Business and culture

Whether you realize it or not, culture plays a big role in who you are, how you relate to others, and how you view the world. A simple definition of culture is “the set of customs, habits, and traditions of a particular group of people.” Your culture can refer to the country where you live—your customs and traditions as a Canadian, for example. It can also refer to smaller regions of a country, such as New England in the United States or the southern part of India. It can even refer to groups that exist outside the bounds of geography; there are customs and habits associated with professional athletes, vegetarians, video gamers—pretty much any group you can think of!

You probably belong to a number of different cultures. All these cultures blend together in your life to make you who you are. Since culture plays such an important part in the lives of individuals, it makes sense that it also plays an important part in how business is conducted. Even a small business could have dozens, if not hundreds, of different cultures represented within its workforce. In addition, the business itself has its own unique organizational culture and even subcultures (cultures within a culture) that develop under that! These subcultures affect how employees interact with each other and complete their job tasks.

For example, there may be a subculture that exists within a business’s shipping department. These employees spend all day in the warehouse, and they’ve created a fun environment, listening to music and enjoying conversation while they work. It’s a much different culture than in the accounting department, where the employees prefer to work in quiet so they can concentrate. To supervise and interact effectively with employees, this business’s managers must understand these subcultures and how they work.

Looking at the cultures within a business is like looking at a smaller version of the cultures within the world. To be successful in both domestic and international trade, businesses must pay attention to all aspects of culture, both organizational and global. In today’s globalized business world, almost any businessperson has the potential to interact with people of many different cultures. But how do businesses decide whether or not to engage in international trade? Culture plays a huge role. In general, countries trade with one another because they have different resources to offer. Trading can increase economic growth as a whole, bringing benefits such as a greater variety of goods and services, improved standard of living, and lower prices. Culture can affect the goals of each country or organization when engaging in international trade. For example, if a culture values industrialization and development, they might trade with countries that can provide raw materials and tools for construction work.

Some countries are more willing to engage in trade than others, which might be resistant to the influence of other cultures or might want to protect their own economies. For example, North Korea is one country that does not trade much with other nations, with the exception of a few trading partners. Also, countries might be predisposed against trading with companies from certain countries due to political or cultural disagreements. The U.S., for instance, has banned trade with Cuba for decades due to political conflict, though the two countries have formed stronger relations in recent years. When companies do make the decision to engage in international trade, it is important for them to learn about the global cultural issues that affect the way businesses operate.