CULTURE DIFFERENCES IN THE INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS. HOW TO MANAGE THEM IN A EFFICIENT WAY?

Abstract

Culture differences are considered a poorly studied and misunderstood topic, generally associated to the intuition and empathy, This paper will stand out mistakes usually made by the companies and organizations when facing culture differences, named practices by some authors; these values, defined like broad preferences by one state of things of the others based in emotions are invisible. This problem, commonly affecting to the staff and expatriates of an organization in contact to other cultures, has a solution: training in culture competence based in culture models. One of existing ones and the favourite for the authors is the Model 6-D by Hofstede notoriously known within the scholarship to resolve most of the culture problems by the simplicity, validity, proven efficiency and ample consensus assumed. Moreover, it will be put on stakes if the management techniques are neutral or due to a cultural bias make problems in certain cultures if a previous “customizing” is not followed in advance. Keywords: culture differences, culture, Hofstede, international business