The culture of the country a company does business in can and will effect many of the business decisions that the company has to make. Cultures are made up of group affiliations. Ascribed group memberships include those based on gender, family age, caste and ethnic/racial/nation backgrounds, they are determined at birth. Acquired group memberships are not de

An example of a foreign culture that many Canadians do business with is the Japanese culture. The Japanese culture is one that is based on collectivism. People work together to achieve goals that benefit the group as a whole. Their primary motivation for work is the honour and welfare of the collective group. Japanese language is very subtle, they believe that it is very sophisticated to derive the main point from a broad conversation without having to spell it out. Japanese culture require punctuality for business matters but allow tardiness for social engagements. The Japanese also place meanings on every gesture and recognize negative responses through fanning of the right hand in front of the face and sucking air. Japanese culture also regards individual space as something that should be maintained at all times and that hand shakes should be weak with a nod of the head and downcast eyes. The Japanese culture views gift giving as extremely important and requires business gifts to be exchanged on Jan.1 and July 15 (year-end and mid year). To the Japanese image is everything so gifts with well known logos are important. Gifts should not be given in even numbers and never give four of anything. Wrapping should be done in Japan by a wrapping service as many colours and decorations have significant meanings for example, white means death and bows are not used. The Japanese also believe in lavish entertainment and reciprocation. They place high value on seating and will seat people according to their rank. The Japanese begin business negotiations very formally but follow their dinners with several trips to the bar, each decreasing in formality. The Japanese culture is very different from Canadian culture and is an example of how one culture must be aware of the connotations of another culture when doing business with them.

Many countries deviate in the way that the receive and process information. Some cultures require broad information while other's want more focused relevant information. Many cultures are comfortable with dealing with many tasks while others want to handle one at a time. In numerous countries national norms hold that principal issues should be handled first while other cultures require small issues be cleared up before the main ones. If a company is going to operate successfully in an international ca

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Approximate Word count = 1589
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)