International Business

Chapter 2: Cultural and Social Influences

Chapter Summaries

• The cultures of both trading partners can affect every aspect of a business relationship.
• The basic elements of cultures are values, norms, folkways, mores, and roles.
• The subcultures of a country may be formed around geographical regions, political subdivisions, musical tastes, religious beliefs, and many other orientations.
• The social institutions of a country are the organizations that represent and the patterns of activity that express the country's culture.
• The effects of stereotyping and cultural bias can be overcome by making efforts to communicate with and understand people from other cultures or countries.
• Cultural literacy can begin by eliminating ethnocentrism from an individual's thinking processes.