In their own time and space Meeting behaviour in the Gulf Arab workplace

In today’s globalized business environment, managers regularly interact with employees from different cultures. Since meetings are endemic to all business organizations, better understanding of the way meetings are conducted in diverse cross-cultural settings may increase organizational effectiveness. This study investigated business meetings in the United Arab Emirates, a country where ethnic diversity across the workforce is prevalent. The Gulf Arab region offers an eclectic mix of different cross-cultural interactions, when business meetings are being conducted. Using qualitative methods of inquiry, we collected data about meetings held in three large organizations, each with a diverse cross-cultural workforce. This study uses the conceptual framework of ‘organizational rituals’ to explore the nature of meeting behaviour. Findings suggest that behaviours in organizational meetings in the Gulf Arab states have many differences when compared with the norms of traditional ‘western-style’ meetings. Specifi...