Global Values in Business 371to have a universal set of values in a global company. Does the mere act
of having common values not require the imposition of a particular set
of cultural norms, presumably reflecting the national origin of the parent
company. There is no doubt that the nationality of the parent company
may influence the values which are given priority, but these values can
none the less be applied around the world in ways which adapt with the
culture.
29.2.1 Respect for People
If one reads the values of many companies, respect for people is ex-
tremely common. There is no doubt that ways of behaving with respect
to people will be very different in Europe, North America, Japan or
Saudi Arabia. It might be quite acceptable to call your boss Bob in the
US or the UK, but in Japan he would be Yamamoto-san and in Germany
probably Herr Doktor Schmidt. In a global corporation all three individ-
uals would probably welcome being addressed in the fashion common in
whichever country they were in. But what of the treatment of women,
which is very different in general in different countries? Respect for
people would mean that individual women in an office in, for example,
Saudi Arabia could decide whether to wear head coverings or abayas or
how they should work together with men. The result is that within an
office there is a mixture of dress. Where I have seen this in both Shell
and Saudi Aramco offices in Saudi Arabia it appears to work very well
with people with different degrees of covering working happily together,
both with each other and with men. Of course in Saudi Arabia, it is a
national requirement for women to wear an abaya and head covering in
public, but this does not extend to the office. There was a time in Riyadh
where the official interpretation was that similar rules should apply
within and office and this was subject to occasional inspection by the
Mutawwa, unofficial or volunteer religious police, although this inter-
pretation has been officially overturned as a result of work by women in