A Case Study in the Business Culture of Saudi Arabia

Understanding Saudi Workplace Culture

Case studies are a great way of learning. Especially so when it comes to exploring cultural differences in business.

If you’re looking for a case study that highlights some aspects of Saudi business culture, then we’ve got a great one to share with you!

This is a true story.

Although it was a bit painful for all involved, it’s a quirky little insight into some of the everyday challenges foreigners can face when working in Saudi Arabia as a foreigner.

It all starts with flip flops…

Managing in Saudi Arabia and the Flip-Flop Fiasco

So, this case study involves Mr. Smith. (Not his real name)

Mr. Smith was sent by his company to head up a new office based in Saudi Arabia. The company identified the country as having some potentially lucrative contracts and wanted a local presence. They sent their best man to head up local operations.

He was technically brilliant, but a newcomer to Saudi Arabia. Within a few months, employees had started complaining about him. His team was not happy and had started to resist any policies he put in place. Furthermore, communication between the manager and his team had broken down.

What happened?

Well, within his first week in the job, Mr. Smith realised everyone was wearing sandals (flip flops) at work – he didn’t like it because he saw it as unprofessional.

His team had always worn them and were not going to change. Mr. Smith wasn’t taking ‘no’ as an answer and instead put into place a new dress code, which included a fine if you wore sandals into work.

This made things worse – he had become an enemy to his own team!

The Saudi approach to management reflects the values in Saudi society. Photo by Abdulrhman Alkhnaifer on Unsplash

The Culture of Business in Saudi Arabia

So, what can Mr. Smith’s experience illustrate about Saudi culture and business?

Firstly, local expectations around what you wear are very different in Saudi Arabia.

Wearing sandals is very common due to the heat, plus the need to frequently take ablutions during the day for prayers. People also wear sandals as they are easy to remove, so when entering a home, mosque or similar, sandals are easy to slip on and off.

Secondly, wearing sandals is the culture. It’s what people do and have always done.

So, when Mr. Smith became so adamant about his rule, he was trying to stop a practice that has been going on for generations. Imagine if someone from Saudi Arabia tried to tell people in an office in Germany to all start wearing sandals!

Thirdly, the way Mr. Smith dealt with the situation was not appropriate for the culture.

He took a head-on approach and tried to force people into adopting his dress code through policy and punishment. He caused his team to lose face, which lost him respect and resulted in him being ignored by the team.

Tailored Cultural Awareness Training on Working with Saudi Arabia

In the end, Mr. Smith’s company decided to invest in some Saudi Arabia cultural awareness training via Commisceo Global. This is how we got to learn about the flip flops.

The course introduced him to the key features of Saudi business culture and working practices, as well as gave him practical advice on how to win back the respect of his team.

With his new insights and, more importantly, his new mindset, he returned to his team and started to implement a plan.

Within months, he and his team had already started to repair much of the damage and worked together to find solutions.

“What happened with the flip flops?” we hear you shout! Well, he let people carry on wearing them, but not when they were client-facing. A nice compromise that came through dialogue and consensus.

Main image by Mark Bonica