MGB225 Intercultural Communication & Negotiation Skills
Assessment I: Research Report European Negotiations Southern Candle's Tour De France
Executive Summary
1.0 Introduction The prevalence of internationalisation and globalisation of businesses in the twenty-first century has reiterated the importance of effective cross-cultural communication to achieve any level of progress or success. "Culture" is defined by Geert Hofstede, as "the collective programming of the mind distinguishing the members of one group or category of people from another". This report will identify national cultural differences between the U.S. and France within the case study "European Negotiations - Southern Candle's Tour De It is also cause for concern that if Mr Picard was unaware of this, he may have committed a further faux pas by presenting her with a bouquet of an even number of flowers or with thirteen flowers which is considered unlucky. - Mr Picard failed to send a "thank-you" note/ gift following the dinner party hence failing to communicate gratitude in the French culture. - Mr Picard did not have his business cards printed in both French and English as a sign of consideration for his French business counterparts. - Mrs Dubois was uncomfortable with the extra attention she received. However, the knowledge that the French tend to display special respect for female business personnel may have assuaged her concerns.
3.0 Literature Review
These issues can be clearly categorised into Hofstede's dimensions of national culture, providing a further insight to the underlying effects at a business and interpersonal level. 4.4 Description of the Model/Framework
Hofstede developed his original model (1980) as a result of using factor analysis to examine the results of more than one hundred thousand IBM employee surveys, in fifty countries across three regions, in the 1960s and 1970s.
Hofstede based his original framework on four anthropological problem areas that different national societies handle differently, which translated into four dimensions:
