Be warned! Saudi Arabia is a confusing and contradictory place at the moment.
If you’re involved in doing business in Saudi Arabia, then you need to be aware of some of the current changes taking place at a cultural level.
Be warned! Saudi Arabia is a confusing and contradictory place at the moment.
If you’re involved in doing business in Saudi Arabia, then you need to be aware of some of the current changes taking place at a cultural level.
Work with Iranians or doing business in Iran?
Learning about another culture is much more than learning about dos and donts; it’s about understanding their values and their mindset.
For those of us working in multicultural environments, it’s fair to say that our colleagues may ocassionally observe traditions which we aren’t familiar with. Ramadan is one such occasion.
In the same way that non Muslims may avoid asking questions for fear of intrusion, Muslims may equally avoid going into too much detail about Ramadan for fear of their colleagues not being interested.
A warning sign with the silhouette of an Orthodox Jewish man wearing a traditional 'Fedora' hat has been found on a lamp-post in north London amid one of the largest Hasidic communities in Europe.
At a time when the foreigner, the immigrant, the Muslim, the Jew, the Mexican, etc are being constantly vilified by some segments of our media, one should not be surprised by the increasing intolerance towards 'the other'.
It is definitely one of the first monotheist religions. It was founded by Zoroaster and it believes in one God, Ahura Mazda.
There are very few Zoroastrians in the world today but it still holds an important place. A large part of their population is divided between Iran and India. The Zoroastrians living in India are called Parsis.
Easter is nearly upon us and will be celebrated across the world! Here in the UK we have seen chocolate eggs of all sorts on our market shelves for weeks. However, Easter is not celebrated the same way everywhere in the world. Some countries have their own traditions and some, believe it or not, dont have chocolate eggs!
Global Real Estate advisor Jones Lang LaSalle have carried out some research into the difficulties that can be encountered by western companies when they enter the Indian market. The result? Cultural differences are a major obstacle.
A bus company is attempting to accommodate the religious views of an employee who refused to drive vehicles displaying atheist advertising.
A Christian bus driver Ron Heather, from Southampton, Hampshire, has refused to drive a bus with an atheist slogan proclaiming "There's probably no God". He responded with "shock" and "horror" at the message and walked out of his shift on Saturday in protest.
His employer, First Bus, said it would do everything in its power to ensure Heather does not have to drive the buses.
When he returned to work last Monday, he was called into a meeting with managers and agreed to go back to work with the promise he would only have to drive the buses if there were no others available.
Audrey Williams, head of discrimination law at Eversheds, said: "The employer has been pragmatic and accommodating in its approach."
Read more > Bus Driver
What we say:
Religion in the workplace is of great importance today, especially in the UK with the passing of the The Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003. This story portrays nicely a case where the employer used common sense to bring about a positive outcome for the employee.
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