Doing Business In The UK | Communicaid Blog | Cross Cultural Training and International Communication Skills

Need Cultural Training? Contact Communicaid

Dec 23

Celebrating Christmas across Cultures

Christmas is celebrated in many cultures around the world in December each year. Christmas is traditionally a Christian holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ however there are an increasing number of non-religious Christmas customs and traditions that people celebrate at this time of year. Every culture, denomination of Christianity and even family celebrates Christmas slightly differently – from what they eat and buy to what they do over the Christmas period. Working effectively across cultures requires an awareness of the importance and impact of this holiday celebrated by more than 2 billion people around the world.

Christmas cclickclick i Celebrating Christmas across Cultures

Here are just a few examples of traditions and customs that are celebrated during the Christmas period in the UK, Norway, Italy and France.

Christmas in the UK

In the UK people start getting ready for Christmas right before the start of December, though you may find that decorations and shops start preparing for Christmas even earlier. People will traditionally have a Christmas tree in their home that they decorate with ornaments and lights at the beginning of the month. They may also hang lights outside their house and wreaths made of leaves, pinecones and holly berries on their door.

Family, friends and colleagues will exchange Christmas gifts as part of the celebrations. Some people will also buy an advent calendar filled with chocolates for each day in December until Christmas. Companies will organise Christmas parties in December where employees have the chance to spend time together eating, drinking and often dancing to celebrate the holiday and the end of the year.

Christmas Eve is usually celebrated by enjoying food and drinks with family and friends. On Christmas Day on the 25th of December people will spend time with their families opening gifts, enjoying mulled wine and minced pies and preparing a big meal. The most common Christmas meal in the UK consists of turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, vegetables and Christmas pudding or Christmas cake for desert. The day after Christmas in the UK is also a public holiday called Boxing Day when people don’t go to work and instead spend time with family and friends to continue the celebrations.

Christmas in Norway – Jul

Norwegians are very enthusiastic about Christmas celebrations which they refer to as Jul. After Norway’s national day, Christmas is the biggest celebration in the country. Norwegians typically start baking julekaker (Christmas cookies) almost a month before Christmas to make sure they have a large number and variety of them.

The big celebration happens on the evening of the 24th of December when families gather together for dinner. Many families have traditions of dancing around the Christmas tree, singing Christmas carols and exchanging gifts. On Christmas day families usually watch their favourite Christmas films like “Three Nuts for Cinderella” “From All of Us to All of You”or “The Journey to the Christmas star”.

Christmas in Italy – Natale

In Italy Christmas is usually spent with the family. Italians start preparing for Christmas almost a month before the event by decorating their houses with a tree and often a Presepio (nativity scene). On Christmas Eve, families gather together for dinner. Fish is usually the main ingredient accompanied by pasta and vegetables. For desert they enjoy typical Italian deserts such as Pandoro, Panettone and torrone, a sweet made of honey and nuts.

Families typically open presents on Christmas Day and then share lunch. The food varies from region to region, however the typical meal usually includes pasta, meat, vegetables and typical Italian desserts. The Christmas holiday ends on the 6th of January when la Befana (the good ugly witch) brings sweets to children who behaved well in the last year, and coal to the children who did not behave very well. Different to the UK custom where Santa Claus puts presents in stockings hung by the fireplace on Christmas Eve, the Italians have their stockings filled in January by la Befana.

Christmas in France – Noël

In France Christmas is a time for family gatherings and traditions. Christmas celebrations vary greatly from one region to another. In Northern and Eastern France people usually start the Christmas period by celebrating St Nicholas’ Day on the 6th of December. Most people in France decorate their homes with a tree and a nativity scene called a crèche. In Southern France this crèche is made of small clay figurines called santons that show the life of a provincial village.

The huge Christmas feast is called Le Réveillon and is held on the evening of December 24th. Traditional French Christmas dishes are usually oysters, fois gras and turkey stuffed with chestnuts. A Yule log-shaped cake, mainly made of chocolate, is the traditional dessert all around France. Children usually open their gifts before or after attending Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. Christmas Day is a bank holiday.

The way Christmas is celebrated around the world can significantly influence international business and anyone working across cultures. Showing an awareness of the religious and cultural traditions that form part of Christmas celebrations around the world will help you to make a positive impression when working across cultures and build better relationships with your international counterparts.

Make sure you understand and respect the Christmas traditions of the country you are working in as this will reduce the risk of frustration and misunderstandings with your colleagues. Find out whether it’s appropriate to give your colleagues, clients or suppliers a small gift or Christmas card as a way to send them Christmas greetings.

Wherever and however you celebrate Christmas this year we hope you have a lovely holiday!

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2011

Tagged with: celebrating Christmas across cultures • Christmas • doing business in France • Doing business in Italy • doing business in Norway • Doing Business in the UK • Jul • Natale • Working across cultures

Jul 27

How Politeness Impacts International Business

Cross Cultural Training, Cultural training for Relocation, Culture, Culture training for Business & Management, Culture training for Human Resources, Culture training for the Public sector No Comments »

Each culture has a set of unique idiosyncrasies. In other words, behavioural traits which have grown out of historical experience. These traits are so engrained in the psyche of the culture that it can be difficult to explain their origins or why they are still followed years, decades or even centuries later.

Outsiders or international assignees entering a new culture may be perplexed by what they perceive as strange or unnatural behaviour. Without proper pre-departure cross cultural training and support which gives international assignees an understanding of the culture, these cultural idiosyncrasies will remain distant, unexplained oddities that can prevent the assignee from having a successful expatriation in the new country.

A good example of where cultural idiosyncrasies often baffle foreigners is the UK. People who are not from Britain often say that the country is obsessed with courtesy and good manners. The British way of communicating is peppered with politeness markers and their behaviour can sometimes be perceived as too conciliatory.

In fact, in the UK the most minor omission of a politeness marker such as ‘please’ or ‘thank you’ or the wrong word order in a sentence can cause offence. Failing to observe the queuing culture or asking a question too directly can leave people with the impression that you are rude or disrespectful. International assignees living and working in the UK must therefore have an understanding of the culture and these unique politeness traits if they want to communicate effectively with their British counterparts.

The intricacies of politeness in the UK are complex and mostly subconscious behaviours that are considered the norm. Politeness markers are often used with complete sincerity or pre-thought. Let’s look at an example where a man and woman approach each other in a busy corridor both carrying papers. As they pass in the corridor, the man bumps into the woman and knocks her, causing her to drop some of her documents. The man says ‘sorry’, which would be considered quite normal for many as he is the one who knocked into her. However the woman also apologises. This happens frequently in the UK, and often confuses those who are unaware of the culture of politeness.

Another example often cited by non-natives revolves around taking the bus. Most British have the habit of thanking the bus driver as they get off the bus. There is no real reason for doing this as the bus driver has to stop at the bus stop and let them off anyway, and most of the time the driver is behind a window which makes it difficult to hear them. Nevertheless, most British adhere to this cultural norm on a daily basis. In many cultures, people believe that because the bus driver’s job is to drive the bus and to let you off, they have not done anything special for you and therefore do not deserve a thank you.

These differences in expected courtesy also affect the way people convey certain messages in business. Being unaware of such discrepancies between what it is said and what it is meant can cause some problems, especially in the workplace. One common example of this is how British people often request tasks to be completed.

For instance, your manager might ask you ‘Would you mind finishing this piece of work by the end of today please?’. This can be perceived as a request to complete the job without much urgency while in fact your manager could really be trying to say: ‘Get on with it and finish it by the end of the day!’. This misunderstanding can often cause the employee to take a longer time than required. If this pattern persists it may well cause frustrations between manager and employees.

These are just a few simple examples of how politeness in the UK can be a confusing thing for many foreigners and how it can impact international business. By attending a cross cultural awareness training course such as Communicaid’s Living and Working in the UK or Doing Business in the UK, business travellers and international assignees can gain the cultural understanding they need to successfully communicate, build relationships and adapt to life in the UK.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

Tagged with: Courses - Cultural Training • Cross cultural awareness training • cross-cultural theory • Doing Business in the UK • intercultural communication • intercultural training • Living and Working in the UK • Politeness • UK cultural core values • Working effectively across cultures

Apr 30

Benefits of Doing Business in the United Kingdom

Cross Cultural Training, Cultural training for Relocation, Culture, Culture training for Business & Management, Culture training for Human Resources, Culture training for the Public sector No Comments »

The United Kingdom (UK) is the largest country in the British Isles. The UK has a long and rich history which is combined with a modern, liberal and forward thinking mentality. Waves of immigration have made the UK culturally diverse and wealthy and it is now one the world’s leading financial and services centres, with an economy which continues to go from strength to strength. Doing business in the United Kingdom offers access to the following key benefits.

Access to a Modern, Liberalised Economy
The UK’s economy is among the most vibrant and exciting in the world. With free and liberalised policies and protocols protecting its growth, the United Kingdom remains an attractive place for doing business.

A Leader in the Financial Sector
The UK’s largest exports today are financial services as a result of the credibility the UK has gained in this sector. The financial services sector leads the world in its innovation and forward thinking. The City, located in the heart of London, is home to some of the world’s most important banking and insurance institutions, and is considered by some to be the epicentre of the global financial industry.

A Large, Culturally Mixed Population
The UK has a large and expanding population. This means there is a constantly growing marketplace with a demand for goods and services. The population of the UK is made up of a wide variety of communities from across the globe, each with their own traditions, customs and requirements, creating a need for diverse markets. Anyone doing business in the UK will be able to benefit from this multiculturalism, either through hiring diverse employees and harnessing their unique perspectives and experience or through offering products to communities with ever changing and increasing needs. Effectively working with this culturally mixed population requires a comprehensive understanding of British culture which Intercultural Training UK programmes can provide you with.

An Entry Point for the Rest of Europe and for the Commonwealth
The United Kingdom is a major gateway to the rest of Europe. As a key trading partner within the European Union (EU), and with links to the member-states of the Commonwealth, England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales are perfect locations from which to launch business operations on a global scale.

Any organisation doing business in the United Kingdom would be wise to gain an understanding of the country’s rich cultural identity and the customs and habits of its people which impact on the UK’s business culture. A Cultural Awareness Training UK course such as Communicaid’s Doing Business in the United Kingdom or Living and Working in the UK programme will provide your business with the necessary skills and knowledge to be successful when working with counterparts in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales.

© Communicaid Group Ltd. 2010

Tagged with: British business culture • Courses - Cultural Training • Cross Cultural Awareness UK • Cross Cultural Training UK • Cross-cultural training for business • Cultural Awareness Training UK program • Doing Business in the UK • England • Intercultural Training UK • Ireland • Living and Working in the UK • Scotland • United Kingdom • Wales • Working in the United Kingdom

Apr 26

Challenges of Doing Business in the United Kingdom

Cross Cultural Training, Cultural training for Relocation, Culture, Culture training for Business & Management, Culture training for Human Resources, Culture training for the Public sector No Comments »

A combination of indigenous cultures and many other more recent immigrant influences, the United Kingdom (UK) has been an important player on the world stage for hundreds of years. The UK has all the attributes of a strong modern nation, including a rich history, thriving economy and vibrant, multicultural population.

Doing business in the UK offers many benefits to organisations but it also can present many challenges that must be overcome for business success. Cultural Awareness Training UK courses such as Doing Business in the United Kingdom will help your organisation to build a profound understanding of the key cultural concepts and habits that can be found in the United Kingdom. Intercultural Training UK programmes will help you develop strategies for dealing with pitfalls which can arise during cross-cultural interaction in the UK.

Below are some of the key cultural concepts which can be a challenge to foreigners doing business in the UK.

London Skyline ferrantraite i Challenges of Doing Business in the United Kingdom

Humour
Humour is an essential part of communication in the UK. It is used a great deal in verbal interaction and can often confuse non-natives doing business in the United Kingdom who don’t necessarily understand the subtleties and context.

British Reserve
The British often come across as very reserved and distant to people from other countries who are not accustomed to dealing with them. Don’t expect to be taken immediately into your British colleague’s confidence when doing business in the UK. It might take several business meetings before anything more profound than the weather or sport is discussed.

Attitude to Time
Time, or more accurately punctuality, is extremely important in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. You will be expected to arrive at a business meeting on time, or even get there about 10 minutes early. This shows commitment to the project or negotiations and will be well received by your British counterparts when doing business in the UK.

Decision-making Process
Reaching a decision in a British business context can be a rather slow and laborious process. Meetings tend to follow a very particular and rigid structure which can sometimes be very inflexible and lead to slow decision making.

While the United Kingdom is a very modern and forward thinking country, there still remain some historic and rigid cultural peculiarities which need to be understood in order to interact successfully in business situations. Undertaking Communicaid’s cultural training for business and management course Doing Business in the United Kingdom will give any organisation working on business ventures in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland a strong grounding for more successful cross-cultural interaction with their UK counterparts.