Dealing with Cultural Differences/ Some words of wisdom

Considering the conference "Dealing with Cultural Differences" by Nick B. Meyer, and also this website: http://www.geert-hofstede.com/ we can see, that according to Mr. Hofsteade there are 5 D`s ( or 5 Dimensions)on which we can describe the ´National Culture´ of nations.
We, as humans, and as part of a society, are raised to believe that our culture is the normal one, and that foreigners are strange. This vision may be the only thing all the cultures in the world are completely equals in.

What is culture really? though question to answer. If we dig really deep on our brains (rather than searching in wikipedia) we might define it as ´what characterizes a country´ and so our brains would be partially right. It is important to state though, that culture is so vast, that it always has a way of leaving it vestiges behind. An example of that are the broken pots and other artifacts of ancient people that archeologists discover.

To not make this explanation too extensive, culture always remains, just like cofee leftovers once you finish drinking a cup of it...( as told by Andrés Velez Calle, professor of Intercultural management on our university)

To describe then National Cultures, Dr. Geert Hofsteade came up with 5 different ways:

Power Distance Index (equity of distribution of power in a nation) , Individualism ( individuals work by themselves rather than in groups) , Masculinity(assertiveness and competitiveness rather than caring and procuring) , Uncertainty Avoidance (certainty and rules opposing uncertainty and tolerance) and Long-Term Orientation ( also called Confucian work Dynamism) why the sudden change of name? is it so hard to process? We are going to solve these and more questions, and since that last dimension is going to be my focus today.

This last dimension is said to deal with virtue regardless of truth; and it carries out values such as thrift and persevearence. Countries that are short-term oriented tend to focus more on the meaning of the truth, in respecting certain aquired values and fulfilling social obligations.

Negociators require patience and a wide comprehension of these issues in order to arrange their deals. To put all this phylosophy into context, imagine you are an already working International Negotiator and you have made a deal with a chinesse firm for the purchase of 100 million pesos worth of... lets say rice.

everything`s going well on the negotiation, and you come to an agreement for certain tons of rice on the mentioned price.

On the date of the purchase, the chinesse firm shows up with a smaller amount of rice, arguing that the crops had a problem because of the weather.

you are likely to believe that they are joking. They aren`t. To them, the truth is relative. their truth is that one and you are the one who has to deal with it... how will you?

Another example of this is that long term oriented traders cannot take the risk of unintentionally reselling low quality products for high quality products. They do not easily trust new relations.
Trust has to be earned. So beware! be patient with your asian clients, don`t try to rush the deals in and let them sniff a little on every single detail of the business.

The moral of this dimension may be then to be preventive with your neighbors, the long-term oriented ones. Always look for the quality of the merchandise and of course, always look at the other side of the coin... as our friend, Dr. Hofstede said: "Culture is more often a source of conflict than of synergy. Cultural differences are a nuisance at best and often a disaster."

Thanks to http://www.google.com.co/imghp?hl=es&tab=wi for the pictures