Saudi Arabian Teams

As most companies are organised along family lines, the concept of team working is accepted as long as the members really are part of the team (i.e. the extended family or close friends.)

The problems really begin when trying to develop team spirit within a group who have no natural kinship ties. In such a situation, people tend to display suspicion of one another and progress can be slow.

Within any gathering of Saudis, hierarchy will always be present and even if you wish to develop a flat system within the team, it is likely that traditional class and family issues will result in an unofficial hierarchy developing very quickly indeed.

Author

This country-specific business culture profile was written by Keith Warburton who is the founder of the cultural awareness training consultancy Global Business Culture. 

Global Business culture is a leading training provider in the fields of cross-cultural communication and global virtual team working.  We provide training to global corporations in live classroom-based formats, through webinars and also through our cultural awareness digital learning hub, Global Business Compass.

This World Business Culture profile is designed as an introduction to business culture in Saudi Arabia only and a more detailed understanding needs a more in-depth exploration which we can provide through our training and consultancy services.