Turkish Culture, Language, Religion and Values:

Turkey is a secular state. Turkish culture is unique in the world. Turkish culture reflects the unparalleled cultural diversity. Islamic culture of turkey influences cultural life, belief, language, teaching, social relationship and democracy. It infiltrates all levels of society, providing guidance, values and rules for personal life, public behaviors and business etiquette. The predominant religion in turkey is Islam and the official language is Turkish, which is spoken by approximately 90% of the population as the mother tongue and remaining 10% speak different languages and dialects. Almost 99% of the population of turkey is Muslim and the rest consists of Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, Assyrian and Jewish. The most essential social unit in Turkish culture is the family. A Turks personal life is dependent on and revolves around family, friends and other community groups. Family loyalty is a vital aspect of Turkish society. Turkish expects adult to marry and have children and the vast majority do .Men should not lower the wives standard of living so they are not supposed to marry women of higher economic class. Women are very protective of their children. Boys are socialized to be courageous, assertive, proud and respectful of elders. They are told to be as brave as lions. Girls are socialized to be modest, compliant, supportive of males, virtuous and skilled in domestic task. Fathers are authoritarian disciplinarians and mothers are generally loving and nurturing. Women rejoice, when giving birth to a son because that event increases her status in the eyes of her husband, in laws and community. Mothers and daughters are especially close, as daughters usually spend much of their premarital lives close to their mothers, learning domestic skills. Generally, father- daughter relationship is rather formal. Formal etiquette is central to Turkish culture, governing most social interactions and the use of space. Older people are addressed formally. Affectionate behavior between adults of opposite sex in public is considered inappropriate in Turkish culture. Friends of the same sex may hold hand and greet each other with kisses on the cheek. Upon meeting, man shake hands, but a man does not shake a woman hands unless she extends to him. The exchange of business card is a common practice. Business card is exchanged without formal rituals. In turkey age is the sign of the wisdom and demands respect in all aspect of society. Decision are always made by the most senior business people but the existence of strong sense of collectivism of Turkish culture , the decision maker will often consider the group involved in that decision. Maintain eye contact with your Turkish counterpart while speaking as Turks take them as a sign of sincerity and dress conservatively. Engaging in small talk before beginning business discussions is important for establishing rapport in turkey. Personal connections play a significant role in establishing successful business relationships, so Turks prefer to do business with those they know and respect, greet each of the counterparts individually. The most common greeting is Merhaba but Selam aleykum a greeting with more religious connotation can also be used.

Business is personal. Appointments are necessary and should be made 1- 2 weeks in advance, preferably in telephone. The appointment is very social first then business oriented since Turks prefer to do business with the people they know. Turkey prefer to do business with those they know and respect, therefore spend time establishing personal relationships. Courtesy is crucial in all business dealings. Most business entertaining will take place in restaurants. Turks enjoy food and the meal is a time for relaxing and engaging in some good conversations. The protocol of Turkish hospitality dictates that the host always pays for the meal. The concept of sharing the bill is completely alien. When meeting, shake hand firmly. When departing, it is not always customary to shake hands although it is practiced occasionally. Turkey represents amazing and cultivating lifestyle. Life can be considered quite safe as crime rate is pretty low. People of turkey pay more attention to western fashion and have developed taste for western literature, music and attend musical events and play. They live in high price apartments and try to possess western luxury items such as cars, electronic devices, cell phones and computers. Thus, turkey enjoys high quality of lifestyle. The most popular sport in turkey is football (soccer) and the other mainstream sports such as basketball and volley ball are also popular.

Power distance Power distance is defined as the extent to which the less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally. Turkey has high power distance which means that the following characterizes the Turkish style: Dependent, hierarchical, superiors often inaccessible and the ideal boss is a father figure. Power is centralized and managers rely on their bosses and on rules. Employees expect to be told what to do. Control is expected and attitude towards managers is formal. Communication is indirect and the information flow is selective. The same structure can be observed in the family unit, where the father is a kind of patriarch to whom others submit. Individualism In Individualist societies people are supposed to look after themselves and their direct family only. In Collectivist societies, people belong to in groups that takes care of them in exchange for loyalty. Turkey is a collectivistic society. This means that the We is important, people belong to in groups who look after each other in exchange for loyalty. Communication is indirect and the harmony of the group has to be maintained, open conflicts are avoided. The relationship has a moral base and this always has priority over task fulfillment. Time must be invested initially to

establish a relationship of trust. Nepotism may be found more often. Feedback is always indirect, also in the business environment. Masculinity / Femininity A masculine society will be driven by competition, achievement and success, with success being defined by the winner / best in field. A feminine means that the dominant values in society are caring for others and quality of life. A feminine society is one where quality of life is the sign of success and standing out from the crowd is not admirable. Turkey is a feminine society. This means that the softer aspects of culture such as leveling with others, consensus, sympathy for the underdog is valued and encouraged. Conflicts are avoided in private and work life and consensus at the end is important. Leisure time is important for Turks, it is the time when the whole family, clan and friends come together to enjoy life. Status is shown, but this comes more out of the high PDI. Uncertainty avoidance The dimension Uncertainty Avoidance has to do with the way that a society deals with the fact that the future can never be known. This ambiguity brings with it anxiety and different cultures have learnt to deal with this anxiety in different ways Turkey is a high on uncertainty avoidance. In order to minimize anxiety, people make use of a lot of rituals. For foreigners they might seem religious, with the many references to Allah, but often they are just traditional social patterns, used in specific situations to ease tension.