Business across cultures
by adriana Chavez
1. Cultures and culture
1.1. Culture is the way we do things round here. It includes values - things that people think are important - and beliefs - things that people believe in.
2. Power and distance
2.1. A company's culture depends to a large extent on the country it is based in. Power-distance is one of the important cultural dimensions that he identified. France is a high power-distance culture. Managers are usually more distant and remote. French companies are on the whole more hierarchical than swedish ones, with more management layers.
3. Individualism
3.1. In individualist societies, such as the united states, the connections between individuals are loose - everyone is expected to look after themselves and just their immediate family - parents, children, brothers, sisters. In collectivist societies, such as china, people are part of strong groups, often extended families - uncles, aunts and grandparents
4. Time
4.1. Attitudes towards time can vary enormously. 1.Working hours. 2.Holidays. 3.Meals and entertaining. 4.Punctuality. 5.Boundaries - limits - between work and private life
5. Cross-cultural Communication
5.1. Here are some more areas for potential cultural misunderstandings. 1.Distance. 2.Eye contact. 3.Gesture. 4.Greetings/goodbyes. 5.Humour. 6.Physical contact. 7.Presents. 8.Rules of conversation and the role of silence
