Intercultural Competence in Business: A Comparison of Bulgarian and British Culture

This report discusses the culture of Bulgaria and United Kingdom with the help of questionnaire in the interview. Cultures and values of United Kingdom and Bulgaria were compared with the help of Hofsetde dimension.

INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE
IN BUSINESS

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
Questionnaires related to cultural autobiography to identify influence of Bulgarian Culture ....3
Questionnaires related to cultural autobiography to identify influence of British Culture .........4
Comparison of culture..................................................................................................................6
CONLCLUSION.............................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
Intercultural competence plays an important role in the business. It refers to the ability to
work with people from different cultural background. Cultural autobiography provides
information of a person related to its cultural and its influence on individual life. It addresses the
relationship with the terms “culture” and “community”. Hosfstede cultural dimension refers to
the cross culture communication identification with the help of different dimension in the
framework (Beugelsdijk and Welzel, 2018). It provides score that differentiate the country
culture with various aspects that include Power distance, Uncertainty avoidance, Individualism,
Masculinity, Long term orientation and Indulgence. Another theory that can be used to
understand the cultural difference is Schwartz framework. It refers to the theory in the field of
inter culture research. This report will discuss about the culture of Bulgarian and British with
the help of interview. Summery will be prepared with the help of questions that will explain the
culture of different countries. Theory of Schwartz framework will be used to understand the
culture of a particular country. It will also focus on the comparison of both culture with the help
of Hofstede cultural dimensions.
Questionnaires related to cultural autobiography to identify influence of Bulgarian Culture
Summery
Andrey Georgieva, Male has ethnicity Bulgarian and Religion of Bulgarian Orthodox.
Socio-economic status of Andrey belong to a good level of income family as his father has a
business of fishing and mother is a teacher at Mathematics and Natural Science school in Burgas.
His Marriage Status is Single. He live in Burgas and learnt many things from my culture such as
proper way of communication. Traditional dance and respect. He llikes to have social
responsibility towards people, their culture and work. He communicates politely and greet with
the word “Good day”. Culture of Bulgaria include Wearing “Baba Mantra” it can be defined as
Grandmother March. It is a tradition in Bulgaria to wear Baba mantra that identifies the person
without any saying. traditions are essential to keep the cultural and value of a country alive in
the point of view from Andrey. People of the country are very connect to traditions as they
represent the culture and create a unique image of the country. Andrey is very linked with the
culture of his country that helped him in the personal development. According to hi people of
Bulgaria are majorly depended on each other.

Theory
Schwartz framework of basic values refers to the different aspects that identify the culture and
tradition of a country or person (Shvarts, Vignollet and Yastrebov, 2021). It majorly focuses on
the explaining diversity and conflicts in the values. In order to understand the culture and
traditions of Bulgaria flowing points can be helpful to identify the values of the country.
 Self-Direction – Bulgaria's culture will lead to the effective self-direction as people of the
country are majorly independent on themselves.
 Stimulation – Challenges are faced with little preparation by Bulgarian so the result are
not always positive. Helping nature of the people lead to the stage of confusing in the
decision-making process (Gadzhieva, Asulova and Yarova, 2021).
 Hedonism – people of the country believe in their culture and their love towards
themselves makes them feel confident.
 Achievement– Social responsibilities of the people in the country lead to the achievement
in the better growth of the society.
 Power – Bulgarians are not too wealthy, but they believe in power of teamwork and
believe in creating a harmony in the workplace environment.
 Security – People of the country feels safe with the presence of the good relationship with
others in the surrounding.
 Conformity – Citizens of Bulgaria are more likely to be upset or sad as their strong belief
in their culture lead to the increase in the cultural conflicts (Bell, 2019).
 Tradition – Tradition of the country brings unity among the people and their celebrations
and costumes.
 Benevolence – People of Bulgaria have a very helpful nature they believe in growing
together and help each other in the time of need.
 Universalism – Bulgarian people have understanding nature and appreciate other for their
achievement but their tolerance level is quite low. People in the country react quickly in
the situation without any thinking.
Questionnaires related to cultural autobiography to identify influence of British Culture
Summery

Jacob Taylor, Male is a British belong from the religion Christianity and his
Socioeconomic status Belong to Upper class Family and his parents are Software engineers.
Marriage Status of Jacob is Single. He grew up in London. Primary schools and middle school
provided me general knowledge related to culture and country. Culture thought him various
things such as disciple and punctuality. Politeness, self-discipline and sense of humor in behavior
and speech are prioritized by Jacob. His values and attitude include tolerance, Entrepreneurial
Spirit and Humour. Traditions in his country include tea and biscuit in that represent the ethics
and behavior of the country. I believe that traditions are created by the activities of the people in
the country. Major traditions in England are going to pub, paying for drinks in round, saying
sorry and identification of accent. His point of view on his culture states that the British are
involved in the cultural and traditional activities so much. British traditions are rarely linked with
the cultural stories. Jacob explained that the culture of England is celebrated by the people, but
they are rarely linked with their culture. People of that country are majorly self-dependent.
Theory
Framework of Schwartz can also be applied in identification of the culture of British people. The
following points can be helpful in the analysis of the culture or values of United Kingdom.
 Self-Direction – British people are majorly self-dependent as they believe in the
improvement of self by completing task alone. It increases the critical thinking ability of
a person (Davies and Blanco, 2017).
 Stimulation – Challenges are faced by the people of the country alone as they do not like
to take help from others. People of the country has created the culture where they are less
likely to get involved in others problem.
 Hedonism – British people love their culture and believe in themselves. Gaining
knowledge on their own behalf make them love in their own growth.
 Achievement – British people are majorly dependent on the government or laws in order
to complete social responsibilities in the society.
 Power – Power of people in the United Kingdom is majorly identifies with the financial
status of the person (Jabbarov, 2020).
 Security – People of the country feels safer with the stable financial conditions of a
person.

 Conformity – Britishers are less likely to be sad or upset as they do not believe in incising
conflicts.
 Tradition – traditions of the country followed b the People at mass level as they
contribute less to the traditional activities.
 Benevolence – People of United Kingdom also have a good helping nature if they are
asked for the help but are less likely to take help from others in the workplace
environment.
 Universalism – Britishers have good understanding and level of tolerance. People of
United Kingdom have a good humour and appreciate other for their achievement in order
to motivate them.
Comparison of culture
Cultures of the countries can be compared with different methods. Different countries have
their own different cultures that distinguish countries and people. Cultures of the country are
majorly impacted by the behaviour of the people. Culture of Bulgaria and British culture can be
compared with the help of Hofstede cultural dimensions. It compares the different cultures of the
countries with major 6 dimensions that include power distance, uncertainty avoidance,
individualism, masculinity, long term orientation and Indulgence (Kristjánsdóttir and et.al.,
2017). Following is the culture difference between Bulgaria and United Kingdom with the help
of Hofstefde Insights.
Power distance
Bulgaria- 70
United Kingdom- 35
It shows the fact that the all the individuals of the country are not equal. It focuses of the
attitude of the people in the country towards inequality among the people in the country.
Bulgaria has a good score on the power distance it indicates that people of the country has
accepted hierarchical order where every class has their own place (COUNTRY COMPARISION,
2021). On the other hand Britishers need to decrease the level of inequality in the society.
Inequality in the society must be reduced in order to bring harmony and a positive hierarchical
level in the country.
Uncertainty avoidance

Bulgaria- 85
United Kingdom- 35
Uncertainty avoidance deals with the fact that future cannot be predicted. People either
prepare for the uncertain changes in the life or hey avoid the uncertainty. Citizens of Bulgaria
has a high preference for avoiding unexpected changes. On the other hand people in the United
Kingdom are more likely to be prepared for the future by increasing their knowledge and skills
along with flexibility.
Individualism
Bulgaria- 30
United Kingdom- 89
This insight of the Hofstede framework deal with the strength or degree of
interdependence of the individual in the society. It shoes the ability of self dependency and team
work in the culture of a particular country (Jackson, 2020). The culture of the Bulgaria make
people dependent on each other. While, United Kingdom with the score of 89 shoes that the
people of the country are highly self dependent. Britishers are less likely to take help from
others. However, Bulgarians are more committed to the group working and are more likely to
take help from friends, family and other relatives.
Masculinity
Bulgaria- 40
United Kingdom- 66
This factor shoes the things that makes a person successful. Masculinity with high score
indicates that the people of the country motivates for being the best in the society or surrounding.
On the other hand masculinity a low level defines success for being unique or for doing what
they love (COUNTRY COMPARISION, 2021). People of Bulgaria thinks that dominant values in
the society and developing quality of the life and caring other is a better way to success. While,
Britishers are in competition of being better or best in their profession.
Long term orientation
Bulgaria- 69
United Kingdom- 51
It identifies the culture of the country that maintain link with the past in order to deal
with the challenges of present or future. Bulgaria has pragmatic culture that believes that truth is

majorly depended on the time, situation and context. However, Britisher's long term orientation
cannot be determined as they have score of 51 which shows equal distribution towards both side.
Indulgence
Bulgaria- 16
United Kingdom- 69
Indulgence dimension of the frameworks defines the scale of controlling the desire and
impulses of person (Schimmack, Oishi and Diener, 2005). United Kingdom with the high score
of 69 shows that people are more likely to have fun and willingness to release their desire and
impulses by enjoying their life. On the other hand, Bulgarians are more likely to control their
desire and do not put much time and money on leisure and tries to control the gratification of
their desires.
CONLCLUSION
From the discussion in the report, it can be concluded that the different culture of the
countries leads to the changes in the development of a person. Report discussed the culture of
Bulgaria and United Kingdom with the help of questionnaire in the interview. Summary of the
questions were prepared in order understand the culture of the country. Culture of Bulgaria is
majorly represented by the people of the country. Britishers were not too engaged with their
culture and traditions. Culture and tradition of Bulgaria include Kukeri, Baba Matra, Jordanov
Day, Nestinarsvo and Winemaker's Day.
Culture and traditions of United Kingdom included British Morris Dancing, British
Maypole Dancing, English Cheese Rolling and British bonfire Night. Cultures and values of
United Kingdom and Bulgaria were compared with the help of Hofsetde dimension. Bulgaria has
a good score on the power distance as compared to United Kingdom. Citizens of Bulgaria had a
high preference for avoiding unexpected changes while, Britishers believed in being prepared for
the uncertainty in the future. Masculinity defined the fact that represent the success of the person
in the country. Britishers were more likely to have fun and spend on the leisure as compared to
the people of Bulgaria.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Beugelsdijk, S. and Welzel, C., 2018. Dimensions and dynamics of national culture:
Synthesizing Hofstede with Inglehart. Journal of cross-cultural psychology, 49(10),
pp.1469-1505.
Shvarts, A.G., Vignollet, J. and Yastrebov, V.A., 2021. Computational framework for
monolithic coupling for thin fluid flow in contact interfaces. Computer Methods in
Applied Mechanics and Engineering, 379, p.113738.
Gadzhieva, N., Asulova, D. and Yarova, Y., 2021. Semiotics in The Ethnic Culture of Bulgaria
And Macedonia. Научный альманах стран Причерноморья, (1), pp.37-43.
Bell, J.D., 2019. Bulgaria in transition: Politics, economics, Society, and culture after
communism. Routledge.
Davies, J.S. and Blanco, I., 2017. Austerity urbanism: Patterns of neo-liberalisation and
resistance in six cities of Spain and the UK. Environment and Planning A, 49(7),
pp.1517-1536.
Jabbarov, U., 2020. CRITERIA FOR THE EVALUATION OF PROGRESSIVE FOREIGN
PEDAGOGICAL EXPERIENCE IN THE UK. Mental Enlightenment Scientific-
Methodological Journal, 2020(2), pp.28-36.
Kristjánsdóttir, H., and et.al., 2017. Hofstede national culture and international trade. Applied
Economics, 49(57), pp.5792-5801.
Jackson, T., 2020. The legacy of Geert Hofstede. International Journal of Cross Cultural
Management, 20(1), pp.3-6.
Schimmack, U., Oishi, S. and Diener, E., 2005. Individualism: A valid and important dimension
of cultural differences between nations. Personality and Social Psychology
Review, 9(1), pp.17-31.
Online
COUNTRY COMPARISION, 2021. [Online]. Available through <https://www.hofstede-
insights.com/country-comparison/bulgaria,the-uk/>
9

APPENDIX
UNDERSTANDING BULGARIA'S CULTURE
QUESTION RESPONSES
Where did you grow up? I grew up in Burgas. It is a city on Bulgaria's Black Sea
Coast. Church of Saint Cyril is known as heart of the city.
Ethnographic Museum explore fol culture of Bulgarian with
colourful costumes and everyday items.
What’s your native language? My native language is Bulgarian.
In what ways have your culture
been taught to you?
I have learnt many things from my culture. It shows me a
proper way of communication. Traditional dance and
costumes influence me to promote culture and respect the
cultural activities of every country. The Bulgarian cultural
has thought me dance and singing as I used to participate in
folk music and dances of the festivals.
What are your values and
attitude?
I believe in team work to gain success in any task. The
culture of team work and effective collaboration lead to the
better efficiency in the performance. Cultural activities are
also very helpful in contributing the professional behavior. I
m very obsessed with class of the people as it shows their
level of comfort and income.
How is your Social and
professional behavior?
I believe in team work to gain success in any task. The
culture of team work and effective collaboration lead to the
better efficiency in the performance. Cultural activities are
also very helpful in contributing the professional behavior. I
m very obsessed with class of the people as it shows their
level of comfort and income.

How do you feel about traditions
in general?
Tradition plays an important role in the identification of a
person, community, group, city or country. I think beliefs,
communication, wearing and day to day activities of people
represent the tradition and culture of a country. Festivals we
celebrate are the part of traditions. Traditions keep us
connected to the country or society. So traditions are
essential to keep the cultural and value of a country alive.
Are traditions very important in
your country?
Yes, traditions plays an important role in the country of
Bulgaria. People of the country are very connect to
traditions as they represent the culture and create a unique
image of the country. People of Bulgaria follow the culture
that include wearing of “Kukeri” it belong to the ancient
traditional story of Bulgaria that stats that the customs
designed to chase away the monsters. Celebration of
festivals such as Jordanov Day, Nestinarsvo and
Winemaker's Day shows that traditions are very important
in our country
UNDERSTANDING UNITED KINGDOM'S CULTURE
Where did you grow up? I grew up in London, England. It is the capital of England.
London is most popular city in the United Kingdom.
What’s your native language? My native Language is English.
In what ways have your culture
been taught to you?
I learnt culture from my parents. They taught me about a
good behaviour. Family gatherings and festivals helps me to
learn a good behaviour and ways of communication. The
culture of celebrating festivals with family gatherings taught
11

me importance of relationships as building relationship lead
tote better and happier life as I believe better connection
with people makes better life.
What are your values and
attitude?
Manner in the behavior is the most important as it identify
the behaviors. I majorly focus on manners, dress and
speech. Professional behavior of me include honesty,
respectful, punctual and always being prepared. I prefer to
handshake while greeting with others. It increases comfort
and effectiveness in the communication.
How is your Social and
professional behavior?
I respect beliefs and values of other culture. I am very
concerned about the legal laws and regulations of the
country that include democratic right to everyone related to
freedom of speech and equality. Safe and secure
environment of work makes me more comfortable in
working.
How do you feel about traditions
in general?
Traditions represent the behavior of people. It very
important to follow the traditions as we pass our traditions
to the next generations. Representation of country and
community is done with the help of traditions and cultures
of the country. Major traditions in England are going to pub,
paying for drinks in round, saying sorry and identification of
accent.
Are traditions very important in
your country?
Yes, traditions are important in our country. The British
traditions such as British Morris Dancing, British Maypole
Dancing, English Cheese Rolling and British bonfire Night
are celebrated by the people of United Kingdom that
represent love of people towards its traditions. People in the

country are still connected with the traditions and traditions
are given priority by many people in the country.
13