The 4^th of July

Whilst speaking to someone in the States on the telephone last summer I was asked if I was going to celebrate the 4^th of July holiday, which was due in a day or so. I was taken aback for a moment by the question? I thought to myself, “But why would I? I mean after all, we (the British) were the ones that lost the War of Independence weren’t we?”

I don’t think that the full historical context was uppermost in the person’s mind when they asked me that question. They were simply spreading the ‘goodwill’ that the 4^th of July event can evoke in the States.

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The Bulgaria – US Gap.   Is it a Bridge Too Far?

A simple cultural training programme, for a call centre in Bulgaria, has rapidly grown into a complex and vivid example of how relatively sympathetic cultures and countries can throw up major gaps in values and understanding, highlighting the differences in values between the old communist societies and the US customer-centric society.

How difficult can it be?

A significant amount of overseas investment is wasted each year because there are invisible core differences between the American and British cultures. These are not always appreciated by corporations and leaders. Consequently the result can be culture clash. The damage to US – UK relationships leads to an absence of trust, the erosion of communication and cooperation and failure to achieve the common goal. When management time is applied to the ensuing crisis often only the symptoms are tackled.

So, what are the differences, how did they occur and what can we do to get over the shock and pain of culture clash?

Today, UK businesses are very different from 20 years ago.
However, there is still some hierarchy in British firms, with a distinctive difference between the status of Executives and managers, with most executives having secretaries. But contrary to many articles you’ll read about the Brits and their working practices, they have become much more egalitarian with flatter organisational structures. And, NO! bowler hats and pinstripe suits are rarely seen…

From Sanda Ionescu
The Culture Broker
Greece has been in the headlines quite a bit lately, usually with negative connotations.  And while it is true that the bureaucratic system is heavily overloaded and that the level of debt is unsustainable, some of the other perceptions of Greek business practices or the average Greek worker are not justified.  As a friend of mine who recently went to Greece (to set up a joint venture) was stunned to find.  Let me just share with you some of his preconceptions and some of his myth-busting moments of realisation…