The intense media attention given t

The intense media attention given to the Iraq War, terrorist actions, and continuing conflicts in the Middle East have perhaps revealed to everyone that Arab cultures are distinctly different from Anglo cultures. 46 Americans often find it extremely hard to do business in Arab countries, and a number of Arab cultural characteristics can be cited for this difficulty. O ne is the Arab view of time. In the United States, it is common to use the cliché, “Time is money.” In Arab countries, a favorite expression is Bukra insha Allah, which means “Tomorrow if God wills,” an expression that explains the Arabs’ fatalistic approach to time. Arabs believe that Allah controls time, in contrast to Westerners, who believe that they control their own time. As a result, if Arabs commit themselves to a date in the future and fail to show up, they feel no guilt or concern because they believe they have no control over time in the first place. (This is perhaps a good point in our discussion to provide a word of caution on overgeneralizing about cultures, which is needed here and in all the examples in this chapter’s discussion of cultural characteristics. There are many Arabs who are very particular about promises and appointments. There are also many Arabs who are very proactive and not fatalistic. The point is that there are always exceptions, and stereotyping in cross-cultural dealings is unwarranted. In this chapter we reviewed general cultural characteristics, but from your own experience you know the importance of an understanding of the particular individuals or situations you are dealing with.)
A n Arab cultural belief that generally holds is that destiny depends more on the will of a supreme being than on the behavior of individuals. A higher power dictates the outcome of important events, so individual action is of little consequence. This thinking affects not only Arabs’ aspirations but also their motivation. Also of importance is that the status of Arabs largely is determined by family position and social contact and connections, not necessarily by their own accomplishments. This view helps to explain why some Middle Easterners take great satisfaction in appearing to be helpless. In fact, helplessness can be used as a source of power, for in this area of the world, the strong are resented and the weak compensated. Here is an example:
I n one Arab country, several public administrators of equal rank would take turns meeting in each other’s offices for their weekly conferences, and the host would serve as chairman. After several months, one of these men had a mild heart attack. Upon his recovery, it was decided to hold the meetings only in his office, in order not to inconvenience him. From then on, the man who had the heart attack became the permanent chairman of the conference. This individual appeared more helpless than the others, and his helplessness enabled him to increase his power. 47 T his approach is quite different from that in the United States, where the strong tend to be compensated and rewarded. If a person was ill, such as in this example, the individual would be relieved of his responsibility until he or she had regained full health. In the interim, the rest of the group would go on without the sick person, and he or she might lose power. A nother important cultural contrast between Arabs and Americans is that of emotion and logic. Arabs often act based on emotion; in contrast, those in an Anglo culture are taught to act on logic. Many Arabs live in unstable environments where things change constantly, so they do not develop trusting relationships with others. Americans, on the other hand, live in a much more predictable environment and develop trusting relationships with others. A rabs also make wide use of elaborate and ritualized forms of greetings and leavetakings. A businessperson may wait past the assigned meeting time before being admitted to an Arab’s office. Once there, the individual may find many others present; this situation is unlike the typical one-on-one meetings that are so common in the United States. Moreover, during the meeting, there may be continuous interruptions, visitors may arrive and begin talking to the host, and messengers may come in and go out on a regular basis. The businessperson is expected to take all this activity as perfectly normal and remain composed and ready to continue discussions as soon as the host is prepared to do so. Business meetings typically conclude with an offer of coffee or tea. This is a sign that the meeting is over and that future meetings, if there are to be any, should now be arranged.

Kết quả (Việt) 1:

Chú ý phương tiện truyền thông mạnh mẽ cho chiến tranh Iraq, những hành động khủng bố và tiếp tục những cuộc xung đột ở trung đông có lẽ đã tiết lộ cho mọi người có nền văn hóa ả Rập khác biệt rõ rệt từ nền văn hóa Anh. 46 người Mỹ thường tìm thấy nó cực kỳ khó khăn để làm kinh doanh ở các nước ả Rập, và một số đặc điểm văn hóa ả Rập có thể được trích dẫn cho khó khăn này. O ne là xem ả Rập của thời gian. Ở Hoa Kỳ, nó được phổ biến để sử dụng the cliche, "Thời gian là tiền bạc." Các quốc gia ả Rập, một cụm từ yêu thích là Bukra insha Allah, có nghĩa là "Ngày mai nếu Thiên Chúa di chúc," một biểu hiện mà giải thích người ả Rập fatalistic phương pháp tiếp cận với thời gian. Người ả Rập tin rằng Allah điều khiển thời gian, trái ngược với người phương Tây, những người tin rằng họ kiểm soát thời gian riêng của họ. Kết quả là, nếu người ả Rập cam kết chính mình đến một ngày trong tương lai và không xuất hiện, họ cảm thấy không có tội lỗi hoặc mối quan tâm bởi vì họ tin rằng họ đã không kiểm soát trong thời gian ở nơi đầu tiên. (Điều này có lẽ là một điểm tốt trong cuộc thảo luận của chúng tôi để cung cấp một lời cảnh cáo về overgeneralizing về nền văn hóa, đó là cần thiết ở đây và trong tất cả các ví dụ trong chương này thảo luận về đặc điểm văn hóa. Có rất nhiều người ả Rập đang rất cụ thể về lời hứa và các cuộc hẹn. Cũng là người ả Rập nhiều người rất chủ động và không fatalistic. Các điểm là luôn có những trường hợp ngoại lệ, và rập khuôn trong văn hóa giao dịch là tùy tiện. Trong chương này, chúng tôi xem xét các đặc tính chung của văn hóa, nhưng từ kinh nghiệm của riêng bạn, bạn biết tầm quan trọng của sự hiểu biết về các cá nhân cụ thể hoặc bạn đang đối phó với các tình huống.) A n Arab cultural belief that generally holds is that destiny depends more on the will of a supreme being than on the behavior of individuals. A higher power dictates the outcome of important events, so individual action is of little consequence. This thinking affects not only Arabs’ aspirations but also their motivation. Also of importance is that the status of Arabs largely is determined by family position and social contact and connections, not necessarily by their own accomplishments. This view helps to explain why some Middle Easterners take great satisfaction in appearing to be helpless. In fact, helplessness can be used as a source of power, for in this area of the world, the strong are resented and the weak compensated. Here is an example: I n one Arab country, several public administrators of equal rank would take turns meeting in each other’s offices for their weekly conferences, and the host would serve as chairman. After several months, one of these men had a mild heart attack. Upon his recovery, it was decided to hold the meetings only in his office, in order not to inconvenience him. From then on, the man who had the heart attack became the permanent chairman of the conference. This individual appeared more helpless than the others, and his helplessness enabled him to increase his power. 47 T his approach is quite different from that in the United States, where the strong tend to be compensated and rewarded. If a person was ill, such as in this example, the individual would be relieved of his responsibility until he or she had regained full health. In the interim, the rest of the group would go on without the sick person, and he or she might lose power. A nother important cultural contrast between Arabs and Americans is that of emotion and logic. Arabs often act based on emotion; in contrast, those in an Anglo culture are taught to act on logic. Many Arabs live in unstable environments where things change constantly, so they do not develop trusting relationships with others. Americans, on the other hand, live in a much more predictable environment and develop trusting relationships with others. A rabs also make wide use of elaborate and ritualized forms of greetings and leavetakings. A businessperson may wait past the assigned meeting time before being admitted to an Arab’s office. Once there, the individual may find many others present; this situation is unlike the typical one-on-one meetings that are so common in the United States. Moreover, during the meeting, there may be continuous interruptions, visitors may arrive and begin talking to the host, and messengers may come in and go out on a regular basis. The businessperson is expected to take all this activity as perfectly normal and remain composed and ready to continue discussions as soon as the host is prepared to do so. Business meetings typically conclude with an offer of coffee or tea. This is a sign that the meeting is over and that future meetings, if there are to be any, should now be arranged.