Scenario
Stan Gore, an engineer for a Chicago-based international construction company, was working with a French firm on a two-year building project in Bordeaux France. After several months on the job, Stan was invited to attend a wine tasting party reception the French firm was hosting for the local subcontractors in Bordeaux France. Upon entering the formal wine party, a female manager of the French firm approached Stan to welcome him by kissed him in the cheek, Stan quickly retreated but the female manager moved forward approaching other cheek, which she kissed as well. At that point, Stan was a little bit unaware of what was going on and backed away a little more to try to talk normally but the female manager kept moving forward to kiss Stan again in the other cheek for the third time. After the last kiss on the cheek, Stan proceeded to tell her in English that he is married, and this behavior is not acceptable to him. After Stan comes home to Chicago, the French firm requested to remove Stan from the project. Stan was confused about what went wrong
HOW WOULD YOU EXPLAIN THIS SITUATION TO STAN?
A Chicago-based international construction company contains a culture, which is also pertinent to the national culture of the United States. However, this firm operates in different countries on different projects. In France, the business culture is quite different, and every employee has to adapt it to be relevant. Stan was removed because he did not follow French business culture etiquettes. To stay in the project, Stan had to accept different cultural traits. In the wine tasting party, he thought that the girl wanted a relationship. Interestingly, she was offering business greetings to everyone. Thus, it was a cultural contradiction that led towards the removal of Stan from the project. Unfortunately, Stan was not focused on the business culture and some possible changes. For Instance, he is an effective engineer. However, he has to learn how to meet people in business meetings despite containing different cultural values. Being a business and employee consultant, I would like to tell Stan that he broke into the business culture and hurt the top management. Stan believed that the behavior of the girl is not acceptable because he is married. On the other hand, being an employee of the company, the management did not like his behavior. I would like to tell Stan that he was unaware of it. Another big mistake that Stan made was his spoken language. He responded to the female manager in English. Working with French people in France needs some language skills. Global business homogenizes the world eliminates diversity, and therefore, Stan had to communicate in their language to integrate with the culture (Wild and Wild 21). It was the biggest disappointment for the whole project team, and therefore, he is out of the project now.
PLEASE EXPLAIN FRENCH BUSINESS CULTURE ETIQUETTES
There are some interesting French business culture etiquettes. Workplace sustainability is needed when working with different people. For Instance, kissing is a famous French gesture. Stan was new in the business world of France, and he did not understand these gestures. Key business etiquette is the quality business attire. The attractive business presence is based on the appearance of businesspeople. When meeting other people in France, one should have a French business card. It means the French language is important for outsiders to learn different things and understand the uniqueness of the culture. Eliminating the language barriers can also eliminate many issues that normally outsiders face in the region. Keeping the professional and personal life separate is French business culture etiquette. Stan told the female manager about his marriage life when she intended to kiss him. It was beyond the business culture, and the people around him did not like it. Cultural literacy is important to sustain good relationships with other people. In France, engineers, managers, and many other business stakeholders have to show the professional character. Monsieur’ or ‘Madame’ is a word that can be used when addressing or communicating with someone for the first time. Stan did not know these greeting words, which depicted the poor character and professionalism in the French business culture. These are the kind of business customs that are practiced in particular situations. Businesspeople must adopt these business customs to be pertinent (Wild and Wild 47).
In the end, it is to conclude that the business culture of the United States is quite different from the French business culture. When working on different projects in this region, the management should train its employees regarding business culture etiquette. The most important thing is to make employees relevant to the different business cultures. Stan was a victim because he was unaware of business culture etiquette.
Work Cited
Wild, John J. and Kenneth Wild. International Business: The Challenges of Globalization. Pearson Education, 2015.
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