Yup. Wish some people would be aware of this instead of being ignorant and egocentric.
Communication in my culture is very much like Qatar's - also more indirect than the West.
"The whole culture runs on behind-the-scenes networks and information is often distorted."
- Not distorted - it is a relationship based culture and as such, you need to have built up that relationship, business etc. And by the way, it's the same thing for the Western countries as well, even though nobody says it.
"The whole place runs on groups and cronies reporting up and down the hierarchy and information networks."
- It is what you know and who you know. Of course, there are pros and cons in every situation - some have taken that for granted and just gone to the extreme of the rigidly linear thinking "what you know" and others have gone to the other end by relying only on "who you know". Either extreme stagnates or regresses a particular position. A balance is what is necessary for progress.
As I said to someone a few years ago, "know the system and use it to defend yourself."
"This is one of the classic double standards you are faced with when you work in the Middle East."
- Not only in the Middle East.
Yup. Wish some people would be aware of this instead of being ignorant and egocentric.
Communication in my culture is very much like Qatar's - also more indirect than the West.
"The whole culture runs on behind-the-scenes networks and information is often distorted."
- Not distorted - it is a relationship based culture and as such, you need to have built up that relationship, business etc. And by the way, it's the same thing for the Western countries as well, even though nobody says it.
"The whole place runs on groups and cronies reporting up and down the hierarchy and information networks."
- It is what you know and who you know. Of course, there are pros and cons in every situation - some have taken that for granted and just gone to the extreme of the rigidly linear thinking "what you know" and others have gone to the other end by relying only on "who you know". Either extreme stagnates or regresses a particular position. A balance is what is necessary for progress.
As I said to someone a few years ago, "know the system and use it to defend yourself."
"This is one of the classic double standards you are faced with when you work in the Middle East."
- Not only in the Middle East.