Cultural Customs And Values In International Business

International marketing or business is uniquely different from the local market because the product price, place and promotion is vastly different from what is been offered to local customers (Johansson, 2000) With the emergence of the information technology, cross border marketing has never been a distant dream. However, it has never been easier even for giant multinational companies to face challenges that come in international business. The biggest challenge comes from the culture which varies from country to country.

So far as international business is concerned, the four dimensions of culture form an important facet. Knowledge of the manner in which different features of a business are viewed in different cultures, can help a manager in understanding and sailing successfully across the international business market.

Every country differs in culture which has been there for centuries. The international market is growing rapidly, with more and more multinational organisations entering new markets each day. In this assignment I will evaluate how the difference in cultures affects the performance of international businesses.

Knowledge of other cultures is one of the keys to being successful in business dealings. This paper reports on real experiences in cross-cultural business interactions from three different perspectives. I interviewed three successful businessmen, one who worked with Iranians, one with Chinese, and one with Indians. I interviewed them independently, and my questions covered four different elements: cultural behavior in business negotiations, management as symbol of high power distance in the companies, knowledge of high context or low context culture, and finally knowledge of each of culture to have better business negotiation in future.

Hofstede defined the culture as “the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one group from that another”. His five types of cultural dimensions are the most popular in many cultural area studies, include: (1) power distance; (2) individualism vs. collectivism; (3) uncertainty avoidance; (4) masculinity vs. femininity; and (5) long-term vs. short-term orientation. These dimensions offer an insight towards behaviors and standards in the cultural context which are useful for many motivators to explore the people in different culture. The text suggested that countries with high uncertainty avoidance will lead to more job security, whereas people with low uncertainty avoidance (for example, U.S.) are motivated by new ideas and innovation. People with high power distance are motivated by relationships between subordinates and their boss, while people with low power distance are motivated by team work and relationships with their peers. On the other hand, individuals from high individualism are motivated by opportunities and autonomy; collectivism (for example, Japan) suggests that motivation should be done with group goals and support. Individuals from high masculine culture are comfortable with the tradition and division of works and roles; in a feminine culture, the motivators help people through flexible roles and work

Introduction: There are around 196 countries in the world and the cultures and values differ between the different countries. There are still similarities in some of the culture traits. In today’s world people are more willing to engage in global business and for this reason they need to be able to adapt to the different cultures. As the cultures vary from country to country, people around the world may face many difficulties during their communication. Many businesses have failed due to the fact that they failed to fully assess the market they were entering in. The paper will portray three different approaches that will aid in understanding cultural differences that can be utilized as effective tools in conducting global business. These approaches are known as the context approach, the cluster approach and the dimension approach.

Communication – verbal and otherwise – remains an important dimension of international management, and there are different communication styles, how communication is processed and interpreted, and how culture and language influence communication and miscommunication (Luthans & Doh, 2012).

International business has been a part of society for centuries. With the introduction of modern technological advances, countries have moved from participating in business ventures primarily by land or boat and advanced to virtual environments and acquiring passports that enable flights all over the world. This impact has challenged businesses to improve their cultural relations as they venture into unknown markets that are on the opposite end of their cultural spectrum and perspective. The world is a vast melting pot of all walks of life. The business world is no different and requires even sharper skills, especially when entering environments that may be tense or chaotic. This paper examines the country of Italy and how its culture impacts business domestically and internationally. It discusses the various strengths and weaknesses of its economic environment and the potential gains or losses a foreign investor may consider when deciding whether or not enter the Italian market.

Firstly, learning may influence work attitudes and ethics. For instance, work commitment and ethics are the backbones of a particular culture.

There are many different impacts that culture has on the way business is conducted; cultural systems of values and beliefs lead to specific interpretations of events and interactions, and different demands and expectations for business relationships often exist for individuals from different cultural backgrounds. Engaging in international and multicultural business requires a level of understanding and awareness of specific cultural issues that might arise due to different customs, perspectives, and values, and a general awareness of the influence of culture is a good thing in business as well as it allows for ongoing learning and consideration without rushing to judgment. Through both a specific and a general understanding of cultural issues in business, more effective strategies for conducting business on an international level can be developed and implemented. The following paragraphs provide specific examples from four differently cultures, identifying the importance of cultural understanding in all international dealings.

The five weeks of the Cultural aspects of international business course have been a truly enriching life experience for me. I must admit that I was a little skeptical about the value proposition of the course as I thought this was going to be one of those purely theoretical pro-diversity lectures with no potential for practical application. However, the fact that Professor Lane co-authored the textbook intrigued me so much (I have never had a Professor who actually wrote the textbook for the course) that I decided to give it a chance and sign-up for the course.

When a business decides to venture internationally into different countries with its products, services, and operations, it is very important that the company gains an understanding of how the culture of the different societies affects the values found in those societies. Geert Hofstede conducted one of the most famous and most used studies on how culture relates to values. Hofstede study enabled him to compare dimensions of culture across 40 countries. He originally isolated four dimensions of what he claimed summarized different cultures — power distance, uncertainty avoidance, individualism versus collectivism, and masculinity versus femininity (Hill, 2013, p.110). To cover aspects of values not discussed in the original paradigm Hofstede has since added two more dimensions — Confucianism or long-term orientation and indulgence versus self-restraint (Hofstede, n.d.). Because of the way Hofstede’s cultural dimensions are given an index score from 0-100, it is easy for a company to get a general comparison between the cultures they are expanding into and the culture they are already in.

Our four bordering cultures clearly all have very different business orientations. Though German business culture might anticipate explicit instructions from their management concerning what their roles and functions involve, the French business culture might prefer an implicit understanding of their roles´ function and the responsibility attached to it. The Italian culture would appreciate a manager with whom they can have a reciprocal relationship in an environment where responsibility, obligation and loyalty are needed within working relationships. Last, British business culture would value indirect and diplomatic communication, along with the qualities of modesty, reservedness and fair play.

INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT: CULTURE, STRATEGY, AND BEHAVIOR, EIGHTH EDITION Published by McGraw-Hill, a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020. Copyright © 2012 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Previous editions © 2009, 2006, and 2003. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., including, but not limited

According to the works of Chaney & Martin (2011) and Harris & Moran (2000), they agree that international management skills are in need for the increasing scope of international trades and investments. A large number of multinational companies have expanded their businesses through both developed and developing countries. Some of the business invest directly and others are partnership arrangements and strategic alliances with domestic operations. Their studies show that independent entrepreneurs and small businesses have started investing and competing in the world marketplace. Thus, to acquire corporations’ objectives, there is exceedingly a necessity for the development of strategic framework for cross-cultural management and communication in the current competitive global market. Chaney & Martin (2011) also noted that, cultural awareness and cultural differences are strongly important to the multinational corporations’ success. A good understanding of the culture where business is implemented can make international managers productive and effective.