1. You are an intercultural consultant. To what extent do you think company culture is influenced by the country the company is based in? Issue guidelines for new job applicants.

While internationalizing, firms face a high level of uncertainty, connected to the a lack of knowledge of the foreign market, and to the “soft factors,” which can reduce profitability and create a situation of disadvantage with regard to local or already embedded competitors. The chapter offers a key to understand the importance of market and cultural knowledge, and it explains why firms should the necessity to have culturally competent managers in order to lead international teams, and to adapt products and processes

2. You are a corporate culture specialist. Comment on the impact internalization and exposure to a new culture can have upon corporate structure, working practices and learning opportunities. Speak on the issue of cultural awareness while working in multinational business environment.

You should clearly understand the rules and cultural expectations of others when working in different cultures. without understanding this, you will make mistakes. Work with people from different cultures is increasingly found in our time and is becoming an integral part of our lives. Understanding “culture” is important because people can easily underestimate the impact of cultural differences. Before any meeting with partners or clients from another country, homework should be done in advance. Cultural awareness will help reduce the chances of making bad decisions and increase the likelihood that we will make more insightful and informed decisions that will succeed. An important point in the study is that cultural awareness does not boil down to jeopardizing one's own culture or sacrificing one's values or identity for the sake of “strangers”. Of course, this will help to understand how we can best adapt our decisions in a given situation in order to ensure positive results in intercultural interactions. It is about respecting the cultures of others, as well as our own.

3. Comment on how internationalization affects company culture. You are an h.R. Specialist with an international company Give some advice with regard to working across cultures.

My name is Yana. I am a HR-specialist in an international company. And today I would like to share tips on the topic “How to work across culture”, of course, you know it’s difficult to work, but it’s interesting.

Tip 1: Study the variety of cultures. Become aware of cross-cultural etiquette standards.

It is very important to know about all cultures because this will expand your horizons and make it possible to quickly and easily understand how your team members think, behave and communicate.

Tip 2: Take individuals into account

It is clear that all people have different expectations and characteristics. If you want to help establish mutual understanding with your international colleagues, you should not attribute the stereotypical characteristics of the country to each of its representatives. This is so because behavior, manner of communication, and even the way of doing business depend not only on the cultural element, but also on the origin and type of person.

Tip 3: Take your time for everything

It is not only about doing homework before the meeting, but also about the speed of communication, the decision-making process and the processing of information. If you want to communicate with your foreign colleagues, appreciate the need to devote more time to them and you. They will appreciate it too.

Tip 4: Practice your communication skills

That's the most relevant rule, if you want to achieve good results, because it's in the doing that we actually get better at cross-cultural communication. Practice makes perfect.