instance of e-commerce, where setting up a number of identical websites, the only difference being the language they carry, would make it easier both for the customer to place orders, as they could do so in their own language, and also the seller to interpret the order.

People all across different nations behave differently, and for different reasons, due to their religion. From one religion to another beliefs and values differ greatly, and they have enough of an impact on people that religion contributes greatly to the make-up of culture.

Each religion can affect organisations in different ways. An example, which also ties in social organisation, would be that of an organisation that is based in a country whe

In this article I will refer to culture in terms of patterns of thinking and acting. There are certainly differences in mental perception; some of them depend on the nationality. I will try to show in this article that the different national culture might affect the organization.

Nation, region or origin, language group, generation, sex, religion, education, occupation and even the organization for which we work, are all categories that contribute factors to our mental programming and every individual belongs to several of these categories at any one time. What should be noted, however, is that when talking about national cultures we are describing common elements within each nation, whilst taking care to avoid generalization, and appreciate the individuality of each member of the same.

In the main there are seven different factors which go towards making up a nations culture, these being: language, religion, political context, legal context, education, social organization, values and attitudes.

When asked to name the most prominent cultural difference between two countries, for example France and Spain, the most likely response would be language. Indeed language represents the "deep structure" of national culture. It would therefore seem logical to discuss the issue of language first.

In today's world it would appear that there are a limitless number of languages that are used to discuss "business"! For any organisation wishing to expand beyond their domestic markets the chances are they will come up against the barrier that is the increasing difficulty to communicate with countries that don't share a common language with them. Simply, they will find it much harder to communicate with a country that doesn't share the same language. International business, very much depends on communication, with language being the primary component of this, and as organisations are increasingly dealing with other organisations that communicate in a different language, there is likely, as a result, to be an increase in the number of problems they encounter. In order to overcome the difficulties of dealing with organisations from foreign cultures, effective communication must be achieved throughout the organisation.

Whilst it may at first seem that a difficulty in communication may present problems, and in many cases it does, there are exceptions where a difference in language can have a positive effect on organisations. One such example may be that organisations that do encounter communication problems rely more on written forms of communication, as this way they have a better record of what was agreed which will cut down the chance of misinterpretation. This may well result in the organisation showing a greater level of formalisation than that which would have existed if such a form of communication had not been implemented. Another good example would be an instance of e-commerce, where setting up a number of identical websites, the only difference being the language they carry, would make it easier both for the customer to place orders, as they could do so in their own language, and also the seller to interpret the order.

People all across different nations behave differently, and for different reasons, due to their religion. From one religion to another beliefs and values differ greatly, and they have enough of an impact on people that religion contributes greatly to the make-up of culture.

Each religion can affect organisations in different ways. An example, which also ties in social organisation, would be that of an organisation that is based in a country wher

ization, and appreciate the individuality of each member of the same.

In the main there are seven different factors which go towards making up a nations culture, these being: language, religion, political context, legal context, education, social organization, values and attitudes.

When asked to name the most prominent cultural difference between two countries, for example France and Spain, the most likely response would be language. Indeed language represents the "deep structure" of national culture. It would therefore seem logical to discuss the issue of language first.

In today's world it would appear that there are a limitless number of languages that are used to discuss "business"! For any organisation wishing to expand beyond their domestic markets the chances are they will come up against the barrier that is the increasing difficulty to communicate with countries that don't share a common language with them. Simply, they will find it much harder to communicate with a country that doesn't share the same language. International business, very much depends on communication, with language being the primary component of this, and as organisations are increasingly dealing with other organisations that communicate in a different language, there is likely, as a result, to be an increase in the number of problems they encounter. In order to overcome the difficulties of dealing with organisations from foreign cultures, effective communication must be achieved throughout the organisation.

Whilst it may at first seem that a difficulty in communication may present problems, and in many cases it does, there are exceptions where a difference in language can have a positive effect on organisations. One such example may be that organisations that do encounter communication problems rely more on written forms of communication, as this way they have a better record of what was agreed which will cut down the chance of misinterpretation. This may well result in the organisation showing a greater level of formalisation than that which would have existed if such a form of communication had not been implemented. Another good example would be an instance of e-commerce, where setting up a number of identical websites, the only difference being the language they carry, would make it easier both for the customer to place orders, as they could do so in their own language, and also the seller to interpret the order.

People all across different nations behave differently, and for different reasons, due to their religion. From one religion to another beliefs and values differ greatly, and they have enough of an impact on people that religion contributes greatly to the make-up of culture.

Each religion can affect organisations in different ways. An example, which also ties in social organisation, would be that of an organisation that is based in a country whe

ion wishing to expand beyond their domestic markets the chances are they will come up against the barrier that is the increasing difficulty to communicate with countries that don't share a common language with them. Simply, they will find it much harder to communicate with a country that doesn't share the same language. International business, very much depends on communication, with language being the primary component of this, and as organisations are increasingly dealing with other organisations that communicate in a different language, there is likely, as a result, to be an increase in the number of problems they encounter. In order to overcome the difficulties of dealing with organisations from foreign cultures, effective communication must be achieved throughout the organisation.

Whilst it may at first seem that a difficulty in communication may present problems, and in many cases it does, there are exceptions where a difference in language can have a positive effect on organisations. One such example may be that organisations that do encounter communication problems rely more on written forms of communication, as this way they have a better record of what was agreed which will cut down the chance of misinterpretation. This may well result in the organisation showing a greater level of formalisation than that which would have existed if such a form of communication had not been implemented. Another good example would be an instance of e-commerce, where setting up a number of identical websites, the only difference being the language they carry, would make it easier both for the customer to place orders, as they could do so in their own language, and also the seller to interpret the order.

People all across different nations behave differently, and for different reasons, due to their religion. From one religion to another beliefs and values differ greatly, and they have enough of an impact on people that religion contributes greatly to the make-up of culture.

Each religion can affect organisations in different ways. An example, which also ties in social organisation, would be that of an organisation that is based in a country whe

fective communication must be achieved throughout the organisation.

Whilst it may at first seem that a difficulty in communication may present problems, and in many cases it does, there are exceptions where a difference in language can have a positive effect on organisations. One such example may be that organisations that do encounter communication problems rely more on written forms of communication, as this way they have a better record of what was agreed which will cut down the chance of misinterpretation. This may well result in the organisation showing a greater level of formalisation than that which would have existed if such a form of communication had not been implemented. Another good example would be an instance of e-commerce, where setting up a number of identical websites, the only difference being the language they carry, would make it easier both for the customer to place orders, as they could do so in their own language, and also the seller to interpret the order.

People all across different nations behave differently, and for different reasons, due to their religion. From one religion to another beliefs and values differ greatly, and they have enough of an impact on people that religion contributes greatly to the make-up of culture.

Each religion can affect organisations in different ways. An example, which also ties in social organisation, would be that of an organisation that is based in a country whe

instance of e-commerce, where setting up a number of identical websites, the only difference being the language they carry, would make it easier both for the customer to place orders, as they could do so in their own language, and also the seller to interpret the order.

People all across different nations behave differently, and for different reasons, due to their religion. From one religion to another beliefs and values differ greatly, and they have enough of an impact on people that religion contributes greatly to the make-up of culture.

Each religion can affect organisations in different ways. An example, which also ties in social organisation, would be that of an organisation that is based in a country where the religion is predominantly Hindu, as it is likely to hold strong "tight-knit" values as well as strong family bonds, resulting in large numbers of family-owned and operated businesses where organisational hierarchies are based solely on family relationships. Hindus also share the same belief that it is wrong to kill cows, and in some cases any animal at all. It would therefore be against an organisations interest to deal with any organisation, or indeed take on an employee where this may become an issue.

Holidays may well differ from one religion to another. Indeed in Muslim countries the normal weekend is Thursday afternoon and Friday, and when this is combined with the Western weekend of Saturday and Sunday it leaves only three and half days for business activity to take place between organisations. Ramadan, the month-long festival that involves fasting during daylight hours, can result in the productivity of an employee partaking in the fast dropping. In addition the belief of some Muslims that nothing will happen unless Allah wishes it to, makes it difficult for Western organisations to do business with them. An example of this being the view that insurance policies are seen to defy Allah's will.

Whilst "Eastern" religions, such as Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism continue to have a large impact on cross-national trade and relations it would appear that the impact of Christianity with respect to its social and economic significance is deteriorating.

Organizations that operate internationally have to be increasingly aware of the political context in order to simultaneously operate successfully in what are often conflicting, political environments. In order to be successful in such conditions, there needs to be degree of sensitivity by all staff toward political issues. When discussing the political context four concepts are used to outline the implications, these being; the nation-state, nationalism, business-government relationships and geopolitics.

A nation-state is able to exert political control over a discrete territory, resulting in it being able to define geographical boundaries, establish citizenship requirements, control the movement of goods and people across its borders, settles internal disputes and protects the nation from outsiders.

Nationalism is a state of mind of the individual and describes the individual's loyalty to the nation-state, providing a basis for social and economic cohesion. This can range from a rather mild sense of "belonging" to absolute commitment and loyalty. An example of the later extreme would be a person's willingness to go to war to defend their country. Managers in change of those organisations that operate internationally ignore nationalism at their peril. Such a case would be when an organisation tries to expand into a country with a different culture. It would not be untypical for individual