Last month, a consultant from US of A, representing a Fortune 500 company, mailed asking me if I could help him get some market info for a product launch that would happen in Oman soon. And both of us agreed for a telephonic interview for 30 minutes, and a consultancy fee for the same. He said I will get a call at such-and-such a time from such-and-such person. Bingo, the person called me at the said time, and ended the call in 30 minutes dot. In 10 days, as promised, I got cheque from them. It is all over now. I loved the professionalism displayed by that company.

In Oman, it a mixed bag. Some guys I have worked with are thorough professionals and some are super dumb. It baffles me how certain ‘monkeys’ are made general managers here. No depth, no stuff. Earlier this year, I wrote a speech for a general manager for his company’s annual staff get-together. His dictum was simple: I am travelling, I need a speech and these are the highlights. I managed one in two days (that was the deadline). “Excellent,” he said after going through the speech copy. “No corrections, this will do,” he said. “How did it go?” I asked him a few days later. “My staff loved it,” he said. He was happy, I was relieved.

PS: Though I have been a loyal AXE deo fan for some years now, my wife just hates the scent of AXE. Fed up, she has given an ultimatum to stop buying AXE deos henceforth. Who will win? Well, I shall keep you updated on that.

Life has come a full circle. Last weekend, a senior executive of a well known business group in Oman approached me to know more about the intricacies of corporate blogging. Actually, the group is keen to take their online initiatives to the next level by way of a blog. We exchanged thoughts for nearly an hour, and it was education both ways. In the days to come, I hope more corporates will join the blogging bandwagon in Oman. More the merrier.

The controversial plan to limit how long expatriates can live in the Gulf has raised its head again, with news that labour ministers have submitted a proposal to the GCC Council of Ministers to bring the cap into force.

Labour ministers sparked outcry among expatriates last year when the plan to limit unskilled and semi-skilled workers to six years in any one Gulf state was first announced.

The final decision on the cap was supposed to be made by Gulf leaders at last year’s GCC summit in Doha, but was deferred until this year’s summit in Muscat. Some media reports claimed the decision was postponed due to pressure from businesses, which had been vocal in their opposition to the cap. (more)

Oops, I don’t fall under any of these…

Sources citied by the newspaper said doctors, lawyers and consultants are some of the professions that might be exempt.

Why this rule?

Advocates of the cap say it is necessary to stop the erosion of local culture and to stem soaring unemployment among nationals, while opponents accuse ministers of being shortsighted and misguided, claiming the move could have dire consequences for the region’s economies.

How could low-end expatriates be blamed for erosion of local culture? Can anybody on this earth explain how a construction worker be held responsible for this? The poor chap is almost dead working the whole day under tiring conditions, and harming local culture will be the last thing on his mind.

Where is local culture when five-star hotels are allowed to serve liquor during the holy month of Ramadan so as to make tourists feel at home? Where is local culture when dance bars are allowed to operate in residential areas?

If somebody has to be blamed for erosion of local culture, then it has to be the affluent expats (Page 3 types) who are doing all the damage in places like Dubai, Bahrain and Doha. Thankfully, Oman is free from this syndrome for now. And, yeah, locals and expats (mostly NRIs) have co-existed peacefully in Oman for centuries.