The assessment of culture in Brazil should go in line with the cultural dimensions proposed by Hofstede these include Power Distance, Individualism, Masculinity, Uncertainty Avoidance, and Long-Term Orientation (Hilal, 2006). The proposed outline provides an opportunity to research and investigate the culture in Brazil, but cannot serve a reliable source of critical information about Brazilian culture. The information about communication, religion, values, etiquette, and customs is only a part of the problem, which should be resolved to assess objectively the organizational and business implications of the cultural specificity in Brazil. It should be noted, that the cultural reality in Brazil is integrally linked to the concepts of holism and individualism, and Brazil is generally believed to be somewhere between the two ideal polar extremes (Hilal, 2006). Moreover, the specificity of Brazilian culture implies that those working in it are bound to combine the principles of the modern egalitarian and traditional culture (Hilal, 2006). These principles and cultural environments have far-reaching implications for the organizations and should be properly assessed in the future research.
In the outline, the elements and dimensions integrated by locals conducting business in the nation cover only business communication styles and the comparison between the U.S. and Brazilian culture is limited to business relations, employee attitudes, and language barriers. Unfortunately, these cannot suffice to create a full picture of the U.S.-Brazilian cultural dimensions. Again, it is critically important that the assessment of differences between the U.S. and Brazilian culture is performed through the prism of individualism power distance masculinity and uncertainty avoidance dimensions. For example, power distance in Brazil is relatively high, and Brazil is considered to be more collectivist, compared to USA (OKeefe OKeefe, 2004). These elements produce significant impacts on the quality of business performance among locals conducting their business in the nation. For example, those conducting business in Brazil should remember that power distance and collectivism require using different patterns of communication with the locals communication should be explicit and straightforward, while self-centered behaviors should be avoided (OKeefe OKeefe, 2004).
It is not clear whether culture in Brazil has anything to do with taxes, tariffs, importing and exporting relationships, as well as foreign direct investment and world energy market, as proposed in the outline but that culture in Brazil produces significant impacts on the quality of business relationships with the US firms is an obvious fact. The future research should provide recommendations to US firms conducting business in Brazil.
The latter should know what cultural behaviors and attitudes can favor the establishment of productive business relationships between the US and Brazilian entrepreneurs. For example, it is possible to assess the cultural implications for business ethics in Brazil and the U.S Beekun, Stedman and Yamamura (2003) write that Brazilians judge the ethical character of business decisions based on the consequences to which they lead, while U.S. businesses tend to rely on the moral principles and rights. In its current state, the discussed outline can hardly create an objective picture of culture in Brazil and does not create opportunities necessary to assess its business and organizational implications for foreign businesses.
In the outline, the elements and dimensions integrated by locals conducting business in the nation cover only business communication styles and the comparison between the U.S. and Brazilian culture is limited to business relations, employee attitudes, and language barriers. Unfortunately, these cannot suffice to create a full picture of the U.S.-Brazilian cultural dimensions. Again, it is critically important that the assessment of differences between the U.S. and Brazilian culture is performed through the prism of individualism power distance masculinity and uncertainty avoidance dimensions. For example, power distance in Brazil is relatively high, and Brazil is considered to be more collectivist, compared to USA (OKeefe OKeefe, 2004). These elements produce significant impacts on the quality of business performance among locals conducting their business in the nation. For example, those conducting business in Brazil should remember that power distance and collectivism require using different patterns of communication with the locals communication should be explicit and straightforward, while self-centered behaviors should be avoided (OKeefe OKeefe, 2004).
It is not clear whether culture in Brazil has anything to do with taxes, tariffs, importing and exporting relationships, as well as foreign direct investment and world energy market, as proposed in the outline but that culture in Brazil produces significant impacts on the quality of business relationships with the US firms is an obvious fact. The future research should provide recommendations to US firms conducting business in Brazil.
The latter should know what cultural behaviors and attitudes can favor the establishment of productive business relationships between the US and Brazilian entrepreneurs. For example, it is possible to assess the cultural implications for business ethics in Brazil and the U.S Beekun, Stedman and Yamamura (2003) write that Brazilians judge the ethical character of business decisions based on the consequences to which they lead, while U.S. businesses tend to rely on the moral principles and rights. In its current state, the discussed outline can hardly create an objective picture of culture in Brazil and does not create opportunities necessary to assess its business and organizational implications for foreign businesses.
No comments:
Post a Comment