Fons Trompenaars is the author who belongs to dutch he is one the author of cross cultural communications. Fons studied economics from free university of Amsterdam and he got hid PhD from Wharton school. Trompenaars and Charles hampden have developed a culture which have seven dimensions. Five of his dimensions covers the way in which people interact with each other. The seven dimensions of culture by Trompenaars are explained below. 1. Universalism (vs. Particularism) Universalism/particularism distinguishes societies based on the relative importance they place on rules and laws as opposed to personal relationships. The basic question is: “What is more important–rules or relationships?” Members of universalistic societies focus more on rules, codes, values and standards and believe that they take precedence over the needs and claims of friends and other personal relationships; believe that rules or laws can be applied to everyone and should be used to determine what is Continue reading
International Business Basics
Role of Cultural Sensitivity in International Business
Culture plays an important role in life of people as it is closely associated with them. It is very necessary to understand what a culture requires and what emotions are attached to it. Different countries follow different culture and because of this some things will be acceptable in some countries whereas the same things will appear to be rude in other countries because of culture difference. People who are culture sensitive will know that the difference between the culture of different people can create differences in their relationship with respect to the way they behave, communicate etc. Hofstede defined culture as “the manner in which the mind is programmed such that it can differentiate the people of one category with those of other.” a culturally sensitive person should try to adapt the culture of other country, their traditions, their way of living, their lifestyle etc. Nowadays people are getting closer Continue reading
Concept of Export Packing
The aim of every exporter must be to ensure that the goods arrive safely in the hands of the consumer. The fact that the goods are fully insured is in excuse for not bothering to check whether damage or pilferage occurs during the transit. Whilst the payment of the insurance claim may satisfy the buyer financially, it will not satisfy him mentally. The buyer orders the goods because he can sell them, before the vessel arrives. If he receives only a part of what he has handed in a salable condition, he will probably lose the goodwill of his customers and, in consequences, will blame the exporter. Distinction Between Packing and Packaging There is distinction between the terms export packing and packaging. Packaging refers to the job of providing specialized containers for the packing of goods. Packing is used for the general operation of putting goods into containers for shipment Continue reading
Letter of Credit – Definition, Types and Process
Letter of Credit is one of the most popular and more secured of method of payment in recent times as compared to other methods of payment. A Letter of Credit refers to the documents representing the goods and not the goods themselves. Banks are not in the business of examining the goods on behalf of the customers. Typical documents, which are required includes commercial invoice, transport document such as Bill of lading or Airway bill, an insurance documents etc. L/C deals in documents and not goods. Definition of Letter of Credit A Letter of Credit can be defined as “an undertaking by importer’s bank stating that payment will be made to the exporter if the required documents are presented to the bank within the validity of the L/C”. A commercial letter of credit is a contractual agreement between a bank (issuing bank), on behalf of one of its customers (buyer), Continue reading
The Effects of Globalization on Multinational Corporations
Globalization is the competition in an international market. The growth rate of developing nations and their acquisitions of previously first-world owned corporations indicates that the developed world no longer has the upper hand economic growth in the west has been miniscule in comparison. Success in this new global market requires the ability to accommodate the different needs of diverse consumer groups. Companies can achieve this through product and process innovations and maximize profits. Entrepreneurship is also increasingly recognized and as an alternative course to fortune as opposed to trading rare commodities. Companies from emergent economies are following the lead of their developed counterparts, issuing stocks and encouraging investment. This encouraged growth and share appreciation, surpassing past expectations. Some emerging companies’ growth has even outpaced well-known multi-national companies (MNCs) from the developed world-competing, acquiring and exploiting the endeavors and experiences of first-world MNCs. Similarly, developed nations are tapping into emerging economies, Continue reading
Global Matrix Structure of MNE’s
A matrix organization structure involves horizontal, vertical and diagonal flows of responsibilities. Mathematically arrangement of anything by rows and columns is called matrix structure. In a matrix organization the products or projects may be the column element, while the horizontal or row elements might be the functional lines of production, marketing, etc. Third dimensionally, the geographic responsibilities might run. Matrix structure is a combination of two or more different structures. Thus in a global matrix organization structure a foreign subsidiary reports to more than one group, namely product/project, functional or geographic. Following figure gives the Matrix structure of an Multinational Enterprise. Large multinational corporations that use a matrix structure most commonly combine product groups with geographic units. Product managers have global responsibility for the development, manufacturing, and distribution of their own product or service line, while managers of geographic regions have responsibility for the success of the business in their Continue reading