by Cindy
One of the courses I teach at the university is project management. I love the end of the semester when students present their projects. It always amazes me the assumptions they make and the conclusions they draw. I pick up on numerous cultural differences. For example:
One project was to open a day care. Their justification? Maids are abusing the kids and not taking good care of the kids. The underlying assumption here is that if you have a child(ren) then you also have a maid. And some maids do a terrible job. There's never really even a consideration that you might raise your child(ren) on your own, without a maid.
As for the funding of almost every project? The UAE government will provide the money through "loans" that do not have to be paid back or the Sheikh donates the money.
During the Q and A time for one project, a student in the audience asked how the proposed day care planned to make money so it could survive. The answer? We don't make money each year, we plan the daycare as a "social responsibility need."
Another project was issuing bonuses to their employees. You were eligible for a bonus based on how long worked with the company (signifying loyalty) not based on how much of the product you sold. Loyalty is definitely the highest virtue here.
For the same project you got an additional bonus for 1) being married or 2) having kids or 3) working long hours. It is presumed that those who are married or who have kids can't work long hours. Those without a spouse or kids should be the ones working more as that's their contribution to society. Once you get married (everyone does) then you will work to have kids (everyone does) and you are monetarily rewarded for it.
One of the courses I teach at the university is project management. I love the end of the semester when students present their projects. It always amazes me the assumptions they make and the conclusions they draw. I pick up on numerous cultural differences. For example:
One project was to open a day care. Their justification? Maids are abusing the kids and not taking good care of the kids. The underlying assumption here is that if you have a child(ren) then you also have a maid. And some maids do a terrible job. There's never really even a consideration that you might raise your child(ren) on your own, without a maid.
As for the funding of almost every project? The UAE government will provide the money through "loans" that do not have to be paid back or the Sheikh donates the money.
During the Q and A time for one project, a student in the audience asked how the proposed day care planned to make money so it could survive. The answer? We don't make money each year, we plan the daycare as a "social responsibility need."
Another project was issuing bonuses to their employees. You were eligible for a bonus based on how long worked with the company (signifying loyalty) not based on how much of the product you sold. Loyalty is definitely the highest virtue here.
For the same project you got an additional bonus for 1) being married or 2) having kids or 3) working long hours. It is presumed that those who are married or who have kids can't work long hours. Those without a spouse or kids should be the ones working more as that's their contribution to society. Once you get married (everyone does) then you will work to have kids (everyone does) and you are monetarily rewarded for it.
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