International Business2 1.Research business customs and explain 2 different cultural customs. Ensure you identify at least: the culture; country; custom; and the research source. Low context culture Forinstance,inWesterncountries individuals’ expertise and performance are more valuable than their relationships. So, theiragreementsaccentuatespecificand legalistic contracts. They dismount business firsttherefore;give-and-takesareas efficient as possible. High context culture For instance in, Asian countries individuals’ personal relations and goodwill are more valuablethantheirexpertiseand performance.So,theiragreements accentuate trust more. They create social trust first therefore, negotiations are slow and ritualistic. 2.Distinguish between the three layers of the iceberg concept of culture. Cultural Makeup That is visibleWe are aware ofWe are unaware of It is high culture involving fine arts, drama, literature and classical music of any country. It is folk culture involving humor,religion,folk dancing,etiquettes, courtship practice, cooking, popularmusic,dress,diet etc. of any country. Itisadeepculture involvinggenderroles, greetingrituals,family relationships, conversationalpatterns, attitudes of cooperation vs. competition,patternsof decision-makingconcepts of beauty etc. 3.What are the main elements of country-level and professional culture? Country-level cultureis the characteristics of a group of individuals within a country. This involves their values, beliefs, behaviours, norms etc. it is a set of principles which one can inadvertently use to identify the group an individual belongs to. Professional cultureoffers a range of social principles and activities that are accepted in organization’s environment. It is impacted by the culture of the host and home countries
International Business3 depending upon where it is currently residing. 4.Summarise the two different interpretations of culture by Hall and Hofstede Hall According to Hall, language is an important factor in describing cultural differences (McSweeney, 2016). For instance, Amazonian language “Piraha” does not include numbers which means people there cannot count and do mathematics. While in other regions where numbers are present in the language, they can do mathematics and IT functions. Hofstede Individualistic societies like in Australia, Britain, and Canada, people accentuate self- interest (Kristjánsdóttir et al., 2017). While collectivist societies like in China, Japan, South Korea, relationship ties are more important.
International Business4 References Kristjánsdóttir, H., Guðlaugsson, Þ.Ö., Guðmundsdóttir, S. and Aðalsteinsson, G.D., 2017. Hofstede national culture and international trade.Applied Economics,49(57), pp.5792-5801. McSweeney,B.,2016.Hall,Hofstede,Huntington,Trompenaars,GLOBE:Common Foundations, Common Flaws. InTransculturalism and Business in the BRIC States(pp. 39- 84). Routledge.