Intercultural Communications

The two cultures that I have chosen to compare are France and Italy. Some of the key differences and similarities that I will address are the Masculinity/Femininity, the Uncertainly Avoidance and Long Term orientation between the two cultures.

France is considered to be a relatively feminine country, they have a very relaxed work environment where they work 35 hours a week and take five weeks off for holiday every year. They believe in the quality of life, which means they work in order to, live the way they do. Competition amongst work colleagues is usually not favored and the feel sympathy for the underdog. Italy on the other hand is a highly success orientated and driven society, kids are taught from early on that competition is good and to be a winner is important. Italians show their success by acquiring things as status symbols, this way of thinking means that they put emphasis on working hard to achieve success.

France scored pretty high on the Uncertainty Avoidances, which means certainty is often reached through academic work and concepts. In the work environment management structure, rules and security are welcomed and if it’s lacking it creates stress and planning is favored in this culture. Italy as a nation are not comfortable in ambiguous situations, formality is important and detail planning works best. They are very passionate and emotions are so powerful that they express with the use of body language. They feel that friendship is important and can also transcend to the professional level where their personal relationship can influence a business deal.

France is a short-term orientation society; they have a great respect for tradition and a need for norms and absolute truth as guidelines. They focus on quick results and companies are driven by quarterly results, consumption is driven by immediate gratification. The French culture is sensitivity to social trends and rituals and not much focus on savings. Management is based on...