Socio-Cultural Attributes of Spain and the United Kingdom - Essay Example

Socio-Culture Environment i) Introduction The Spanish economy has come a long way since its accession to the European Union. Over the past five years Spanish economy has experienced one of the strongest GDP growth rates in the last five years. Business environment of the country has undergone rapid transformation after joining the European Union primarily because the government of the country have undertaken liberal measures. The country is divided into 17 different autonomous regions and two autonomous cities (CIA, 2014). The purpose of this paper is to compare the business and socio-cultural attributes of Spain and the United Kingdom. There are many variables which can be considered to study the socio-cultural patterns of the country. This paper has limited itself only to the study of demographic features of the countries, the structure of the society, system of education, cultural difference. In order to study the impact of culture and society on the business environment of the country the regionalism of the countries are studied in details. Regionalism refers to the recognition of a common identity and purpose between interest groups which allows them to shape collective decisions. Discussion There are a number of parameters that qualifies as a socio-cultural one which is helpful in deciphering the core values of a country. Study of society, culture and business environment of a country is shaped by multiple forces. In the contemporary era of globalization regional policies adopted by the local governments of countries plays a major role in shaping the business environment at a microeconomic level. Business enterprises and local governments can act in a collaborative manner which can range from lobbying activities to traditional forms of policy concentration. It has been observed that both Spain and the U.K. have used devolution or decentralized decision-making to integrate regional demands in the national decision-making. Social Parameters Social Structure: Family value in Spain is very important and people live in both nuclear and extended families. It is difficult to predict the size of the families but there is a growing tendency among the population to live in nuclear families. The previous structure of tight family integration has reduced considerably in the Spanish culture. 65%-70% of businesses are family owned. 65% of GNP in Spain comes from the family business and it comprises 80% of the workforce (Holdsworth, et al., 2013). The people of Spain come from two broad ethnic groups namely Mediterranean and ethnic groups. People of the country are mostly Roman Catholic comprising of 94% of the population (CIA, 2014). 74% of the people of the country mainly speak Castilian Spanish and 17% speak Catalan. 97.7% of the people in the country are literate (CIA, 2014). The proportion of male literacy is 99% and female literacy is 97%. The people of the country are highly influenced by their strong sense of culture (CIA, 2014). The overall rate of marriage in Spain is 5 per thousand which is comparable to the rest of the European countries which has a marriage rate of 4.78. The rate of divorce in the country is 3.5 which is one of the lowest among other European countries (United States Census, 2011). Family values in the U.K. are undergoing rapid changes and people are exhibiting a trend towards living in nuclear families. From 1971 to 2002 the number of single family households has risen from 18% to 29%. The average size of the family in the U.K. is 2.5 persons. In terms of family business it has been observed that the contribution of all the family firms is estimated to be one quarter of the GDP. 40% of total employment in the private sector is provided by family firms. In contrast with Spain, 98% of the people in the U.K. speak English. 59.5% are Christians and 4.4% are Muslims (CIA, 2014). 99% of the population in the country are literate. Male and female literacy rates are equal and are estimated to be at 99% (CIA, 2014). In case of the U.K., it has been observed that the rate of marriages has considerably declined compared to the statistics 50 years ago. 42% of the marriages are expected to end up in divorce in the U.K (United States Census, 2011). Figure 1: Comparing societal variables of Spain and U.K. (Source: Author’s Creation) Demographics: There are multiple variables that can be studied under demography namely life expectancy, fertility, mortality and population growth. The fertility rate of Spain is 1.48 children born per woman. The life expectancy of the country is 81.47 years and the mortality rate of the country is 6 deaths/100,000 live births. The population growth of the country stands at 0.81% (CIA, 2014). In case of the U.K., it has been found that the maternal mortality rate is 12 deaths/100,000 live births and the life expectancy at birth is 80.42 years. The fertility rate of the country is 1.9 children born/woman (CIA, 2014). Education: Education and culture of a society plays a significant role in the entrepreneurship of the economy. The system of compulsory education in Spain lasts for a period of ten years. The basic structure of schooling in Spain is divided into three type’s namely free public schools, private schools and religious schools. The percentage of students enrolled in higher education has increased almost four times since 1960’s. Students are also travelling abroad to learn management techniques and improve their linguistic skills. The general system of education has been criticized to be weak yet the country is striving for improvement. Figure 2: Pupils in primary and secondary education of Spain (Source: The World Bank, 2014) The above graph shows the number of pupils who completed their primary and secondary education. It can be seen from the graph that the numbers of pupils enrolled for secondary education have consistently declined in the previous decade with the trend correcting itself only after the recessionary period since 2010. The pupils registered for primary education has however shown an increasing trend over the entire decade. It has been observed that large number of students takes up vocational training after the completion of primary education for obtaining jobs. The low level of secondary education was also one of the strongest reasons that had resulted in large number of job losses during the recession. Compared to Spain, the education system of the U.K. is more multicultural and represents a wide proportion of foreign rooms. The system of higher education in the U.K. is very well developed and the U.K. houses some of the most famous universities in the world namely, Cambridge, Oxford or University College London. Prospects of finding management jobs after completing higher education are very high in the U.K. compared to Spain (Coller, 2004). Figure 3: Pupils in primary and secondary education of the U.K. (Source: Author’s Creation) The above graph shows pupils enrolled for primary and secondary education in the U.K. It can be seen from the above graph that there is considerable fluctuation in both the aspects and there is no clear trend. The government policy of the U.K. is aimed at improving the quality of education in the country. There are certain differences in the style of education between the constituent sates of the U.K. For instance, Scotland provides compulsory secondary education for six years while Wales provide it only for five years. Owing to the complexity of the system, it is difficult to generalize the system of education at a broader level. Cultural Parameters Figure 4: Comparing cultural difference of Spain and the U.K. (Source: The Hofstede Centre, 2014) In case of Spain, cultural factors have been found to be very strong in Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. These regions are collectively known as Catalonia. In case of the U.K., these regions are Scotland, Wales, and South West England. These regions receive autonomous treatment on account of their strong cultural characteristics. Hosfstede’s six dimensions are an easy way to measure cultural difference between countries. From the above graph it can be seen that Spain’s score in power distance is 57 which is considerably higher than that of the U.K. This implies Spanish society accepts difference in power (The Hofstede Centre, 2014). Such an attitude is not present among the British. In terms of individualism it has been found that Spanish society is collectivist compared to the U.K. The rising number of single member families in the U.K. shows the preference for individualism. Society of Spain is much more feminine compared to the U.K. It means in case of management, leaders are not solely driven by competition and success. Care for subordinates is well expected in business environment. Uncertainty avoidance score of Spain is very high which implies that people in the society are largely guided by legal paradigms. The people in the society take a lot of care to plan things in order to reduce the extent of uncertainty. In management literature it implies that the business is risk averse and does not pursue high-risk deals. The U.K. on the other hand is more risk prone. Scores of the country in terms of pragmatism is almost the same which implies that both of these countries learn from their past in order to deal with the challenges in the future (The Hofstede Centre, 2014). Lower score in indulgence of Spain implies that people are more restrained in terms of traditional values compared to that of the U.K. Figure 5: Comparing mortality rate and population growth rate of Spain and the U.K. (Source: Author’s Creation) Economic Activities: The overall level of employment in the country presents a clear picture of the labour market. The aggregate level of unemployment in the country is 24.47% in 2014. The level of youth unemployment in the country is also very high amounting to 53.5% in 2014 (Trading Economics, 2014a). The overall labour market can be divided into two broad groups. One group of workers are under open-ended employment contracts and others work under temporary contracts. The productivity of the labour market is volatile showing improvement during times of recession but deterioration during times of economic boom (Montalvo, 2013). The aggregate level of unemployment in the U.K. in 2014 is 6.2%Youth unemployment rate of the U.K. is 17.9% in 2014 (Trading Economics, 2014b). These figures show that the U.K. has fared better compared to Spain in terms of unemployment. Regionalism and Business The impact of regional systems on business interest has become very common in the European countries. The complex political systems and the business enterprises work hand-in-hand to create major impact on the business culture of each region of the country. Regional governments work with regional business association to create regional development coalition. Researchers have found that the centralized corporate structures of nations are increasingly getting replaced by decentralized corporatism (Carter and Pasquier, 2010). This section explores the regional forces that has shaped the business environment of Spain and then compare it with that of the U.K. Business Associations: Historical development of a country has been found to be associated with structures of business association, fragmentation and accumulation of power among business enterprises. In case of Spain, it is found that one of the strongest business associations is that of Confederación Española de Organizaciones Empresariales (CEOE) which plays a significant role in the labour market economics in terms of collective bargaining of wages. The other major business association is named as the CEPYME which is in charge of maintaining the small and medium sized enterprises (Medina, and Molins, 2013). There are many associations in the U.K. as well. These are the British Association of Chambers of Commerce (BACC), Confederation of the British Industry (CBI) and Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) which takes care of the labour market wage regulation and overall level of investment in their jurisdiction. All of these associations are important factors that regulate the overall level of investment, trade and evolution of the economy (Medina, and Molins, 2013). Chambers of commerce in Spain is present is only related to creation of business-related public services but not aspects of collective bargaining in labour market. It can be argued based on the above discussion that regional advisory bodies have a great influence in shaping the basic functioning of the trade and the labour market (Keating and Wilson, 2014). One of the strongest reasons that have led to the growth of regional business association in Spain is the growing realization that these regional business partners are agents of social change. Business Representations: Business representation refers to the extent of power and competition that exists between business associations. In case of Spain, it has been found that the business representations can be described by neo-corporatist tenets. It implies that in all fields ranging from social to economic, neo-corporatist forces are very strong. The presence of multiple advisory bodies, provision of economic policy based on social concentration and decentralized system of collective bargaining bears testimony to the fact of the devolution of power at state level (Christopoulos 2006). In case of the U.K., it has been found that different regions have different structures of business representation. For instance, Scotland has been observed to follow pluralism to regulate the relationship between government and interest groups (Christopoulos 2006). However, in case of Wales corporate pluralism has been followed to incorporate social inclusion. This implies that, business associations and trade unions of Wales are actively engaged in performing the tasks of advisory bodies. Summary It has been observed that major social difference between Spain and the U.K. is in terms of social terms of language. The concept of family size has reduced for both countries and nuclear families are common. Cultural difference between the countries is pronounced in terms of uncertainty avoidance and individualism. Finally, business culture in both the countries is driven by regional forces and local business associations. Similarity is found in terms of regulatory power exercised by local government policies and business organizations. 1 ii) Recommendations for visit Importance of cross-cultural understanding has become extremely important to make individuals feel comfortable while visiting and staying abroad for work or study. Understanding of acceptable behaviour and practices in the foreign country is imperative to perform duties in a responsible manner. There are many parameters of cross cultural briefing that can be considered for learning. This report includes basic communication, etiquette and protocols for business that is expected from foreigners in Spain. Communicating effectively in different business cultures is very important for sustainability. This part of the report discusses about the ways in which a British individual can communicate effectively during informal meetings in Spain. Meeting and Greeting: The type of meeting and greeting culture in Spain can be considered as formal ones where people are expected to shake hands with one another during formal meetings. The Spanish people tend to build relationships over time and meetings become less formal subsequently. Using local language during greeting can be helpful. Males often perform a two hand-shake where the left arm is placed on the right forearm of other person. Females often greet each other by placing kiss on the cheek starting from left (Kwintessential, 2014). Exchange of gifts: The culture of gift exchange is often accepted in the Spanish culture where people are expected to bring gifts like edibles or alcohol.Exchanging material gifts for the hosts are also allowed in the culture. Table manners: Regardless of the nature of the party, whether business dinner or friendly dinner it is imperative to behave in a certain way. The guest is expected to stand until asked to be seated by the host. Hands are expected to be visible while eating with wrists placed on the edge of the table. Food is expected to be eaten from utensils. Fork and knives are used to eat fruits. Generally women are expected to raise the toast. Guests are expected to sit till the hostess leaves the table. The Spanish are also punctual regarding the timings of the lunch. Breakfast commences around 8.30 a.m. Lunch is generally scheduled between 2-2.30 p.m. and dinner is served around 9:30 – 10 p.m. (Kwintessential, 2014). The following section provides a list of business decorum that can be expected in the work environment. Business Etiquette Business Cards: Acceptance of business cards is common before the meetings commence. It is wise to have business cards printed both in English and Spanish to improve acceptability among the members (Expatica, 2014). Trust: Spanish people believe that trust is an integral part of maintaining long-term business relationships and they prefer to conduct business with people who they can trust. Spanish believe in maintaining relationships even after a person leaves a particular company or workplace. Therefore, maintaining cordial relationships with business partners can be helpful in the long-run. Communication: Spanish people expect to conduct face to face meetings rather than telephonic or any other type of written communication. However, confrontations must be avoided in all respects. Communication in Spanish business must be formal and protocols must be followed during conversation (Expatica, 2014). Business Negotiation: According to the score of Hofstede’s cultural dimensions, it has been observed that the level of power distance is high in the Spanish society. Owing to this factor the level of hierarchy in business organizations are considerably high. Negotiation and decision making in business are taken at the top level. It is expected that the contracts will be minutely followed in conducting a business. Oral conversations are important in business meetings and once both the parties agree to the terms and conditions of each other, formal contracts are drawn. Understanding body language of Spaniards is important during business meetings. Also use of interpreters can be helpful if the person does not understand Spanish (Expatica, 2014). Business Meetings: Meetings are arranged by fixing appointments in advance. Reconfirming meetings before the scheduled day is also considered as a good business etiquette. Spanish are moderately punctual and people are expected to be on time for scheduled meetings. In Spanish business environment decisions are not reached in the first meetings as meetings are expected to be platforms for exchange of ideas. It is also important to keep an eye on non-verbal communications during meetings. Multiple people speak during meetings and confusions can arise. However, it is important to avoid confrontation in every manner (Kwintessential, 2014). Dressing Etiquette: Dressing style in business culture of Spain can be described as contemporary and conservative simultaneously. Business attire of the country is similar to that of other parts of Europe. Elegant accessories are expected to be worn by both men and women during meetings. Reference List Carter, C. and Pasquier, R., 2010. Studying Regions as Spaces for Politics: Rethinking Territory and Strategic Action. Regional and Federal Studies, 20(3), pp. 281-294. Christopoulos D. C., 2006. Governance capacity and Regionalist Dynamics. Regional and Federal Studies , 16(4), pp. 16-31. CIA, 2014. The World Factbook. [online] Available at: [Accessed 22 September 2014]. Coller, X., 2004. Society and politics in Spain: A comparative European perspective. [pdf] American Marshall Memorial Fellowship Fellows. Available at: < http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/materiales/docs/XavierColler_SocietyPoliticsSpain.pdf> [Accessed 22 September 2014]. Expatica, 2014. Spain: Geography, people and society. [online] Available at: < http://www.expatica.com/es/essentials_moving_to/country_facts/Spain-Geography-people-and-society_17890.html> [Accessed 22 September 2014]. 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