The United Arab Emirates (UAE) was established in 1971 and isa country located in the Middle East. The country is often called“the Emirates” or simply “UAE.” UAE borders the Gulf of Oman andthe Persian Gulf. Neighboring countries include Oman and SaudiArabia, and UAE also shares sea borders with Quatar, Iran, andPakistan. Strategically, UAE is in an important location along thesouthern approaches to the Strait of Hormuz, a transit point forthe world's crude oil. UAE is also in the top 10 countries for thelargest oil reserves in the world.
The geography of UAE includes lots of rolling sand dunes ofdesert and also mountains in the eastern part of the country. Thegovernment consists of a federation with specified powers delegatedto the UAE federal government and other powers reserved to themember emirates (equivalent to principalities). The chief of stateis the president and the head of government is the prime minister.UAE has an open-market economy in which the prices of products andservices are set using a free price system.
The foundation for this market economy lies in thecollaboration between the seven emirates that are part of the UAE.They include the emirates of Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Rasal-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Quwain. Each emirate is governed bya hereditary emir, similar to succession planning in countries withroyalty (king or queen) as the head of state. These emirs jointlymake up the Federal Supreme Council, which serves as the highestlegislative and executive body in the UAE. One of the seven emirsis selected as the president of the United Arab Emirates. Thecapital of the country is AbuDhabi, Islam is the official religion,and Arabic is the official language. Most people have heard of AbuDhabiand Dubai because they are the country's centers of commercialand cultural activities. Dubai is UAE's most populous city, withmore than 2 million people, and it has emerged as a true globalcity with an eclectic cultural makeup. It also has a strategiclocation as a business gateway for the Middle East and Africa formultinational enterprises from all of the world's continents.
Dubai has frequently been rated as one of the best places tolive in the Middle East (although it is also one of the mostexpensive). The emirate of Dubai has been ruled by the Al Maktoumfamily since 183; the emirate is considered a constitutionalmonarchy. In 2013, the Norway-based Global Network for Rights andDevelopment ranked UAE as the 14th country in its annualInternational Human Rights Indicator report. This was a first amongArab countries, with the next Arab country on the list, Tunisia, ata distant 72nd place. Only about 10 percent of the population inDubai are Arabs, with the remaining 90 percent being expatriates.Most of the expatriates are from Asia, with India (50 percent) andPakistan (16 percent) prominently featured. The largest group ofWesterners is from the United Kingdom.
With this eclectic cultural background, Dubai's bid to hostthe World Expo 2020 with a theme of “connecting minds, creating thefuture” makes sense both logically and strategically. The themeresonates well with issues related to culture. In essence, thetheme illustrates and acknowledges differences in culture (as doesthis chapter), and the theme supports the notion that we strive toemphasize similarities across the globe. This point was illustratedin Chapter 1 when we asked in one of the Alternative Perspectivesboxes, “Which is more important—similarities or differences?” Theidea is that today, multinational enterprises have to evaluatetheir core uniqueness and how they can leverage this strategicuniqueness in the global marketplace. The leveraging of theuniqueness typically requires a focus on similarities acrosscultures instead of differences. Connecting minds is a great way toillustrate how people, companies, and countries can stress theimportance of looking for similarities first and then focus on thesimilarities that outweigh the differences in creating strategicoptions.
As with any World Expo, the expectation is that the world willbe treated to an important event in the year 2020 in Dubai. TheExpo on “connecting minds, creating the future” will span sixmonths, following World Expo 2015 in Milan, Italy, and World Expo2017 in Astana, Kazakhstan. The expectation is also that countrieswill showcase who they are and what they can do in the spirit oftoday's era of “nation branding.” Tracing history, the best knownfirst World Expo was held in the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park,London (United Kingdom) in 1851 under the title of “GreatExhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations.” Since 1928,the Bureau International des Expositions (International ExhibitionsBureau) has served as an international sanctioning body for theWorld Expo. These Expo showcases have generally gone through threeeras: the era of industrialization (1851–1938), the era of culturalexchange (1939–1987), and the era of nation branding(1988–present).
The theme for Dubai's World Expo 2020 is a direct connectionto its cultural values and beliefs in facilitating connections andpioneering new ideas. The organizers expect 70 percent of the 25million visitors to originate outside UAE, making it the mostglobally oriented World Expo in its long history. The idea is thatthe global community will come together and explore creative andpioneering solutions to three key drivers of global development:sustainability, mobility, and opportunity. As viewed by the WorldExpo 2020 organizing team, sustainability centers on lastingsources of energy and water. Mobility focuses on smart systems oflogistics and transportation. And opportunity refers to new pathsto economic development.
This needs to be sourced using APA.
Sources: Expo 2020, expo2020dubai.ae/en, accessed March 5,2014; globalEDGE—United Arab Emirates,http://globaledge.msu.edu/countries/united-arab-emirates, accessedMarch 5, 2014; A. Ahmed, “After Winning Expo, Emirate Fumes atAllies It Says Didn't Back It,” The New York Times, January 6,2014; S. Potter, “Expo 2020 Win to Boost Dubai Sukuk on Spending:Islamic Finance,” Bloomberg Businessweek, November 27, 2013; and“Dubai—It's Bouncing Back,” The Economist, November 23, 2013.
a).What kinds of misunderstanding, if any, are likely to arisebetween Western-based visitors and people from the UAE during WorldExpo 2020?
b). If you were in a position to advise a Western company thatwas considering doing business in UAE for the first time, whatwould your advice be?
c). Using Dubai as an example, do you believe that culturalsimilarities among people can outweigh cultural differences thatexist in terms of doing business together in the future
