Space – Personal vs Public

•Latin America•Middle East•Israel•Africa

•S.Europe

• W.Europe•Asia• USA•Canada

Space

• Personal space is closer than the West• Space is seen as more public than

private which fits in with the collectivism and sense of trust

• Friendly touching is common

Guidelines

•Be warm and genuine when greeting others

•Expect to shake hands a great deal•Don’t refuse hospitality and

remember to return it•Show respect by professional dress

Power – Hierarchy vs Equality

•Latin America•Asia Africa

• Israel•UK• USACanada•Australia

Power- “If you refuse the elder’s advice, you will walk the whole

day”• Home to authoritarian leaders “Big Man” – authority

is rarely questioned and free expression is not highly valued

• Developing relationships with top officials will help business, as connections are the key to success

• Loyalty is highly valued and important in decision making

• Age can be an asset as it is connected to wisdom

The Lion King- The myth of the boss

• Hierarchy is so strict that in some cases, you cannot address yourself directly to the chief or EVER go against his ideas

• There are deep barriers of communication – an employee generally will not maintain his own point of view

• There are privileged forums to attain decisions

• The managers and directors will cultivate this myth by numerous practices, behaving like demigods and building an organization with many hierarchical levels

Guidelines

•Show respect at all times•Whenever possible, work through a

third-party with high level connections•Expect centralized decision making•Don’t try to “equalize” people and be

a friend to all

Individualism – Individual vs Group

•Asia•Arab•Latin America•S. Europe•Africa

•Israel•Finland•Germany

•USA•N. Europe•W.Europe•Australia•Canada•Israel

Individualism• Mostly collectivistic; extended family and tribes shape

behavior of the individual. Nepotism and kinship ties are encouraged

• Pressures of family/tribe obligations have been associated with the widespread corruption in many Afr8ican countries. Much of the bribe money may go to relatives in rural areas

• Tribes provide guidelines for most aspects of life. Laws derived from tribal customs may be more powerful than laws of a nation

• City is growing fast – people from collective rural tradition meet head-on with urban life and its more individualistic values

Shhh… The cult of secrecy• The most important issues of the

community are always conducted in a very small and secret forum

• This is true even when it concerns transmission of professional knowledge and skills

• In the business world this will lead to the retention of information and the concentration of information in the hands of a few

Guidelines•Show respect for kinship and obligations•Pay attention to tribal/family as well as

national loyalties•Expect rules to be applied in a

particularistic rather than universalistic manner