Business Across Cultures

The unspoken but assumed behavior that conveys politeness is strongly based on culture.
One of the easiest ways to cause offense is either to violate a cultural taboo or to fail to follow one
of society's rules of polite behavior. While many similarities exist among businesses, there are
dynamics that must be taken into consideration in an increasingly global environment, such as
multicultural employees and varying experiences in countries outside that of the business. It is
essential to take these differences seriously and not assume that individuals have similar values.
Usually business people think that business culture is universal. Meaning that, if they act
politely based on their own understanding of what is polite, people in other cultures will understand
the attempt. Generally, it could be true only if foreign business people also take the time to learn
about the specific cultural ideas of politeness that do vary between cultures.

There are several extremely important areas of interaction between people from different
cultures ,which can probably never be standardized. And these are the areas which provide major
surprises - and costly mistakes. How can we anticipate these differences and work effectively?
As people from different cultural groups take on the challenge of working together, cultural
values sometimes conflict. We can misunderstand each other, and react in ways that can jeopardise
our partnerships. More often we are not even aware that our cultural filters are different from others.
At a minimum, there are three vital areas to take into account when it comes to culturally
differing business attitudes and behavior:
• Attitudes Toward Conflict. Some cultures view conflict as a positive dynamic while others
see conflict as something to be avoided. While in the U.S. conflict is not usually desirable, people
are encouraged to deal directly with conflicts that arise. In contrast, in many Asian cultures, where
relationships and harmony are the basis for effective communication, open conflict is avoided.
Conflict is seen as embarrassing or demeaning and is best worked out quietly. Written exchanges,
indirect communication or using a third person as a message bearer might be the favored way to
address conflict.
• Approaches to Completing Tasks. When it comes to working together effectively on a task,
cultures differ with respect to relationships and task completion. Asian and Hispanic cultures tend
to attach more value to developing relationships at the beginning of a shared project and more
emphasis on task completion toward the end compared to Europeans and Americans. In general,
European and American culture tends to focus immediately on the task at hand, and let relationships
develop as they work on the task. This does not mean that people from any one of these cultural
backgrounds are more or less committed to accomplishing tasks, or value relationships more or less;
it simply means they may pursue them differently.
• Communication Styles. When doing business across cultures, you may believe you are
communicating clearly, but you are probably headed for big trouble. Most executives claim they try
to adjust their English language in a foreign business situation. The facts show that there are still
problems.
In general , cultural issues can be divided into two categories : explicit culture issues are
related to characteristics that one can see or perceive , implicit culture issues, on the other hand, are
related to attitudes and values. Explicit culture exists on the outer layer and is the observable reality
of the language, food, buildings, houses, monuments, agriculture, shrines, markets, fashions and art.
These products are visible in people’s behaviors, clothes, food, music and theater. The middle
layers include norms, values, and attitudes but are not directly visible. Norms are the mutual sense a
group has of what is right and wrong that can develop on a formal level such as written law, or on
an informal level such as social control. Values determine good from bad, and are closely related to
the ideals shared by a group. A value in one culture may differ vastly from that of another, and
therefore these differences must be studied and taken into consideration when doing business across
cultures.

Geert Hofstede, a leading expert in cultural values classification, developed a model of five
dimensions of natural culture that help to explain basic value differences in culture. The model
distinguishes cultures according to the following five different dimensions:

• Power distance

• Individualism/collectivism

• Masculinity/femininity

• Uncertainty avoidance

• Long-term orientation

The Power Distance Index (PDI) focuses on the degree of equality, or inequality, between
people in the country's society. The Individualism (IDV) focuses on the degree the society
reinforces individual or collective, achievement and interpersonal relationships. The Masculinity
(MAS) focuses on the degree the society reinforces, or does not reinforce, the traditional masculine
work role model of male achievement, control, and power. The Uncertainty Avoidance Index (UAI)
focuses on the level of tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity within the society. These dimensions
are measured on a scale from 0 to 100, include 75 countries or regions, and scores are determined
by “high” or “low” rankings within each category.

The creation of a stable and healthy workplace made up of people of varying cultural
backgrounds is a matter of increasing importance in the global business environment. Employers
take into consideration the impact cultural diversity can have on both the homogeneity of the
workplace and potential legal implications for improper discrimination. Businesses with diverse
cultural backgrounds must maintain an environment suited for every constituent so that the
objectives of the business can be efficiently met. Installing cultural diversity training programs can
help accomplish this by defining what cultural intelligence is, teaching employees to accept and
work effectively with others from different cultural backgrounds, and taking advantage of advice
from those who have cross-cultural experience.
Cultural values determine the way people think and behave. International marketers must
understand many subtle differences that may affect the way their marketing is made and perceived
in foreign markets. Managers of businesses that conduct operations in an increasingly global
environment will always face a dilemma when selecting and applying ethics to decisions in cross-
cultural settings. Although cultural and moral values may be similar across cultures in many cases,
the application of those values to certain situations may vary. Before a company does business
across borders, it must first decide what its motivation is regarding moral and cultural conduct,
which will determine what kind of behavior is to be expected from employees.

Doing business across cultures is not a easy thing to do, but in its unique way it is the best
decidion a company can have in developing and enriching its activity.