The Qatari Culture
The socio-cultural analysis of the Qatari nation and its people can be categorized into six major factors; society, social structure, culture, language, power of authority, and the countries interests. Throughout the years, becoming more modern, the country of Qatar has opened its doors for business opportunities, trade and travel, while maintaining its Arabic culture a concrete foundation in everyday life. To better understand the background of a group of individuals you need to ask yourself what defines a culture. Merrimack-Webster defines culture as “the customary beliefs, sonically forms and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group; also : the characteristic features of everyday existence (such as diversions or a way of life) share by people in a place or time.”(1. INSERT CITATION) In its entirety the word “culture” is broken down by five basic characteristics. It is learned, shared, based on symbols, integrated and dynamic.(2. INSERT CITATION). But how does all of these factors compile success for the Qatari nation? How did the country of Qatar become the superpower that it is today?
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The data collected was per capita, Qatar’s number ranked at $129,726. (3. INSERT CITATION). As it turns out, Qatar hasn't always been this successful. The nation could almost be derived as the “little brother” of the United Arab Emirates. “Saudi Arabia’s immense oil wealth and leading role inOPEC conferred international attention on it, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) had Abu Dhabi and Dubai, whose vibrant growth seemingly transformed these two emirates overnight into global cities and centers of business, finance, and tourism. But Qatar and its central city Doha seemed lost in the middle.”(4. INSERT
How does one define what culture is? Culture is defined as the system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts that the members of society use to cope with, their world and with one another - transmitted from generation through learning. This is particularly meaning a pattern of behavior shared by a society or group of people; with many things making up a society’s ‘way of life’ such as language, foods etc. Culture is something that molds people into who they are today. It influences how people handle a variety of situations, process information and how they interact with others. However, there are events when one’s own culture does not play a significant role in the decisions that they make or how they see the world. Despite
Kuwait was a small country that had once been part of the Ottoman Empire like Iraq. Then Kuwait had become a British Protectorate from which it had been granted its independence. Its borders had been set in a subjective manner causing it to be difficult to de...
The variables used in this process are political, military, economic, social, information, infrastructure, physical environment and time (PMESII-PT). Evaluating these characteristics can give insight into a country’s culture and background for knowledge purposes as well as for military actions. Understanding how and why the people in different regions operate is the only way to gain the advantage and spread cultural awareness throughout the world.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar are both independent, Middle Eastern nations located on the Arabian Gulf peninsula. They share the same religion, same ruling style and same ruling religion. They are both Islamic monarchies where Wahhabism—a fundamentalist sect of Islam—is the primary faith among their people and the faith of their ruling families. Their economies follow nearly identical paths, as oil wealth is the primary sector of both of their Gross Domestic Products (GDPs) and largely controlled by the government. Both Saudi Arabia and Qatar are economically oil-driven Wahabist kingdoms; however, Qatar 's lack of reliance on Wahhabism coupled with its acceptance of its own ephemerality has
They increase the spending on connectivity and human resources (Saudi Arabia Emergence Innovation Kingdom, 2014). Saudi Arabia is the largest economy in the Middle East and the richest Arab country. The economy of Saudi Arabia is entirely based on oil (Smetoolkit.org, 2014). Saudi Arabia is the 19th largest exporter and the 20th largest import market in the world (Saudiembassy.net, 2014). Exports now in the kingdom include all economic sectors.
Culture is what makes an individual distinct from others. It is believed that culture is a powerful force that affects and shapes the way we perceive the world and on how we interact with other people. It is synonymous to a country or nation which sets and bears its own desired qualities or attributes. For instance, a group of people conversing in language other than English notices a woman passing by wearing veil over her face and a ruby on her nose would likely be described as one from different culture and which can likewise be alluded as one from somewhere else.
The omnipresence of the American and European culture in the countries of the Middle East is a universally recognized phenomenon. The culture, thoughts and status quo of the people have been and continually are being changed and challenged due the mass spread of American goods and ideas. The American national culture largely revolves around the wants, needs and goals of the individual. As the one of the greatest superpowers of the time, its influence on the global community towards the focus on the individual is nothing short of inevitable. The movies, clothing and new age mentality of America are sending all people regardless of age, upbringing and locale, into a grand scale social transition. The Arabs and Muslims beliefs, traditions and entire state of being are no longer as they were 20 or 30 years ago. The women of the novels, Nadia, Fatima, Umm Saad, Maha, Asya, and Su’ad, each living in various Arab countries with unique situations of their own, all are united on the common ground of American introduced idea and concepts of individualism through such venues as feminism, capitalism, sexism and consumerism which adversely affect their society.
What is culture? Many people ask themselves this question every day. The more you think about it the more confusing it is. Sometimes you start leaning to a culture and then people tell you you’re wrong
Both countries have nearly identical scores in the dimension of masculinity. This exhibits the driving cultural forces of competition and achievement, with success held in high regard over other values. With Uncertainty Avoidance, the country is once again polarized. With the USA's relatively low score, the culture exhibits acceptance for new ideas with an emphasis on innovation and toleration. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Saudi Arabia maintains rigidity in belief systems and acceptable behaviors and ideas, valuing security over uncertainty.
Saudi Arabia, the leader of OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Companies), maintains a powerful position in negotiations with the U.S. and other countries. Its vast supply of oil directly effects per barrel pricing and is a unique bargaining tool in international politics. But Saudi Arabia is no ordinary country in today's world. Its borders are governed by a royal family of nearly 30,000 individuals, all of which share most of the wealth and almost all of the power. Its people, with foreign exceptions, are wholly Islamic and many practice the faith with a frightening sense of devotion. And despite the immense revenue generated by its oil reserves, part of its population still lives in absolute poverty. Although recently it has seen immense change, it is still a country fair behind the progressive world.
Culture can be simply considered as "the way we do things around here", said Cartwright (2004, pp.85). A further understanding given by Deresky (2006, pp.83) is that a culture is composed by 'shared values, understandings, assumptions, and goals that are learned from earlier generations, imposed by present members of a society and passed on to succeeding generations'. It can be seen that culture is formed by lifestyle and knowledge acquisition of people from a certain region, and then it stands for a general preference, opinion, and value of them. So that's why people from the same place may have much in common.
Everyone comes from a different cultural background. Many of us though, never really stop to think about what defines our own, I, myself included. This is important to do though, so one, we can know ourselves better, but also so we can start to understand other cultures as well. Surrounding the idea of culture are the concepts of ethnicity, class, gender, age, and belief, each of which I will be reflecting upon. To begin with, we have the concept of ethnicity, not to be confused with race, as I often do.
Culture can be present in any group, large or small. There are no special skills required to form a culture, all that is needed are the thoughts and ideas of the social group’s members. These provide a meaning to the people inside the culture and provide something to study for those outside the culture who wish to better understand it.
Being Saudi Arabian is to be faithful and authentic to one important religion symbol of Islam which is being believer of Allah but no one else and being the believer that Mohammed is the prophet of Allah, which is considered very essential aspect of the culture. Saudi Arabians are the people who have strong affiliation and loyalty to the authentic, generous, wise Arab tribes who settled in the Arabian Peninsula many years ago. In addition, being Saudi Arabian represents being loyal to the country that fully contributed to provide free healthcare, education, and public services for the citizens. Saudi Arabians are the people who care and help others when they face any life disasters. The Saudi Arabians have many symbols that represent them. First, the date tree is an important symbol of the culture, which represents them as the glorious and authentic people who serve dates besides Arabic coffee together in celebrating any special occasion such as family gatherings, weddings, and funerals. The date tree also represents them as the people who always give to their families, and community...
Culture is a concept that classifies shared values, beliefs, traditions, and principles among members of a specific group. It is important to understand one’s own culture as well as other cultures in order to become culturally aware. A way to become more culturally aware is to research one’s own cultural background. Through researching my origins, identifying my past encounters with other’s beliefs, biases, and behaviors, and placing myself into the shoes of another culture, I am more aware of the influence my culture and other cultures have had on me.