Cultural Challenges of Doing Business Overseas
Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning "to cultivate,") generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activity significant importance. Different definitions of "culture" reflect different theoretical bases for understanding, or criteria for evaluating, human activity. Culture has been called the way of life for an entire society. As such, it includes codes of manners, dress, language, religion, rituals, norms of behavior such as law and morality, and systems of belief (Wikipedia). Steve Kafka is an American of the Czech origin. Steve has plans of expanding his Chicago Style Pizza into Czech Republic. Steve thinks he knows the people and the culture because he has friends and family who reside in Czech and he also speak the language, which is Slavic. This paper will discuss the Czech culture and the challenges Steve may or may not face while doing business overseas.
Differences between U.S. and Czech cultures
There are differences in cultures that exist between Czech and the U.S. but they are also similar in certain culture values. The differences are avoidable so that a business can succeed. For instance, both in the U.S. and Czech, to show respect, one address adults by their profession or their last names. When it comes to gesture, both countries believe in maintaining eye contact while conversing. They may also look at or even stare at other people in public, but usually with no ill intentions. People often gesture with their hands to emphasize their meaning in conversation. They beckon and point with their index finger. In Czech, when one counts on the fingers, the thumb (not index finger) is numb ...