European Negotiations
European Negotiations
Southern Candle’s Tour de France
MGB225 Intercultural Communication and Negotiation Skills Assessment 1
Name: Raya Korudova
Student ID: 9385584
Tutor’s Name: Ken Huxley
Word Count: 1606
1. Executive Summary
Possessing cultural awareness is of an extreme importance when it comes to doing business internationally. The European Negotiations Southern Candle’s Tour de France case study illustrates its significance as it points out a lot of intercultural, verbal and non-verbal communication issues between the French owner Mr. Durand and the American team of Mr. Picard.
The intercultural issues include the choice of team members Mr. Picard does when going on the business trip, the business discussion brought up at social events, the duration of these social events, the difference between way and duration of making decisions by both parties and also the casualty of dress code of Mr. Picard. The Intercultural verbal communication problems are exemplified by the absence of basic knowledge of French greetings and courtesy titles by the Americans, the wrong perception of the business issues discussion, the light conversations at social events and Mrs. Dubois immodesty of taking compliments. The intercultural non-verbal communication issues consist of absence of translation in French on Mr. Picard’s business cards, incorrect usage of the “okay” sign, the amount of attention French pay to women in business and in particular Mrs. Dubois, as well as the absence of gratitude by Mr. Picard towards Mr. Durand’s hospitality.
Through using mainly Hofstede’s model of cultural dimensions five of these issues have been analyzed and discussed further in the report. This model is very useful in classifying cultural differences; however, it has its disadvantages. The creator has used a sample of people working only for IBM around the world that could be biased. Moreover, it cannot apply well for all countries because of various
Southern Candle’s Tour de France
MGB225 Intercultural Communication and Negotiation Skills Assessment 1
Name: Raya Korudova
Student ID: 9385584
Tutor’s Name: Ken Huxley
Word Count: 1606
1. Executive Summary
Possessing cultural awareness is of an extreme importance when it comes to doing business internationally. The European Negotiations Southern Candle’s Tour de France case study illustrates its significance as it points out a lot of intercultural, verbal and non-verbal communication issues between the French owner Mr. Durand and the American team of Mr. Picard.
The intercultural issues include the choice of team members Mr. Picard does when going on the business trip, the business discussion brought up at social events, the duration of these social events, the difference between way and duration of making decisions by both parties and also the casualty of dress code of Mr. Picard. The Intercultural verbal communication problems are exemplified by the absence of basic knowledge of French greetings and courtesy titles by the Americans, the wrong perception of the business issues discussion, the light conversations at social events and Mrs. Dubois immodesty of taking compliments. The intercultural non-verbal communication issues consist of absence of translation in French on Mr. Picard’s business cards, incorrect usage of the “okay” sign, the amount of attention French pay to women in business and in particular Mrs. Dubois, as well as the absence of gratitude by Mr. Picard towards Mr. Durand’s hospitality.
Through using mainly Hofstede’s model of cultural dimensions five of these issues have been analyzed and discussed further in the report. This model is very useful in classifying cultural differences; however, it has its disadvantages. The creator has used a sample of people working only for IBM around the world that could be biased. Moreover, it cannot apply well for all countries because of various
References: BusinessCulture. (2014). Meeting etiquette. Retrieved April 9, 2015, from http://businessculture.org/western-europe/business-culture-in-france/meeting-etiquette-in-france/ Crossman, J., Bordia, S., & Mills, C eDiplomat. (2014). Cultural Etiquette. Retrieved April 10, 2015, from http://www.ediplomat.com/np/cultural_etiquette/ce_fr.htm Jones, M Kenna, P. and Lacy, S. (1994). Business France: A practical guide to understanding French business culture. Lincolnwood, IL: NTC Publishing Group. Kwintessential. (2014). France - French Culture, Customs and Etiquette. Retrieved April 9, 2015, from http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global-etiquette/france-country-profile.html8 MindTools. (n.d.). Hofstede 's Cultural Dimensions. Retrieved April 10, 2015, from http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_66.htm MindTools Tamas, A. (2007). Geert Hofstede 's Dimensions of Culture and Edward T. Hall 's Time Orientations. Retrieved April 9, 2015, from http://www.tamas.com/sites/default/files/Hofstede_Hall.pdf The Hofstede Centre