Leadership challenge, juggling cultures

Saudi Arabia is a society of paradoxes with an ever increasing number of contradictions between their modernized economic system and their repressive and rigid socio-political system, (Clarke, 2007). Women and men are still segregated today in all public arenas, as they have been since the government was founded in 1932. Saudi women currently represent only 7% of the workforce, with 80% of them working in governmental jobs, however they are becoming increasingly more educated and prominent in business and the Saudi government is working on creating additional jobs for educated women, (Mansour, 2008).

As the purpose of the negotiation is to draft a new deal it is absolutely necessary to send your most skilled negotiator which would be the female executive. Presumably if negotiating the deal is successful, at some point in time the Saudi’s would have to deal with female executives in the firm. It would be important to let the Saudi’s know from the onset that your company is diverse and if they want to work with your firm then they will have to adapt as invariably this same situation will arise in the future.

Definitely the most experienced and skilled negotiator should be sent to meet with the Saudi Arabians, regardless of that person’s gender. If the best negotiator isn’t sent, then the message leadership sends throughout the company is inconsistent, as both men and women are allowed to practice as negotiators and ultimately the action would be discriminatory.

In order to ensure that the deal is not put at risk I would first contact the Saudi company to make sure they are understand and are aware that a woman will be sent to negotiate. As Saudi’s still segregate men and women, even in business; if this is not done then leadership would be disrespecting Saudi culture and this would put the deal at risk. If the Saudi company is not equipped to allow a female executive into the negotiating room then I would seek a solution that would be acceptable to both cultures. If the Saudi company doesn’t have female executives, as negotiations often take place over prolonged periods of time, then the American female executive can be partitioned, as is customary is Saudi society, or seated in another conference room. The American executive’s male “second in command” could then be sent back and forth to communicate between the female executive and the Saudi executives. Regardless, to preserve the dignity of the female executive, and also the dignity of the company and all other women working for the company, it would be absolutely necessary to make sure that the Saudis knew you were sending a female executive to negotiate.

Afsaneh Nahavandi maintains that leadership is central to bringing about cultural and organizational change in order to create multicultural organizations that value all individuals including women and minorities, (2006, p. 53). For a leader to work to build a multicultural environment, and then allow that effort to be subverted in certain circumstances as business dictates, would be counterproductive to building an open and inclusive organizational culture.



Clarke, K. (2007, Fall). A modernization paradox: Saudi Arabia’s divided society. Harvard International Review, 29 (3), 30-33. Retrieved from ProQuest ABI-Inform complete.

Mansour, M. (2008, September). Women job satisfaction in Saudi Arabia: an exploratory analysis. Journal of the American Academy of Business, 13 (2), 204-208. Retrieved from ProQuest ABI-Inform complete.

Nahavandi, A. (2006). The art and science of leadership (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.