Importance Of Culture In International Business

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Culture is a distinctive way of life of a people, the collection of habits, ideas they learn, and a design for living. It is also a collection of ideas and habits which people learn share and transmit from generation to generation. Macionis and Plummer (2007) says culture is the designs for living, the values, beliefs, behaviour, practices and material objects that constitute a person’s way of life. Ragman, Collinson (2006) also says culture can be defined as “the sum total of the belief, rules, techniques, institutions, and artifacts that characterize human populations” or “the collective programming of the mind.”
Culture varies from society to society and is built on a number of major components such as symbols, language, music, manners and customs, religion, values and attitudes, norms, and material culture; have to be taken into consideration when doing business in a foreign country. Culture is shared by members of a local group like Jamaican, American, Chinese, and European. In a society we can have a dominant culture as well as sub-culture. A sub-culture is separate and apart from the dominant culture in a Caribbean society. These are usually small groups that have …show more content…

Additionally Chron, Small Business states that the cultural differences and communication problems with international business. Both large and small businesses often have a global reach. If you have foreign clients, purchase raw materials abroad or lead tours internationally, cultural differences and communication problems can cause misunderstandings that harm your company 's bottom line. For example, appreciating cultural values, dressing for international success, going face to face, understanding language differences, giving gifts or not and meeting expectations. Intercultural communication is a vast topic. Familiarize yourself with the local laws and customs of any country you visit. An awareness of potential problems can help you communicate better and grow your business

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