International Business Culture: Differences between Two Countries - Lithuania and Chine - Research Paper Example

 International business culture Contents Contents 1 Introduction 2 Part A – Table of Comparisons 2 Part B – Analysis 6 Language 6 Time Keeping 7 Hofstedes 5 Cultural Dimensions 7 Power Distance 7 Individualistic 8 Masculinity 8 Uncertainty Avoidance 8 Long Term Orientation 9 Diversity 9 Dining Etiquette 9 Conclusion 10 References 11 11 Introduction International business engages more than one country. It is quite obvious that two countries would have different cultures. Here in this study China and Lithuania also having lots of cultural differences in terms of international business culture. With the help of this research paper all those cultural differences are going to be discussed. In international business all those cultural differences are very significant and plays very important role. Part A – Table of Comparisons Aspects Student A – Country China Student B – Country Lithuania Correct form of address in business meetings. Members must be very punctual. Late arrival will be considered as rude Members must apologise for late entry in business meeting. Host of the meeting must escort their guest from the door. Senior most people must enter first in the meeting room. Chinese people often start with Small talks to enter into any business discussion. Chinese people would nod their head very often. At the start of the meeting they would try to build a personal relationship with their counter parts. Religion and Language China has four religions like Christianity, Islam, Taoism and Buddhism. Languages of china are Mainland, Hong Kong and Macau, Cantonese, Macau, Mongolian, Tibetan, Uyghur and Zhuang. The most popular foreign language is English. The country has different religions like Roman Catholic, Karaites, Lutherans and Protestants, reformed and orthodox. The official language of the country is Lithuanian. Russian and polish languages are also being used by minorities in the country. The most popular foreign language is English. German languages are also used. Meeting and Greeting Chinese people prefer to bend their heads down at the waist for formal ceremonies. A handshake before meeting and greeting with hello are Chinese style of meeting and greeting. They introduce themselves in standing fashion. Chinese people shake hands with everyone even if the meeting team is very large. Chinese people exchange their business card at the beginning of the meeting. Here people of the country would start a meeting with a handshake and with a direct eye contact. A smile will also be there. Here in the meeting and greeting eye contact is very important as it is the sign of trust worthiness. Exchanging gifts It shows sensitivity towards people's status. Value of the gift should not be very high. Photograph of exchanging gifts is not always very important. When Chinese people receive any gift they take it with both hands. Gifts are generally given to the company not to an individual person. Here Lithuanian people try to convert their business relationship into a friend ship by exchanging gifts. Gifts are generally used by this people are bottle of wine, basket with biscuits and tea and Chocolates. Gifts are generally wrapped up with ribbon. Forms of address Chinese people addresses with surname or full name with a suitable title may be job title, educational qualifications, professional qualifications and profession. It is also a reflection of social climate. People are addressed by their Title and surname. Generally people are not addressed by their first name. Etiquette and general Behaviour Chinese people don’t believe in personal contact. People of the country don’t believe in pointing at the time of business meeting. Chinese people don’t like business discussion during the time of eating. Do not drink or eat before host. People are very formal in their business meetings. They are very warm in terms of their behaviour. People always try to build a personal rapport with their counterpart. Exchanging gift is a very prominent Etiquette for Lithuanian people during their business meetings. They are always very friendly in nature. They believe in polite behaviour. Written communication Written communication of Chinese are very detailed and specific in nature. Written communications are considered very important for Chinese people. In their written communications all the contexts under which any decision has been made is very clearly stated. Lithuanian people believe in very detailed written communication. They make sure that all agreements, decisions and planning are there in their written communication. Time Keeping Chinese are very punctual. They hate late entry in any business meetings. They don’t believe in wasting time. It is one of the most important business aspects of Chinese people. Lithuanian people are very punctual. They always are in time for any business meetings. People even come 10 minutes earlier than the schedule time. Part B – Analysis Language China and Lithuania will face communication difficulties in terms of their language. Language differences will be a serious business communication barrier these two countries. English is not a native language for any of these two countries. If these two countries try to communicate in English their pronunciations, vocabulary, grammatical structures and idiomatic expressions will be different from each other. Their languages are totally different in all aspects. In this situation they should go for one common language. They must use the same kind of grammatical structure and vocabulary of that common language (Merkin, 2006, pp. 78-84). Time Keeping Both countries are very much punctual. China and Lithuania have similarity in this aspect. Time keeping would not be a problem for these two countries. As the both countries are very punctual so there will be no wasting of time in their business meeting. Meeting would start on time and will be ended in the right time. No party will be able to show any grievances regarding time. It would show a sense of urgency from two countries (THE HOFSTEDE CENTRE. 2014). Hofstedes 5 Cultural Dimensions With the help of this model basic cultural differences of these two countries will be discussed. Power Distance This dimension is showing that all the individuals in the society are not equal. China scored 80 in this dimension on the other hand Lithuania scored 42 in this dimension. It clears that Chinese society is having more power distance than Lithuanian society (Shin and Wang, 2011, pp. 90-96). It means inequality among the people is more acceptable in Chinese society than in Lithuanian society. It would have great impact on their business culture (Hofstede, 2011, pp. 37-39). Individualistic This dimension shows whether the society is more individualistic or collective in nature. Here China scored 20. It means Chinese society is having collective culture. It means Chinese employees are very friendly within group. It shows people work for group and are very less individualistic. On the other hand Lithuanian’s score is 60. It shows society is highly individualistic in nature. In Lithuanian society employees works very well out of their group (Bono and Beatrice, 2011. pp. 124-128)). Masculinity This dimension would give maximum importance to competition, achievement and success. If any society has scored high in this dimension it means that society is highly driven by these factors. Here score of China is 66. It shows that Chinese society is highly driven by achievement, success and completions. On the other hand Lithuania has scored 19 which are very lower than Chinese counterpart. It shows that Lithuanian society is less driven by all these achievement, success and competitions (Marieke, 2010, pp. 56-67). Uncertainty Avoidance This dimension of the model is concerned with how a society is preparing for uncertain future. If any country has low score it means that country is not trying hard to prepare for future uncertainty. China has scored 30. Lithuania has scored 65. It means Chinese society is less concerned with dealing with future uncertainty. On the other hand Lithuanian society is more concerned about future uncertainty and dealing in that manner (Kristin, 2011, pp. 123-125). Long Term Orientation It means that everything that happens around us cannot be explained. The country that scores more in this dimension has more long term orientation. Here China has scored 87 and Lithuania has scored 82. Scores of both the countries are neck to neck. It clearly states that both countries are having almost same long term orientation. It would impact both the countries very positively in terms of business. Diversity Doing business in these two countries are having lots of similarities like people are very punctual in nature and having similar level of long term orientation. Diversity between two countries is also there. China is a very large country and is having highest population in the world. The country is having huge cultural diversity. Lots of languages and religions are there in the country. On the other hand Lithuania is very small country. Cultural diversity is lesser than China. Dining Etiquette Chinese people take their food from the plate which is in front of them. Chinese people always maintain elegance during their time of eating. Sitting arrangement is also a very important factor for Chinese Dining Etiquette. Lithuanian people is having quite relaxed table manner. They keep their napkin on the table not on the lap. The host generally offers first toast. People rest their wrist on the table. Generally Lithuanian people try every item of food during their dining. Conclusion This research paper is showing that these two countries are having very few similarities in terms of their international business culture. Most of the cultures are very different from each other. Business cultures are different in each country. These two countries have to be very focus about their international business cultures. References Bono, S. D. and Beatrice, V. D. H. 2011. Managing Cultural Diversity. Manila: Meyer & Meyer Verlag. Hofstede, G. 2011. Dimensionalizing Cultures: The Hofstede Model in Context. Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, vol 2(1). Kristin, P. 2011. Critical analysis of Hofstede’s model of cultural dimensions: To what extent are his findings reliable, valid and applicable to organisations in the 21st century?. New York: GRIN Verlag. Marieke, D. M. 2010. Global Marketing and Advertising. London: Sage. Merkin, R. 2006. Uncertainty avoidance and facework: A test of the Hofstede model. International Journal of Intercultural Relations. Vol 30(2). Shi, X and Wang, J. 2011. Interpreting Hofstede Model and GLOBE Model: Which Way to Go for Cross-Cultural Research?. International Journal of Business & Management. Vol 6(5). THE HOFSTEDE CENTRE. 2014. China. [online]. Available at: http://geert-hofstede.com/china.html. [Accessed on 30 May, 2014]. Read More