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22 search results: consensus
Business culture in the Germanic Europe cluster
The Germanic Europe cluster includes Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, and German speaking Switzerland (French and Italian speaking Switzerland are part of the Latin Europe cluster). Germanic societies are defined by: a low-context communication style; a monochronic approach to time management individualistic traits a doing orientation (Germanic cultures value productivity, efficiency, high-performance and competitiveness); a dislike for…
Category : Business culture around the world 19-10-2022 by Maria Antonietta Marino
The challenges of cultural diversity in international business
Dear readers, Following the introductions to cultural dimensions and culture clusters, it is now time to discuss about business practices (and business etiquette) around the world. As briefly mentioned in the post about the Iceberg Model of Culture, some elements of culture are visible and easily accessible to everyone, while some other…
Category : Articles 31-05-2022 by Maria Antonietta Marino
Forgiveness In Individualistic and Collectivist Cultures
Do not be concerned with the faults of other persons. Do not see others' faults with a hateful mind. There is an old saying that if you stop seeing others' faults, then naturally seniors and venerated and juniors are revered. Do not imitate others' faults; just cultivate virtue. Buddha prohibited…
Category : Articles 09-02-2021 by Maria Antonietta Marino
Leadership styles across cultures, an overview
Go to the people. Live with them. Learn from them. Love them. Start with what they know. Build with what they have. But with the best leaders, when the work is done, the task accomplished, the people will say 'We have done this ourselves'. - Lao Tzu - *** In last week’s article…
Category : Articles 26-01-2021 by Maria Antonietta Marino
Challenges and misconceptions in intercultural negotiations
Where two principles really do meet which cannot be reconciled with one another, then each man declares the other a fool and a heretic. - Ludwig Wittgenstein, On Certainty - *** Negotiation, “an interaction and process between entities who compromise to agree on matters of mutual interest, while optimizing their individual utilities”, has…
Category : Articles 11-01-2021 by Maria Antonietta Marino
Cultural variations in responses to workplace incivility
Bıçak yarası geçer, dil yarası geçmez (Words cut deeper than swords) - Turkish Proverb - *** With regard to the ethnic/cultural group you belong to (for example: Anglo-American, Asian-American, upper-class Croatian, rural Thais, etc.), how would you choose to answer the following questions? 1. The concept of 'family' includes: - parents, spouse, and children; - all extended…
Category : Articles 04-01-2021 by Maria Antonietta Marino
Challenges in cross cultural marketing and advertising
Understanding languages and other cultures builds bridges. It is the fastest way to bring the world closer together and to Truth. Through understanding, people will be able to see their similarities before differences. - Suzy Kassem - *** "The world’s worst advertising gaffe": a cross-cultural perspective on the "D&G Loves China" campaign. In two…
Category : Articles 15-11-2020 by Maria Antonietta Marino
Narcissism and competitive communication in individualistic cultures
"When the healthy pursuit of self-interest and self-realization turns into self-absorption, other people can lose their intrinsic value in our eyes and become mere means to the fulfilment of our needs and desires." - P.M. Forni, The Civility Solution: What to Do When People Are Rude- *** Conversational Narcissism, described by sociologist Charles Derber…
Category : Articles 04-11-2020 by Maria Antonietta Marino
ACAMS DUBLIN - Cross-cultural communication, the costly risk of misunderstandings
The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. - George Bernard Shaw - *** One of the main characteristics of intercultural communication is that it usually takes place between "strangers": people born and raised in different environments, accustomed to often divergent sets of values and beliefs, which…
Category : Articles 25-09-2020 by Maria Antonietta Marino
The Germanic Europe Cluster
I remember learning German - so beautiful, so strange - at school in Australia on the other side of the earth. I liked the sticklebrick nature of it, building long supple words by putting short ones together. Things could be brought into being that had no name in English -…
Category : Introductions to culture clusters 04-08-2020 by Maria Antonietta Marino
Gift Giving Etiquette in the Confucian-Asia cluster: the luxury fruit culture
The manner of giving is worth more than the gift. - Pierre Corneille, Le Menteur - *** In a previous article we’ve discussed about the importance of guanxi in Chinese business: as explained by the author (Calipe Chong), guanxi - that literally translates as “relationships” - is to be intended as the “mechanism that provides…
Category : Articles 22-07-2020 by Maria Antonietta Marino
Crisis Management and the influence of cultural diversity on national responses to emergencies: an East v West comparison
Individuality and freedom are undoubtedly the greatest achievements of modern culture. . . . But we have fallen into the trap of individualism . . . and have lost sight of the relationships between the individual and the social system, between freedom and responsibility. . . . Our young adults—even…
Category : Articles 14-05-2020 by Maria Antonietta Marino
Global leadership and the differences between Indian and American culture
The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. - George Bernard Shaw - *** Dear readers, in a previous article about the importance of cultural compatibility in outsourcing it’s been highlighted that the top locations for outsourcing deals are either Asian (Confucian Asia/Southern Asia) or Latin American countries,…
Category : Articles 18-03-2020 by Maria Antonietta Marino
Filipino business ethics and the importance of cultural compatibility in outsourcing
Naim-imbág ti matáy ta malipátanen ngem ti agbiág a maibabaín; (“It's better to be dead and forgotten than to live in shame”) - Tagalog proverb - *** To quote Andrew Quartly, British outsourcing consultant with specialism in Sales and Marketing based in the Philippines, “Outsourcing is an attractive option to all businesses small and…
Category : Articles 09-03-2020 by Maria Antonietta Marino
The Confucian-Asia cluster
The superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions. - Confucius - The shame-based Confucian-Asia cluster - that includes China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan - is home to high-context, polychronic cultures, that prefer an indirect communication style (context is more important than words) and that see time as…
Category : Introductions to culture clusters 24-02-2020 by Maria Antonietta Marino
Global Leadership, an introduction to culture clusters
Dear readers, Those of you who’ve been following this blog for the past few months might be already familiar with Hofstede’s framework and with the concept of cultural dimensions (infographics available here): let me now introduce you to Project GLOBE (Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness Research), a study about Leadership…
Category : Introductions to culture clusters 11-02-2020 by Maria Antonietta Marino
Social and business connections in China: an insider’s perspective on guanxi
Maria’s intro: The visitors who have been reading this blog over the past few months, by now might have a good understanding of what makes the “Eastern” and the “Western” approaches to business so different from each other. One of those factors - perhaps the most important one - is the concept…
Category : Articles 06-02-2020 by Calipe Chong
II/II. National culture, international business strategy and common misunderstandings between the East and the West
It's dreadful what little things lead people to misunderstand each other. - L.M. Montgomery - In the previous article we’ve briefly explored the theory behind social connections, harmony, consensus in the Confucian-Asian cluster: relationships founded on the principles of Confucianism tend to be characterised by continuity and reciprocation, hierarchy and preservation of…
Category : Articles 15-01-2020 by Maria Antonietta Marino
I/II. Social connections, harmony, consensus: Confucian beliefs and business culture in China, Japan and Korea
Fundamentally, Japanese culture is based on rice farming. Rice farming requires a lot of water, and water must be shared evenly by everyone. Planting rice also required teams of people walking from row to row, as the same speed. And all of this has meant that uniqueness had to be…
Category : Articles 03-01-2020 by Maria Antonietta Marino
"Giving and losing "face": honour, social reputation and networking in Asian countries"
People will never forget how you made them feel. - Maya Angelou - While Maya Angelou’s quote is universal and likely to resonate with most people regardless of their cultural background, interactions between Westerners and members of Asian cultures may be negatively affected by the poor understanding of “face”, a concept relevant…
Category : Articles 27-12-2019 by Maria Antonietta Marino
Uncertainty Avoidance
You never know these days. Uninvited guests may force you to take an unplanned trip to an unknown destination; doesn’t hurt to be in your Sunday clothes. - Anurag Shourie - *** Uncertainty Avoidance, one of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, is the degree to which members of a specific culture are comfortable with uncertainty and…
Category : Introductions to cultural dimensions 23-12-2019 by Maria Antonietta Marino
Individualism-Collectivism
Why should people in one part of the globe have developed collectivist cultures, while others went individualist? The key is how culture is shaped by the way people traditionally made a living, which in turn is shaped by ecology. In East Asia it' s all about rice. Rice requires massive…
Category : Introductions to cultural dimensions 10-09-2019 by Maria Antonietta Marino