Essay Example on The corporate culture that may be present when working with multinational corporations

The main purpose of this study is to better understand the corporate culture that may be present when working with multinational corporations All countries whether they are developed developing or emerging regions have their own basic business etiquette culture and manners that play into their decision making I am going to look into the important dimensions of both South Africa s and Mexico s culture when conducting business Keywords South Africa Mexico Managing Culture Managing Culture South Africa and Mexico Corporate Communication and Relationships South Africa In South Africa relationship building and networking is preeminent when conducting business Seeing that South African s are typically transactional leaders meaning they commonly exchange rewards for effort and performance and work on a something for something basis Luthans Doh 2018 they rely heavily on long term business relationships and tend to establish strong personal relationships before proceeding to business matters If a business leader is from another country it is best for them to introduce themselves formally in a face to face meeting in South Africa rather than using impersonal communication to build a stronger relationship A business leader must also be careful about avoiding confrontations to keep from tarnishing their relationship thus ruining the chance for future agreements or contracts Reynolds 2014 Mexico When it comes to relationships and communication with business leaders from Mexico one must also keep in mind that personal relationships are very important 

Once the meeting has ended it is very important to reach out to the business leaders through email or letter form to provide a summary of the meeting and any additional steps that may be taken to continue building close relationships developing trust and supporting strong communication between the parties Reynolds 2014 Mexico When making an appointment with a business leader from Mexico one can make an appointment up to two weeks in advance and will need to confirm the appointment one week prior to the date of the meeting and upon their arrival to Mexico It is crucial that you are on time to your appointment however you could be kept waiting up to 30 minutes for a Mexican business associate It is a part of Mexican culture to value personal life so they are not as bothered by being late and one must remember to be calm should this occur Seeing that being on time is a very flexible negotiation one must keep in mind that deadlines can also be seen as flexible when it comes to business purposes and following agendas Keeping an agenda is uncommon in Mexican culture so one should not expect to follow their agenda according to plan It also is important to ensure that you have both an executive present and an interpreter on your team when conducting business since Mexican business leaders can be status conscious and it is always good to know there is someone there who can translate for you encase there is a miscommunication 

Additionally it is very important to have any written material available in both Spanish and English to respect their business leaders Unlike South Africa business leaders should not present their best offer first as they should be ready for haggle Norato 2014 Conclusion After analyzing the important dimensions of both South Africa s and Mexico s corporate culture it is clear that they have a lot more in common than one would anticipate Both countries rely heavily on personal relationships when it comes conducting business so it is very important to show honesty respect and kindness A business leader must also take into consideration having any delivery dates stated within their contracts to show the firm s commitment to the contract The biggest difference between the two country s corporate culture would be the use of haggling which is widely accepted in Mexican culture yet taboo with South African business leaders This report has made it evident that corporate culture and etiquette vary widely between cultures and that what may be normal to one culture could be incredibly insulting to the next so it is important to research both the business and the culture of a country before conducting business