3. Complete the sentences using these words from the text:

relaxed tactile blunt collective endurance uncultured variable formality hierarchical

1. Russians maintain a sense of ………………and faith in life .

2. Most Russians share highly communal and …………… spirit.

3. Russian business depends on good relationships. They would describe themselves as ………….about time.

4. They can be quite ……….. with people they regards as friends, but they are also direct and ……., and mean what they say.

5. Russians are sensitive to ……………….. behaviour.

6. Russians have a …………… negotiation style ranging from extreme patience to strong confrontation.

7. Russian senior managers, both men and women, tend to dress to impress, and observe some ……………. in their clothes and public behaviour.

8. It is hardly surprising that Russian business tends to be ………………..

4. Decide if the statements are true or false.

1. Russians often value rationality less than intuition.

2. For the business community, Russia is an exciting prospect.

3. Russians are punctual and always stick to strict timetables.

4. Russians appreciate you keeping your presentation serious.

5. Team members are selected carefully as they are entitled to make all decisions.

6. Business success in Russia depends on good informal bonds and right connections.

5. Read the text again and summarize each paragraph in two or three sentences.

6. Discuss in pairs or small groups:

Do you think it is easy to do business in Russia? Why? / Why not?

What risks do you think foreign companies face when they start business in Russia?

4.3 Text 9. Doing Business in the usa

Before reading

1. Have you ever socialized with Americans? What are they like?

2. Can you predict distinctive peculiarities of doing business with Americans?

Read the text and compare your answers

Doing business in the USA

Five Ways to Succeed	Five Ways to Fail
Be positive and clear about what you do and who you are	Use British understatement and sarcastic humour
Network and be visible	Make un-PC comments about sex, race and religion
Deliver on time and on budget	Suggest that Americans lack a sense of humour
Adopt a relaxed and friendly approach	Fail to advise of slippage in the project
Be supportive: modify proposals, don’t reject them	Slip out for a beer at lunchtime

Overview It should be so easy for Britons and Americans to do business easily and immediately. Sometimes it is. But often there’s a real clash of misunderstandings, made even more confusing by the fact that the two countries speak the same language. Why can’t we all get on better? The problems start in part with the fact that Britain is an old country, and America is still new and shiny. Britons, like many Europeans, carry a touch of cynical world-weariness about them. Their country is over-crowded and over-expensive, the infrastructure creaks, and for much of the year the weather is chilly and depressingly grey. The British also have characteristics - admirable in some circumstances — that Americans just don’t get. Among these are self- effacement, understatement and an acidly sardonic line in humour. So, to do business with Americans it’s a case of: chest out, shoulders back, head up and stand tall. Be proud of who you are and what you do. Think positive and optimistically. Say what you mean plainly and clearly, and delete from your speech pattern that wickedly corrosive Brit humour — it will only lead to blank faces, and possibly irritation. Things have become more complicated after event 9/11. America’s leadership and foreign policy have won it few admirers around the world (although neither has Britain’s), and there is an undoubted — if often unspoken — anti-American sentiment in the air. Whatever your feelings about this, remember that American people themselves are extraordinarily generous and open-hearted — and they really have a soft spot for Brits.

Values and attitudes Despite the difficulties that the country has suffered in recent times, Americans continue to believe fervently in the American dream. They believe in their legendary ‘can do’ attitude — though this can lead to huge errors, as the bursting of the dot.com bubble in 2000 vividly demonstrated — and they believe that individuals can transform their lives by hard work. They like to think big, and are impressed by statistics that suggest that a project will be the biggest ever of its kind, or the first, or the finest. Many more Americans than Europeans — especially Britons — express religious feelings and attend church. So visiting Brits should edit out of their speech the mild religious profanities and the swear words that pass as acceptable in the UK, at least until you’re sure of usages within the group you’re working with. Remember, too, that the USA is a nation of immigrants—these days more a salad bowl of races and cultures than a melting pot. At around 40 million, the Hispanic population recently overtook the black population in numbers.

Cultural style Broadly speaking, the US and the UK share the same behaviour profile. Both societies focus on systems and tasks, are informal, strict on time and don’t believe that showing your feelings has a place in business. Differences between the two cultures are really a question of degree, not style. The US believes that for Britain time is important whereas for them it’s important and urgent! They can be more informal than many Brits and they consider themselves to be more target focused. One thing is true. Americans will share personal confidences with you more readily if they think it will give them an edge.

Communication Americans can appear absolutely self-confident to many Europeans. They tend to speak louder than Europeans — very much louder, in some cases — use supernormal body language, and manage to sound almost jarringly optimistic. They also talk in phrases that create mini-pictures: ‘He’s right behind the eight ball’ (he’s on top of his job or project), or ‘I’m not going down that route’ (I’m not going to talk about that, or pursue that course of action). If you try to imitate American characteristics, you’ll end up looking and sounding like the worst kind of mid-Atlantic European. But you should project your voice confidently, address all the people in a meeting or group instead of mumbling to the chairperson, and sound positive about what you’re proposing. Americans may use first names almost immediately, even from the first handshake. But don’t be deceived: this will not prevent them from subjecting your proposals to hard questioning. Focus on the bottom line - American business is very much systems-oriented, and always wants to see how much money can be made, and when. You will often hear the phrase, ‘Are you hitting your numbers?’ — are you achieving budget? The numbers are sacrosanct in the USA, and those who don’t hit them might experience a rapid farewell — still with that confident eye contact and the use of your first name as you are given that final handshake. Allow for a moderate attention span of 30-45 minutes in a presentation, and build in plenty of time for debate. Americans appreciate an informal style and humour, but make sure that your jokes and light-hearted asides don’t drift into that area of dark Brit humour that can provoke blank stares. Relevance is very important — use simple, direct expressions, conveyed quickly with short pauses. If your pitch is going down well, expect categorical responses: ‘Absolutely! ‘Definitely!’, ‘Fantastic!’, all of which reflect their can-do, achievement-focused attitude. If you can entertain your audience while delivering a winning proposition, they will appreciate that even more. Although Americans can often seem very direct, remember that their use of language is just different to that of British English. When an American says, ‘Pass that file!’ it’s just her way of saying, ‘Could I trouble you to just pass me that file, please?’ They’re not being discourteous; Dutch, Scandinavians and German people tend to have the same speech patterns. First names, informality and humour are valued in the USA, although the terms ‘Sir’ and ‘Madam’ are often used with strangers as a mark of courtesy. Handshaking is common when Americans arrive at work or enter a room at the start of a meeting, and a friendly approach in general is considered important. It’s part of America’s ‘Have a nice day’ culture.

Organization Punctuality is regarded as crucial in the USA, because time is equated to money. Start and complete tasks quickly and respond to emails and voicemail messages promptly — certainly within 24 hours. If they are out late, many Americans often check emails before going to bed — a practice that stress management experts would not recommend as a means of achieving a good night’s sleep. They tend to take short holiday breaks, and fewer of them than Europeans. Even then, they will often check emails every couple of days. Office hours in the USA are from around 8am-5pm, although this varies according to the industry you’re dealing with. Eating lunch at the desk is a common practice: the two-hour cocktail-fuelled lunch break is a feature of the distant past in most professions in the USA.

Meetings and negotiations Meetings in America are for making decisions, rather than for gathering views or simply sounding out people. The pace is brisk - Time is money’ — and you should be open about your aims from the start. People are not always well prepared for meetings, and papers are not always read beforehand, but this won’t stop them from commenting on your proposals. The dress code and seating are usually informal, and the discussion will follow the agenda. Argument and debate are considered constructive and are highly valued. A tough negotiating style is often used, which can appear rude to non-Americans. Americans are willing to express disagreement frankly— ‘You must be kidding!’ - but it’s part of what can be a rough and tumble atmosphere. Show humour, say what you think (even in front of seniors), and be ready to forget everything and start again if you lose the debate. Try not to appear old-fashioned or slow, or get into too much detail. Negotiations are usually finalized quite quickly, and will often centre on figures. Concessions may be agreed when time is running out, whereas in other cultures there would be a break for reflection and a subsequent meeting to try and reach a conclusion. Equally, decisions may initially be made on principles, with everyone happy to settle the details later.

Team-working Teams in the USA are usually selected on the basis of an individual’s competence, his passion for trying new things, and a reputation for getting results. There is also an emphasis on equality of opportunity regardless of age, gender or race. Team members themselves often place their personal goals first, but they align these to the company’s aims. Competition within the team is encouraged because it is said to release creative tension. Deadlines are regarded as fixed, and overtime to complete a project on time is common. You’ll be expected to work long and hard, show energy and enthusiasm and volunteer for anything that you feel you can complete. Understand the aims and motivation of other team members, but be there and fight your corner, and make sure that your individual contribution is recognized in this highly competitive environment. Being overly modest or submissive doesn’t work in the USA.

Leadership and decision-making American managers are expected to lead in a way that generates confidence in the workforce. Tough leaders who get results are particularly admired. On the other hand, managers are expected to arrive at decisions only after consulting their teams and colleagues, and to convince them by logic rather than by feelings or intuition. An autocratic style is not liked: inspirational is what really wins followers. Executives are usually focused on goals, action and the bottom line, which can lead to short-term-ism. Failure doesn’t automatically carry a stigma if the manager was seen to be acting boldly, perhaps in an untried market or with new processes. Consistent failure to deliver will surely lead to dismissal, however. Set high targets for yourself and others, and give clear orders and opinions: Americans feel very uncomfortable with what they see as British timidity in telling people what they need to do or in expressing disagreement. Don’t be pessimistic or hesitant. Take responsibility, be prepared to disregard everything and start again, and be open about mistakes, failures and delays. In the US there is no formal bar to the advancement of women in any trade or profession, and the two sexes receive equal pay for equal work. There are many women executives, especially in fashion, cosmetics, arts and the media. The US is very sensitive to sexist language, including the use of the masculine pronouns — ‘he’ and ‘him’ — when you’re referring to both men and women. So if you were writing a business plan to target air travellers, for example, you would write: He or she makes an average of six journeys per year, rather than just He makes... It’s best to observe the etiquette. It’s illegal in the US to ask the age, marital status or number of children of a potential employee, and endearments such as ‘Honey’ are not acceptable.

Socializing and gift-giving Like many other aspects of American life, business entertaining and socializing is often informal. Americans tend to eat early, with lunch at around noon and dinner at six. The ‘two-Perrier’ lunch is increasingly the norm, and working lunches over sandwiches in the office are common. Heavy or enthusiastic drinking is frowned on amongst Americans, but tolerated in visiting Britons. If you smoke, you will increasingly feel like a pariah: if you need to, join those who step outside, or ask if it’s OK if you’re at all unsure. Dress will be smart- casual or informal, especially on the more laid-back West Coast. Americans are quick to invite you to their homes. Arrive on time and have the host’s phone number in case you’re running late or get lost. Think about leaving by 10pm: many Americans go to bed early and rise early. Great gifts: Wine, flowers. A good Scotch used to be appreciated but many Americans now drink less, or prefer lighter spirits. Avoid giving: Most things are acceptable.

Conversation topics

Ice-breakers	Ice-makers
The glory of their huge country, kindness of American people	Start a debate about American foreign policy
British history aid the Royal Family most Americans love both	Mock the Vietnam war (around 60.000 Americans died in it)
American TV and movie hits in the UK	Sexual jokes and innuendo

(from Barry Tomalin and Mike Nicks

The World’s Business Cultures and How to Unlock Them)