Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands: How to Do Business in Sixty Countries

You're doing business abroad. Do you know how to understand a country's political climate? Identify how decisions are made? Negotiate effectively? Properly address and entertain your contacts? In today's rapidly expanding global marketplace, business people must understand the distinctive customs of the major nations. This guide help you do exactly that. It's filling with important facts about business customs, behavioral styles, social customs, and much more!

The listing for each country includes complete information on:
Country Background
Brief History
Type of Government
Language
Religion
Demographics
Cultural Orientation
Value Systems
Sources of Anxiety Reduction
Issues of Equality/Inequality
Business Practices
Appointments
Negotiating
Business Entertaining
Time
Greeting Protocol
Titles/Forms of Address
Gestures
Dress
Gifts

In a global economy, it is crucial for business people to be sensitive to cultural differences. And although the best reason for doing so may be ethical, it's great for business as well! This is an invaluable book for "doing well while doing good" in your intercultural relations, covering the protocols of appointments, business entertaining, greetings, forms of address, gestures, dress, and gifts in 60 of the nations you're most likely to be doing business. Some interesting excerpts:

• Australia: The "thumbs-up" sign, which in the U.S. indicates "O.K." is considered rude.
  
• Brazil: The colors of the Brazilian flag are green and yellow, so avoid wearing this combination in any fashion.
  
• China: Avoid making exaggerated gestures or using dramatic facial expressions. The Chinese do not generally use their hands when speaking, and become distracted by a speaker who does.
  
• Indonesia: Since it is impolite to disagree with someone, Indonesians rarely say "no"...a clear way to indicate "no" is to suck in air through the teeth.

  The authors are very aware that no generalizations apply to all residents of a nation, and are careful not to stereotype or judge. Highly recommended to any business traveler--or any student of the diversity of human cultures.

  (Note: a great companion volume for this book is Gestures, which is devoted entirely to explaining the varieties of hand gestures in 82 countries!)

Written by executives who prepare other executives for international travel and one Fulbright scholar in cross-cultural communication, this work is a godsend for rapidly growing international collections. It is affordable, to-the-point, and easily understood book by those who as yet have no stamps on their passports. The introduction discusses cognitive styles, value systems, and negotiation strategies in different cultures, explaining how delicate they make the process of intercultural relations. Sixty countries are examined in terms of background, cultural orientation, business practices (e.g., negotiating, entertaining), and protocol (e.g., gestures, dress). Morrison and cohorts cover some countries not included by more costly "Doing Business In" publications by Business International and Price Waterhouse. The average entry length is five pages-more than Brigham Young University's Culturgrams (Garrett Park Pr., 1993. 2d ed.). Recommended for all business and international studies collections.
Lisa K. Miller, Paradise Valley Community Coll. Lib., Phoenix
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

With GATT, NAFTA, and the globalization of business, there is a growing interest in the way cultural differences affect business transactions. A few guides do exist, notably Roger Axtell's Do's and Taboos around the World (1993) and The Do's and Taboos of International Trade (1994), but usually the information must be compiled or searched for country by country, and it is not always conveniently or consistently classified. The authors of this encyclopedic resource have put together "cultural" profiles for 60 countries that will be of value to anyone involved with international business. Brief information regarding the history of the country, the type of government, languages, religions, and demographics are included. The authors then provide what they call a cultural orientation for each country, identifying "cognitive styles, negotiation strategies, and value systems." A summary of business practices (appointment scheduling, negotiating do's and don'ts, business entertaining, and time zone information) follows. Finally, "protocol" considerations, such as greetings, titles and forms of address, gestures, gift giving, and appropriate dress, are offered. Although often running the risk of being stereotypical, observations regarding unique cultural differences are highlighted throughout. David Rouse

"Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands is an invaluable resource for global traders. It is must reading for those who want to avoid potentially embarrassing and costly miscues when dealing with foreign cultures. Its country-specific chapter, written in a concise and well-organized format, provide readers with a global perspective on doing business. It's like having a cross-cultural expert in your briefcase." -- Joseph J. Douress, Director, Global Trade Services, Dun & Bradstreet Information Services

...an invaluable resource for global traders. It is must reading for those who want to avoid potentially embarrassing and costly miscues when dealing with foreign cultures. Its country-specific chapters, written in a concise and well-organized format, provide readers with a global perspective.... -- Joseph Douress, Director, Global Trade Services, Dun & Bradstreet Information Services

Learn how to do business in sixty foreign countries with the aid of a title which covers everything from behavior styles and negotiating techniques to protocol. The country organization allows for quick look-up and easy access, while the specific tips for each region allow regular overseas business travelers to quickly learn about the correct practices for different countries. Invaluable. -- Midwest Book Review

Terri Morrison is president and Wayne Conaway is Senior Research Analyst of Getting Through Customs, a firm that specializes in teaching executives how to do business globally, providing customized research reports, seminars, language training and translations, and the online database, PASSPORT. George A. Borden is a Fulbright Scholar who has worked extensively on the topic of cross-cultural communication.