International Business Communications
Part I – Cultures, Customs, Beliefs, and Attitudes When you are in the planning stage of opening a hamburger fast-food franchise in different countries, it is important to understand how providing similar food choices will connect with their culture. People from different cultural environments consume different foods. How foods are prepared, what components are in the foods, and the types of foods consumed varies from culture to culture. Foods that are liked and disliked are generally influenced by the areas where people live and possibly by the area of their ancestors. Given a scenario of anticipating the opening of a hamburger fast-food restaurant in the countries of United Arab Emeritus (UAE), Israel, Mexico, and China, we must first begin by looking into their culture and how that may influence how food is prepared and what is contained in the food(s). A country’s culture will also dictate how meals are consumed, where they are consumed, and at what time of day they are consumed. In the United Arab Emeritus, for example, all meats that are approved must be butchered under Islamic halal method. Any type of pork meat products and predatory animals with fangs or tusks are not approved since it is forbidden in the Islamic Religion. There are no specifications on the ways meats are cooked here. In Israel, there are religious factors that are to be considered when preparing food(s). The Jewish population is bound by dietary laws called kashrut which forbids the eating of pork products and shellfish along with consuming both milk products and meat in the same meal.
International Business Communications
Many of the restaurants in Israel respect these rules whereas not all Israelis do. Mexico does not religious or other factors concerning what types of food you may or may not eat, but consideration should be taken for some spicier items on the menu. China, as with Mexico, does not have
References: Bales, M. (2014). Culture Shock in Mexico. Expat Arrivals. Retrieved on January 9, 2010, from: http://www.expatarrivals.com/mexico/culture-shock-in-mexico Nurser, A. (2014). Culture Shock in Israel. Expat Arrivals. Retrieved on January 10, 2015, from: http://www.expatarrivals.com/israel/culture-shock-in-israel Advameg, Inc. (2015). Culture of United Arab Emirates. Retrieved on January 9, 2015, from: http://www.everyculture.com/To-Z/United-Arab-Emirates.html Encyclopedia Britannica Company. (2015). Culture Shock. Merriam Webster. Retrieved on January 10, 2015, from: http://www.merriam-webster.com/medical/culture%20shock Investor Relations. (2015). Expeditors: Code of Business Conduct. Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. Retrieved on January 11, 2015, from: http://www.investor.expeditors.com/CBC.asp Middle Kingdom Life. (11 November 2010). Four Stages of Culture Shock. Foreign Teachers Guide to Living and Working in China. Retrieved on January 10, 2015, from: http://middlekingdomlife.com/guide/culture-shock-china.htm