Cultural Comparisons

Doing business in a foreign country can be fraught with pitfalls, from culturally inappropriate hugging to accidental obscene hand gestures. By researching and understanding the culture of a foreign country, you can better prepare yourself and your team to avoid mistakes and leverage cultural protocols to your advantage.

In this assignment, you will demonstrate your knowledge of cultural competence from this week’s module resources to compare the culture of the United States with the culture of the country you chose in Milestone One. You will show how doing business can be very different from one country to another.

Prompt

Use the Module Two Assignment template located in the Guidelines for Submission section to create a cultural comparison guide between the country you selected for your course project and the United States. In Part One of the template, you will identify common information about both countries, including their cultural backgrounds and business etiquettes. In Part Two of the template, you will identify the six dimensions in the Hofstede model of national culture for both countries. In Part Three of the template, you will draw conclusions on how doing business in the country you selected will differ from doing business in the United States and tips for individuals doing business in your selected country.

Specifically, you must address the following rubric criteria:

• Basic Country Facts: Identify government types, languages, and religions for both countries.
• Business Etiquette: Identify common business etiquette in both countries (e.g., common greetings, differences in communication toward men and women, negotiating styles, and acceptable business attire).
• Tips for Doing Business: Identify three tips you would give to individuals doing business in the non-U.S. country you selected. Tips could be about behaviors to avoid (e.g., items as innocent as posture or body language or attitudes regarding punctuality or approaches to business).
• Cultural Dimensions: Identify and examine the six dimensions in the Hofstede model of national culture for both countries.
• Conclusions: Conclude how doing business in your new country will differ from doing business in the United States.

Guidelines for Submission

Submit your completed Module Two Assignment Template as a Word document. Sources should be cited according to APA style.