Intercultural Business Communication in Australia Country - Case Study Example

Intercultural Business Communication about Australia Country I. Brief Country The Australia comes from aGreek name Australis which means southbound. Australia was discovered by explorers mid second millennium. After many years of colonisation, the country got its independence from Britain but chose to maintain its allegiance to the monarch of Britain. Australia is one of the world’s largest countries, with an estimated area of square kilometres 7,692,024. The country 'was formerly colonized by Britain and is still under the British monarchy. It was colonised by Europeans after it was discovered by European explorers in the 15th century. The country has a population of about 23 million people making it one of the world’s least populated countries due to its big size (Jupp 78). However, most of the land in Australia is forest cover. Australia is one of the world’s most economically successful countries in the world. For instance, it’s GDP and per capital income is has been rates as top five in the world. English is the main language in the country although some more languages from European and Asian migrants are also present. II. Types of Businesses or Industries in the country Australia has all sort f business. Being a first world country means that commerce in the country has matured and every business of every kind is present in the country. However, there are those businesses that are almost a trademark for Australia. Mining is a highly common business in Australia, and there are numerous copper mines that generate billions of dollars every year. Farming is also a significant part of Australian commerce. Apart from these traditional commercial activities, the service industry has also peaked up very well. These include financial services, insurance and other service businesses. At the same time, transport industry is also a large part of the Australian commerce. At the same time, the manufacturing industry is a large industry in Australia and it makes Australia one of the world’s leading exporters of manufactured goods. III. Type of Government in the Country The type of government is Australia is a democratic federal constitutional monarchy. Although the country still pledges allegiance to the British monarchy, the country is independent and has a well implemented government system in place. The nation has six states with each state being governed by a governor and a governor general overseeing all states. A parliamentary system is used with the queen of Australia (living in England) being the head and represented by his representatives who are the governors. IV. People Australia has a well mixed population ranging from the aboriginals to the whites and also foreigners. The culture of the people is also highly well mixed because most of the adult population is made up of the off springs of immigrant parents who came from various parts of the world (Jupp 89). However, the nation seems to have imported American popular culture which has become dominant especially among urban dwellers. Australia has highly educated citizens. With numerous world class universities in the country, the country has been able to have truly educated professionals. With regard to religion, a majority of the people in Australia are Christians. A greater majority of the people in Australia are Christians (making about sixty percent), and the second largest group is that if non-religious people which include atheism, rationalism and humanism. Other religions such as Buddhism, Islam and Hindu are also present, but all constitute to the least of the population. Although Christianity is the main religion in Australia, it is not a state religion since there is no state religion in Austria, as per the requirements of the constitution of Australia. Australia has people of all decent. In this regard, the aboriginals who are the ultimate natives of Australia make only about one percent of the population. V. Taboos Australia does not have a lot of taboos, but there are a number of social don’ts that are highly eminent in Australia. For instance, it is considered rude for a person to blow their nose in public. Smoking in public is considered socially unacceptable. For men, hugging other men is also considered a taboo and this should be avoided (Travel Taboo Para 3). Barbeque makes a particularly significant part of Australian culture, and when invited to a barbeque, it is essential to bring your own beer and meat. Eating in public can also be seen as offending and it is better to avoid doing so in public places such as public transport etc. While it is not an offence, addressing people with official titles is considered pretentious, and Australians prefer to address each other with first names. Another thins about Australia is that placing elbows on the table while eating is also considered a rude behaviour and it is essential to avoid this. Australian are considered to be extremely modest people and prefer to not to appear to be showy and bossy. This is one reason they do not like using titles to introduce their selves. In this regard, as a foreigner, it is easier to refrain from introducing oneself using an official title as this may be received in a negative light. In this spirit, self deprecation is one of the things that Australians like, and they like people who can do alike, instead of those who like to give themselves a higher place (Kwintessential Para 5). VI. Business Attractiveness/Unattractiveness Australia is a well developed country and its economy is doing extremely well (Nieuwenhuysen, Lloyd, and Mead 67). In fact, during the previous global economic recession, Australia was one of the particularly few nations around the globe which did not feel the recession at its worst. Apart from this, there are a number of things that make the country truly attractive to business; Corruption free Australia is one of the countries in the world where corruption has been tamed almost completely. Corruption makes business harder, especially for foreign investors who would otherwise be harassed by officials seeking to be bribed. In Australia, investors cannot be concerned about this because there is minimal corruption and the government does not tolerate corruption at any cost. As a result, foreign businesses are protected from greedy officials who would otherwise corrupt mean to harass the businesses. Political stability Above everything else, Australia is extremely stable politically, and this is extremely good for foreign investors. This is especially due to the minimization of political risk. Countries that are not politically stable pose a highly significant problem to business especially foreign business because the businesses are more likely to end up having to close their doors to the public. However, inverters in Australia would not have to worry about that because the Australia government is truly stable (Kwintessential Para 6). At the same time, Australia does not have any open foreign enemies and this means that it has more political stability than most developed countries. This is very useful for the foreign businesses because they can be sure that they will operate in a stable environment. Political stability is directly related to economic stability which then is directly related to how successful businesses are. In this regard, the more politically stable a country is the more businesses are likely to thrive and succeed. Hard working and educated workforce Australia has a highly hardworking people, and this can provide a good workforce for any business. In Austria, hard work and diligence is considered a particularly serious virtue. Starting a business in Australia would mean that the business will benefit a lot from this. At the same time, Australians are highly educated persons. This would provide a professional workforce for any business in the country. Australian are said to be self driven people and do not need close management to be effective. Ready market As already discussed, the country is one of the most economy successful countries in the world. As a result, employment rates are always high in the country, and the country has kept up a low unemployment rate of about 3%. This combined with the fact that Australia has truly low inflations rates means that the country’s citizens have a higher buying power. In this regard, starting a business in Australia would have a market available for the products that the business will be selling. One of the most significant advantages of starting a business is Australia is the general positive attitude among Australians. Australians are said to prefer a win-win approach in business negotiations since they always prefer to leave an open chance for doing business in the future (Kwintessential Para 9). This creates a good atmosphere for doing business and can be helpful when one is a foreigner and does not have a lot of leverage in commercial deals in the country. Security is also another factor that makes Australia very conducive for business. Australian cities always rank very high in liveability surveys. Doing business in any of these cities is particularly easy, and one does not have to be concerned of their own security or that of the business. Works Cited Jupp, John. The Australian People: An Encyclopedia of the Nation, Its People and Their Origins. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2001. Print Kwintessential. Australia - Culture, Customs and Etiquette . na na 2004. 25 April 2013 . Nieuwenhuysen, John; Lloyd, Peter and Mead, Margaret. Reshaping Australia's Economy: Growth with Equity and Sustainability. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2011. Print Travel Taboo. Travel Taboo. 25 January 2006. 26 April 2013 . Read More