5.14 Reply e-mail ro Memo: Cross-Cultural dilemma

DATE: April 13, 2009
TO: J. E. Rivers Area Manager
FROM: Kim, Yu Chin Site Advisor
SUBJECT: Information about Business Dress in Saudi Arabia


Here is the information you requested about business dress in Saoudi Arabia.
I received several web site, the best source was www.saudiaramcoworld.com.

Here are some guidelines that our employee might follow:

Foreigners are expected to wear conservative and modest western-style clothing.
They are neither expected nor encouraged to wear native dress, such as robes and headdresses.

. For Saudi men wear Thawb during the day; it almost covers all the body. There are many different types of Thawb.

. For Saido women behave differently than any other cultures. Women in the Arabian cultures have some especial customs. On of the most popular customs is that women wear "Hijab" and "abaya." Hijab is the Arabic term for cover, based on the root meaning "to veil, to over, to screen, to shelter." While abaya is a kind of clothes that has a long black garment and logn sleeves.

. Female business people are accepted without veils.

I hope this information is helpful.
If you require more information, I would be happy to conduct more research.

Sources:
http://www.saudiaramcoworld.com/
http://www.lclark.edu/~krauss/culturecapsulesf2006/marghalaniweb/marghalani.html


Kim, Yu Chin