Cultural Analysis

Have you ever cheated death, because of a feeling in the gut of your stomach? Have you ever decided to stay home, because something just didn’t seem right? All of these scenarios can be accounted for by following your heart. All throughout the book The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho the lesson of trusting your intuition is present. Areoccurring event in the book demonstrating this lesson was each time Santiago (the Shepard boy) followed an omen (a sign to guide him on his personal legend; what he was born to accomplish). | don’t believe these omens were tangible. | think it was more a sign from his heart than anything else. “‘Learn to recognize the omens and follow them,’ the old king had said. An omen, the boy smiled to himself.” As Santiago continued on his quest to his personal legend, the omens pick up. | think this is because his trail of self-discovery helps him to trust his feelings more adequately. Another piece in the reading that really represented trusting your intuition was when Santiago proposed to Fatima (a girl of the desert he fell in love with at first sight). When you are able to plainly lay eyes upon someone and feel so deeply for them, you have sheer evidence of a great relationship amongst yourself and your heart. “At that moment it seemed to him that time stood still… When he looked into her dark eyes, and saw that her lips were poised between a laugh and silence he learned the most important part of the language that all the world spoke…It was love…She smiled, and that was certainly an omen.”

An apt example of when Santiago’s heart spoke to him yet again was when he predicted war. “Once again he had perceived the many languages in the things about him…’An army is coming,’ the boy said. That is the feeling that reaches everyone at some point in their life. It is the awareness that saves us all time and time again. That intuitive prediction is the caution tape over your actions. Only a very strong feeling would have the power to restrain you from doing something you had previously planned. For this reason, | believe your gut instinct is the most important part of yourself to understand. Similar to what was just quoted, you can know so much by just knowing yourself; your intuition embodies the languages of the world, for it is something we all hold common. In relation to the real world, | think the lesson of trusting your intuition is a very important message to give to people. This book was ongoing proof of how the impossible is conquerable by understanding yourself and your needs. Your intuition is basically the little alarm in yourself that warns you when something just won’t be suitable for you. An example from my life to show this lesson is when my friend invited me to sleep over her house along with a few other people. | was feeling tired and my gut insisted to me that it just wouldn’t be the brightest idea. They ended up staying all night with no sleep whatsoever. | had a tournament the next day and played very well, probably because | got an appropriate amount of sleep. If | had ended up spending the night over there, | don’t believe | would have been so fortunate. In The Alchemist and in reality, the lesson of trusting your intuition is around every corner; make sure you can trust yours.

Due to Western Novelty’s Outsourcing scheme, Todd Anderson is sent to India. Upon arrival, Todd has completely no idea of what territory he is stepping into. With the lack of awareness of the Indian culture, he first falls victim to a taxi driver’s trickery, has to literally “hop” on a train and although he is offered a seat on the “can-packed” train carriage by a boy, but in return he has to offer up his lap for the boy to sit on. On first sight, Todd experienced a culture shock from the manifest culture of India (Sathe, 1985) that attacked his own “core” and starts to form judgments about this seemingly dirty and primitive country.

The initial contact with a new culture gives rise to cultural differences and Todd finds himself struggling with them. This is the result of the differences in cultural dimensions. The first dimension contrasting India and Todd, would be Collectivism versus Individualism. Individualism refers to how much a person is self-centered and free from control; Collectivism refers to how the overall group’s interest is placed above an individual. (Hofstede, 1980) Using scores from the GLOBE project, India scores a high 5. 92, much higher than the USA’s score of 4. 5 on the collectivistic scale where higher refers to more collectivistic. (House et al. 2004)

Todd, originating from the US, is characterized as an employee who only has to worry about himself, does not involve himself with other employees. In the first scene, employees from the US have a very big private space to themselves and the boss Dave has an even more private enclosure. The office space reflects the culture of individualism from the US. However, in India, we see that employees interact with each other more frequently, such as Asha helping out with employees and smaller desks for closer working conditions.

Even the supervisor’s desk lacked privacy due to the missing glass, which Todd makes a big fuss about and showed closeness between the employer and employees. It is apparent that the employees in India have a more collectivistic corporate culture and this affected Todd’s individualistic values and beliefs. However, later in the film, Todd’s individualistic personality slowly evolves into a collectivistic one as he immerses himself into India’s culture and changed his leadership style.

This showed during the incident when there was flooding, Todd and the staff members worked together as a team and Todd even asked his neighbour to help with the power connections to benefit the group’s goal. What Todd went through during his immersion in India’s culture is called Primary Socialization (Berger & Luckman, 1967) where he learned India’s culture through living with Puro’s Aunt and socializing with the locals. Without the change in Todd from an individualist to a collectivist, the business could not have been as motivated or productive or achieved its goal.

Power distance is the extent to which power is unequally distributed in a collective. A higher power distance score reflects high unequal distribution of power. From the GLOBE scores India has a higher power distance than the US (India = 5. 47; US = 4. 88) (House et al. 2004). In the movie, the Indian employees show a high power distance because they treat their superiors with respect. This could be seen in the actions of Puro. When he was reprimanded for the first time, he did not end up in an extreme debate with Todd regarding the high level of the MPI.

On the second incident, when he was scolded, he was very apologetic and was thoughtful to bring clean food for Todd. This showed Puro’s deep reverence for the leader of the office. Another example was how the employees did not ask about better working conditions and accepted whatever Todd had dictated on them from the start until much later. However, when compared with the way Todd talks to Dave, the barrier between him and the superior is thin. Todd can express his thoughts and freely rebut Dave with his own opinions – such as calling Dave “corporate slimeball”, arguing over the MPI or the freight of company products.

The language used through the communication between Dave and Todd sounds too casual to represent a high power distance. The impact power distance had on Todd was great because he had to change his casual methods, as seen during the accent classes, to exerting his leadership on the employees. However, the Power Distance between Todd and Dave did not change.

The humane orientation of India ranks much higer than the US according to GLOBE project (India = 4. 57; US = 4. 17) (House et al. 004) The business in India does show a more humane style of working such as Asha caring for the employees, Puro caring Todd by taking him into his family circle and even caring for his well-being such as bringing him clean food. This dimension also affected the business when Todd finally changes his style of leadership. His humane orientation changes from a negative, sulky manager who lashes out at every opportunity he can to a more encouraging manager who becomes a positive influence to the employees.

However, throughout the film we see that Dave does not seem to care about the employees in India or even those who were outsourced right from the start. The carefree words he used when he wanted to fire his US employees tell us that he was more interested in cutting the costs of employment and his position as boss rather that the futures of the employees. This impacted the business in India later when he continued to cut costs further by bringing the business to China. Additionally, Dave keeps bossing and pushing Todd around, first sending him to India, giving him a hard time over his contract and even tried to send him to China.

We have already established that India tends towards a collectivist culture and the US an individualist culture. Hence, different dimensions will require different motivational and leadership patterns. An individualist culture has both the employee and employer trying to make communal decisions that will benefit both parties, while in the collectivist culture, the reliance on the leader to have the whole group involved is much greater. (Thomas, 2003) The cultural dimensions of India affects the way things are done in the corporate Indian office and Todd has to see them.

Earley (1993) also proved a relationship that collectivist cultures would show more work motivation and productivity. Using Vroom’s Motivational theory, there lies a central theme of Expectancy Theory. From there we can identify different motivational factors in the film. Expectancy theory is based on of deciding how much effort should be put into a job for an outcome. The process of Expectancy Theory has 3 components – Effort, Performance and Outcome. Among these 3 components, there are 2 expectancies.

First is the Effort to Performance expectancy that is the belief whether making effort will lead to an expected success. The second is the Performance to Output expectancy that is how much value of the reward of the outcome. (Vroom, 1964) What the expectancies mean is that if a person believes that a certain performance will lead to a desired outcome, they will then input effort that will produce the required performance to achieve the outcome. In the middle of the film, this theory can be applied when Todd decided to introduce an incentive programme for employees.

The programme allowed employee discounts for western novelty products. Additionally, as part of the motivational process, he gave an edict that whoever improves the Minutes Per Incident (MPI) for the day would get their pick on merchandises from their best sellers of their products. This is the work of Expectancy theory taking place – with the new incentive programme, the employees clearly know what performance will lead to a desired outcome, hence they will instinctively put in effort to achieve the performance required.

Whereas for Todd, his outcome is to leave India and the performance is to bring the MPI to 6. 0. Hence his effort component will require him to comply with the collectivist culture of the Indian branch to achieve the outcome. Thus we see that their performance component to achieve a 6. 0 MPI is the same, their effort and outcomes are different because of differing roles, and individual goals. These differing roles and goals can be attributed to the differing individual needs. We can also apply Herzberg’s Motivation-Hygiene Theory to the film.

His theory suggests that satisfaction and dissatisfaction are two separate dimensions instead of two extremes of one dimension. (Herzberg , 1968) His hygiene factors refer to external factors such as factors outside an employee’s job that influences him. These are ‘dissatisfiers conditions’ – if they are present, the worker is neutral; but if absent, the worker will be dissatisfied. In the film, after the Day of Holy, Todd acknowledges his mistake of trying to run the Indian branch as an American office and asks how he could change the way the office is run.

Suggestions include bringing family pictures to work, allowing them to bring what they want to the office as long as it doesn’t get in the way of work, and wear whatever they want to work including ethnic clothing. We can tell from the employees’ faces that without proper working conditions, they were dissatisfiers to their productivity and after Todd had acknowledged change, it put a smile to their faces. For Todd’s position, when he first arrived in India, the working conditions were a total dissatisfier because the working conditions were different from his usual ones, especially because the place was in a rural lace and even animals were in the office.

The culture shock resulted in him becoming difficult in the workplace such as scolding Puro a few times. However, later on in the film, other hygiene factors such as the build up in relationships between the characters helped overpowered his original hygiene factors. The second factor from Herzberg is the Motivation factor that is intrinsic in nature. These include interesting work, responsibility or career advancement. If they are present, the worker will be satisfied, but if absent the worker remains neutral.

Asha did not want to sign up for the incentive programme, and from her other actions and words, we can assume that her motivational factor was the work itself, or a career advancement – when she took the initiative to act as supervisor on the Day of Holy and acting as a supervisor when they setup the office on the roof. Todd also promoted her to be the future assistant call manager. For Todd, it was after the Day of Holy where he became motivated to take on the challenge and responsibility of the business. We can also use McClelland’s Learned Needs Theory, to spot other motivational differences between the characters.

The Learned Need Theory states that there is three major needs that influences people’s behaviour – need for achievement, power and affiliation. (McClelland, 1966, 1985) The need for achievement relates to individuals who want success or failure. This can be identified with Dave who’s only concern was himself, maximize the company’s profits by outsourcing the lowest cost possible services and neglecting the benefits of others. This need for achievement can also be identified in Todd when he first arrives and is only concerned about himself and forcing the MPI down to 6. 0.

However, he then realized that to achieve this, he has to had establish a reputable presence in the company which is the second need in the Learned Need Theory. The need for power relates to achieving reputation, and control over others. We might only see this through Todd in the later part of the movie whom starts to understand his position in India and makes the best of it by being the best manager possible and trying to win over the employees. But this was still done so that he can leave India when the MPI reaches 6. 0. So Todd achieves this by gaining respect from his subordinates by introducing an incentive programme.

Todd knows that by introducing the programme, it will motivate him further. The need for affiliation relates to establishing relationships with others. This is seen in Asha who helps employees every now and then in the film. Asha’s needs are also different from other employees, as she does not want any of the incentives outlined by Todd. Rather she establishes relationships between herself, the employees, Puro and Todd. This need is also manifested in these three characters because of the collectivistic corporate nature of the Indian branch.

The relationship between the three characters deepens throughout the movie because they realized they were in the same boat and they had to achieve a common goal together, which becomes a shared need. To sum up, the film showed us how our protagonist, Todd, developed his cultural intelligence (CQ). The distinct cultural differences between India and US, the contract between Todd and Dave left the protagonist with the uncontested choice to stay put and that had in effect, supported his development of cultural intelligence.

Todd had went through the stages of CQ development – Reaction, Recognition, Accommodation, Assimilation and Proactivity (Thomas 2003) Not only did he learn about and adapt to the new culture, he had also learned that he had to alter his corporate processes to make the business work. At the end, when Dave recommended Todd to move to China, he declined probably because Todd knew how hard it was to change and adapt to a new culture.

References

• Berger, P. and Luckmann, T. (1967) The Social Construction of Reality. New York: Doubleday. Earley, P. C. 1983) “East meets West meets Mideast: Further Explorations of Collectivistic and Individualistic Work Groups,” Academy of Management Journal, 36 (2), 319-48
• Herzberg, F. (1968) “One more Time: How Do You Motivate Employees” Harvard Business review, Jan-Feb Edition, 53-62 Hofstede, G. (1980) Culture’s Consequences: International Differences in Work-Related Values. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
• House, R. J. , Hanges, P. J. , Javidan, M. , Dorfman, P. W. , and Gupta, V. (2004). Culture, Leadership, and Organizations: The GLOBE study of 62 societies. Sage Publications: London.
• Javidan, M. , Dorfman, P.W. , de Luque, M. S. , and House, R. J. (2006) “In the eye of the beholder: Cross-Cultural lessons in leadership from Project GLOBE. ” Academy of Management Perspectives, 20(1): 67-90.
• McClelland, D. C. (1966) “That Urge to Achieve” THINK Magazine. McClelland, D. C. (1985) Human Motivation, Glen vview, IL: Scott, Foresman. Sathe,V. (1985) Culture and Related Corporate Realities. Homewood, IL: Irwin.
• Thomas D. C. , Inkson K. (2003) ‘Cultural Intelligence: People skills for Global Business’, Berrett-Koehler Publishers Vroom, V. H. (1964) ‘Work and Motivation’, New York: Wiley. 331p.

I.Introduction

II .Brief Discussion of Belgium’s relevant history

III. Geographical Setting

• a. Location – between France (S) and Holland (N); Germany and Luxembourg (E); and North Sea (W)
• b. Climate – Belgium has temperate weather, warm in summer (May to September) and cool to cold in winter, with snow very likely. temperate; mild winters, cool summers; rainy, humid, cloudy
• c. Topography – The coastal region, extending about 16–48 km (10–30 mi) inland, consists of sand dunes, flat pasture land, and polders (land reclaimed from the sea and protected by dikes), and attains a maximum of 15 m (50 ft) above sea level.

Eastward, this region gradually gives way to a gently rolling central plain, whose many fertile valleys are irrigated by an extensive network of canals and waterways. Altitudes in this region are about 60–180 m (200– 600 ft). The Ardennes, a heavily wooded plateau, is located in southeast Belgium and continues into France. It has an average altitude of about 460 m (1,500 ft) and reaches a maximum of 694 m (2,277 ft) at the Signal de Botrange, the country’s highest point.

Chief rivers are the Schelde (Scheldt, Escaut) and the Meuse (Maas), both of which rise in France, flow through Belgium, pass through the Netherlands, and empty into the North Sea.

IV. Social Institutions

• a. Family

i. The nuclear family – Belgians are among the happiest, most satisfied people in the world and among the least likely to leave their country. happiness is a safe and comfortable life shared with family and friends. Much of the Belgian culture revolves around their family. The Belgian family has remained very close-knit despite great changes in society due to industrialization.

Most children have a strong sense of loyalty not only to their parents, but also to grandparents, siblings and cousins. The extended family has remained relatively close. It is not unusual for a family to live in the same neighborhood or even the same house throughout a lifetime. The average Belgian family size is 2. 9 people.

ii. The extended family – The extended family has remained relatively close. It is not unusual for a family to live in the same neighborhood or even the same house throughout a lifetime. iii. Dynamics of the family . parental roles – parents in Belgium sent their children to preschool programs so that they could learn to become more independent and socially adept. Most Belgian children over age 2 attend these state-funded programs full-time. Belgian parents listed smaller classes and more physical education and music as desirable improvements.

Marriage and Courtship

Long marriage engagements are common, as is living together before or instead of marriage. Only civil marriages are legal, but many couples also have a religious ceremony. As you declare your wedding in Belgium, the first thing that you must do is to print two wedding invitations, one from the groom’s family and the other from the bride’s family. The invitations are a symbol of the union of the two families as well as the beginning of the new union. Following the ancient Belgium tradition the bride must walk up the isle to hand her mother a single flower which is followed by an embracing. After your marriage is over the bride presents the groom’s mother a single flower and then the two of them embrace. This symbolizes the bride’s acceptance of her new “mother” which is simply fantastic.

Another noteworthy wedding feature in Belgium is that the bride must carry a specially embroidered handkerchief with her name on it. This is required as after your marriage celebration is over this handkerchief is framed and hung on the wall in a place of honor. There is more to add to this tradition. This very handkerchief is passed on to the next female member of the bride’s family when she plans to get married. iv. Female/Male Roles – Fathers are ultimate decision makers. Mothers discipline and rule household matters

v. Education

1. The role of education in society

a. Primary

b. Secondary

c.Higher

d. The structure of the educational system consists of pre school (3-6 years); six years of primary school and six years of secondary school.

Belgium has two systems of education: the state system and the private (mostly Catholic) system. Education is free in both of these systems, and the curriculum is the same. There are four types of education:

• General Secondary Education (ASO): general education; mostly theoretical that prepares students for higher education.
• Art Secondary Education (KSO): Along with general subjects, students take visual arts, music, dance, drama, etc.

A previous knowledge of the subject is required.

Professional Secondary Education (BSO): in this category students may choose from a selection of courses such a hairdressing, car mechanics, and sewing, among others. Students completing the 12th year level receive certificate of higher secondary education. This diploma is sufficient for higher specialized study: interpreting, architecture, technical engineering, pedagogy, etc. Only 16 17% of Belgian students graduate at this level. Education is considered very important in Belgium. Therefore standard are high and students take school very seriously.

At Christmas and Easter schools are closed for two weeks. Carnaval and All Saints Day (Nov. 1) bring short breaks of a week each. Summer holidays (vacation) last from June 30 to September 1. 2. Literacy rates – 99% over 15 can read and write vi. Political System

Stability of Government – Very Stable; Original member of EU and debt = 80% of GDP 4. Special Taxes – Expatriates in Belgium are generally regarded as Belgian tax residents and are therefore subject to Belgian income tax on their worldwide income. However, the Belgian authorities have encouraged multinationals to transfer foreign executives to Belgium by introducing special tax concessions to non-Belgians who are ‘temporarily’ working in the country. The tax concessions allow such expatriates to be treated as non-residents for tax purposes. The concessions do not apply to inheritance tax.

To qualify for these special concessions, a number of factors are considered e. g. ‘does the employment contract specify a limited time? ’, ‘has the expatriate’s family moved? ’, ‘is the expatriate’s centre of economic and/or personal interest in Belgium? ’, ‘is the employment with a qualifying entity? ’. Under the special concessions: Only Belgian sourced income is taxable, including property income and dividend income, although total world-wide, earned income must be declared. Municipal taxes are payable at 7% of total income tax payable.

There is no capital gains tax, except for certain types of sale of Belgian property. Expatriates who benefit from the non-residents special tax regime cannot invoke double taxation agreements because they only apply for the benefit of Belgian residents. 5. Role of Local Government – Each of the provinces has a council of 50 to 90 members elected for four-year terms by direct suffrage and empowered to legislate in matters of local concern. A governor, appointed by the king, is the highest executive officer in each province. There are 589 communes.

Each municipality has a town council elected for a six-year term. The council elects an executive body called the board of aldermen. The head of the municipality is the burgomaster, who is appointed by the sovereign upon nomination by the town council. Recently, the number of municipalities has been greatly reduced through consolidation.

VI. Legal System

• 1. Organization of judiciary system – The judiciary is an independent branch of government on an equal footing with the legislative and the executive branches. Minor offenses are dealt with by justices of the peace and police tribunals.

More serious offenses and civil lawsuits are brought before district courts of first instance. Other district courts are commerce and labor tribunals. Verdicts rendered by these courts may be appealed before 5 regional courts of appeal or the 5 regional labor courts in Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent, Mons, and Liege. All offenses punishable by prison sentences of more than five years must be dealt with by the eleven courts of assize (one for each province and the city of Brussels), the only jury courts in Belgium. The highest courts are five civil and criminal courts of appeal and the supreme Court of Cassation.

The latter’s function is to verify that the law has been properly applied and interpreted. The constitutionality of legislation is the province of the Council of State, an advisory legal group.

• 2. Code, common, socialist, or Islamic law country? Belgian Civil Code 3. Participation in Patents, trademarks, other conventions – Yes

VIII. Social Organizations

Social Classes – There is a relatively even distribution of wealth, with 5 to 6 percent living close to the poverty line. The majority of the population is middle class.

The vast majority has equal opportunities for education and a professional life. There is a very inclusive social security system.  Clubs, Other organizations – Belgium hosts many international organizations and hundreds of lobbying-groups, but their presence has little direct impact on social life. The most influential organizations are the Catholic Church and its affiliates and social organizations related to the pillars, such as trade unions.

Race, Ethnicity, and Sub culture – The nation’s cultural diversity has been enriched by international and local immigration.

The high numbers of Flemish names in the south and Walloon names in the north indicate long time internal mobility. In the last hundred years the most important immigrant groups were Jews who form a sizable community in Antwerp; Poles, who came in the early 1930s and after the fall of communism; Italians (in the 1930s and 1950s); and North Africans and Turks, who arrived in the 1960s. There are many recent immigrants from other countries in the European Union as well as many expatriates working in or around European Union institutions and NATO headquarters.

The percentage of noncitizens in the population is high at 15 percent nationally and 28 percent in Brussels. ix. Business customs and practices

Relationships & Communication.

Although third-party introductions are not necessary, they often smooth the way. Regardless of how you are introduced, you must always be polite and well mannered. . Belgians are careful and prudent so take time before they trust others, be they individuals or representatives of companies. . Business dealings tend to be bureaucratic. There are many procedures and a great deal of paperwork.  Belgians are excellent linguists and many are sufficiently fluent to conduct meetings in English. . Belgians prefer subtlety to directness, believing that subtlety is a reflection of intelligence.  Although they are more direct in their communication than many cultures, if a response is too direct it may be seen as simplistic.  They prefer communication to be logical and based on reason . Belgians often engage in long, critical discussions before reaching a decision so that they can be certain that they have considered all the alternatives.  They believe it is rude to be confrontational. Business Meeting Etiquette . Appointments are necessary . The person you are meeting will generally set the time for the meeting, usually mid morning or mid afternoon. . Avoid scheduling meetings during July and August, which are prime vacation times; the week before Easter; and the week between Christmas and New Year. . Everyone is expected to arrive on time . Arriving late may brand you as unreliable. . Meetings are formal . First appointments are more socially than business oriented, as Belgians prefer to do business with those they know.  Do not remove your jacket during a meeting. Dress Etiquette . Men should wear dark coloured, conservative business suits with white shirts and silk ties. . Women should wear business suits or conservative dresses. . Men should only wear laced shoes, never loafers or other slip-ons, as they are too casual. Polished shoes are an integral part of a professional image. Business Cards . Business cards are exchanged without formal ritual. . Have one side of your business card translated into French or Dutch. This shows respect and understanding of the linguistic heritage of your colleagues.  If you have meetings in both areas, have two sets of business cards printed, and be careful to use the proper ones. . Present your business card so the recipient can read the side with their national language.

Religion and Aesthetics

Orthodox doctrines and structures – Catholicism is the main religious faith. The government financially supports the Catholic and Protestant churches as well as the Jewish and Muslim faiths. The Catholic Church controls an important network of schools with 70 percent of the pupils in secondary education and two main universities.

Religious beliefs and practice declined during the twentieth century, but approximately 65 percent of Belgians believe in God. Many people who say they do not believe in God take part in religious rituals for major events such as baptisms, weddings, and funerals. Minority faiths include Muslims, Jews, and Protestants.

Relationships with the people – The Catholic Church controls an important network of schools with 70 percent of the pupils in secondary education and two main universities.  Prominent religions – Catholicism iv. Membership of each religion v. Any powerful or influential cults?

Visual Arts – The golden age of graphic arts lasted from the fourteenth century to the seventeenth century and was embodied mostly in painting. The Flemish Primitives school of painting (fourteenth and fifteenth centuries) made the region the main artistic center of Europe outside of Italy. Artists such as Jan Van Eyck (1395–1441) and Rogier Van Der Weyden (1400–1464) were interested in spatial composition and psychology and rendered the colors and textures of living and material objects with realism. The main artistic figure of the next century was Pieter Breughel the Elder (1525–1569), with his lively paintings of peasant life.

Pieter Paul Rubens (1577–1640) was the most famous painter of his time, receiving commissions from European sovereigns. His main focus was on the human figure. Rubens influenced Anthony Van Dyk (1599–1641) and Jacob Jordaens (1593–1678). The graphic arts declined until the late nineteenth century, when James Ensor and Rene Magritte (in the twentieth century) revived the avant-garde. The most innovative works of living artists can be seen in contemporary art museums in Antwerp and Ghent.

Performing arts – The Franco-Flemish style dominated European music in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, with composers such as Josquin des Prez and Orlando di Lasso. In the twentieth century, the most famous Belgian musician was the singer Jacques Brel. Several living classical composers are active. The harmonica player Toots Thielemans is the most famous jazz musician. The Blindman Kwartet combines jazz, pop, and classical music. The presence in Brussels between 1959 and 1987 of the French choreographer Maurice Bejart stimulated a new generation of choreographers.

The main theatrical centers are De Singel in Antwerp and the Kaai Teater in Brussels. Several theaters and orchestras are supported by the government. iv. Folklore and relevant symbols – The calotte (plural calottes, French from Provencal calota or Italian callotta), is a skullcap worn by students at catholic universities in Belgium. In the front of the calotte are stripes representing the Belgium flag (black, yellow and red) and stripes representing the colors of the city or the university where the calotte has been received.

At the back of the calotte, the faculty of the student is represented by a color and a symbol, with if needed an additional symbol to determine the speciality. Golden stars around the calotte represent the number of years that the student has studied successfully (if a year has to be retaken, a silver star will represent it). In addition to that, a number of official and personal pins will be added to the calotte, all representing something about its owner examples include:

• Official position in a student organisation (above the considered year’s star) Hobbies and occupations (cardplayer, partyer… )
• Character (patriot, lazy… ) the meaning of the calotte has evolved, but whatever the theories may be on its origins, the calotte is mainly a sign that indicates the student’s belonging to a group. The student is also able to express his individuality by wearing several insignia on the calotte that will reflect their academic curriculum, their personal interests and even their character.

Living Conditions

Meat and vegetable consumption rates – Bread and potatoes are the traditional staple foods. Most meals include, pork, chicken, or beef, and Seafood is popular in the northern part of the country. The national drink is beer, but wine is imported in large quantities. In northern cities, popular dishes include mussels with fries and waterzooi a broth of vegetables and meat or fish. Throughout the country, French fries are eaten with steaks or minced raw meat. Cooking is traditionally done with butter rather than oil; there is also a high consumption of dairy products.

ii.Typical Meals – Traditionally, the noon meal is the main meal of the day: businessmen take a two-hour break and most children come home from school. This is the meal that begins with soup or hors d’oeuvres, then a hearty meat or fish dish with potatoes, followed by a separate course of salad or cooked vegetables. Frequently the meat is carved in the kitchen and the platter garnished with seasonal vegetables. It is interesting to note that vegetables and salads are almost a social status symbol – the higher the level, the more vegetables and salads are used.

For most families, however, potatoes are the only vegetable requirement. A dessert for dinner would be fruit and cheese, a tart or pudding. Wine or beer is usually served as well

iii. Malnutrition rates – n/a

iv. Foods available – The Belgian market offers good opportunities and has enjoyed considerable growth in recent years in the following areas:

1.  health and organic foods,
2. energy foods and sports drinks,
3. snack foods,
4. ethnic foods,
5. ready-made and microwave products,
6. frozen and fresh food and vegetables,
7. ried fruits and nuts,
8. wine,
9. specialty meats such as bison and pet food,
10. seafood, and
11. specialty products (e. g. kosher food, wild rice,maple products and other confectionery goods etc. )

• b. Housing i. Owning your own home isn’t considered such an important an investment as it is in some other countries. Types of housing available – While property in Belgium is cheap by UK standards, the various fees, charges and deposits associated with buying a house and securing a mortgage are likely to discourage all but the most determined buyers.

There’s no mortgage relief on income tax ii. Do more people own or rent?

iii. Do most live in one family dwellings or with other families?

i. National Dress – Belgians, especially those in the cities, wear modern Western-style clothes. The ethnic costumes of the Flemings and Walloons are seldom worn today. On some farms women still wear the traditional dark-colored clothing and white aprons, and men wear the old-fashioned caps.

ii. Types of clothes worn at work – Men who work in offices are expected to wear suit jackets to work.

It is generally acceptable for women to wear slacks to work.

• d. Recreation, sports, and other leisure activities

i. Types available and in demand – The most popular participant sport in Belgium is bicycling. Belgians also participate in and watch soccer, and there are many regional teams. Other sports popular in Belgium include tennis, horseback riding, hiking, and skiing. Belgians also enjoy the popular European sport of sand sailing. A sort of minicar with sails called a “sand yacht” is driven along the coast, powered by the wind.

Also popular, especially in Wallonia, is pigeon racing. As many as 100,000 pigeons may be entered in a single race. Like many other Europeans, Belgians are avid soccer fans. There are over sixty teams in the national league. Concerts and theater are popular evening pastimes in the cities, and Brussels also has opera, ballet, and cafe cabarets (restaurants with musical entertainment such as singing and dancing). ii. Percentage of income spent on such activities – 9. 5% e. Social Security – Belgium has a comprehensive system of social security, which applies to all residents.

It covers family benefits, unemployment insurance, work accident insurance, health care, old age and invalidity pensions, and long-term care insurance. Belgium takes great pride in its benefits systems and the quality of its social security services, although the high cost of providing those services and benefits (employer contributions of up to 40 per cent plus employee contributions of up to 20 per cent of gross pay) has recently prompted the government to consider changes to the social security system in an attempt to encourage individuals to assume greater responsibility for the costs of retirement, disability and even health care. . HealthCare – Health insurance is mandatory in Belgium, and basic cover is generally provided by the national social security system. Contributions are paid by both employers and employees, and most forms of public assistance (unemployment benefit, old age pensions, certain forms of sickness and maternity benefits) are paid net of withholdings for health insurance, the benefit authority effectively paying the employer contributions. Foreigners coming to live in Belgium without working (e. . retirees and the ‘idle’ rich) must generally produce proof of health insurance in order to obtain a residence permit. There are special health insurance plans, valid in a number of countries, designed specifically for the needs of expatriates and those who travel frequently. If you qualify for ‘non-resident’ tax status, you may not be required to contribute to national social security, in which case you will probably be covered by your employer’s health care plan. (You should check! All employees and self-employed people in Belgium must contribute to a health insurance fund ( mutualite/ziekenfonds) as part of the normal social security enrolment process. Some funds are restricted to members of various religious, political or professional organisations for historic reasons, but most are open to all. Your employer should be able to provide you with information about available funds, and you should ask neighbours or colleagues for recommendations. All funds charge the same basic contribution and pay similar benefits, but some take longer than others to make reimbursements.

Health insurance contributions are made by your employer directly to your chosen fund. These amount to 7. 35 per cent of your gross salary, of which 3. 55 per cent is withheld from your pay and the remaining 3. 8 per cent contributed by your employer. If you’re self-employed, you contribute the full 7. 35 per cent through your quarterly social security payments. Cover is automatically provided for dependent family members, including spouses (if they don’t have their own cover) and children up to the age of 18.

When you enrol in a Belgian health fund, there’s a six-month waiting period before you can claim benefits. This waiting period can be waived if you were previously included for at least six months in another person’s health cover (i. e. as a dependant) or, in many cases, if you were covered by a state health care plan (or the equivalent) in another EU country for at least six months before your arrival in Belgium. For most medical services, you must pay the bill and then submit the receipt for reimbursement.

Reimbursements are usually less than the charges incurred, and most Belgians take out supplementary health insurance to cover the unreimbursed portion or to upgrade their cover from the statutory level. Many employers provide supplementary health insurance cover as an employment benefit, or you can purchase individual cover. Supplementary health insurance is also available to self-employed people through professional associations and private insurers. In typical Belgian fashion, the exact nature of what is and isn’t covered by the state system is rather complicated.

Services rendered by most doctors and specialists, hospitalisation, prescriptions, pregnancy and childbirth, rehabilitation and other forms of therapy are normally covered, although the self-employed are covered only for ‘major risks’, which include mental illness, tuberculosis, cancer, hereditary diseases and birth defects, most types of surgery and childbirth. There are no fewer than 18 categories of medical procedure and service, each with its own reimbursement level, varying from 0 to 100 per cent (although the number of items qualifying for 100 per cent reimbursement is constantly diminishing because of funding problems).

There are also certain ‘preferred’ categories of people who are entitled to a higher level of reimbursement for many items, including widows, orphans and those receiving certain forms of public aid (e. g. the blind). A standard doctor’s appointment, for example, is normally reimbursed at 75 per cent, whereas those in a preferred category may be reimbursed at 85 or 90 per cent, depending on their circumstances. It’s wise to keep copies of all receipts and any other documents you send to your health insurance fund in case anything is lost.

Rather than sending each receipt separately, it’s often better to collect all receipts for a given illness or accident or all receipts during a three or six-month period before submitting them for reimbursement. If you have supplementary insurance, your health fund usually forwards information to your private insurer, and both insurers normally pay reimbursements directly into your bank account. If you’re hospitalised, you must usually pay a fixed daily accommodation fee, either in advance or when you’re discharged, but the hospital normally sends all other bills directly to your health insurance fund.

In the case of prescriptions, if you take most of them to the same chemist, it’s usually possible to register with him so that he bills your health insurance fund directly. In this way you pay only the unreimbursed portion of the prescription fees, as well as saving yourself the headache of keeping track of your payments. Prescriptions are subject to a particularly complex scale of reimbursement percentages, according to the ‘social and medical usefulness’ of each medicine and whether it’s available ‘off the shelf’ or must be made up by a chemist.

Certain types of medicines have maximum patient contribution levels, where 100 per cent of charges are reimbursed after a certain period.

Language

• a. Official Language(s) – Belgium has three official languages: French, German, and Flemish, which is similar to Dutch.
• b. Spoken vs. Written languages- N/A c. Dialects – Dutch in Belgium is virtually identical to Dutch in the Netherlands, with the exception of a few local terms and expressions, although certain areas in Dutch-speaking Belgium have local dialects that can sometimes be incomprehensible to speakers of standard Dutch.

The French spoken in Belgium is standard but with its own distinctive accent (at least according to the French! ) and a few specialised words, notably the use of septante and nonante for 70 and 90 instead of soixante-dix and quatre-vingt-dix. (Oddly, the Belgians do use quatre-vingt for the number 80 rather than octante, which is used in Switzerland and some other francophone areas of the world. )

Abstract:

Since its inception in 1982 as a UK based conglomerate, Kingfisher Plc has transformed itself into the biggest multinational home-improvement products retailer in Europe and the third largest in the world. The company currently ranks on the 52nd position of the FTSE 100 index with market capitalization totaling ?7.23 billion (Stockopedia: Kingfisher Market Analysis 2012). Even though the global economic collapse has affected every economic identity adversely, Kingfisher Plc has emerged from the crisis robustly which is clearly reflected through their ever improving financial and business performance (Digital Look: Kingfisher Company Research 2012). This paper will analyze the frameworks and strategies of Kingfisher Plc’s recent expansion into Russia in light of its previous expansions in Eastern Europe. Comprehensive analyses of the cultural differences that may hinder prospective growth will also be included in the paper.

Kingfisher in Russia:

With an FTSE market capitalization ranking of 95, owner of popular household brands such as Brico Depot, ScrewFix, Castorama , and B&Q, and with a very well established domestic network in UK, Ireland & France, Kingfisher Plc decided to expand its operations further into eastern Europe after Poland, i.e. Russia (KingfisherPlc: About Us n.d.). It aims to exploit the Russian market because of its excellent potential both in terms of profitability and growth. Russia’s 13 major cities are inhabited by more than 1 million inhabitants each, in addition to a high disposable income and low tax and utility charges. By 2009, the company had opened five stores in Russia and aims to open more stores in the future (Business Review: Key steps and aims. 2010).

Tackling cultural differences to gain sustainable competitive advantage:

Even though prospective returns from Russian market are quite lucrative it is not a piece of cake to establish the firm strong in the market. The market Kingfisher Plc is currently operating in is quite different than the British market due numerous cultural differences such as, workplace culture differences, communication bottlenecks, different expectations, etc. These differences may seem meagerly insignificant however inability to cope with them may result in reduced competitive advantage in the long run.

The most appropriate model to date to study the cross cultural business expansion problem is the Hofstede’s model of cultural differences for international organizations. It analyzes a particular foreign market through five cultural magnitudes:

• Power Distance;
• Individualism;
• Masculinity;
• Uncertainty avoidance;
•  Long-term orientation.

The first dimension, power distance relates to the extent of equality/inequality in a country or society. A country with more power distance has a more authoritarian culture, for example, it may follow a caste system. Whereas, countries with low power distance are more democratically cultured (Tavakoli, Keenan and Cranjak-Karanovic 2003).

Russia has a relatively high power distance index, however the home market of Kingfisher Plc, United Kingdom has a low power distance culture. This can be a hurdle for Kingfisher Plc as in Russia people does not emphasize on status, power or wealth which makes them more inclined to purchase the products from local small businesses with little or no brand image. Whereas the success of Kingfisher retail in Britain was also due to the brand loyalty its products had created over the passage of time.

Russia also has collectivist culture which shows that people associate themselves in long term groups, family ties are strong and collective responsibilities are promoted whereas culture in the UK tends to be more individualistic and consists of very less interpersonal relations and affiliations (Yates 2005). Russia has a more feminine culture with greater emphasis on relationships and bonding while UK has a more masculine culture with more emphasis of competition, wealth generation and capitalist ideas (Yates 2005).

In the final dimensions of uncertainty avoidance and long term orientation, a high UAI score for Russia shows a high extent of uncertainty avoidance and its inclination towards long term goals. It also portrays quite low levels of tolerance for ambiguity. Stringent laws that discourage creativity, innovation and nonstandard ideas prevail in the society. This dimension may go in Kingfisher’s favor since the conglomerate specializes in producing standardized products, but only to some extent. (Maternovsky 2004).

The dimension of uncertainty avoidance can create a significant impact on Kingfisher’s strategy as the target market is unwilling to adapt to new changes. Also, the Russian home market is dominated by small businesses that offer a tremendously varied product base but multinationals like Kingfisher has specialized in proving standardized designs just like its competitors such as IKEA (Osborne 2004).

The final dimension of long term orientation also brings into light another major difference between the British and Russian cultures. Russians put more emphasis on future stability and whilst the British, contrastingly, value the past and present most (Yates 2005). This can create a considerable impact on the spending patterns of the target market. Kingfisher needs to be more vigilant and ingenious with marketing and promotions to persuade the Russian segments.

Another important factor worth considering is the concept of psychic distance and the importance of it in a firm’s global expansion. This concept was bought into light by Jan Johansson and Fin Wiedersheim- Paul in their famous study of Uppsala Model of Internationalization (Jan and Jan-Erik 1977). The model explains how firms gradually expand in more indigenous and culturally diverse markets by first gaining experience from their domestic operations, then moving on to geographically close and culturally similar markets and gain further experience of operating other than home markets. Subsequently, the firm then further expands into more distant cultural markets by developing a learning chain based on the insights gained from previous expansions (Blomstermo and Deo 2003).

Kingfisher Plc’s Russian expansion can be prospectively successful in light of the Uppsala Model of Internationalization as it has not only operated and learned from its strong British home market. But also it has also successfully operated in foreign culturally diverse markets such as Germany, France and Poland. And now it is time to apply the previous knowledge gained in order to devise new successful policies to apply in the booming Russian market (Rugman, Kudina and Yip 297-315).

Conclusion

Even though Kingfisher Plc has stood strong in the wake of financial crisis, has posed strong financial results and has been keen with international expansions, the Russian expansion needs to be tackled with gravity as the market is quite culturally diverse from the markets Kingfisher was formerly operating in. However, the firm has considerable experience of operating in diverse markets and hopefully will do well with the Russian segments too. The performance so far has been up to the mark, for example, Kingfisher hired Peter Partma as its Russia Country head due to his experience as retail director for IKEA (Osborne 2004). This enabled Kingfisher to reduce the psychic distance and the Russian head also introduced culturally adapted style of management in Kingfisher too.

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