Complete detail on International Business Dynamics first Module-1 Introduction Chapter, Contents Meaning and definition of International Business to Significance to Aid International Managers please go through it, If any inputs or queries reach me through Instagram and Facebook (allnewcrazy)

1. Introduction
Module 1

2. International Business
 It is defined as the process of extending the business activities from
domestic to any foreign country with an intention of targeting
international customers,
 International Business refers to the global business where goods and
services are exchanged between countries. It involves transfer of goods,
services, information, resources, capital etc.

3. Evolution of International Business
 Evolution of business means its origins, growth, and continuous
development with expansion in various sectors, that contribute and
run economies

5. Local Business
 the local business evolved from its 3 basic sub stages starting with
 Barter economy
 Village economy
 Towns economy

6. Regional Business
 the regional business grew as a result of cooperation between
different states
 the national business was an outcome of a business presence felt in
the entire country

7. International Business
 Then international business emerged as an answer to fulfill the
scarcity of resources felt within each country
 Finally, an idea to see the entire world as one huge market was
realized. This paved the way to form a new concept called Global
business.

8. Need of International Business
 Need of employment opportunities.
 Allocation of resources, global level activities shift, allotment of
preferential choices to global level.
 Requirement of acquisition and mergers for product variety.
 Need of labor. Technology and capital at lower cost.

9. Advantages of international Business:
 It enables the firm to utilize new market opportunity.
 Utilization of resources like raw material and labor at lower prices.
 Local business has become less vulnerable as international market
allows the firm to get diversified.
 It also enables foreign direct investment.

10. Contd
 Increases the GDP of the host country.
 Market fluctuation is stabilized.
 Competitive advantage is enhanced.
 Enables to gain global market share.
 Existing market dependency is reduced.

11. Drivers of Globalization
 Technological drivers
 Political drivers
 Political drivers
 Market drivers
 Cost drivers
 Competitive drivers

12. Technological drivers
 Innovations in the transportation technology revolutionized the industry.
 commercial jet aircraft and the concept of containerization in the late
1970s and 1980s.
 Inventions in the area of microprocessors and telecommunications
enabled highly effective computing and communication at a low-cost
level.
 the rapid growth of the Internet is the latest technological driver that
created global e-business and e-commerce.

13. Political drivers
 Liberalized trading rules and deregulated markets lead to lowered tariffs
and allowed foreign direct investments in almost all over the world.
 The institution of GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) 1947 and
the WTO (World Trade Organization) 1995 as well as the ongoing opening
and privatization in Eastern Europe are only some examples of latest
developments.

14. Market drivers
 As domestic markets become more and more saturated, the opportunities
for growth are limited and global expanding is a way most organizations
choose to overcome this situation.
 Common customer needs and the opportunity to use global marketing
channels and transfer marketing to some extent are also incentives to
choose internationalization.

15. Cost drivers
 Sourcing efficiency and costs vary from country to country and
global firms can take advantage of this fact.
 The opportunity to build global scale economies and the high
product development costs nowadays.

16. Competitive drivers
 With the global market, global inter-firm competition increases and
organizations are forced to “play” international.
 Strong interdependences among countries and high two-way
trades and FDI actions also support this driver.

17. Challenges in International Business
 The Physical Distance
 Unfamiliar Cultures
 Mastering Marketing
 Organizational Communication
Tariffs and Export Fees
 Human Resources
 Choosing the Right Countries
 Properly Adapting Documents and Content to the Culture
 Laws & Regulations
 Communication Difficulties and Cultural Differences

18. Approaches to IB
 Ethnocentric
 Polycentric
 Regiocentric
 Geocentric

19. Ethnocentric
Home
is Superior,
sees
similarities in
Foreign
countries
Regiocentric
Sees similarities
and differences
in a world
Region; Is
Ethnocentric or
Polycentric in
its view of the
rest of the
world
Geocentric
World View,
sees
similarities
and
differences in
home and
host
countries

20. Ethnocentric
 These people or companies believe that the home country is superior.
 When they look to new markets they rely on what they know and seek
similarities with their own country.
 Overseas subsidiaries or offices in international markets are seen as less
able and less important than the head office.
 Typically, these companies make few adaptations to their products
and undertake little research in the international markets.

21. Ethnocentric
 In these companies, opportunities outside the home country are ignored.
 Ethnocentric companies that do business outside the home country can
be described as international companies;
 They adhere to the notion that the products that succeed in the home
country are superior and can, therefore, be sold everywhere without
adaptation.

22. Polycentric
 In contrast, polycentric organizations or managers see each country as
unique, and consider that businesses are best run locally.
 Polycentric management means that the head office places little control on
the activities in each market, and there is little attempt to make use of any
good ideas or best practices from other markets.

23. Polycentric
 The term polycentric describes management’s often-unconscious belief or
assumption that each country in which a company does business is
unique.
 This assumption lays the groundwork for each subsidiary to develop its
unique business and marketing strategies in order to succeed.
 The term multinational company is often used to describe such a structure.

24. Regiocentric
 A regiocentric organization sees similarities and differences in a world
region, and designs strategies around this.
 Often there are major differences between countries in a region. For
example, Norway and Spain are both in Europe, but are very different in
climate, culture, transport, retail distribution, and so on.

25. Regiocentric
 For example, a US company, which focuses on countries included in the
North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)- the United States,
Canada, and Mexico, has a region-centric orientation. Similarly, if
companies of ASEAN member countries focus only on South East Asia,
then they are said to have regiocentric orientation.

26. Geocentric
 Geocentric companies, as truly global players, view the world as a
potential market, and seek to serve this effectively.
 Geocentric management can recognize the similarities and differences
between the home country and the international markets.
 It combines ethnocentric and polycentric views; in other words, it displays
the “think global, act local” ideology.

27. Geocentric
 The geocentric orientation represents a synthesis of ethnocentrism and
polycentricism into a ‘world view’ that sees similarities and differences in
markets and countries, and seeks to create a global strategy that is fully
responsive to local needs and wants. The case of European Silicon
Structures illustrates the practice of geocentric organizations.

28. Pillars of IB
 Pillar one: Institutions
The quality of institutions has a direct link to a nation’s level of
competence. Efficient management of both private and
government institutions is the basis of business environment. Good
business ethics and corporate governance guarantee success.
Physical security and independent judiciary provide the
fundamental protection of property rights.
 Pillar two: Infrastructure
Electricity, transport and communication are fundamental
requirements of running a business. Quality and quantity
infrastructure decides a nation's level of productivity.

29.  Pillar three: Macroeconomic environment
The stability of the economy is significant for the overall competitiveness of
a country in today’s global economy. The economy cannot survive without
healthy monetary indicators and affordable interest rates.
 Pillar four: Health and primary education
Quantity of basic education and state of public health determine the
nation's well-being. This pillar points to the fact that a nation lacking in
education and health cannot be a productive nation.

30.  Pillar five: Higher education and training
High level of education technical skills are crucial for the growth of the
economy. Successful nations invests more in higher education and skill
development. Higher educational facilities and on-the-job training can
assure growth as a nation moves up the ladder.
 Pillar six: Goods market efficiency
A successful economy has to market its products and services worldwide.
Growth depends on open markets. Domestic and foreign competitiveness
demands good marketing efficiency.

31.  Pillar seven: Labour market efficiency
Productivity depends on the quality of labour. A nation with a large scale
unemployment is an unhealthy nation. The working environment has to
assure meritocracy and gender parity. Job market has to be efficient and
flexible.
 Pillar eight: Financial market development
The financial banking system has to support business by channelling the
resources saved by its people. Efficiency, stability, reliability and credibility
the financial system are crucial for the economy.

32.  Pillar nine: Technological readiness
In today's world, technological readiness can only ensure quality and
quantity of production and service.
 Pillar ten: Market size
Large markets without barriers allow faster growth. Both domestic and
foreign markets are considered for the market size.

33.  Pillar eleven: business sophistication
This measures the sophistication in business practices that improve
efficiency of production in goods and services.
 Pillar twelve: Innovation
A high competitiveness needs technological innovation. Advanced
invest more in developing technologies. But other nations too can improve
their productivity by making incremental improvements.

34. International Environment
 POLITICAL ENVIRONMENT
 LEGAL ENVIRONMENT
 ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT
 SOCIO-CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT
 TECHNOLOGICAL ENVIRONMENT
 NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
 DEMOGRAPHIC ENVIRONMENT

35. Political Environment
 The political environment of countries is a critical concern for the
international marketer.
 International Law recognizes the Sovereign right of a nation to
allow or deny foreign firms to conduct
 It also includes Characteristics and policies of political parties,
nature of constitution and government system and environment
compassing the economic and business policies

36. Political Risk
Risks Related to Government Trade policies:
 Tariffs,
 exchange-rate controls,
 export/import license requirements,
 other trade barriers (embargos, sanctions)

37. Legal Environment
 International Laws
 Rules and regulations countries abide by
 Host Country Laws
 Laws of different Country
 Home Country Laws
 Laws of Home country

38. Legal Systems:
 Common law
 Code (Civil) law
 Islamic law/Theocratics

39.  Law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals
(called case law),
 To corresponding legal systems that rely on precedential case law.
 The body of precedent is called “common law” and it binds future decisions.
 In future cases, when parties disagree on what the law is, an idealized
common law court looks to past precedential decisions of relevant courts.
 If a similar dispute has been resolved in the past, the court is bound to
follow the reasoning used in the prior decision (this principle is known as
stare decisis).
 If however, the court finds that the current dispute is fundamentally distinct
from all previous cases (called a “matter of first impression”), judges have
the authority and duty to make law by creating precedent.
 Thereafter, the new decision becomes precedent, and will bind future courts.

40.  Code Law is based on an all-inclusive system of written rules (codes) of law.
 Under code law, the legal system is generally divided into three separate
codes: commercial, civil, and criminal.
 The civil law system, also called a codified legal system, is based on a
detailed set of laws that make up a code.
 Rules for conducting business transactions are a part of the code.
 This is based on a very detailed set of laws that are organized into codes.

41.  These codes specify what constitutes legal behaviour.
 Code law or Civil law has its roots in the Roman law and more than 80
countries of the world, including
 Germany, France, Japan, Russia, most of Europe, Latin America, China,
Taiwan and South Korea operate with this Civil law system.
 The courts under this system do not have much flexibility, as compared to
the courts of common law system.

42.  This system is based on religious teachings, as they are enshrined in the
religious scriptures. Islamic law, Shari at, is the most widely practiced
religious legal system in today’s world.
 It is based on morality rather than commercial requirement of human
behaviour in all aspects of a person’s self and social life.
 Islamic law is based on the Holy book of Islam, the Quran and on
interpretation of the practices and sayings of Prophet Mohammad.
 It also follows the writings of scholars and teachers of Islamic scholarship,
who derived rules by analogy from the principles established in the holy
Quran.

43.  The basic foundations of Islamic law remain unaltered even after many
centuries because they have been derived from the holy book and are
acceptable to all devout Muslims.
 Even though Islamic jurists and scholars constantly debate the application of
Islamic law to the modern world, their debates are only scholastic
deliberations.
 However, to keep pace with the advancement of life, many Muslim countries
have a blend of Common law and Civil law system along with the Islamic
law.

44. Economic Environment
 Per capita income and size of population
 Stages of economic development
 Consumption pattern
 Economic system
 Product demand analysis
 Competition analysis

45. Cultural
 International business means operating in a cross cultural
environment.
 This makes the business more complex because the business firm
must appreciate how different the foreign culture is from their own
and how this difference is to be reflected in their business
strategies.

46. Culture
 Culture is defined as a continuously changing
totality of learned and shared meanings, rituals,
norms, and traditions among the members of an
organization or society.
 Culture is also defined as a society’s personality.
 Culture
 Has a general influence on consumption
 Has an influence on the stakeholders
 Determines the manner in which individuals respond to
Marketing strategies

47. Elements of Culture
 Language
 Religion
 Cultural Values
 Cultural Norms

48. Demographic Environment
 Size, growth rate, age composition, sex composition etc. of the
population
 Family size
 Economic stratification of population
 Education level
 Caste, religion etc..

49. Cross-cultural management
 Cross-cultural management focuses on reducing the cross-cultural
differences and barriers and creating cross-cultural awareness in
order to have better communication and cooperation across the
globe.
 it is very necessary to recognize the business culture, management
values and methodologies across the globe.
 Every country follows a different way of management style and it
becomes difficult for an international manager to manage various
cultures

50. Levels of Culture
 National Culture comprises of the distinguishing common values,
thoughts, suppositions, faith and customs of the occupants of a country
which direct their behaviour.
 Business Culture is consisting of the distinguishing common values,
thoughts, suppositions, faith and customs of the occupants of a nation
which direct business functions in that country.
 For instance there are nations which explicitly display preferences for friendship
and family connections in business operations.
 In such countries these attitudes are widely admitted and also required. For in
certain other nation such attitude to work can be considered as dishonourable.

51. Levels of Culture
 Industry Culture is described as the distinguishing common values, thoughts, suppositions,
faith and customs that effect the manner in which the organizations in a specific industry
carries out their business.
 For instance, academic institutions all over the world share definite cultural aspects like a faith
in educational liberty, no matter to which national culture they belong. There will be certainly
some dissimilarity among the cultures of academic institutions in diverse countries which
happen from diversity in national cultures.
 Organizational Culture comprises of the distinguishing common values, thoughts,
suppositions, faith and customs that impact the manner in which the individuals in an
organization conduct the functions.
 This will rely on aspects such as national culture, business culture and industry culture.
 Certainly, this is much more complex in the case of a global organization. Such an organization
has to perform business across national frontiers and it will entail handling many different
national and business cultural differences.

52. Hofstede’s
 Hofstede’s work serves as the base for other researches in cross-cultural
psychology, to study different aspects of international business and
communication.
 It illustrates the deeply embedded values of diverse cultures.
 These values impact not only how people with different cultural
backgrounds behave, but also the manner in which they will potentially
behave when placed in a work-associated context.

53. #1 Power Distance
 Power distance stands for inequality that is defined not from above, but
from below. It is, in fact, the extent to which organizations and societies
accept power differentials.
 Societies with large power distance are characterized by the following
features:
 Autocracy in leadership;
 Authority that is centralized;
 Paternalistic ways of management;
 A number of hierarchy levels;
 The acceptance of the privileges that come with power;
 A lot of supervisory staff;
 An expectation of power differences and inequality.

54.  Societies that have small power distance
possess the following features:
 Participative or consultative style of management;
 Decision-making responsibility and authority decentralized;
 Flat structure of organizations;
 Supervisory staff small in proportion;
 Questioning the authority and lack of acceptance;
 An inclination toward egalitarianism;
 Consciousness of rights.

55. #2 Uncertainty Avoidance
 Uncertainty avoidance is the extent to which the members belonging to a society are
capable of coping with future uncertainty without going through stress.
 Weak uncertainty avoidance comes with the following features:
 Undertaking risk;
 Flexibility;
 Tolerance toward differing opinions and behaviours.
 Strong uncertainty avoidance is represented by the following aspects:
 Tendency to avoid risk;
 Organizations that have a number of standardized procedures, written rules, and clearly
delineated structures;
 Strong requirement for consensus;
 Respect for authority;
 Requirement for predictability highlighting the significance of planning;
 Minimal or no tolerance for deviants;

56. #3: Individualism vs. Collectivism
 Individualism set against its opposite collectivism defines the extent to
which individuals are inclined toward remaining in groups.
 Individualistic cultures are characterized by:
 Concentration on self or at the most very near and dear ones, and concern
with behavioural relationships as well as own goals, interests, and needs.
 Emphasis on personal enjoyment, fun, and pleasure, over duties and social
norms. They are a part of a number of in-groups which hardly have any
influence on their lives.
 Self-sufficiency and value independence, and placement of self-interest over
collective interest. Confrontation is accepted as an attribute.

57. #3: Individualism vs. Collectivism
 Collectivistic cultures are characterized by:
 Behavior as per social norms that are established for maintenance of social harmony
among in-group members;
 Considering the wider collective with regards to implications of their actions;
 Sharing of resources and readiness to give up personal interest keeping in mind the
collective interest;
 Being a part of a few in-groups that have an influence on their lives. Rather than
being individualistic, they have an increased inclination towards group;
 Increased concern regarding in-group members. They show hostility or indifference
toward out-group members;
 Emphasis on harmony and hierarchy within group;
 Regulation of behaviour with the help of group norms.

58. #4Masculinity vs. Femininity
 Masculinity and femininity revolve around the emotional role distribution
between genders, which is again a prime issue in a number of societies.
 Masculine cultures possess the following characteristics:
 Clearly distinct gender roles;
 Men are expected to be tough and assertive with a concentration on material
achievements;
 Much value is associated with mastery of people, nature, job, and the like;Sense
of humor, intelligence, affection, personality are considered preferred
characteristic traits of a boyfriend by the women;
 Understanding, wealth, and health are considered desirable characteristic traits

59. #4Masculinity vs. Femininity
 Feminine cultures possess the following characteristics:
 Overlapping of social gender roles;
 Men, as well as women, are expected to be tender, modest, with focus on the
quality of life;
 Emphasis on the non-materialistic angles of success;

60. #5 Long-Term vs. Short-Term
Orientation
 This is based on the Confucian dynamism. According to the teachings of Confucius, the
following aspects of life are evident:
 Unequal relationships existing between people ensure the stability of society.
 So far as tasks in life are concerned, virtue comprises acquiring skills, working hard,
education, being wise in spending as well as showing perseverance and patience.
 Long-term orientation (high Confucian values) reflects the following:
 A futuristic, dynamic mentality;
 Emphasis on a relationship order depending on status, and observance of this order;
 Emphasis on persistence and perseverance;
 Stress on thrift;
 Sense of Shame;
 Positive association with economic growth;
 Inclination toward interrelatedness represented in sensitivity toward social contacts.

61. #5 Long-Term vs. Short-Term
Orientation
 Short-term orientation (low Confucian values) is characterized by
the following:
 Orientation toward past and present;
 Focus on respect for tradition;
 A comparatively static, more conventional mentality;
 Emphasis on saving face;
 Emphasis on personal steadiness;
 Focus on stability;
 Emphasis on reciprocation of gifts, favours, and greetings;
 Negative association with economic growth.

62. #6 Indulgence vs. Restraint
 The dimension of indulgence vs. restraint focuses on happiness.
 A society that practices indulgence makes room for the
comparatively free gratification of natural and basic human drives
pertaining to indulging in fun and enjoying life.
 The quality of restraint describes a society that holds back need
gratification and tries to control it through stringent social norms.

63. Edward Twitchell Hall,
 An American anthropologist and cross-cultural researcher. He is
remembered for exploring cultural and social cohesion, and
describing how people behave and react in different types of
culturally defined personal space.

64. Context
 In high-context cultures there are many contextual elements that should
be taken into account and help people to understand the rules.
 Many things are not said directly, much is taken for granted.
 Examples of high-context cultures are the cultures of France, Spain, Italy,
Middle East, Japan, Russia.
 In low-context cultures ideas are expected to be outspoken very
straightforward, most of the things require explanation. Written
instructions, contracts and documents have more value in negotiations.
 Examples of countries with low-context cultures are Germany, Switzerland,
USA, Scandinavia.

65. Time
 Hall categorized cultures by their members' attitude to the concept of
time.
 According to his theory, there can be monochronous and polychronous
cultures.
 People from monochronous (appear once only)cultures usually do one
thing at a time. Careful planning and scheduling is often present.
 Members of monochronous cultures have difficulties with starting
something new, when they still have not finished another activity. Germany,
USA, Scandinavian countries are among countries with such kind of
cultures.

66. Time
 In polychronous (appear many times) cultures human interaction is valued
over time and material things. Being punctual is not that important in
these cultures.
 People from such cultures pay more attention to human relations and do
not mind doing several things at the same time. Such cultures are present
in Latin America, Middle East, Russia.

67. Globe cultural Dimensions
 1. Future focus: The degree of the intensity of how the individuals in a group
postpone their immediate gratifications by proper planning and investing in
the future.
 2. Uncertainty Avoidance: The degree of dependency on accepted socials,
standards, rules and regulations, and procedural navigations to relieve and
reduce future uncertainties.
 3. Power distance: The levels of equal distribution of power for individuals in a
collective group
 4. Humane orientation: How individuals are rewarded and encouraged for their
kindness, fairness, and generosity to others by the collective culture.
 5. Performance orientation: The levels of how the collective encourages and
rewards the group members for excellent performance and improvements.

68. Globe cultural Dimensions
 6. Collectivism I: When collective distribution of means and performance
are rewarded by the organizational and institutional actions.
 7. Collectivism II: The degree with which individuals within a group take
pride in their accomplishments and are loyal to the organizations and
family lives.
 8. Assertiveness: The amount of confrontations, displaying
aggressions/assertiveness dynamics of relationship between the individuals
inside a group.
 9. Gender fairness: the degree of gender inequality in a group.

69. Kluckholn and Strodtbeck
Based on Patterns of Behaviour and nature of thinking
1. The nature of people
 What do people assume about the basic nature and beliefs about other people? In particular, others may be considered
to be good, bad or have some combination.
 'Good' here is in the traditional sense of being socially oriented. A bad person is thus considered selfish.
 How you think about other people in this way will have significant effect on how you respond to them. It also affects how
you think about yourself.
2. The relationship with nature
 What do people think about nature and their responsibilities and rights around it?
 Some people believe that we should live in harmony with nature, preserving and supporting it. Others (and perhaps a
majority now) see nature as our servant and supplier. This view allows us to plunder it without concern.
 In other parts of life this translates into the use of all kinds or resource and whether it is used up or sustained.
3. Duty towards others
 What duty do we have towards others? Should we be act first to support others or can we just focus only on ourselves?
 Considering the group first supports society, but it also is limiting on the freedom of the individual. It also raises the
question about who chooses what is right for the group.

70. Kluckholn and Strodtbeck
4. Mode of activity
 What is the primary mode of activity in an organization or society?
 In some societies, there is a focus on 'being', where who you are is more important than what
you do. Other societies are very action oriented and status comes from what has been
achieved rather than an ascribed status.
5. Privacy of space
 How is space treated in a society? Who owns it? What rights do people have to occupy it?
 One approach is that space is owned by individuals and privacy is important. Meetings are
held behind closed doors and are by invitation only. The alternative is open ownership, where
people can go where they please and meetings are open to all who want to attend.
6. Temporal orientation
 Which is more important: past, present or future?
 Some societies focus on the past, ancestors and traditionalism. Others are focused on the
hedonism of today, whilst still others plan carefully for the future.

71. Trompenaars Cultural Dimensions
 Organizations all over the world work are dealing with a wide
variety of cultures. According to Fons Trompenaars, cultural
differences will create a better understanding of reality.
 For an insight into the biggest differences and how organizations
are affected by these differences, Fons Trompenaars and Charles
Hampden Turner developed a cultural model, that distinguishes
seven cultural dimensions.

72. Trompenaars Cultural Dimensions
 Universalism versus Particularism
 Individualism versus Communitarianism
 Neutral versus Emotional
 Specific versus Diffuse
 Achievement versus Ascription
 Sequential versus Synchronous time
 Internal direction versus External direction

73. 1. Universalism versus Particularism
 In universalist culture ideas can be applied anywhere and there is always a
definition that can be used to determine the distinction between right and
wrong.
 Standards and values are important and can only be departed from after
consultation.
 It is generally accepted that in similar situations people from different
origins receive the same salary. In a particularistic culture, members
believe that it the circumstances that determine how ideas can be applied
in practice.
 Personal relationships and obligations play an important role when making
ethical decisions. Status is important in this
 example salary is linked to reputation and origin.

74. 2. Individualism versus
Communitarianism
 Individualism sees human beings as individuals, whereas
communitarianism characterizes humanity as being part of a
group.
 individualist culture is linked to the ideas of the western world,
whereas the communitarian culture is linked to non-western
countries.
 Cultures change continuously and sometimes they change more
quickly than people realize.

75. 3. Neutral versus emotional
 In a neutral emotions are controlled, whereas in an emotional culture
emotions are expressed openly and spontaneously.
 Well-known examples of neutral cultures are Japan and Great Britain,
where they frown upon being angry in public, laughing loudly or
displaying any other emotional outbursts.
 In an emotional culture, however, this behaviour is allowed.
 Mentions countries such as the Spain and Mexico where people often
laugh, talk loudly and greet each other enthusiastically.
 When people from a neutral culture do business with people from an
emotional culture, they could be deterred by the other person’s
behaviour.
 A good preparation and taking someone’s culture into consideration will
prevent awkward situations.

76. 4. Specific versus diffuse
 In a specific culture, individuals have a large public space, which they
share easily with other people.
 They also have a small private space which they share with good friends
and close associates.
 People often approach each other informally in both the public and
private space.
 In a diffuse culture the public space and the private space tend to be
interwoven.
 People in a diffuse culture will therefore protect their private space
because this will provide easy access to the public space.
 People from a diffuse culture attach great value to formality.

77. 5. Achievement versus ascription
 This concerns achieved status (achievement) versus ascribed (ascription)
status.
 In an achievement-oriented culture, a person’s worth is determined on the
basis of their performances and how well they perform their tasks.
 In a culture in which status is ascribed, status is based on who the person
in question is.
 Their position is derived from for example origin, gender, age, career or a
person’s career or position.

78. 5. Achievement versus ascription
 When someone from an achievement-oriented culture does business with
people from an ascription-oriented culture, it is advisable to deploy older,
more experienced people who are familiar with formal customs and
manners and who respect established titles.
 In the contrary situation, it is important that people from an ascription-
oriented culture make use of well-informed people who know exactly what
the knowledge and skills are of people from an achievement-oriented
culture.
 Fons Trompenaars says that there is often a mix, whereby culture
determines on which elements from the Achievement or Ascription
cultures the emphasis is put.

79. 6. Sequential versus synchronous
time
 Time can be measured and understood in different ways. We measure past,
present and future using years, months, weeks, days and hours.
 This concrete measurement of time falls within sequential time. ” Time is money”
is a typical expression that forms part of this culture, just like the eternal race
against clock.
 Synchronous time is more abstract and focuses on being able to work on various
projects at once.
 It does not concern itself with time zones, but is aware that the human body has
its own rhythm.
 In a synchronous time it is about the rhythm of the group and that of nature.
 There is, however, a risk to doing several things at the same time.
 It could result in work not being actually completed.

80. 7. Internal direction versus outer
direction
 In internal-directed versus outer-directed cultures the focus is on how
people experience their environment.
 Is the environment a threat (external) or is it sensible to move with the
factors that are caused by society (internal)? The way in which people
experience their environment differs from culture to culture.
 People in western cultures are mainly outer-directed and they want to
control their environment as much as possible.
 In many non-western cultures it is more about living in harmony with the
environment; there are forces that cannot be controlled or influenced and
therefore you have to adapt yourself to these external circumstances.