Differences in Culture

Trade allows businesses to exploit economies of scales by operating in international markets, and international competition stimulates higher efficiency and reduces monopoly power.

International trade also enhances consumer choice, and international competition between suppliers helps to keep prices down. This again generates better products for consumers and enhances the overall standard of living. But there are factors in international trade that makes it more difficult than domestic business. Differences in culture are one factor, which I am going to explore in this assignment.

Geert Hofstede defined culture as “the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the members of one human group from another”. Everyone is shaped by their own culture, and our thoughts and actions are dependent on our culture whether they know it or not. These thoughts and actions are so integrated in our mind that we don’t think about them until we are confronted with another culture and