Time Concepts In Intercultural Business India And Germany In Comparison

Seminar paper from the year 2014 in the subject Business economics - Miscellaneous, grade: 1,3, http: //www.uni-jena.de/ (Fachbereich Interkulturelle Wirtschaftskommunikation), course: Seminar Wirtschaftsbezogene Kulturgeschichte Indiens, language: English, abstract: Time is inseparably intertwined with our lives. We seldom stop to think about it because it appears to be a natural constant, which has always been and always will be. Most people are oblivious to the fact, that our perception of time and our ways to handle it are not uniform but culturally shaped. To say it with the words of the US-American anthropologist Edward T. Hall, who is one of the leading theoreticians in the field: "Time is a core system of cultural, social, and personal life. In fact, nothing occurs except in some kind of time frame. A complicating factor in intercultural relations is that each culture has its own time frames in which the patterns are unique. This means that to function effectively abroad it is just as necessary to learn the language of time as it is to learn the spoken language." (Hall 1983, p. 3). Consequently, different time frames might explain many misunderstandings in intercultural collaboration. Due to globalization, companies invest all around the world and it becomes more and more relevant for them to understand, why the attempt to implement their management approaches in culturally different contexts often fail. It is not enough to look at the surface only - time matters as well. Accordingly, Sahay emphasizes that taking time and space into account will lead to a more holistic understanding of implementation problems by going beyond the search for the elusive dependent variable that determines success or failure (Sahay 1998, p. 149). It is my ambition to strive for a deeper understanding as well. The underlying questions of this paper are: what kind of time related misunderstandings can occur in intercultural collaboration of Indians and Germans? And correspondingl

Seminar paper from the year 2006 in the subject Business economics - Marketing, Corporate Communication, CRM, Market Research, Social Media, grade: 1,3, http: //www.uni-jena.de/ (Philosphische Fakultät - Lehrstuhl Interkulturelle Wirtschaftskommunikation), course: Interkulturseminar USA-Deutschland, 15 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: Globalization has led to remarkable changes in the way we conduct the world's business. International Mergers and acquisitions are en vogue today. The advantages quoted by managers include advantages of scale, increased shareholder value, access to new markets, lower overheads and so on. The number of international mergers and acquisitions between German and American companies increased a lot during the last years, as well. At the beginning there are high hopes and elation connected with the deal. But the long-term reality, however, is much the opposite. At least 50 percent of all international mergers and acquisition activity fails, no matter how the success is measured. There are also lots of companies who failed, who are therefore not able to benefit from some positive synergy effects like cost reductions. Why did that happen? A survey tried to analyze the reasons for this. The surprising result was that just 30% of the failures were attributed to the "hard factors" of business, like planning, finance or technology. For the rest, the reason lay in the so-called "soft factors", which contain cultural and organizational behaviour. Somewhat less acknowledged, although hardly disputed, is the positive and negative impact of cultural aspects on the success of M&A activity. The following work reveals the differences between American and German business culture and also analyzes its historical and social background. Thereby, the main goal is to disprove that American and German business styles are almost similar. Furthermore, at the end the reader should know more about the existing differences between t

Seminar paper from the year 2011 in the subject Business economics - Business Management, Corporate Governance, , language: English, abstract: This seminar paper deals with Sweden and Germany as negotiation partners from a German perspective. Although one would assume quite various similarities between these countries due to geographical proximity and same origin of language, they are indeed quite different – an issue also investigated by Eoro Vaara. The aim of this paper is to show that even slight or subtle differences in cultural patterns should be considered. Therefore only who can communicate without cultural misunderstandings can experience successful cross-cultural negotiations. Sweden has been chosen since there is a lot of research about cultural differences between American, Asian and Arab countries, but hardly any regarding inter-European. Another reason is also because of personal experiences in Sweden and with Swedish friends. It was challenging to investigate in a country, which does not seem to be culturally much apart from Germany. After a short introduction, the second chapter gives the reader a definition for culture and an overview of Hofstede’s model of dimensions. This chapter also presents the different kind of cultures from a German and Swedish perspective. Therefore the third chapter deals with negotiations between Germans and Swedes while doing business. This paper ends with the chapter “conclusion”.

Our culturally shaped values influence the way we work as well as our behaviour towards our colleagues, superiors and business partners – whether we care to acknowledge it or not. Not surprisingly, then, intercultural competence has come to be one of the key skills of the 21st century: anyone seeking success on the international business scene needs a navigation system to guide them through the complexities of other cultures' modes of interaction, behaviour and communication.In this book, Ute Clement – a seasoned consultant for international corporations – presents a range of methods and concepts for dealing with cross-cultural work situations. She also explains the basics of systemic intercultural consultancy by reference to a wealth of experiential anecdotes. The book evokes the pleasure of exploring cultural differences and encourages an open attitude towards other cultures. The knowledge it presents enables the reader to develop a sense of how to work comfortably in and between different cultures so that new options become available for dealing with everyday work situations.*"A combination of theoretical clarity, vivid examples and useful tools make this book a compelling and informative read for all those who cross cultures in their work."*Corinna Refsgaard, Vice President – Head of HR Cassidian Systems, EADS Deutschland GmbH

The second edition of Business Communication: Concepts, Cases, and Applications builds on the key strengths of the first edition, clear writing style and comprehensive content, by updating the material to reflect the latest research and technological developments in business communication and presenting it in a style that engages the reader.

Seminar paper from the year 2018 in the subject Communications - Intercultural Communication, grade: 1,7, Fresenius University of Applied Sciences Munich, language: English, abstract: China is one of the biggest markets worldwide and thus the objective of many expanding German companies. In order to enter a new market, socio-cultural conditions always have to be taken into consideration. Chinese particularities in the context of communication, relationships or Guanxi and social reputation were observed in this work. Subsequently, cultural differences between China and Germany were compared according to Hofstede's cultural dimensions Power Distance, Individualism vs. Collectivism, Masculinity vs. Femininity, Uncertainty Avoidance and Long-Term vs. Short-Term Orientation. As shown in the course of this work, there are multiple differences in every dimension between these two cultures. In order to perform business in China, German companies have to adapt to the given circumstances. Only with careful handling of the cultural differences, economic success can be achieved.

This textbook explores the reasons for intercultural differences and their effects on the behavior of individuals and organizations within the context of management. The text embraces the presence of ambiguity and complexity and encourages critical thinking when it comes to intercultural relations in order to avoid ethnocentrism, stereotyping and prejudice, as well as overly simplistic solutions. Integrating findings from management, but also the humanities and social sciences, as well as politics and popular culture, intercultural management is understood as a phenomenon that transcends disciplinary boundaries and includes questions around identity constructions, power relations, and ethics. This makes intercultural management a fascinating and rewarding subject to study. Throughout, the author encourages an analytical approach to intercultural management built upon strong methodological foundations, and draws on examples from a wide range of different contexts and cultures to help reflectively translate research and concepts into practice in a way that is lively and engaging. This textbook is essential reading for students taking university courses related to intercultural management. Lecturers can visit the companion website to access a Teaching Guide and PowerPoint slides that can be adapted and edited to suit teaching needs. Dirk Holtbrügge is Professor of International Management at the School of Business, Economics and Society, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany.