United Arab Emirates: Let's Make a Deal! - Part 2

From ExecutivePlanet.com

Pace of business, negotiating and contacts

Pace of Business

Business proceeds at two rates--snail's pace and light speed. There seems to be nothing in between, which discourages foreigners by making it impossible to judge progress until work is in hand.

After several lengthy but fruitless visits, the western businessman may suddenly arrive to find his work required 'overnight.' Negotiations must therefore be swift, but not necessarily easy.

Bargaining and Negotiating

Until the discovery of oil, the emirates produced nothing except Dubaian pearls. There was no industry, only trading. Over the centuries, this merchant culture produced the shrewdest bargainers in the world. Even in daily life, it is customary to bargain for virtually everything except newspapers and postage stamps.

Contacts

UAE commerce is an abundance of old boys' clubs--one for each nationality trading there. On a given level, everybody seems to know everybody else within the same nationality. Whilst contacts do span nationalities, the best contacts can be made within a given nationality.

Every ruler conducts a daily open majlis [reception - literally sitting] for a couple of hours in the early evening. Subject only to the physical limitations of space, all are welcomed regardless of nationality. These are excellent opportunities to meet not only the rulers but also other prominent locals and foreign businessmen.

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