Cultural Awareness in Kuwait
For my paper I decided to do research on the culture of the middle east because I will be
deploying to that area and be emersed in that culture for the next twelve months. While looking
through different cultures I decided to pick Kuwait, as that will be one place where I could potentially
stay during my rotation overseas. I am not familiar with many cultural aspects of Kuwait besides the
climate and language but look forward to embracing knowledge and using it to help my team be
successful while working with our foreign partners.
Every country from all over the world has their own culture. Culture is a set of learned patterns,
behaviors, and beliefs of a particular social, ethnic or age group (What is Culture, n.d.). Being able to
embrace and adapt to a new culture is ideal for any situation. For Kuwait, it is important to note that
they are a more conservative Muslim country. Women typically wear a hijab, or a veil as a purpose to
preserve their beauty, that way not everyone gets to see it (Sadek, Crystal, Anthony, & Ochsenwald,
2022). It is usually not appropriate to greet a Muslim woman without first getting their approval as they
typically avoid physical touch with men outside of their family (Living Together, 2020). Knowing this
information is important when it comes to greeting individuals of the other sex because this is very
different in the United States as memo and women great each other all the time and is not uncommon
for a female to approach a male. Families form the basis of the Kuwaiti society and extended families
typically live together so that everyone can be involved in the socialization of future generations (Every
Culture, 2022).
With Kuwait being an Islamic country, there are certain customs that are different than those in
the United States, one of which is the month of Ramadan. Ramadan is a month of fasting between
sunrise to sunset and is forbidden to consume food, drink, and tobacco in public (Sadek, Crystal,
Anthony, & Ochsenwald, 2022). A project manager needs to know this information when dealing with a
project in Kuwait as it would be extremely disrespectful to invite a group of people to lunch during this
time. The workforce is typically male driven with a small portion of women who work outside of the
home; however it is not uncommon for women in this country to work in the commercial or civil service
industry (Every Culture, 2022). Depending on the project and sector a team may deal with a select few
women or an all-male team. These are all important issues to be aware of because in the United States
women are
Kuwait is a country on the Arabian Peninsula located in the northwestern corner of the Persian
Gulf (Sadek, Crystal, Anthony, & Ochsenwald, 2022). The climate in this region is generally hot with
temperatures typically exceeding 100 plus degrees in the warmer months (Sadek, Crystal, Anthony, &
Ochsenwald, 2022). For people of the lower region of the United States, this temperature is not
uncommon but for someone traveling to Kuwait it will take time to adjust to the difference in heat.
Knowing the climate is important because depending on the project you may be working outside in this
hot environment. As a project manager you will have to have a risk assessment due to the heat
completed and accountability of everyone while they are outside. People are the biggest assets in the
successful completion of a project and if they are out due to heat exhaustion than completion time will
be pushed to the right.
Cultural Awareness Plan
It is important to take other people’s culture into consideration because it helps to prevent
mishaps or breaks in communication that could lead to conflict. For an international project, a team will
meet people that have different beliefs and ideas than their own and as a project manager it is their job
to make sure that their team has the skill set to deal with the indifferences. Training is the most
important part of any job because without the proper knowledge tensions can rise quickly, teams will
struggle, and moral will decrease.
For my team, I plan to give classes on the culture of Kuwait while working on a project over
there. The people of Kuwait are Muslims and practice the religion of Islam and I would make sure that
my team is aware of the five times of prayer (Sayeedi & Majeed, 2022). This should be considered when
setting up meetings as to not come off disrespectful of them and their religious beliefs. Another point to
note is that the people of Kuwait and are very conservative. While in America there are equal rights and
everyone is supposed to be respectful of equal rights, however the Islamic state is different and
greetings should only be between same genders only (Sayeedi & Majeed, 2022). It is important to
respect their beliefs and inform your team, especially If there are any females to let them know that in
their country, things are different. The climate is also going to take a toll on the team as well due to the
high temperatures that are accustomed to be in this region. If the team were to travel a project
manager would need to build in a few days to get used to the temperatures just so no one becomes
dehydrated and passes out due to heat exhaustion. One last thing in my plan is the work rest cycle. The
Kuwaiti culture works your typical 40-hour work week with the possibility of working up to 50 hours
(Sayeedi & Majeed, 2022). This is normal for us in America as a lot of people work two jobs and more
than 40-hours a week. However, going back to being aware of their religious culture, during the month
of Ramadan the workday is typically reduced to six hours.
Biblical Defense
For an outsider, going into a different country and being apart of a culture that is unlike your
own is a very stressful and scary thing to do. If you read the bible, Galatians 3:28 says “There is neither
Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ
Jesus” (ESV). We are all equal and deserve the same respect for we are all living our lives in the eye of
the Lord. Cultural awareness training is essential to making sure that everyone is sensitive to other
religions and culture to ensure that everyone is getting along. It is important to note that the Islamic
religion is committed to strength their relationship to God. This is like Christianity as we try to
strengthen our relationship to God and Jesus Christ every day.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there are plenty of resources available and training that goes into cultural
awareness training. People need to be trained properly on how to communicate and engage with
businesses in other parts of the world. A properly trained culturally aware team will ultimately improve
productivity by reducing miscommunication errors that can lead to conflict. As a project manager, it is
important to take all the necessary precautions to ensure that the project is completed on time, on
schedule and that everyone is as happy as possible.
References
Every Culture. (2022). Kuwait. Retrieved from Every Culture:
https://www.everyculture.com/Ja-Ma/Kuwait.html
Living Together. (2020). How should a male greet a female Muslim? Retrieved from Living Together:
https://livingtogether.mt/faq/how-should-a-male-greet-a-female-muslim/
Sadek, D. A., Crystal, J., Anthony, J. D., & Ochsenwald, W. L. (2022). Kuwait. Retrieved from Britanncia:
Retreived from Britanncia https://www.britannica.com/place/Kuwait
Sayeedi, M., & Majeed, S. A. (2022). Muslim Prayer Times. Retrieved from Benedictine University:
https://www.ben.edu/faculty-staff/ctle/fac_resources/muslim-prayer-times.cfm
What is Culture. (n.d.). Retrieved from Lumen Cultural Antrhopology:
https://courses.lumenlearning.com/culturalanthropology/chapter/what-is-culture/
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