|
在Leadershp In
Organiztion这门课里面，有一章是探讨cuture，每个人都需要写三条给外国人在自己国家做生意的建议，老师最后搜集整理了发给了大家。因为是写给同学的，所以大多数都相当真实。非常有意思，也很revealing!
多读几个国家，you'll be amazed by the the similarity and difference among different
cultures!
Tips for Doing Business in my Country
London Business School
Class of Master in Management 2011 students
Austria
- Punctuality is important
- It is very important to address Austrian business people with their title
e.g. Dr. and their last name
- Avoid making appointments for the months of July and August as well as
Austrian national holidays
Belgium
- Speak French or English
- Be aware of the cultural differences between Flanders and Wallonia
- Wages are quite high in Belgium
- Belgium has lots of highly educated people
- Be open to show willingness for compromise
- Don’t ask questions about the country’s possible separation, we are tired of
answering these questions
Belgium (Flanders)
- Try to address Flemish people in their own language
- Focus on the content. Flemish people do not care about form.
- Do not act overly social
Brazil
- Start small – avoid risk
- Work with reliable agents – bridge the culture
- Build relationships-meet the customers
Bulgaria
- To do business in Bulgaria you are advised to visit the country at least on
several occasions. Personal treatment is very important for building
relationships and trust and if you do not manage to build such relationships you
might stumble reaching business agreements.
- Be prepared to deal with bureaucracy. However, if you know the “right
person”, starting a business might be easier. Therefore, build your network on
a local level.
- Laws protect trademarks, copyrights and patents and ensure equal treatment
of both foreign and domestic investors. However the legal system functions
slowly, so you’d better not get involved in court disputes.
Canada
- Be open and welcoming
- Be friendly
- People are very polite and you are expected to be polite too
- Canadians tend to say “sorry” a lot
- Ethical practice is most important
- Watch out for cultural differences – Canada is a multicultural country
- Canada is officially a bilingual country (English and French). French
dominates the province of Quebec
- Canada is very multicultural and promotes diversity – impact on customer
segmentation and advertising (e.g. labels must be in French and English)
- Charge higher than normal prices because no one will complain
- Fill in your tax forms correctly
- Be sensitive to (or avoid) comparing Canadians to Americans
- Canadians don’t like to be thought of as “just like Americans”
It is a very common practice to tip when receiving services (restaurant
15-20%)
China (前十条都在说关系……)
- Relationships, but not networking
- Relationship matters the most
- Networking is important
- Networking us the key to business success
- Build good relationship with your clients and people in the government
- Building relationships
- Build good relationship with your clients in the government
- Business is done mostly through ‘Guan Xi’, which means
relationships/networking. So find the right person of influence to get your
trusted
- Never underestimate “Guan Xi” – connections, networks. You need to be
dealing with a person of influence
- Hire local representatives/consultants to monitor deals and relationships
- Dinners and drinks
- Entertainment
- Being a good person
- Don’t be too aggressive
- Do it with the government
- Be ready to drink a lot of alcohol
- You have to drink a lot
- Be prepared to drink 5% white wine
- You have to train yourself to be good at drinking especially if you do
business in northern China
- People make business deals on dinner table
- Accounting system is not well developed – be careful!
- Know the different characteristics of people from different provinces
- Be very flexible
- Follow your boss
- Don’t fight for bills
- Keep an eye on policy changes in the financial market so as to lower risks
- Be humble
- Understand local culture (learn local language)
- Respect face
- Understand the ways of saying “no”, since Chinese almost never say it
directly
- Respect face. Never argue or voice a different opinion with anyone directly
- Use the same due diligence you would in the west so as to protect your
intellectual property
- Show a lot of gesture of goodwill
- Governments play an important role
Egypt
- Connections are everything
- Speaking English and Arabic is essential
- Don’t take work too seriously; Egyptians are laid-back and like to have fun
on the job
France
- Process matters as much as result
- Respect and show respect to your superiors
- A lot of business is done over lunch, dinner or drinks
- Develop a perfect fluency in French language and culture
- Know people
- Network, network, network (accept that success if not all about merit)
- You might be judged very quickly and superficially
- Dress well. French people draw information on people based on their
appearance
- Be prepared to be judged
- Don’t say everything is great, criticize!
- Follow business etiquette: be very polite, well-mannered and formal
- It is important to speak French
- Speak and understand French x2
- Use first names only after being invited to do so
- Make friends in the workers’ unions
- Be sure to possess good analytical skills
Germany
- Be on time! X 4
- Punctualityx2
- Be punctual
- Known for diligent work ethic - expect to work hard
- Germans drink beer and like sauerkraut and wurst
- Focus on value add and content creation
- Make yourself heard
- Be aware and show your awareness of local and federal regulation
- Show how you will contribute to the local community or highlight the
benefits of doing business with you
- Most important points of agenda are spoken about first in negotiations
- Meeting deadlines is crucial
- Keep your promises
- Matter and person are often seen as separate in business
- More or less a strict line drawn between business and private life
- Focus on the content of discussion, no distractions
- Be honest! X 2
- Don’t be offended by harsh language
- Don’t call someone by first name immediately
- Be straightforward
- Straight to the point
- Formal
Greece
- You have to be fully aware of the legal system
- Know well every law applying to your sector
- Maybe you will need to use some not very legal techniques to achieve your
goal
- Meetings can be arranged on a very short notice
- Informal networks and who you know are more important than what you know,
especially if you are a woman
- Most Greeks speak English but they are suspicious of foreigners doing
business in their country
- Build trust in your business relations
- Punctuality is important in business
- Negotiations is part of closing the deal
- Negotiate much and hard
- Don’t trust easily
- Long lunches are an important source of building relations, negotiations and
closing deals
Hong Kong
- Give business cards with both hands
- Don’t be first to start eating
- Manner is everything
- Renting is expensive – try to get as small an office as possible
- Corruption is relatively low – you can count on the legal system
- Outsourcing services is quite easy – small accounting firms, legal firms, HR
firms are abundant
Hungary
- Think very carefully about government regulations – very regulated!
- Go for cheap products rather than quality
- Be ready for sharp volatilities in customer demand
India
- Have a lot of cash in your wallet
- Have a pedigree – family name or alma matter
- There is always someone who knows someone who can get the job done
- Should have strong contacts / networks among political circles
- Connections!
- Be aware of cultural sensitivities
- Understand culture and respect the values of the local people. Their beliefs
and way of thinking will differ from yours, accept and recognize them
- Local knowledge
- Indians are very sentimental about religious beliefs
- Manage red tape
- Bureaucracy is insane. You have to cope with it
- Work is distributed between many people. It is not surprising to find a
single document to pass through several hands before being complete
- Indians are very social people. They like to communicate and talk while they
work
- Very large English-speaking population, hence potential for global
communication, no need to learn local languages
- Most Indians doing business speak English, so it isn’t strictly a
requirement to know local languages
- Indians are generally very hard working
- India is a largely price-sensitive market
- Bribes are very common. It’s changing slowly but it is a way of life
- Should be willing to cope with slack in professionalism and bribes to
political leaders
- Should be willing to face the challenge as a result of intense good quality
and low cost competition
Italy
- Speak the language
- Pay on time
- Run background checks on peoples’ qualifications
- Ask yourself who actually holds the power. Do not rely too much on formal
rules and authorities
- Think creatively, be open to new ideas and ways of doing things
- Learn Italian, be friendly and not judgemental: it is hard to understand how
Italy works from the outside
- Speak Italian! (English is optional…)
- Be humble and don’t make too many jokes on stereotypes
- Enjoy 3 hour business dinners
Lebanon
- Have good connections and make good use of corruption (i.e. corruption is
sometimes necessary)
- Expect to bribe a lot of people
- High end works well because Lebanese people are superficial and very showy
- Have good PR
- Adapt to a lack of organisation
Malaysia
- Speak the three main languages fluently – Malay, Mandarin, English
- You may find difficulty in pronouncing names but make an effort
- Have a good balance of westernised and Asian mind-set
- Have strong connections with higher society
- Be polite and humble. Malaysia is very ethnically diverse thus you should
try to understand their backgrounds a little prior to meeting them
- Be patient and flexible with time
- When dealing with large organisations and the government expect a lot of red
tape and bureaucracy
- You should be accustomed to clients taking tea breaks twice daily
- Driving is important if you travel frequently for work (Note: heavy traffic
congestion during rush hours 7-9:30am, 4:30-7pm)
- Malaysians tend to be late
Netherlands
- You can be blunt/direct
- Dutch people are blunt and straightforward and they will appreciate plain
speaking
- Don’t bother learning Dutch
- Make your company a Dutch BU/MV – lower taxes!
- Change generally will be only accepted after much deliberation and
discussion (everybody has the right to speak)
- The manager is not seen as the boss, but as the first among equals. So, if
you are leading a team, don’t be too authoritarian. Act as the colleague who has
most influence rather than as the ultimate arbiter on all decisions
- Act normal, then you act crazy enough (Dutch saying: To act normal is crazy
enough)
- Be modest about your achievements. People who talk too much about their
successes in life are not appreciated. So do not think of yourself as something
special
- In you’re giving a present, Dutch people like presents they can’t buy in
their own country
Pakistan
- Have connections
- Be prepared for runt work
- Be courageous
Romania
- Accept laid-back attitudes
- Be street-smart
- Business meetings are more focussed on good times than actual business
talk
Russia
- High level of red tape and corruption
- Learn to deal with government
- You will have to deal with bribes when dealing with any part of the Russian
government
- Government relations and security officers are very important in large
companies
- Personal connections and relations are crucial for success
- Knowing people in the institutions of authority and having their support is
key for starting small/medium business
- Do not get in trouble with the police
- Despite the government’s attempts to develop innovative industries, the most
promising sectors are still energy and construction
- Don’t trust anyone
- Learn to drink!
- Western companies in Russia are more meritocratic on average than national
ones
Slovakia
- Make friends in important places
- Know your competitors
- Produce outside of Bratislava region; sell in Bratislava
South Africa
- Arrive promptly
- Be honest
- Don’t forget the kick-back
South Korea
- Be quick
- Be humble and loyal
- Be ready to work long hours
- Be very respectful for age and be punctual
- Try to think your colleagues as one united body. You can come and leave the
office at similar times. Do help people out when possible
- Do not miss any of the social mixers. Consider them also as a crucial part
of your work duty
Spain
- LEARN SPANISH and the regional languages – proud regional identity
- Do not discuss business/deals at lunch but in the office
- Be punctual but do not expect punctuality
- Be prepared for chaotic business negotiations; we love speaking
simultaneously J
- Be prepared to stay up late. A business dinner will start at around 9:00pm
and last until 12:00
Switzerland
- Be on time
- Be international
- Be as specific as possible
Taiwan
- Need to be a good drinker
- When having a business dinner, never finish the last piece in every shared
dish
- A great portion of businesses are discussed and negotiated in eating and
drinking occasions instead of in offices, so do join those occasions!
- Know some key governors
- Prepare gifts to main clients during Chinese New Year, Dragon Boat Festival
and Moon Festival
Thailand
- Smile!
- Be humble, polite, respectful (personal relations are important)
- Respect elders.
- Thai people avoid direct criticism and confrontation, prefer
indirect
Turkey
- As a sign of respect you should always address the eldest or most senior
person in the room first
- Turkish people enjoy answering questions on their culture or having a
conversation with people who have some knowledge of Turkey. It may be a good
start to ask a Turkish man which football team he supports
- According to the protocol f Turkish hospitality the host always pays for the
meal. The concept of sharing the bill is very rude
- Do not use deadlines or pressure tactics as the Turks will use this to their
advantage and reverse the tactic by threating to cancel agreements or end
negotiations
- Imports and exports are unrestricted and exchange control is limited to
certain formalities
Ukraine
- You will need to pay bribes
- If you pay bribes you don’t need to pay taxes
- If you pay taxes this doesn’t mean you won’t have to pay bribes
United Kingdom
- Formality depends on the sector
- Heathrow, Gatwick, City airports are primary business airports
- Meetings usually begin with small talk, followed by an exchange of business
cards IF everything goes well
- Be polite-exchange niceties, take an interest
- The British are renowned for their politeness and courtesy. So direct
questions generally get evasive responses and conversations will be full of
ambiguities. It is therefore important to pay attention to voice/facial
expression
- We can be subtle/understate things to be polite
- The British traditionally maintain a “stiff upper lip” so open displays of
emotion are rare and should be avoided
- Punctuality is essential at any business meeting or social event
- Be on time!
- You need to comply with many different regulatory authorities
- You can challenge almost any business decision in court if you don’t agree
- Ensure you declare all income so that you are not challenged by tax
authorities
USA
- It might be helpful to know how to play golf and/or tennis
- Be able to play golf
- Golf is a very important sport amongst business executives and is often the
venue for getting to know business partners as well as starting business
negotiations
- Sports terminology is often used in business (i.e. touch base, call the
shots, ball park figures, game plan)
- Persistence is common practice in business
- Punctuality is extremely important
- Americans love American-made products
- English is used almost 100% of the time in business but Spanish is becoming
increasingly important
- Definitely need to know how to speak English
- Speak English very well
- Corruption is much worse than the media would have you believe
- Do not assume that simply because a contract exists that parties will abide
by it or that the judicial system will uphold it - even if it is 100% legally
valid
- High quality customer service is valued and expected in more sectors and
industries
- Punctuality and straightforwardness is highly valued and is expected in the
US business world
- Need to know how to network because it can be like an “old boys club”
- Be tough and expect to work hard
- Look into immigration rules
- Be ready for competition and be able to thrive in it
- Presentation in many industries is sometimes seen as more convincing than
facts
- It’s not only about book smarts
- Don’t underestimate people
- Don’t ask about money, salary
- Time is money
- Tax evasion is nearly impossible to do successfully (without being caught)
if your net worth is below $25million(liquid)
- American culture stresses individual initiative and achievements
- Americans usually refrain from greetings that involve hugging, kissing or
close physical contact. A handshake is the norm
|
