Discuss the cultural dimensions of the international environment of business

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Culture may be defined as learned norms of a society that are based on values, beliefs, and attitudes. For example, if people of the same area speak the same language, the area is often said to be culturally homogeneous. Religion is a strong builder of common values. In 1995, the Iranian government outlawed the selling and use of satellite communications in Iran on the grounds that they presented "decadent" Western values that were undermining Muslim religious values. Now, in 2015, it monitors Internet communications, which has led some U.S. congresspersons to seek a ban on all trade with Iran.
A failure to understand that some cultures are based on ascribed group membership (gender, family, age, or ethnic affiliation) rather than on acquired group membership (religious, political, professional, or other associations), as in the West, can lead to business mistakes. For example, gender- and family-based affiliations are very important in Saudi Arabia, where a strict interpretation of Islam prevents women from playing a major role in business.
Another important cultural factor is the attitude toward work. Mediterranean and Latin American cultures base their group affiliation on family, and place more emphasis on leisure than on work. It is said that the Protestant ethic, stressing the virtues of hard work and thrift, is prevalent in Western and other industrialized nations. Yet the Germans refuse to work more than 35 hours a week and take 28 days of paid vacation every year. The average hourly wage is higher in Germany than in the United States, and German workers' benefits far outpace those of U.S. workers.
Business managers must carefully consider language, religion, attitudes toward work and leisure, family versus individual reliance, and numerous other cultural values when planning to do business in another nation-state. They also need to find a method of reconciling cultural differences between people and companies from their own nation-state and those from the country in which they intend to do business.