Understanding Global Cultures: Poland, Turkey, and Brazil

1. Understanding Global Cultures: Poland, Turkey, and Brazil Group 2: Sarah Kohlschmidt, KaitlynPetolick, James Haire, Ashley Perkins, Jake Faurot, Matthew Berman, Laiken Allen, Mike

2. Poland http://youtu.be/0zKjCKbO51Y

3. Bribery Customs in Poland • Found in many parts of life, including the workplace • Kumoterstwo- favoritism • Political access • Privileges • Power dispersal • “get things done”

4. Polish Youth • Less exposure to Communist ideology • Respond to Capitalistic incentives • Compared to older colleagues: • More willing to take risks • More travel experience • Comfortable with English • Companies look for workers with less experience • Marriott

5. Poland Today • Modern infrastructure • 39 million people • Member of the European Union

6. Polish Village Church • A symbol of the Polish culture • Influenced by the country’s peasants roots • The history of foreign power domination • Catholicism

7. Polish History • Land ownership struggles • Communism

8. Solidarity • The weakening of the Soviet Union • The peaceful overthrow of Communism in Poland

9. Polish Catholic Church • Plays a major role for rural citizens in Poland • Helps acquire land and freedom for the peasants

10. Turkey http://youtu.be/_PftBTJ4xlc

11. Turkish Society • Hospitable • Genuine concern for others • Eager to lend a hand • Difference between rural and urban areas? • Role of communication

12. Role of Males • Dominant sex • Traditional roles • High level of separation • Islamic influence • Coffeehouse • Symbolism?

13. Roles of Women • Respect for husband • Understand importance of relationship and ego • Responsible for most domestic tasks • Increase in number of women working outside the home • Gaining more power/freedom

14. Family Life • Respect is a core value • Close-knit units • Children represent family’s reputation • Education is essential • Creates barriers between different social classes • Intense competition • Creates appreciation for education

15. Turkish Characteristics • Humor is common attribute • Used often • Creates balance, relief • Hodja folk tales • Modesty • Respect for authority http://youtu.be/8b7qb72sDiE

16. The Future of Turkey • Negative factors • Unemployment rate • Inflation • Doubts of Turkish democracy • Positive factors • Energy resources • Growing GDP • Assimilation in EU

17. Secularity in Turkey • Over 99% of Turkey is Muslim • Turkey does not run their government, schools, or business off religion • Different from all other Arab countries showing interest in Western cultures

18. Secularity (continued..) • Different parties have formed over the last few years • Three major influences in Turkey are the military, the middle class and the Islamic Movement

19. The Pillars of Islam • Five well-known pillars embody the essence of Islam • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0T7T7Z53A0 • Two places for social gatherings are the Mosque and the coffeehouse • Townspeople are more strict on their faith than urban Turks • Also, Eastern and Central Turkey are more religious than Western Turkey

20. Coffeehouse • Considered a ritual linked with daily prayer • Cultural values of the coffeehouse say the future will be better than the past • It first became popular because during prohibition many people drank coffee instead of alcohol

21. Coffeehouse (continued) • Turkish men go to the coffeehouse to become part of a group • In small communities many important decisions take place in the coffeehouse • Often the coffeehouse is considered the unofficial second office of Turks • Women gather at homes to share coffees and teas as acts of hospitality and getting involved with others

22. Popular Phases used by Turks • Salaam: “peace be upon you” • Masailah: “God protect you from harm” • Bismillahir-rahman-irraham which is a drinking phrase commonly used

23. Family Values • Extended hospitality to all of the kinship group • Marriage is influenced by family • Muslims believe that people will act according to their own decisions under a given set of circumstances • Remove their shoes before entering mosques • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocyyxHkCvm8

24. God’s Will • To Turks time is intangible and is just there to support the development of long term relationships • Turks place much emphasis on the future generations • Inshallah translates to “if it is God’s will”

25. Collectivism at Work • Turkey has a high power distance and little two way discussion ever takes place • Employees are not rewarded on performance as much as loyalty • Communication is high-context as in must collectivism

26. Brazil http://youtu.be/Ju5Wi1wS0is

27. Brazil • Population of 186 million • Extremely diverse • Spread across many regions and 26 states • Is almost equal to the U.S. in size • 8,511,965 vs. 9,372,610 square Kilometers

28. Facts • Known for it’s bigness and grandeur • Amazon river, world’s most voluminous river • Amazon forest, largest oxygenating forest • World’s largest wetlands • World’s largest soccer stadium and samba dance stadium • 12 cities with populations more than 1 million • Sao Paulo tied with Mumbai for 4th largest city at 18.3 million

29. Facts • Goldman Sachs named Brazil as one of the BRIC countries • Land of contrasts • Industrialized south, rural north • Average income is two fifths of the south • Rate of poverty declined from 35% to 23%

30. History • Historical progress and growth tends to be slow and circular until recent years • “Brazil is the country of the future and always will be” • Three founding groups, the Portuguese, Brazilians, and slaves had limited reasons • managed to keep inflation below 10% • Early 1990’s 2500%

31. Personal Life in Brazil • Acquaintances or Colleges • Dating process regulated by family • Appropriate for men to comment women • Mans worst fear is when women make an effective retort • Must commit to a field of study around 18 years old

32. Samba • Existence owed to the musical talents of plantation workers • First characterization occurred at free slaves’ dance parties in Bahia in 1870 • First recorded samba in 1916 composed by Donga • 1923 Samba schools were born • Carnival, annual pre-Lenten celebration • “a binary, percussive rhythm in which the first beat is never sounded, causing a continual, hesitant urgency”

33. Forms of Samba • “samba pagode, samba raiado, samba de partido alto, samba do morro, samba de terreiro, samba cancao” and many more • Various sambas are appropriate for specific situations and social levels • Samba enredo, for samba schools • Samba de terreiro, less sophisticated and used in rural areas • Others are simply musical innovations, samba do breque

34. Samba • All have a common theme, words center around people’s trials and tribulations • Popular subjects are corruption, poverty, historical events, local heroes • Samba school produce 2,000 new songs a year for the carnival • Five characteristics, small-step circularity, physical touch, undulation, spontaneous escape, and the paradox of dancers

35. Dancing Examples • http://youtu.be/ApxVTBLf46I • http://youtu.be/fSBnNA_dHNU

36. Small-Step Circularity • Small, somewhat controlled steps in a circular pattern • Holding upper torso still

37. Small-step Circularity in Brazil • Brazil grew amid small steps that were often circular • From military to civilian rule, and back • September 7, 1822 Dom Pedro I declared Brazils independence • Dom Pedro II daughter signed document freeing slaves while he was away • Transition to republic took 67 years

38. Small-step Circularity in Brazil • World record for average hours firms take to prepare taxes: 2600 • Opening a new business? 17 procedures about 152 days • Cruzeiro to the Cruzado and then to the “New Cruzeiro” it’s the same • Vestibular exam

39. Small-step Circularity in Brazil • Must first establish solid friendships • “be prepared to commit long-term resources of time and money to establishing strong relationships in Brazil. Without such commitments, there is no point in attempting to do business there at all” • Excessive tendency to say no is also a way of keeping negotiations from moving ahead to fast

40. Geert Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions Paradoxes • In General and small groups, do the personalities of individuals primarily reflect the influence of culture? • Should multicultural small groups be managed differently from single-culture groups? http://youtu.be/AKnQn-8PFII

41. Questions