Discuss about the case study Institutional Affiliation for Issues in International Business.
This market cultural report analyses the culture of Spain both generally and a more specific focus on its business culture. It will look at the most prevalent cultural components in the country in comparison to Singapore. Focus will be on how the culture in Spain affects international business; also what foreign companies need to consider in order to effectively operate in Spain. For this report, the Hofstede’s cultural dimension will be used as guiding framework for multinational corporations.
The main reason why Spain was chosen in this study report is because of diversity of its people, and its business culture. For instance, the culture of the Spanish population has a wide range of diversity. The country hosts a variety of languages which include Valencian, Castilian, and Basque (Koll & Van Mulder, 2010). The most popular sport in Spain is Football. The country is also popular for its wine and cuisine such as the Mediterranean cuisine. This report shall consider Spain’s business culture in terms of its required business etiquettes. These shall be discussed in the paragraphs that follow.
The People’s Culture
Spain in its 194,992 square miles is home to a population of 46 million people a majority of whom are raised as Roman Catholics (94 percent) (“Spain Population (2016) – Worldometers”, 2016). Therefore, family values are of extreme importance to the Spanish culture. The lifestyle of the people in Spain is typically more stress-free than that of many countries. For instance, numerous businesses close shop around 1330 hours and 1630 hours for nothing else but a siesta, giving families the opportunity to get together for a meal (Bhaskaran & Sukumaran, 2007). The main languages in Spain include the Catalan, which is spoken in the regions of Catalonia, and Balearic Islands; Valencia where Castilian and Valencian which are local dialects are spoken. Galician, or the Gallegos, is one of the most popular languages of the people of northwestern Spain. Each of these languages differ in word spelling and pronunciation. Additionally, the Basque region has a native language known as Euskera, which is neither a form of Spanish nor are its origin known (Phau & Kea, 2007).
Spain is a host to many traditions; the most common fiesta is the Flamenco while the most popular is the bullfights. Flamenco is generally a Spanish music genre that includes song and dance from Andalusia from the Southern part of Spain. It is inclusive of Cante (singing), Baile (dance), Palmas (handclaps) and Toque (guitar playing). The Flamenco is particularly linked to the Romani people (Gitanos) of Spain, and many famous flamenco artists are originally from this ethnic group. Another sport that is popular in Spain is bullfighting, also called Tauromachy or Tauromachia, and remains a popular sport among the Spanish, in Southern France, Portugal, and among some Hispanic American states like Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, and Venezuela (Marx, 2011). The Philippines also share some of the Spanish culture having been a colony of Spain. Bull fighting takes place by baiting one or more bulls and then killing it in a bullring to entertain the audience. As it is today, professional Toreros are the ones involved in the practice (the most senior torero is known as the matador) who perform various strict moves that can be innovated and interpreted in accordance with the bullfighter’s school or style. The Spanish people highly value individualism and personal pride which is just as important to them as a breeding and character. Flaunting ability, intelligence and superiority is not taken lightly. People associate affluence and social position. Personal image, appearance, and human relations are of uttermost importance (“Culture of Spain – traditions, history, people, family, clothing, beliefs, women, food, customs,”, 2016)
Office protocol
Normally, Spain is a very formal country. Typically, men are supposed to wear tailored suits and women are expected to dress fashionably in the context of a business environment (Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner, 2011). This is a different culture from that of Singapore since we can dress casually except during important occasions. In Spain, men may treat women with partial respect in business and social environments to mean an honor. However it is not common for Spanish women to occupy positions of authority. On the contrary women in our country are holding positions of authority and respect is an important aspect when addressing authority whether is a woman or man (Focus, 2016).
The Spanish people consider meal times as a time for relaxation and enjoyment rather than to close on deals. Usually, their deals are conducted at the office and after successful negotiations; the partners go out to celebrate. On the contrary, Singaporeans prefer scheduling long meetings over lunch (between noon and 2:00 pm) which is a common aspect. However, both Spaniards and Singaporeans share the norm of the inviting party footing the bill in case of a business meeting at a restaurant. However, reciprocating the favor is expected without showing that an invitation is actually a reciprocation of a previous one (“Spain”, 2016).
In Spain a shop may open to the public at hours regulated by the government. This is usually from 9:00 am to 1:30pm and then from 4:30 pm to 5:00 pm or possibly to 8:00 pm during the weekday (from Monday to Friday) and Saturday morning. However, large stores like supermarkets, remain open the whole day. On the other hand, Official business hours are from 10: 00am to 2:00 pm, and from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm; though it tends to become more common for businesses to remain open from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, which could bring an end to the traditional siesta hours. For banks, opening hours are between 9:00am and 2:00 pm, using the law, they can chose to open once per week on the afternoon on Saturday mornings. And when people take their vacations, mostly in August, office hours change to between 8 am and 3 pm; commonly referred to as jornada intensive. Lunch hours are between 2 pm and 4pm. Though most people prefer to go back to their homes, those in cities will likely visit a restaurant (Mitchell, 2009).
There are several national holidays, and in case the holiday falls on a Thursday or a Tuesday, those working in offices are supposed to take the next Monday or Friday off. So as to have a long weekend.
In Singapore official office hours are from 8:30 am to 6 pm from Monday to Friday; and banks open between 9 am and 4 pm, from Monday to Friday; while some banks remain open on Saturdays and Sundays. Shops usually remain open from 10 am to 10 pm on daily basis while there are shops that will prefer to stay open for twenty four hours, for seven days and this is common among clinics, restaurants and pharmacies. There are ten official calendar holidays in Singapore. Under the country’s Employment Act, any citizen who opts to work on public holidays is eligible to an extra day’s salary above the basic rate of pay, additional to the gross payment rate for that holiday. This implies that the employees get a double pay in case they work during holidays (Mole, 2011).
Spaniards are not very selective on the type of gift being presented to them. Generally, companies will often give bottles of cava or champagne to their best clients. If you receive a gift, you are expected to open it instantly in-front of the giver before giving thanks (Gracias). Any gift should be finely wrapped and of high quality including fine pens, clock and desk accessories (Wild et al, 2014).
On the other hand, Singaporeans are made up of diverse cultures and issuing gifts should be a careful procedure. Generally, gifts are opened after the giver has left. Giving a Singaporean of Chinese decent would be wrong as they associate this kind of gifts with death. It would also be advisable not to give gifts that are in fours. One should also be careful not to give Malayans gift from pig skin products or anything alcoholic. Generally desk accessories like scissors are not good gifts as they symbolize for conflict (“Business culture in Singapore”, 2016).
The business language in Spain is Spanish, unlike Singapore where the language preferred by most is English; however the official languages are Tamil, Malay and Chinese. Like the Singaporeans, Spaniards tend to have long conversations and will bargain for longer hours than usual and one should not get bored. This can be attributed to their spending of free time on conversations. Both Spaniards and Singaporeans prefer that you put a title before their names like “Señor (Sr.)” or “Señora (Sra.)” which would be the equivalent for “Mr.” or “Mrs.” in English (Strong, 2016). Generally both business cultures prefer that foreigners avoid bringing up the stereotypes such as bullfighting and Flamenco dancing in Spain. Instead one should be humble and talk less about their country of origin unless the audience mentions his/her interest.
The research of Geert Hofstede, a social psychologist, on the international management has led to great insights on how different cultures in different countries see other. Hofstede’s discussion outlined five key dimensions to the understanding of organizational management practices: collectivism versus individualism; uncertainty avoidance; power distance; long-term orientation; and achievement versus nurturing. Exploring the culture of the Spanish through Hofstede’s framework would give good view of the deep driver of their culture relative to that of Singapore.
Individualism versus collectivism: this dimension addresses a culture that emphasizes of individualism versus a group. It tells of the degree of independence that a culture maintains among members of a society. In individualistic societies, people are likely to take care of their needs and their families. Centrally to that, in collectivist social order, people belong to particular groups which take care of them in exchange for their loyalty. Spain like Singapore is a collectivist society which would make it easy to relate with in certain cultures. Employees tend to work as a team with minimal motivation from the management (“Singapore – Geert Hofstede”, 2016).
Power distance: this aspect addresses the attitude of a given culture towards inequalities in its people. It tends to show that all individuals in the society are not equal. Power distance is the extent to which the lesser individuals in a given society, and within a given country accepts that power is not equally shared. Spain has a hierarchical society and scores high on this dimension. This means that people generally accept a hierarchical order (“Spain – Geert Hofstede”, 2016). Similarly, Singapore is a Confucius society, where the five basic relationships are notable: father-son, ruler-subject, husband-wife, older brother/younger brother, and senior friend-junior friend.
Uncertainty avoidance: It focuses on the way a society deals with the point that the future is not known; and whether people should try to control it or just let each day unfold on its own. This particular ambiguity brings anxiety. Different cultures deal with it in different ways. The score of avoiding uncertainties reflects the extent to which a given culture feels susceptible to the fear of the unknown, beliefs, and created institutions (Strong, 2016). Unlike Singapore, Spain scores high on this dimensions. Consequently, it would be difficult for a Singapore organization to relate to the Spanish culture. The culture of Spain is marked by multiple rules and laws but the people are obliged to avoid them as they consider to be making life more stressful for them. This is unlike Singapore where one gets a fine for everything unlawful.
Achievement versus nurturing: It emphasizes the scope to which a given culture emphasizes personal achievements and materialism, against relationships, and the value of life. This is a value system that is usually nurtured from school and continues throughout organizational life. The fundamental issue in business terms is what actually motivates people. Spanish people score low on achievements and high on nurturing suggesting that children are educated in search of harmony and not material possession or standing out. However, Singapore scores medium on this dimension and is therefore difficult to judge the stance of Singaporeans; however, showing off a know-it-all attitude is highly disliked and being humbled, and sympathetic to the lowly in the society is largely encouraged.
Long-term orientation: it describes a society’s perspective on time, and the attitude of overcoming obstacles with time. Spain is a normative culture unlike Singapore. Spain is adamant to change and therefore scores low on this dimension. On the contrary, Singapore is more pragmatic and encourages modernization in preparation for the future.
Conclusion
Different countries have different cultures, and this creates a crisis and an issue for international businesses. Spain is such an example in comparison to Singapore. The culture of Spain is generally different from that of Singapore in terms of traditions and business. Furthermore, the Hofstede’s analytical framework brings out these shared similarities and differences between the two countries.
References
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