Differences of culture

Abstract or Introduction

The business world is moving rapidly from a world in which national economies were relatively self-contained entities, isolated from each other by barriers to cross-border trade and investment; by distance, time zones, and language; and by national differences in government regulation, culture, and business systems. The moving of the business world into an interdependent global economic system is referred to as globalization.

Globalization has a particular definition for each country. May be, for western countries globalization opens special possibilities of successful development, and for other countries there is a choice between dependence and isolation.

The principal goal of a globalization strategy is successful economic development in different countries, but we see also the influence of the globalization process on social, political and culture life. One of most difficult barriers for this process are cultural values and norms of civilisations. Even if there is no reason to think, that these differences bring to conflict between civilisations in future, it is necessary to know, that making contact between various cultural societies demands great effort.

Despite of process of market and production globalization and as of world modernisation that could guide to universal civilisation, the countries are different, because their evolution process and culture are different.

With what purpose we try to determine the phenomenon of culture and to consider the process of culture changing, when we are studying only international business? Why it is so necessary to know, what kind of religion, tradition, and social structure is proper in one country, or another, if our goal is to increase the success of the enterprise we are working for?

To increase the success of enterprise means representing of product on the world market and also conquering interest of a foreign customer. Consequently, it is necessary to acquire contact to different people. Is it possible to have a successful business in different countries? For example, will it be worth to product great amount of woman cloth (ex. miniskirt) in the Islamic countries?

People from different culture have different values and beliefs - deeply ingrained ideas about what is right, good, normal or wrong - and these values and beliefs determine how those individuals behave and what they are supposed to do or to say, as well as not to do or not to say.