Coping with cultural distances in International Business

1. INTRODUCTION 3

2. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CULTURE 4
2.1 The three levels of culture 4
2.2 Hofstede's four dimensions of culture 5
2.2.1 Power Distance 6
2.2.2 Individualism-Collectivism 6
2.2.3 Uncertainity Avoidance 7
2.2.4 Masculinity 9
2.2.5 Summary of the four dimensions 9

3. NEGOTIATION PROCESS 14
3.1 What is negotiation? 14
3.2 The aspects of negotiation 14
3.3 Negotiation strategies 15

4. CROSS-CULTURAL BUSINESS NEGOTIATIONS 17
4.1 Cultural implications 17
4.1.1 Communication 17
4.1.2 Relationships 18
4.2 Stereotypes of cultures 19
4.3 Practical viewpoints: interview of Jyrki Paavola, Hacklin Oy 19

5. SUMMARY 20

REFERENCES 22

APPENDIX 1



1. INTRODUCTION

Nowadays distances are getting shorter and the world is globalizing. In order to survive comp...