Culture
Culture exists in every society. It is the specific learned norms based on attitudes, values and beliefs. Culture is often based on long standing traditions that have been passed from elders to the younger generation. It can be evolved through societal and religious influences. Changing culture, though difficult, can be done through choice or imposition. When culture are isolated they tend to stabilize and change is slow or ceases. When culture makes contact with other cultures, a type of cultural borrowing takes place and is more prominent when languages are similar or identical. Culture not only influences daily life but also effects business transactions that take place in that community. Because culture can vary from country to country and even area to area doing business in a foreign country can cause complications for even the best of business managers. The culture of the country a company does business in can and will effect many of the business decisions that the company has to make. Cultures are made up of group affiliations. Ascribed group memberships include those based on gender, family age, caste and ethnic/racial/nation backgrounds, they are determined at birth. Acquired group memberships are not de
Other cultures do not have as much loyalty to the company or their rules. Other cultures take a more laid back approach to working. As Canadian business people one has to understand the differences between our culture and the cultures of foreign markets. We value the many subcultures that exist in our society and believe in an individual achieving their goals. They also plan to work for companies for a long time. Translating a language into another can be difficult because of varying environmental factors. People work together to achieve goals that benefit the group as a whole. These variables all impact the success or failure of the company in it's endeavors in a foreign market and an organization must be very aware of these issues to ensure a smooth transition. Some cultures trust easily while others spend lot's of money on monitoring other's actions and making contracts to ensure compliance. Japanese culture require punctuality for business matters but allow tardiness for social engagements. Some cultures use autocratic styles of management, while others use consultative. Wrapping should be done in Japan by a wrapping service as many colours and decorations have significant meanings for example, white means death and bows are not used. Therefore manager's must make themselves aware of the implications certain positions will have and target those job vacancies to the appropriate groups or they must be aware that their products will appeal to only a certain segment of the population of the country and determine who that segment is. Gifts should not be given in even numbers and never give four of anything. Words in different cultures also may have different meanings, so a phrase that is socially acceptable in one culture would be unacceptable in it's translation to another culture.
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