Business culture and etiquette play a big role in determining the business climate of a country. How foreigners such as expats are treated by the hosts will affect their efficiency and willingness to extend their services in a country. This is a paper on the business and cultural etiquettes in Chile and Saudi Arabia.
Business interactions with the Chilean locals will be determined and influenced by their conversation skills. Chileans by nature are poor listeners with very short spans of concentration. It will be challenging to hold an intellectual conversation with someone who is not ready to listen keenly. A well structured and intricate business proposition or argument might get watered down by frequent interjections and interruptions. It can also be very challenging and frustrating holding a conversation with someone who stops listening to what you are saying halfway through your presentation (Centre for Intercultural Learning, 2014).
Chileans also like communicating at close range and making excessive physical contact. They speak with loud voices and use a lot of gestures (South America.cl, 2014). This might be unsettling for the listener. Too much physical their hand on one’s lapel or shoulder can be construed as invasion of personal. A Chilean will gauge the listener’s level of interest through eye contact, which, coupled with the close proximity between the two parties, can make one very uncomfortable and affect his input in the business proceeding.
Chileans possess fairy good business etiquettes. They have a work week of 48 minimum work hours. Absenteeism too is rare as people value their jobs too much to risk their security. Requests for absence must be accompanied by a signed letter from the family physician. Punctuality is demanded for formal functions. Westerners in particular are expected to be very punctual and collected. This is in contrast to the norm for social functions where everybody is expected to be late by about half an hour. The social functions present potential grounds for networking as everybody is expected to exchange business cards. The work dress codes also are very formal for the Chileans. Chilean men dress in dark formal wear while the women’s dressing is conservative as compared to western standards. The Chilean business etiquettes offer a favorable environment for conducting
business. Their high regard for punctuality and exchange of business cards are very appealing from a western point of view.
Saudi Arabia is a country in the Middle East and its population is primarily Muslim. The country business and social etiquettes revolve around the Islam faith (Kwintessential, 2014). Matters of religion and faith are not open to discussion with westerners and the society is generally conservative. Saudis being conservative Muslims treat women differently in the workplace. Segregation is prevalent among men and women. Male workers must keep their distance when communicating with female counterparts. The two sexes also cannot shake hands during greetings but instead acknowledge each other verbally. Women are not expected to work in masculine designated professions such as engineering or politics.
A work day in Saudi Starts from 8am to 4 or 5pm in the private sector. Government organizations operate from 8am to 2 pm. Punctuality and observation of these work hours is expected especially for senior employees. During Ramadan, the work day is reduced by about two hours per day. During this time, employees are expected to be less efficient as it is assumed they are concentrating more on prayers. Saudis have a high regard for family. It is acceptable for an employee to leave work to attend to a family situation.
Deadlines must be observed in a Saudi work setup. High ranking employees usually work long hours in order to beat deadlines. Industries in the private sector such as oil companies, banks and hospitals apply western working standards and laxity is not tolerated among employees (Centre for Intercultural Learning, 2014).
References
Centre for Intercultural Learning. (2014). Cultural Information – Chile. Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada. Retrieved from http://www.intercultures.ca/cil- cai/overview-apercu-eng.asp?iso=cl
Centre for Intercultural Learning. (2014). Cultural Information - Saudi Arabia. Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada. Retrieved from http://www.intercultures.ca/cil-cai/ci- ic-eng.asp?iso=sa#cn-1
Kwintessential. (2014). Saudi Arabia - Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette Retrieved from. n.p. Retrieved from http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/global- etiquette/saudi-arabia-country-profile.html
South America.cl. (2014). Doing Business in Chile. Chile. Retrieved from http://www.southamerica.cl/Chile/Business.htm
