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International business question
International business question
International business question
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International Business is an important aspect for the world’s economy. Interacting with other countries connects the world in ways for both the government and for the citizens. Each country the United States connects with influences our country in both positive and negative ways. But one of the most prominent countries that the US does business with is Switzerland. A country comfortably settled in the middle of France, Germany, and Italy, it has made a positive effect on America’s economy and culture. Understanding Switzerland’s culture is an essential piece of knowledge to successfully do business with them.
To conduct with the Swiss, being able to appropriately interact with them face-to-face is crucial. The Swiss value punctuality; being punctual is seen as respectable and organized, and being late is seen as rude and incompetent. The three main languages spoken in Switzerland are German, French, and Italian; thus, greeting them in one of these languages is fitting. Shaking hands with representatives of the business you’re doing business with is vital. When in discussion, avoid personal questions and stay on topic. The Swiss are very private people and tend to be more sincere, so light jokes can be misinterpreted as mockery. They tend to not change their minds easily, but this shouldn’t be seen as stubborn. The Swiss stay true to their values. At the end of the meeting, gifts are exchanged when you’ve concluded successful negotiations, but the gifts should never been too expensive or amazing as it can be seen as bribery, which is practically illegal.
Body language and personal space correlate. Being conservative and remaining polite at all times is essential. The Swiss dress conservatively and poor posture is frowned upon....
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Justin Matos Reasoning and Analysis Paper When you come from a different country do you have trouble communicating with others? Is it hard to adapt to the new culture or stay within your own culture? Around the world, many people are rewarded for been direct and independent. Been able to take care of yourself and work well with others who are not in your culture can help you achieve great things.
If you are a European American traveling in Italy, the cultures will seem very different. One of the biggest is the concept of time! Italians will usually be late to appointments and not think anything of it. Americans are always frantically running. They don’t want to be late to work or an event. Even if they are on time, they feel late so they need to come earlier. Neither is right or wrong, it is the culture that makes them different. Communicating across cultures is challenging. Each culture has set rules that its members take for granted. Few of us are aware of our own cultural biases because cultural imprinting begins at a very early age. And while some of a culture's knowledge, rules, beliefs, values, phobias, and anxieties are taught, most of the information is learned subconsciously. The challenge for communication has never been greater. Worldwide business organizations have discovered that intercultural communication is very important, not just because of increased globalization, but also because domestic workforce is growing more and more diverse, ethnically and culturally. We are all individuals. No two people belong to the same culture and they are not going to respond in exactly the same way. However, generalizations are valid to the extent that they provide clues on what you will most likely encounter when dealing with members of a particular
Despite Switzerland’s small size, it shares borders with three major European cultures: Germany, France and Italy. This is an advantage for Switzerland,...
The rest of the book is spent discussing each of the countries in detail. For each country the authors give a brief explanation of the history of the culture. Then they give tips on what each country expects from a visiting businessman. This includes tips on whether or not it is okay to be late for meetings, proper behavior during a business lunch or dinner, and how to properly address people you come in contact with during your business trip. They also give a guide t...
Icelanders tend to dress formal in most situation. Informal social events, such as business dinner,
The first point I would like to illustrate is the way body language can have different effects on people. For example, in England the use of hands when you are speaking is quite rare, the odd movement of the hand may be seen but the most common use of hand signals or motions is when someone is making an insult. I will use the Italians as an example of at times exaggerated and frequent use of hands. The Italians often use their hands as a way of secondary communication. As they speak they dramatise their conversations which can be mistakenly perceived by some people as confrontation when in fact they are having a simple conversation. This is where the lack of knowledge of a culture can cause a misunderstanding. Another example of communication which can cause raised eyebrows is the way the French acknowledge one another is doing something called the “bises.” This is where they give a kiss on each cheek. (Depending on the region this could be two, three even four kisses.) It is considered rude to just verbally greet someone so the “bises” is the norm for them. However when they are out of their country they could receive strange looks because people don’t understand their reasons and therefore could be perceived that French m...
Seminar 2. Is the way we look, influenced by our culture? How so? J. Berger, Way of Seeing. The culture, may to this day, be the strongest influencer of the way anything is being perceived.
Any communication interaction involves two major components in terms of how people are perceived: verbal, or what words are spoken and nonverbal, the cues such as facial expressions, posture, verbal intonations, and other body gestures. Many people believe it is their words that convey the primary messages but it is really their nonverbal cues. The hypothesis for this research paper was: facial expressions directly impact how a person is perceived. A brief literature search confirmed this hypothesis.
Switzerland has one of the world's most stable economies. Because of the country's small size and highly specialized workforce, exports and trade are key to Switzerland's economic livelihood.
Steve Kafka, an American of Czech origin and a franchisor for Chicago Style Pizza, has decided to expand his business into the Czech Republic. He knows it is a risky decision; when he became a franchisor, he had to overcome a lot of difficulties. Steve anticipates he will face some of these difficulties again at the new location in Prague, Czech Republic. Although he was born in the United States, he has family and friends in the Czech Republic, speaks Czech fluently, and has visited the country of his origin several times. He knows the people and the culture. In this paper, I will analyze the cross-cultural differences between the United States and Czech Republic, determine comparative advantages in this country, and recommend ways to minimize the risks of establishing a franchise overseas.
The article examines some of the influential theories in the domain of international trade including hyperglobalisation and comparative advantage. The publisher was keen to demonstrate how the theories need to be embraced since hyperglobalisation promotes investments flows from partners pursuing such trading agreements. The trading partners can still reduce their operation cost such as transportation while still navigating the complexities of hyperglobalisation. The author also endeavored to demystify the terminology of comparative advantage by issuing examples and previous concerns reported on the subject. It has been hailed that the traders often traded as per their factor endowments by concentrating on spheres of their specialty. The author also hinted to the readers that the theory of comparative advantage is a major concept since it is the first theory that economics students are briefed on. Arguments in support of the theory reveals that countries that have this level of visibility stand to benefit massively once they specialize in areas of their specialty. He purp...
2- Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2008, May). The X-Men: The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/trade/40672245.pdf. 3- Divounguy, O. & Co. 2010 April 6 -.
It also happens in the world of international business; personal appearance plays a decisive role when negotiating. The author also says that it may be that your clothes do not have a voice, but you can communicate, send a message in some way. Although people dress differently in various parts of the world, there is a universal language when clothes are worn when doing international business. For such reason, there is a code of etiquette to be considered dressed in a conservative manner. Here we will mention what to consider:
“Red is a positive color in Denmark, but represents witchcraft and death in many African countries,” (Understand and heed, 1991, p.1). Simple understandings, such as this one, can make the difference in a business’ success or failure in a foreign country. Various countries have different customs and beliefs that need to be accustomed to when business are to be successful. American businesses especially have difficulties with this concept. “At times in the past, Americans have not had a good track record of being sensitive to cultural distinctions,” (Understand and heed, 1991, p.3). Perhaps this is because America is made up of so many different cultures that American people have become so used to easily adjusting to each other’s differences that they forget that other cultures are not as flexible. Today, more American’s are becoming more sensitive to the differences of other cultures. This sensitivity and understanding has come with a price, after a long string of business failures. It is not until a business fails miserably in another country that they see the adjustments that should have been made in order for their success to be a possibility. With an understanding and sensitivity to the customs and beliefs of other cultures, it is possible for successful businesses that have originated in western cultures to also be successful in foreign countries as well.
In Germany, they are well known for being extremely direct and straightforward. Austrians are more direct than Americans, but they have less intensity than the Germans. This is something that I admire tremendously. Hearing from an Austrian perspective that Americans seem superficial by always trying so hard to be nice. This is quite interesting to me and I understand their perspectives in saying that American friendships always seem fake because they are never as direct as sometimes necessary. I have begun to notice the lack of directness now that it has been pointed out to me. My experience with this was from host mother. She was very sweet and considerate, however, it was her house so she was going to politely directly tell me that she has