International Business Etiquette

We had project presentation this week. Each group had to research on a country each and present on the business etiquettes of their respective countries. My group presented on Japan while other countries presented by other groups included China, Germany and France. I think this is a very useful and meaningful exercise as it allowed us to learn from each other in the class through presenting our research findings. The knowledge gained from these presentations will definitely go a long way. Working in the hospitality in the future, I will be bound to meet people of different nationalities. The presentation by my friends in the class provided me with an insight of how business is done in other countries.

I learned that the way in which people do business in a certain place is very much affected by the culture and the way of life there. Other than knowing about business etiquette in the respective countries, we also indirectly learn about the culture in the country. An example in the country which my group researched on which is Japan. Gift giving in Japan is part and parcel of the Japanese lifestyle and this has inevitably influenced how gift giving has became an essential component of Japanese business etiquette.

Many of the Dos and Don'ts of social etiquette of the respective countries were highlighted in the presentations by my classmates, this provides me with a guideline as to how to behave infront of people of the respective nationalities. An example of the difference in doing business in different countries is presenting opposing views. Take China and France for instance. The Chinese are very conscious of face, openly presenting opposing views may be considered as a personal attack. the French, however, are more acceptable of this practice.