International business: Questions

Abstract

A.What differences does Harold notice between life in USA and life in Colombia

There are a number of differences that Harold notices between life in USA and that of Columbia. First, after marriage the new couple i.e. a son and his wife stay with their parents for a long period of time before they can move out and establish their homes. This is the practice in Columbia and the friend of Harold has no problem with the practice as he practices it with his wife. He still stays at home with his dad and family. However, this is not the case in the USA. When a person is married, they promptly move out of their father's home so that they can start a home by themselves. Secondly, the life in Columbia is mostly made up of parties where people dance, eating and drink (Dlabay & Scott, 2010). After three days in Columbia, Harold had realized that he had only slept for about 4 hours. In the night clubs for instance the Bahia, the people drink and dance until very late before they can get something to eat. However, the clubbing in the US is always moderated thus the people get time to be able to undertake other activities that are of importance to them.

B.What differences does Harold notice between doing business in USA and doing business in Columbia?
There are a number of differences in the ways of doing business. In Columbia, timeliness is not of great essence as long as the parties arrive at the areas where the business deals are to be started. This is evident from the fact that only one professor out of the three who were to meet Harold regarding the deal had arrived by the appointed time. The other two professors arrived 30 minutes late after the appointed time of the meeting which was 11.00am. This is different from the USA where the punctuality is a very important element that is required for doing business. If the meeting is scheduled for 11.00am in the US, all the people who would be involved in the meeting would have arrived by the appointed time as this is always construed as the support for the business that is to be transacted. The other difference is that there is the need to develop respect for the other parties as well as develop their trust before they can be able to undertake business with you (Dlabay & Scott, 2010). Therefore, the parties to the business usually engage in interpersonal activities such as dinners, travels and other activities to get to know each other. In the US, the above is not the case as the business deals usually start on a formal note rather than the need to acquire the trust of the individuals.