Morrison Terri, Conway Wayne A. Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands

The Bestselling Guide to Doing Business in More Than 60 Countries. — Second Edition. – Massachusetts: Avon, 2006. — 596 р.For each of the countries in Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands there is a Cultural Orientation section. The study of cultural orientation gives us a model for understanding and predicting the results of intercultural encounters. It is, however, amodel—atheory. New discoveries continue to be made about why we act the way we do.
Furthermore, communication always takes place between individuals, not cultures. Few individuals are perfect representations of their culture. Citizens of the United States of America are generally known for addressing one another by first names, a habit that most of the world does not follow. However, there are many U.S. citizens who are more comfortable with formality, and prefer to use last names and titles. This does not make them any less like U.S. citizens. It just makes them individuals.
What can our model of cultural orientation do for you?
It can help you predict how people in certain cultures will speak, act, negotiate, and make decisions. Because we deal with individuals, there is a margin of error. For example, a German who would be addressed by his German colleagues as Herr Doktor Wagner might tell a U.S. consultant, “Just call me Joe.” This is not generally standard practice in Germany. However, Dr. Josef Wagner may be very familiar with North American customs and may be attempting to make his Canadian or U.S. associates more comfortable.
Many global executives adopt the manners of their targeted countries, so why do U.S. executives need to study foreign ways? There are a variety of reasons. First of all, many foreign businesspeople often cannot or will not imitate U.S. mannerisms. Can you afford to leave them out of your business plans? Second, you might wish to sell to the general public in a foreign market. The average foreign consumer is certainly not going to have the same habits or tastes as consumers in the United States of America. Third, although our friend Josef may act and sound like an American or Canadian or Australian, he isn’t. He probably is not even thinking in English; he is thinking in German. Knowing how Germans tend to arrive at decisions gives you an edge. And don’t we all need every business advantage we can get?The CountriesArgentina,
Austria,
Australia,
Belarus,
Belgium,
Belize,
Bolivia,
Brazil,
Canada,
Chile,
China,
Hong Kong,
Colombia,
Costa Rica,
Czech Republic,
Denmark,
Ecuador,
Egypt,
Finland,
France,
Germany ,
Greece,
Guatemala,
Honduras,
Hungary,
India,
Indonesia,
Ireland,
Israel,
Italy,
Japan,
Kuwait,
Malaysia,
Mexico,
The Netherlands,
New Zealand,
Norway,
Pakistan,
Panama,
Paraguay,
Peru,
Philippines,
Poland,
Portugal,
Romania,
Russia,
Saudi Arabia,
Singapore,
South Africa,
South Korea,
Spain,
Sweden,
Switzerland,
Taiwan,
Thailand,
Turkey,
Ukraine,
United Kingdom,
United States,
Uruguay,
Venezuela,
Vietnam.