Culture in Business: Relationships and Rules
Eariel Dimagiba 114591 December 20, 2014
Culture in Business: Relationships vs. Rules or Relationship and Rules We live in a world where we are in relationships with other people such as that of our family and friends; yet, it is important to note that relationships are also present in businesses in different dimensions. It seems to be evident that businesses in the Philippines or in any other country follow US system when it comes to research and doing business, wherein there are certain frameworks and rules; however, it is also evident in the Philippines that businesses also consider their relationships with each other especially the small-scale businesses. This has something to do with culture. Most European countries and the US could be categorized under having a universalist approach, which is rule-based, and on the other hand, most Asian countries could be categorized under having a particularist approach, which focuses on the relationships and considers the nature of the circumstances (this is based on the surveys Trompenaars and Turner presented in the chapter). In the Filipino culture, there is a saying that you must separate your work from your family because it will be hard to manage business and this shows how Philippine businesses can be considered particularists; but then our culture is also a very westernized culture, which is the reason to why we can say that Philippine businesses are also rule-based. How, then, is culture important to business? It is important to talk about culture because they provide answers and guide behavior when it comes to business dilemmas (Trompenaars & Turner, 1997).
Due to globalization, more businesses are expanding throughout the world and culture must be taken into consideration, most especially when you communicate and do business with people of different nationalities. The first dimension, which is universalim versus particularism, talks about how we judge other people’s behavior such as deciding
Culture in Business: Relationships vs. Rules or Relationship and Rules We live in a world where we are in relationships with other people such as that of our family and friends; yet, it is important to note that relationships are also present in businesses in different dimensions. It seems to be evident that businesses in the Philippines or in any other country follow US system when it comes to research and doing business, wherein there are certain frameworks and rules; however, it is also evident in the Philippines that businesses also consider their relationships with each other especially the small-scale businesses. This has something to do with culture. Most European countries and the US could be categorized under having a universalist approach, which is rule-based, and on the other hand, most Asian countries could be categorized under having a particularist approach, which focuses on the relationships and considers the nature of the circumstances (this is based on the surveys Trompenaars and Turner presented in the chapter). In the Filipino culture, there is a saying that you must separate your work from your family because it will be hard to manage business and this shows how Philippine businesses can be considered particularists; but then our culture is also a very westernized culture, which is the reason to why we can say that Philippine businesses are also rule-based. How, then, is culture important to business? It is important to talk about culture because they provide answers and guide behavior when it comes to business dilemmas (Trompenaars & Turner, 1997).
Due to globalization, more businesses are expanding throughout the world and culture must be taken into consideration, most especially when you communicate and do business with people of different nationalities. The first dimension, which is universalim versus particularism, talks about how we judge other people’s behavior such as deciding