A Cultural Analysis Of Brazil

. Introduction

Brazil is both the largest and most populous country in South America. It is the 5th largest country worldwide in terms of both area (more than 8.5 Mio. km2 ) and habitants (appr. 190 million). The largest city is Sao Paulo which is simultaneously the country's capital; official language is Portuguese. According to the WorldBank classification for countries, Brazil - with a GDP of 1,5 bn. US $ in 2005 and a per capita GPD of appr. 8.500 US - can be considered as an upper middle income country and therefore classified as an industrializing country, aligned with the classification as one of the big emerging markets (BEM) next to Argentina and Mexico. Per capita income is constantly increasing as well as literacy rate (current
illiteracy rate 8%). Due to its high population rate (large labour pool), its vast natural resources and its geographical position in the centre of South America, it bears enormous growth potential in the near future.
Aligned with an increasing currency stability, international companies have heavily invested in Brazil during the past decade. According to CIA World Factbook, Brazil has the 11th largest PPP in 2004 worldwide and today has a well established middle income economy with wide variations in levels of development. Thus, today Brazil is South America's leading economic power and a regional leader.

2. Cultural Analysis of Brazil
Due to its history Brazil is a multicultural country (intercultural disparity index of 143 = very high, based on Hofstede's cultural dimensions). Especially in the 19th and 20th centuries it attracted over 5 million European (mainly German, Poles, Italy, Portugal and Spain) and Japanese immigrants that today shape the culture of Brazil. Moreover, Brazil has a large black population, descended from African salves
brought to the country in the 16th until the 19th century, mainly from Angora, Nigeria and Togo. Today the Japanese are the largest Asian minority in Brazil, and Japanese-Brazilians are the largest Japanese-population outside of Japan, accounting for appr. 1.5 million. The entire population speaks Portuguese while it is the only language used in schools. A moderate part of the Brazilians can speak English (mostly higher educated or people in high job positions) or any other second or third language. Some Brazilians may actually they take offence when talking to them in Spanish since they do not consider themselves as Hispanics. If foreigners try to learn Portuguese, it is often considered as a sign of sincere interest in the country's culture and therefore highly appreciated. More than 22 million people live in extreme poverty, so-called Favelas, areas characterized by low economic and technical development. People living there cannot afford their basic living needs, most of them have never visited school and have limited knowledge. This point illustrates the big economic inequality that is omnipresent in Brazil. Only a few (less than 2%) are very rich while the larger part of the population is very poor. Favelas are mostly located outside the mainstream cities, but despite the poverty is ubiquitous even in the very centres of Sao Paulo where young children are begging for money or food.

2.1 Behavioural Characteristics:
Relationship establishment counts in Brazil very much.
It's collectivistic culture (and also its high context culture) implies that building up strong relationships and trust is substantial for Brazilians. Also in business, they quickly move to first name basis while it is usual that any kinds of contracts are not based on hard facts such as price or delivery terms, but on relationships and the perceived sense of trust. The culture is more long term oriented while a high context culture makes the implicit context an essential part of the message. Characterized by a high power distance (proved by the fact that in Brazil only the highest person in authority makes the deal) and a high uncertainty avoidance (76 according to Hofsted) that indicates the society's low level of tolerance for uncertainty. Taking also into account that most of the Brazilian population is catholic, it can be assessed that this culture has a strong need for strict rules, laws and policies and thinks that something like a absolute "Truth" exist. All in all, the Brazilian society tends to be more risk averse and changes are not well accepted.
Furthermore, their attitude towards time and space is different to Western standards since Brazil has a polychromic culture in contrast to Germans' monochronic one: poor punctuality is usual (also in business culture) and appointments should be made two weeks in advance. Personal involvements are much more important than sticking to deadlines or present schedules. Especially
around Carnival, an annual celebration held for four days in February each year, nearly nobody works and in Sao Paulo 90% of all offices are closed.

3. Typical non-verbal and verbal negotiations/communications approaches
During conversations, Brazilians love steady eye-contact while they stand closely in front of each other when they talk. Talks are often interrupted and highly animated and involve a tremendous amount of physical contact (touching hand or shoulder, Brazilians are know as "big touchers"). Despite, they do not talk too much about their family and personal lives, but are keen on getting information about other people's income or marital status. Nevertheless, there also exist some "no-talk topics" such as personal questions referring to their family or status at work, politics or class differences depicted above. It is also considered as rude to talk about Argentina, Brazil's main rival in terms of soccer (they often refer to them as their "friends").
Main components of the Brazilian culture involve football and music, especially Samba which is the most traditional and popular music form in Brazil and its national rhythm. Soccer as the number one sport discipline is played by almost every kid and is usually stimulates a lively conversation. Brazilians usually greet each other with a long handshake, aligned with an omnipresent "Tudo bem!?" ("everything all right?"). Usually they raise their thumbs up to symbolize that everything is running well. Although machismo in Brazil takes a milder, more subtle form than in other Latin American countries, it's important for men to appear self-assured and "in control" at all times. Particularly among the teens & twens, establishing strong partner relationships is not common. Girls love their independency and usually try to prevent committing to one steady partner.
Greeting with kisses has come to be used between men and women as well during the last couple of decades. If a man gives a woman a kiss to a woman as a greeting, he generally only kisses one cheek. Brazilian women also shake hands upon meeting someone, but most commonly they greet with a kiss, usually twice on alternative cheeks. Often women kiss the air while brushing cheeks. One begins the contact with movement to the left.
Women's need for community and harmony becomes also obvious when they walk down the street with arms around one other, arms linked or holding hands. Generally, women touch much more then men. While Germans or Americans would likely refer to a business associate as "Mr. Smith", the Brazilian refers to business colleagues by their first names, i.e. "Senhor Rodrigues" or "Senhora Mariana". Doctors and professors as well as other professionals usually go by their first name. Exceptions depend on the degree of formality of the individual. It is still a custom to use files and lists alphabetized by first name, rather then last, although telephone directories now list by last name.
Below some selected common gestures of Brazilians are displayed (source: http://www.maria-brazil.org/brazilian_body_language.htm)