The United Arab Emirates (UAE) was established in 1971 and is
a country located in the Middle East. The country is often called
“the Emirates” or simply “UAE.” UAE borders the Gulf of Oman and
the Persian Gulf. Neighboring countries include Oman and Saudi
Arabia, and UAE also shares sea borders with Quatar, Iran, and
Pakistan. Strategically, UAE is in an important location along the
southern approaches to the Strait of Hormuz, a transit point for
the world's crude oil. UAE is also in the top 10 countries for the
largest oil reserves in the world.
The geography of UAE includes lots of rolling sand dunes of
desert and also mountains in the eastern part of the country. The
government consists of a federation with specified powers delegated
to the UAE federal government and other powers reserved to the
member emirates (equivalent to principalities). The chief of state
is the president and the head of government is the prime minister.
UAE has an open-market economy in which the prices of products and
services are set using a free price system.
The foundation for this market economy lies in the
collaboration between the seven emirates that are part of the UAE.
They include the emirates of Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras
al-Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al-Quwain. Each emirate is governed by
a hereditary emir, similar to succession planning in countries with
royalty (king or queen) as the head of state. These emirs jointly
make up the Federal Supreme Council, which serves as the highest
legislative and executive body in the UAE. One of the seven emirs
is selected as the president of the United Arab Emirates. The
capital of the country is AbuDhabi, Islam is the official religion,
and Arabic is the official language. Most people have heard of Abu
Dhabiand Dubai because they are the country's centers of commercial
and cultural activities. Dubai is UAE's most populous city, with
more than 2 million people, and it has emerged as a true global
city with an eclectic cultural makeup. It also has a strategic
location as a business gateway for the Middle East and Africa for
multinational enterprises from all of the world's continents.
Dubai has frequently been rated as one of the best places to
live in the Middle East (although it is also one of the most
expensive). The emirate of Dubai has been ruled by the Al Maktoum
family since 183; the emirate is considered a constitutional
monarchy. In 2013, the Norway-based Global Network for Rights and
Development ranked UAE as the 14th country in its annual
International Human Rights Indicator report. This was a first among
Arab countries, with the next Arab country on the list, Tunisia, at
a distant 72nd place. Only about 10 percent of the population in
Dubai are Arabs, with the remaining 90 percent being expatriates.
Most of the expatriates are from Asia, with India (50 percent) and
Pakistan (16 percent) prominently featured. The largest group of
Westerners is from the United Kingdom.
With this eclectic cultural background, Dubai's bid to host
the World Expo 2020 with a theme of “connecting minds, creating the
future” makes sense both logically and strategically. The theme
resonates well with issues related to culture. In essence, the
theme illustrates and acknowledges differences in culture (as does
this chapter), and the theme supports the notion that we strive to
emphasize similarities across the globe. This point was illustrated
in Chapter 1 when we asked in one of the Alternative Perspectives
boxes, “Which is more important—similarities or differences?” The
idea is that today, multinational enterprises have to evaluate
their core uniqueness and how they can leverage this strategic
uniqueness in the global marketplace. The leveraging of the
uniqueness typically requires a focus on similarities across
cultures instead of differences. Connecting minds is a great way to
illustrate how people, companies, and countries can stress the
importance of looking for similarities first and then focus on the
similarities that outweigh the differences in creating strategic
options.
As with any World Expo, the expectation is that the world will
be treated to an important event in the year 2020 in Dubai. The
Expo on “connecting minds, creating the future” will span six
months, following World Expo 2015 in Milan, Italy, and World Expo
2017 in Astana, Kazakhstan. The expectation is also that countries
will showcase who they are and what they can do in the spirit of
today's era of “nation branding.” Tracing history, the best known
first World Expo was held in the Crystal Palace in Hyde Park,
London (United Kingdom) in 1851 under the title of “Great
Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations.” Since 1928,
the Bureau International des Expositions (International Exhibitions
Bureau) has served as an international sanctioning body for the
World Expo. These Expo showcases have generally gone through three
eras: the era of industrialization (1851–1938), the era of cultural
exchange (1939–1987), and the era of nation branding
(1988–present).
The theme for Dubai's World Expo 2020 is a direct connection
to its cultural values and beliefs in facilitating connections and
pioneering new ideas. The organizers expect 70 percent of the 25
million visitors to originate outside UAE, making it the most
globally oriented World Expo in its long history. The idea is that
the global community will come together and explore creative and
pioneering solutions to three key drivers of global development:
sustainability, mobility, and opportunity. As viewed by the World
Expo 2020 organizing team, sustainability centers on lasting
sources of energy and water. Mobility focuses on smart systems of
logistics and transportation. And opportunity refers to new paths
to 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, accessed
March 5, 2014; A. Ahmed, “After Winning Expo, Emirate Fumes at
Allies 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 arise
between Western-based visitors and people from the UAE during World
Expo 2020?
b). If you were in a position to advise a Western company that
was considering doing business in UAE for the first time, what
would your advice be?
c). Using Dubai as an example, do you believe that cultural
similarities among people can outweigh cultural differences that
exist in terms of doing business together in the future