Business Life in Dubai

As is evident, the authors in this book are currently based all over the world.  Is it enough to have good professional skills to succeed everywhere?  Or are there other important factors such as language, culture and customs?  Dubai is a global melting-pot and a great place to explore this critical question.

Mr. Venkat Raghavan (1986, ECE)

Introduction

I was in my seventh of eight grade I was fascinated by computers, thanks to a popular writer, who went by the pen name Sujata.  His story 'Sorga Theevu' (Paradise Island) portrayed a small totalitarian island nation run by a huge machine where every inhabitant was so controlled they believed they were happy.  In the story, when the machine develops a glitch, the manufacturer wouldn't want to fix it, and as the only available alternate expertise an Indian Engineer is summoned to perform the task.  I wanted to be that Engineer!!

I was determined to study Electronics and Communication engineering as I thought if offered the closest to what held my fascination for computers.

then.  My father studied engineering at the College of Engineering in Guindy, and remembered that one of the interviewers was Dr. G.R. Damodaran, who happened to be the Managing Director at PSG College of Technology.  Thus my father knew of and had great reverence for him and the institution he ran.

Even though I had admission to other college’s including my father’s own alma mater, I chose PSG College of Technology, since I got the admission there earlier, and was smitten …

My career begins

I was hired by the British Physical Labs (BPL) on campus.  However, I immediately sensed issues with the work environment and my immediate manager.  I decided not to continue that role within four months of joining.  I returned back to Chennai and looked for a role in a hard-core telecom company.  I started in a research and development capacity and then became a project manager managing the deployment of telephone systems in rural India.  This gave me a chance to travel all over the country and had a wonderful time. Without doubt, this was the most exciting period of my career.  

The United Arab Emirates and Dubai

The region Gulf, at the forefront of which is the country UAE (United Arab Emirates) and its fabulous city Dubai have all been in the midst of an unprecedented growth. Dubai is a very new city and well in to the 20th century was nothing more than a fishing hamlet with pearl diving tradition. 

The city, which originally ventured out as the hub of Gulf, is now the hub of Middle East and can stake claim very soon as THE HUB.

Sounds preposterous?! Not if you have been witness to the transformation for some twenty years like I have. It is a place that seems to be at odds in its elements and the same elements go towards synthesizing this place in to what it has become - a true melting pot.

On to Dubai 

Going to Dubai, was just fated I think.  Working or living in Gulf was never an idea for me.  It is a place where people went to earn some quick money at the cost of professional progress, is what I used to think.  

But a telephone call one evening in February 1993 changed all that.  My senior in the Indian company who had moved to Dubai a few months prior called over phone and persuaded me to join him.  I said yes even though I wasn't sure.  

Once I was in Dubai, I didn't give myself more than two years, given my pre-conceived notions about the place.  Now, I write this note, twenty two years later!

My classmates have moved to many parts of the world, including New Zealand, Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Europe, Africa and the Americas.  My aim in this chapter is to describe life in Dubai, so that, in addition to get a flavor for experiences in professional life, that have been described throughout this book, the reader can also get a flavor for geography and culture as well.

Arriving in Dubai

It was 1993.  After flying nearly four hours from Chennai (called Madras then), the landing announcement was made. I had a window seat and when I looked down all I saw was a vast expanse of golden sand. I was prepared for this, but still the view of the desert was quite extraordinary. In the breadth of the golden desert the odd dark streaks –the roads- stood out. Strikingly, they were very straight lines. Of course in a plain desert one could build a road without being bothered about negotiating a hill or a water body I thought. 

Where is my job going to be in this desert? 

Soon enough I started to notice buildings and more roads. Then I saw the blue sea as the aircraft bent and turned. Not a big town I thought. I was left with a sense of desolation. Was it really a wise decision to come to this place for work?

My senior colleague who was instrumental in getting me in here had told me that I would be picked up at the airport. I was checked in to a hotel and after a shower the phone rang. It was AKS, my senior colleague in India and my boss in the new company too. When I listened to his usual, cheery ‘Haaaiii Venkat’ I was enlivened. 

Many of us got together that evening, and as a toast was proposed toast, I remarked I would have never thought alcohol was allowed in Dubai. His answer was one of the many strange answers that I have come to learn over the years.  He said, non-muslims can drink, so long as they are well behaved!

Starting in Dubai

One of the first things I learned about work in Dubai were the strange timings of work.  When I walked into work on my first day, I was told that work starts at 8 am, which was fine by me.  

But then I learned that people go back to their homes for lunch at 1 pm.   They would get back to work at 4.30 pm! 

The offices then close at 8 pm six days a week.  However, the last day of the working week is Thursday.  And on Thursday’s we worked from 8.30 am to 2 pm.  However, these rules were for the private sector.  The government worked on a different schedule.  Their work hours were from 7 am to 2 pm six days a week.

After having spent several years in India, traveling everywhere, and used to a different work schedule, this aspect of work-timing was what struck me immediately.  The pace of work, the hours of work and the rhythm of work can be different in different parts of the world.

The other difference that struck me immediately was the heat in Dubai.

It was HOT when we stepped out of the building for lunch. Actually, HOT is not the word. I asked what the temperature is like and I was told it could be 49 degree centigrade. I landed in the country on 4th of July. Temperatures in July and August can soar beyond 50 degrees centigrade, and as per local laws the outdoor work must halt if the temperature crosses 50.

Oil field and construction, which is predominantly outdoor in nature of work, are the major employers of labor force. In the afternoon when it is extremely hot, they had a break from work and this was even true of those people who had desk jobs in the days when the air-conditioning was not yet common. 

Thus my two observations are intertwined.  The work hours were driven by the situation with the weather and heat.  The historic tradition was being maintained even in nineties were every work place and every home is air-conditioned. 

However, with globalization, and after twenty years of being there, now the work timings have all changed to be regular now. No more afternoon naps.  Most organizations have switched over to 5-day week and we now have Friday and Saturday as weekends.

Oh … These names!

Another aspect I noticed as interesting was names of people.  Sue Haddad was the name of my CEO’s assistant.  It seemed like almost every second Lebanese person had the surname Haddad. (now I know I was wrong then).  There was then a Syrian who was referred to as Arbaab.  I learned that Arbaab means owner, boss and is an equivalent of expression malik in India .

Every office I walked in to, every patio that was there to be straddled on had the portraits of two people in the minimum and sometime up to four. They were the pictures of the president and the prime minister. H.H. Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan and H.H. Shaikh Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

I asked my Palestinian colleague who was with me, how long Mr. Rashid had been the P.M. of the country? 

He said the P.M. was not Shaikh Rashid, but Shaikh Maktoum. 

I was confused.  Maybe I would use the second name, like saying Mr. Clinton, for example.

He gave me a patronizing look and said if you say Shaikh Rashid, then it refers to his father and not to the PM. 

I understood. It is Shaikh Maktoum son of Rashid of the Maktoum clan. 

That is how the nomenclature works. 

Women did not change their maiden name after marriage (not only in the Middle East, but in general in Islamic societies, women keep their maiden name). 

In the case of women it was Bint instead of Bin.

This was all tremendous learning for me.  How people are addressed, how they wish to be addressed and what subtle differences might entail in a new culture and environment, were all important to understand.

Clothing and attire

The attire of men is called DishDasha or also Kandurah a long white gown that extended up to the ankle but should not conceal the ankles. While almost 99% of the men wore white robes, other plain hues were allowed as well. The men covered their head with a scarf mostly white that was held in its place by a cord which sat like a ring on top.

Women wore black head to toe dress. They were supposed to cover their face as well with the cloth that covered their mane. They were not supposed to exhibit any ornaments or jewelry.

I was told that women wore very colorful bright silk clothing inside the black cover and within the privacy of their homes and with their men they did not have to use the black robe to as a cover. They also wore expensive jewels. This was evident when you saw the young UAE children who were not required to cover themselves. They wore bright, embroidered long gowns and flashy jewelry.   UAE women while they covered their heads, most did not cover the face.

When you stepped out in the streets you not only saw white attired men and black robed women but more of western attire.   It is because the country’s population was made of large proportion of expatriates and the country also thrives as a place for tourists.   Some 80% of the population were expatriates. 

Conducting Business

This expatriate population most of who had a resident status that was renewed every three years had a mixture of people from the Sub-continent, the Far East Asians, Arabs, Iranians, Europeans (mostly British) and Americans.

Most large organizations had a British boss in the early days.  Now Dubai’s corporate leadership landscape has diversity of nationalities as does its overall workforce which has every nationality of the world represented.

In the first few months, I had to contend with wry British humor when negotiating a sales contract. On the plus side it hits you on the face and you learn being objective. And you also learn to respond with some sarcasm. And then you learn that the better people within the same group were excellent guys. And then you learn it is true of any group.

When you dealt with locals on the other hand -who were the business owners- it was another thing. They were very cultured and the business was extension of the culture. They would never ask you any difficult question within the proposal that you are putting on the table. They would never tell you what is incomplete in the proposal. In India we were used to being told in the face that the proposal in under engineered. You then rectify and you could win the contract. Here the local raised no objection and still you ended up on the losing side.

And when you WON it gets tougher even. When you delivered the project, you would discover to your horror the expectation was something else. You cannot contend that it was not in the scope. You were supposed to know. You are given business on trust.

This is true of any place. but in this part of the world TRUST above all is key.

Dubai Tomorrow

The population of the country has grown four fold in the last twenty years, but the composition is not much changed in terms proportions. Today Chinese form a good percentage and they were practically absent 20 years ago.  Indians have assumed top positions in many organizations especially banks and technology companies. 

There are many Indian owned businesses, which are top companies in the region.  Amongst them are a couple of large multi-billion dollar enterprises started from scratch by Indian expats from very humble backgrounds.    All of which goes to evidence UAE and in particular Dubai as the land of great opportunity and hospitality.  

It has been astonishing how much Dubai has grown and changed in the last twenty plus years I have been here.  It has grown from a small provincial place to a truly global city.  It has become the destination for many of the global conventions.  The work and culture has become globalized.  Indeed, for our 30th anniversary, our class picked Dubai as the central place to meet.

When I think about Dubai and its aspiration, it feels like they would like to be the Center of the World. 

I highly encourage young professionals to come and visit Dubai and see for themselves how they are transforming themselves, the region and indeed having an impact on the world.

About the author:

Venkat Raghavan studied Electronics and Communication engineering at PSG College of Technology.  He works in the Telecommunication and IT services sector and lives in Dubai.