Cross Cultural Awareness for the International Manager

INTRODUCTION

It is time for a fast-developing Bulgarian company to go international. According to carefully conducted marketing research the most favorable conditions for expansion at this point are in Germany and Brazil. Unfortunately "Noname.Co" is a new entrant in the global market and is quite inexperienced in dealing with countries of unfamiliar culture. The differences between Bulgaria, Germany and Brazil are not only estimated by means of square meters, but also by ethnicity, religion, temperament and many other cultural characteristics.

The cultural uniqueness of a society is manifested in terms of the values, behavior and attitudes displayed by its members. Culture and its normative characteristics are crystallized in the values that they hold about life and the world around them. The latter in turn affect people's attitudes about the form of behavior considered more appropriate and effective in any given situation. The purpose of this coursework is to find out how the cultural values of the German and Brazilian people are linked to their work values because national and organizational cultures are two different things. Namely, what will be the possible conflicts, moral problems and inefficiencies that may surface the companies' relationships? In turn how managers could handle such problems. How headquarters' rules and policies will be interpreted by the host ventures' members? What management style and communication style will most suitably be applied for both nations, and how they could be motivated?

I will provide an information pack to the Bulgarian company's CEOs advising them on anticipated Germans' and Brazilians' national characteristic resulting from rigorous study of various dimensions (or micro-aspects) of their cultures. These dimensions will relate to the basic problem areas which both human societies face and have found solutions for in their own various ways. The same micro-aspects will be used to reflect common beliefs that either define what is right or wrong or specify general preferences. Furthermore, how the latter influence individuals' selection from available models, means and ends