00236848 Payton EGT 1 Task 309

Company A can successfully enter the country of South Korea. South Korea has strong ties to the United States government and has a similar quality of living as the United States there will not be a huge labor cost advantage however, there won 't be a disadvantage. This report however, will focus on cultural differences not the business model for entry which should be done with a joint venture with a local company. Major potential cross cultural issues could be the following Language Barriers, Foreign Culture, Environment, Labor, and Ethical Differences. We will look at these one at a time. Language Barriers the spoken Language of South Korea is of course Korean so Company A will need a interpreter that is fluent in both Korean and English and have a very good understanding of both cultures to avoid confusion during translation and to avoid offending the two parties. Company A will also have to have all documentation translated and then translated back to ensure that the communication is consistent in both directions. It is also important to understand body language and gestures. A great example of this is when meeting it is proper protocol to bow and shake hands with the person of lower status initiates the bow and says "man-na-suh pan-gop-sumnida" which is similar to saying "pleased to meet you" then the more senior person initiates the hand shake. Information is received prior to the meeting. Another example is when gift giving or presenting your business card after meeting someone you use both hands to present it. Foreign Culture which ties in strongly with the Language Barrier. South Korea is very ritualistic in the way in behaves and that shines through in its culture and business practices. It is important to understand that Koreans have strong family values and traditional roles that each family member is expected to play. For example the Father is expected to provide food, clothing, shelter, and approve the marriages of family members. Family welfare

References: McConnell, Campbell; Brue, Stanley; Flynn, Sean, (2012). Economics. (19th ed.). McGraw-Hill Higher Education.