Business culture shock

Business Culture:
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Culture is significant to the behavior of business and organizations. Globalization has caused this rapid advancement in technology, labor costs, technological progression, and sophisticated distribution channels (Meyer et al., 2006). Many businesses have expanded and moved offices to other countries. Despite these advantages, companies have to fight the barriers such as cultural differences. Culture differences between the host country and the organization must be solved. An example is when I started working with Maire Tecnimont in Saudi Arabia as explored in the essay (Idesli, 2013). It explores how organizations behavior is influenced and changes depending on the cultural environment in the host country.
Business culture illustrates the way individuals or a particular group operates within the company. It examines the different levels of communication and how employees deal with customers and clients. Individuals and organizations always respect and adhere to the values and norms reflecting their traditional behaviors (Brunot, 2015). An organization must understand the values and norms of the host country to be successful. Each culture has its beliefs, activities, benefits, and attitudes. Culture affects business as it influences the decisions by the management among other business functions such as the production and accounting unit. Scholars argue that companies must consider the immediate culture in the host country and adhere to it (Robbins & Judge, 2012).

Managers have to develop strategies that match the culture of the country they operate (Robbins & Judge, 2012).
Businesses and organizations cannot be run similarly both at local and international levels (Adamczyk, 2017). Each country has its distinct variables including the taxation, regulations, currency, holidays, among other cultural considerations (Tu, 2010). For example, Maire Tecnimont that operates in Italy must consider the cultural differences that exist in Saudi Arabia (Brunot, 2015). The company must learn the Saudi Arabian culture and adopt its norms and beliefs to achieve its operational targets and business goals.
Organization managers have to understand their new markets and grow a positive relationship with their culture to be successful. Working with an in-country partner enables an organization to recognize and learn the culture of the new market easily. Often, understanding the culture of the host country is considered significant as it helps an organization understand how the locals express themselves. They also find it easy to introduce their products into the market (Idesli, 2013). Agencies must research to understand distinct cultures of the business environment in the host country including the products’ color, packaging, design, and promotion strategies. It is also essential to learn how the people use body language in the new country. Using inappropriate language is considered ineffective as it may cause misunderstanding between partners (Meyer et al., 2006). Additionally, organizations need to overcome the language barriers through frequent communication and interaction with the culture and norms of the host country.
Robbins and Judge (2012) argue that culture influences how people communicate, think, behave, and solve problems. It affects business transactions in many ways; including how customers negotiate for products. Cultural differences between business executives make it impossible to seal deals as most parties do not take enough time learning the other’s culture, before their interaction (Meyer et al., 2006). Getting well-versed with the new country’s culture enables organizations to avoid expensive marketing errors. The team also understands the consumption behavior and patterns of customers in the host country (Idesli, 2013). They can understand the influence of consumption patterns based on customers’ attitudes and cultural forces in the country. Conclusively, organizations planning to succeed globally must learn the social structure of the host country. This strategy will enable it to achieve its expansion plan (Brunot, 2015).

References
Adamczyk, M. (2017). The importance of cultural differences in international business. The Central European Review of Economics and Management, 1(2), 151-170.
Brunot, T. (2015). The Importance of Knowing a Foreign Country’s Culture When Considering Business There. Yourbusiness.azcentral.com. Retrieved from https://yourbusiness.azcentral.com/importance-knowing-foreign-countrys-culture-considering-business-there-6476.htmlIdesli. (2013). The Importance Of Culture In International Business. Idesli. Retrieved from https://idesli.wordpress.com/2013/05/02/the-importance-of-culture-in-international-business/Meyer, V., Meyer, B., & Patrick, J. (2006). The Influence of Culture in International Business. Anpad.org.br. Retrieved from http://www.anpad.org.br/enanpad/2006/dwn/enanpad2006-esob-0700.pdfRobbins, S., & Judge, T. (2012). Organizational Behaviour (15th ed.). Library of Congress.
Tu, J. T. (2010). A cross-cultural comparison on international business negotiation styles: An empirical study of Asian four little dragons. Interdisciplinary Journal of Contemporary Research, 2, 189-206.