting with a large Arab organization, you must first establish a
relationship with senior decision-makers; these leaders will then authorize you
to communicate directly with subordinates who are responsible for the details
of the interaction. Always ensure that the senior member has been
informed and has approved the contact before communicating with pertinent
employees.
(2) Middle Eastern People Value Patience Greatly.
A common phrase in Arabic is "Allah is with those who are patient". As a
liaison officer in the First Gulf War, I noticed that when American officers
visited a certain Saudi senior officer for the first time, the Saudi officer
would begin the conversation, then abruptly excuse himself and make a telephone
call on a completely separate matter. This was a test to determine
whether the U.S. officer would patiently wait for him to finish. The Saudis and
Kuwaitis were very adept at spotting someone who was only pasting a smile on
their face to conceal their true feelings.
(3) Mediators and Brokers are a Way of life in the Middle East.
The information age, with its ability to directly connect demand and supply
channels, is putting stress on this tradition, and may be an underlying factor
in the anti-Western sentiment found among some parties in the Middle
East. In large transactions in Saudi Arabia, it's possible for members of
the ruling family to insert themselves into the chain of intermediaries and
threaten to block the deal unless they are given a cut.
(4) Do Not Underestimate Tribal Relations, Especially in Saudi Arabia, the Gulf
Countries, and Iraq.
With the current instability in Iraq, where national institutions are in a
state of transition, tribal bonds provide order and comfort. Tribal
members look out for one another. For instance, while working in Saudi
Arabia, I noticed that one particular governmental agency had 90% of its local
workers from one large tribe. There is an underside to this,
unfortunately. Kuwaitis have bemoaned the influence of "Wasta"
(connections) that results in an unqualified individual getting a job simply
because of his tribal relations. Wasta can be taken to the point were one
employee will sabotage another to get rid of them and make room for another
family member. I have seen this in action in Saudi Arabia and it is not
pretty. If you are supervising Arab workers, be slow to act on any
information on the poor performance of an individual worker that originates
with his co-workers. Wasta can also result in the head of a division or
organization not being the real mover and shaker; he only got the job because
of family connections. I saw this in a local military security
directorate in Saudi Arabia. The colonel in charge only wanted to smoke
his water pipe, while his lieutenant colonel (his deputy) was totally engaged
and energetic. I paid respects to the colonel, but did business with the
deputy.
(5) Business Meetings May Begin with Coffee.
Business meetings in Saudi Arabia may begin with serving coffee from beans that
are only partially roasted. This coffee has a distinctly bitter taste different
from Western coffees. It is normal to down this coffee like a shot
of whisky. It is appropriate to take up to three cups of coffee.
When you have had enough coffee gently shake the cup from side to side to
indicate that you are done. Don't turn the cup or saucer upside down;
this is considered an insult. Sweet tea, sometimes with mint, may then be
served. The same drinking and serving procedure applies.
(6) During Business Meetings, Don't Laugh or Speak Loudly.
Laughter is not appreciated during meetings. If your Middle Eastern counterpart
laughs, it's considered more appropriate to smile in response. Likewise, it is
not considered acceptable for you to raise your voice louder than that of your
counterpart.
Expect business meetings to be continually interrupted by subordinates entering
the office with documents for signature. Non-Arabs who patiently wait for
these minor issues to be transacted win the respect of their counterparts.
(7) Do Not Show the Soles of Your Feet.
Americans are often in the habit of crossing their legs in such a way that
other people in the room see the soles of their shoes. Refrain from doing this,
especially in business situations, since showing other people the soles of your
shoes is considered an insult in Middle Eastern countries. Iraqis used
their shoes to strike fallen statues of Saddam Hussein after coalition troops
entered Baghdad. Iraqis will insert the word "tikrim" (excuse me) when
the topic of shoes comes up in conversation, just to ensure the other party
that they are not insinuating disrespect. If you are invited into a
mosque, take your shoes off and place them in a specially designated area. In
Egypt, this area is similar to storage boxes at McDonald's playgrounds.
Place the shoes so that the soles are facing one another.
(8) Many Arab Businessmen will have a Command of English, Up to a Point.
It is possible that the conversation will go into areas where they don't have
the vocabulary to adequately communicate their thoughts. Rather
than show their linguistic deficiency, they will hide their inability with a
smile or change the subject. It is worth the effort to have an
interpreter present, even if the conversation begins in English. Reading
their body language will help determine whether there is trouble in
understanding, at which time you can gracefully suggest that the interpreter
clarify matters. If your counterpart has an interpreter, having your own
interpreter in the room to check for accuracy is a good insurance policy for
large business deals.
(9) Be Careful When Making Comments About an Arab Man's Family Members.
If your Arab counterpart mentions his family, be careful regarding any positive
comments you may make about his children or belongings. There is a
belief that positive comments, especially about young male sons, may bring the
"evil eye" out of a sense of envy that one person has a male son, and the other
does not. One can avoid this situation by prefacing any comments about
another's children with the phrase "Bismillah" (In the Name of God).
While living in Egypt, I made positive comments about the son of an
acquaintance, who gave me pained smiles every time I did so. When I
learned about the phrase "Bismillah," I used it on the very next occasion with
my friend, and he let out a huge sigh of relief. From his point of
view, the fact that I was ignorant did not alter the spiritual powers I was
setting in motion with my words. As a general rule, I do not make any
comments about an Arab man's wife.
(10) Men Should Avoid Being in the Same Room with a Female Who is Not
Related to Them.
It is not appropriate for a male to be in the same room together with a female
who is not their relative. There is a consensus among Arab people that
sexual passions will take over, so the situation is to be avoided
altogether. I learned this firsthand when, while working as an English
teacher for foreign students, I entered a classroom for a one-on-one tutoring
session with a woman from the United Arab Emirates. When she saw me, her
face went white, and she rushed out of the room without saying a word. We
worked things out with having two students in the classroom beside myself.
(11) Gift Giving: Arab People are Truly Generous.
This is instilled in them as part of their upbringing, and is widely practiced.
As a liaison officer during the First Gulf War, I mentioned to a Kuwaiti
friend that I wished I had a camera to make a personal record of what I was
doing. He went into another room, and returned with a 35mm camera.
He was very happy to give me the camera. On another occasion,
fellow soldiers arrived at my location after not eating all day. I went
to another Kuwaiti friend, who immediately filled a bag with foodstuffs, even
though this was 11:30 at night.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Mr. Bill Tierney has extensive military and civilian experience in the Middle
East and the United States providing Arabic to English translation services to
the U.S. Army, the Florida courts, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization
Service, and the Immigration Review Board. Mr. Tierney also provides clients
with intelligence and consulting services that support their legal strategies
and business decisions. He can be reached at
wfxt@earthlink.net.
****FEATURED LANGUAGE: ARABIC
2. THE CURRENT STATE OF E-COMMERCE IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Although most countries in the Middle East did not allow the general public to
access the Internet until the late 1990's or as late as the year 2000, the
region's online population (excluding Israel) has grown quickly from 215,500
users in 1997 to 8.2 million by the end of 2002. The Net penetration rate,
which is the percent of the population that is online, rose from 1.2 percent in
2001 to 2.54 percent by the end of 2002 in the Arab world.
The countries with the largest online populations at the end of 2002 were Saudi
Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with 1.6 million, 1.5 million,
and 950,000 users, respectively. The two countries where Internet usage is most
highly developed are the UAE and Bahrain, where penetration rates at the end of
2002 reached 28 percent and 22 percent, respectively.
Madar Research Group recently projected that by the year 2005 the number of
Internet users in the Middle East will reach 25 million, which will represent a
net penetration rate of approximately 8.4 percent.
Demographics of those who access the Internet in Middle Eastern countries can
best be described as: educated young males who live in urban areas. In the UAE
for example, the online population was on average 27 years old and consisted of
76 percent males, 24 percent females, and 59 percent college graduates. About
41 percent of the users accessed the Internet in the capital city of Dubai
while 29 percent accessed the Internet in Abu Dhabi, and another 29 percent
went online in the city of Al-Ain. By the end of 2002 about 39 percent of the
UAE's users went online at home, while 56 percent accessed the Internet both at
home and at work, and 5 percent went online only at work.
In many areas of the Middle East Internet cafes have grown in popularity,
especially in countries where costs associated with owning a phone and paying
for Internet access is very high or where users want more privacy than they can
get by accessing the Internet at work or feel they need technical support. In
Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Jordan, and Algeria, for example, many users find it
costs them less to access the Internet at cyber cafes rather than paying high
monthly prices and long distance costs associated with going online at home. In
Egypt, where Internet access was made free of charge in 2001, many residents
still visit Internet cafes where they can obtain technical support and access
local content. In Iran, where there are 1,500 Internet cafes in the capital of
Tehran alone and hundreds more in other cities, the typical visitor is a
college student interested in doing online research or residents who want to
send e-mails, chat with relatives or business associates, or catch up on the
latest news.
Although by the end of 2000 mobile phone adoption was lagging in the Middle
East's ten key markets -- Algeria, Egypt, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Lebanon,
Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE -- by the beginning of 2002 the number
of mobile phone subscribers in these key markets increased to 16.5 million due
to increased competition and the introduction of prepay services. Today
Morocco, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia have the largest number of subscribers, while
the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain have the highest mobile phone penetration rates (58
percent, 42 percent, and 42 percent, respectively).
According to a report by the Arab Advisors Group, Internet bandwidth available
in the Middle East increased by 154 percent between August 2001 and January
2002 in the eight-country region of the UAE, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon,
Oman, Morocco, and Saudi Arabia. The country of Oman had the highest Internet
bandwidth per subscriber score with 3.7 (where a subscriber score of 1
represents the average score of this region), while Morocco had a score of
1.94, followed by Egypt with a score of 1.71, and the UAE with 1.36. The
countries of Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia all had scores that were
below the average.
While available Internet bandwidth and the numbers of Internet users and mobile
phone subscribers have grown rapidly in the Middle East, Net penetration rates
continue to be relatively low in the region due to disparities among Arab
countries in economic development, literacy rates, communications
infrastructure, web site censorship, and government control of online business.
The countries in the Gulf region currently seem to have the best prospects for
healthy business to consumer (B2C) e-commerce and online trading because 60
percent of the Middle East's online population lives in this region, its
residents are well educated and have high earnings, and the region has well
developed banking and communications infrastructures as well as Internet
penetration rates that are more than fifteen times higher than the rest of the
Middle East as a whole. The Gulf region includes the countries of Bahrain,
Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the UEA. Among the Gulf countries only
Saudi Arabia is not a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO). This gives
other Gulf countries a greater opportunity to conduct international business
than Saudi Arabia who has applied for, but has not yet been admitted into the
WTO.
(Sources:
http://www.unesco.org/webworld/observatory/in_focus/050602_internet.shtml
http://www.nua.ie/surveys
http://www.mesteel.com/cgi-bin/w3-msql/goto.htm?url=http://www.mesteel.com/stats/statistics_arab_internet.htm)
3. THE MIDDLE EAST IS THE FASTEST GROWING COMPUTER GAMING MARKET IN THE WORLD
Sony, the computer gaming
powerhouse, has announced that it will double sales of its Play Station 2 to
600,000 units by the end of 2003 in the Middle East. According to Sony Gulf
FZE's Managing Director, Yasuhide Yokota, Sony has sold over 3 million Play
Station 1 (PS 1) and Play Station 2 (PS 2) units this year in the Middle East,
which he says makes the Middle East the fastest growing computer gaming market
in the world
Key to Sony's sales growth
has been a surging Middle East market, coupled with rising Internet penetration
levels in this region, and the introduction of superior, innovative gaming
concepts fueled by Sony's financial commitment to research and development.
One example of Sony's
break-through gaming products that has taken the Middle East region by storm is
the Eye Toy. Eye Toy uses a USB based camera and novel motion-tracking
technology to project the player (i.e. computer user) into the game. Used with
PS 2, Eye Toy captures the imagination of the user, greatly enhancing pleasure
and personal involvement. Eye Toy's rapid market growth in the Middle East has surpassed Sony's sales projections though it has only been on the market
for about two months.
In the Middle East region Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are the leading gaming markets, followed by Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman. A key reason for the continued popularity of Sony's computer games
in the Middle East is the company's endeavor to create key games in Arabic.
(http://www.arabia.com/business/article/english/0,11827,417870,00.html)
III. HELPFUL WEB TOOLS
**** Online Arabic Language Tools
If you're in a hurry to learn
some basic Arabic, I suggest that you check out the Unforgettable Languages
website and look at the sample of their Arabic Survival Course. This
downloadable text-only (no audio component) course is designed to teach you
some targeted Arabic vocabulary through visual association in about 2 to 3
hours. For example, the Arabic word for duck is "bottah." Now using
visual association, the course instructions ask you to picture a duck
completely smothered with "butter" and to do this for at least 10
seconds. This visualization will cement the association of the English word
"duck" with the Arabic word "bottah." In addition to
teaching you Arabic vocabulary via visualization, the course also provides you
with self-test sections so you can assess your new Arabic vocabulary skills.
(http://www.unforgettablelanguages.com/frames_a7.html)
At the Middle East Network
Information Center (MENIC) web site you'll be able to access links that will
allow you to use various Arabic language tools such as English to Arabic
dictionaries that include audio clips, online translators that will allow you
to translate Arabic to English or English to Arabic, and an online course that
combines text with sounds.
(http://menic.utexas.edu/menic/Social_Science/Linguistics_and_Languages/Arabic/)
IV. IN OUR NEXT ISSUE
*** FEATURE ARTICLE: Doing Business in the Middle East, Part II
*** FEATURED LANGUAGE: Hebrew
V. YOUR FEEDBACK
Have questions? Or a story idea or topic you would like us to address in a future issue? Let us know by sending a message
to
newsletter@globallanguages.com.
VI. HOW TO SUBSCRIBE
