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Team France . Building Cross Cultural Competence Final Presentation May 2, 2013. Eric Lantz William Holloman Tiancheng Zhao Misun Kim Shawn Kimble Jong Hyeong Lee. Agenda. De la France – (About France) L’étude de cas - (The Case Study)
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Team France Building Cross Cultural Competence Final Presentation May 2, 2013 Eric Lantz William Holloman Tiancheng Zhao Misun Kim Shawn Kimble Jong Hyeong Lee
Agenda • De la France – (About France) • L’étudede cas - (The Case Study) • La vidéoculturelle – (The Cultural Video)
De la France • Capital: Paris, Size: 551,500 (km2) • Population: 62,343 • Neighboring Countries: Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Monaco, Spain, Andorra • Current Head of State: François Hollande • Government system: Highly centralized • Time Zone: GMT+2hr(daylight saving time) • Currency: EURO • Avg Per-Capita Income: 41,226(US$) • Primary Industries: services: 80% of GDP • Seasonality: generally cool winters and mild summers • Primary Geography: Two thirds of France is mountains and hills (Mont Blanc in the Alps is the highest mountain in Europe)
De la France • Elements of the Flag: consists of three vertical bands of equal width, displaying the country's national colors: blue, white and red • Religions: Roman Catholic 83%-88%, • Seasonality: generally cool winters and mild summers • Primary Geography: Two thirds of France is mountains and hills (Mont Blanc in the Alps is the highest mountain in Europe) • Demographic Makeup: French 92%; Arab/North African 4% • Important Holidays: WWII Victory Day (8 May), Bastille Day (14 July), Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (15 August), All Saints Day (1 November), Armistice Day (11 November), Christmas and New year’s day • Important Names to Know:Coco Chanel, Marie Curie, Louis Pasteur, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet • Greetings Protocols:Handshake and kissing on the cheeks
De la France • Gift-Giving Protocols: flowers in odd number (not 13). the highest quality wine. • Work Life Balance : eight weeks of vacation • Taboos: Do not present red carnations to your friends • Negotiation Style: logical presentation is more receptive. Avoid confrontational behavior or high-pressure tactics • Leadership : ability to provide detailed analysis is respected far greater than interpersonal skills. Complimenting employees publicly is not common • Important Phrases: Hi!(Salut!), Good morning!(Bonjour!, also used in the afternoon), Good evening!(Bonsoir!), Welcome!(Bienvenue!), How are you?(Comment vas-tu?/Comment allez-vous?(polite)), I'm fine, thanks!(Je vaisbien, merci!), Thank you(Merci)
L’étude de cas • James Bond: Top Salesman for Moontech, a small IT company specializing in conference call solutions. • Moontech: Primarily a US based company, hungry to globalize and enter into the European Market • Paris Insurance: . Moontech is a vendor for Paris Insurance’s US based partner and one of the first European companies to show interest in its product lines. Paris Insurance is a $500 Million Euro Company, and securing a contract with them could lead to not only a huge account but major exposurein the European market. • James Bond is now in France for a presentation with key stakeholders of Paris Insurance.
L’étude de cas • In honor of his arrival, Paris Insurance hosted a small dinner party with James Bond • James attempted to use the evening to gain some business insight about Paris Insurance. But whenever he asked business related questions, he found everyone resistant to the conversation. • Feeling that he was gaining no value from the conversations and the evening, James decided to leave the dinner early in order to prepare for his presentation.
L’étude de cas • The day of the presentation, as the Paris Insurance team entered the conference room, James Bond greeted them with a very enthusiastic and heavy handed hand shake • After learning each persons name, James requested a business card and asked if he could call each person by their first name
L’étude de cas • As the meeting progressed, James Bond began to show frustration as the Paris Insurance members started to ask very specific and detailed questions about the Moontech product lines and design, many questions that James could not answer. James let them know he would follow up on the specific details, but only wanted to provide a big picture analysis of how Moontech could provide solutions for Paris Insurance.
L’étude de cas • After the meeting, as James waited at the airport for his flight back to the United State, he contemplated where he went wrong and how would he recover for his next meeting with Paris Insurance in three weeks.
L’étude de cas James underestimated the cultural difference, especially the business meeting protocol between U.S. and France. • French find it very important build relationships with • people before they actually start doing business. • -----work life and personal life are kept separate. • Shaking hands - typically shake quicker and less firmly • Low tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity • -----tend to examine details before arriving at a decision • Introduction process is important - • -----First names should not be used until one is specifically told to do so • -----Exchanging of business cards comes only after a relationship has been established In preparation for the future meeting, James should focus on building his personal relationships with the key stakeholders at Paris Insurance, becoming a subject matter expert on the Moontech product line, and toning down his aggressive manner.