Cultural traditions and business communication style of the UK. (2 hrs)

Questions.

1. What background information about the United Kingdom of Great Britain do you know?

2. What are national characteristics of the British?

3. What points are essential for business practice in the UK?

4. What differences between English and American values did you notice?

5. How do British businessmen behave during initial meetings and negotiations?

6. What are the peculiarities of business entertaining and protocol in the UK?

Case study.

WHAT’S IN A HANDSHAKE.

Grand Metropolitan, a British drinks conglomerate, wanted to expand. Pernod-Ricard Company of France, another drinks company, also wanted to expand. They were both looking for new companies to invest in. Unfortunately, they both became interested in the same drinks company, which was called Irish Distillers and located in Ireland. But, in order to take over, or gain control of, Irish Distillers, they had to first gain control of another company. This company was called FII-Fyffes (pronounced ef-eye- eye-feyefs) and was also in Ireland.

A company takes over another company by buying the majority of shares, or stock, in that company. FII-Fyffes had the largest number of shares of Irish Distillers stock. The company that bought the most shares of FII- Fyffes would automatically become the largest shareholders of Irish Distillers, and in this way would gain control of Irish Distillers.

Grand Metropolitan and Pernod-Ricard were now in competition. Both companies sent representatives to Ireland to try to buy the shares from FII-Fyffes. In one meeting, the representatives of Pernod-Ricard and FII-Fyffes discussed acceptable prices for the FII-Fyffes shares. The French company offered to pay $4.30 per share. FII-Fyffes assessed the offer and then demanded $4.70 per share. Pernod then offered $4.50 per share. The two company representatives shook hands on the $4.50 per share.

The next day, Grand Metropolitan offered FII-Fyffes $5.25 per share. Later that day the Pernod-Ricard and FII-Fyffes representatives met. The FII- Fyffes representative said that the company was rethinking the situation. The Pernod-Ricard representative was shocked.

Pernod-Ricard brought FII-Fyffes to court. It demanded that FII-Fyffes honor the handshake the two companies made on the $4.50 per share offer.

Actual case Ending the FH-Fyffes and Pernod-Ricard Disagreement

The Irish judge honored Pernod-Ricard's interpretation of the handshake. He said that Pernod-Ricard's actions during the negotiation were more consistent than those of FII-Fyffes. The Irish judge said, "I have no doubt that the negotiations had in this case, ripened [developed] into an agreement." In other words, the Irish judge believed Pernod-Ricard was correct and that FII-Fyffes did not act fairly.

Topics for essays

1. Humour in business across frontiers.

2. Factors affecting cross-cultural business communication.

3. Short overview of UK contract law.

4. Business meeting: its etiquette, results and outcomes.

5. The art of introducing and polite conversation in Great Britain.

 

Recommended sources

1. Axtell, Roger E. Do’s and taboos of humor around the world: stories and tips

from business and life. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 1999.

2. Carte, Penny. Bridging the Culture Gap: A Practical Guide to International Business Communication. 2nd ed. Kogan Page, 2008.

3. Fox, Sue. Business Etiquette For Dummies, 2nd Edition. Wiley Publishing, Inc. Indianapolis, 2008.

4. Moran, Robert T., Philip R. Harris, and Sarah V. Moran. Managing Cultural Differences. 7th ed. Elsevier, 2007.

5. Morrison, Terri, and Wayne A. Conaway. Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands: The Bestselling Guide to Doing Business in More Than 60 Countries. Adams Media, 2006.

6. Sabath, Ann M. Business etiquette. Career Press, 2002.

8. Schmidt, Wallace V., et al. Communicating Globally: Intercultural Communication and International Business. Sage Publications, 2007.

9. Trompenaars, F., Hampden-Turner, C. Riding the waves of culture: understanding cultural diversity in business. Nicholas Brealey Publishing Ltd. London, 1997.

Internet sources

1. http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/cultural-services/articles/business-culture.html

2. http://www.ukwelcomes.businesslink.gov.uk

3. http://www.worldbusinessculture.com/Business-in-Britain.html

 

Theme 3.