Business practices in different regions are always inevitably vulnerable to influence from their own social, political, and cultural practices. This is mainly because businesses operate within societies which involve dealing with people and their individual and collective cultures. The impact of people’s culture can be felt on a large scale as in the case of whole continents or as minimally as small towns in the smallest of countries. People’s practices and cultures ultimately influence the way in which they think and view issues and eventually the way in which they think about business and how they do it. Social-cultural environments influence business practices in a country in multiple ways. This includes the choice of business partners, the kinds of businesses done, the ways in which those businesses are done, the levels of loyalty and finesse in business etiquette involved, the speed of business practices, and the language in which it is done among other things. This paper analyses the effect of social-cultural practices on the business practices with specific reference to Germany. An introduction to the country, Germany is given and a presentation of some of its social and cultural practices made. The impact of these practices on business practices in the country is analysed.
Introduction
Culture and social practices have an overall influence in every part of a region’s existence. It exerts an influence on all the sectors of life including mainly its trading practices. This is where business and social-cultural practices begin to interact. Businesses operate within societies which involve people and their individual and collective cultures. The impact of people’s culture can be felt on a very large scale as in the case of entire continents, regions, and countries or in lesser scales such as certain families or even individuals. This is because a person’s culture informs the way in
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