Corporate Culture Clash?

[damasa]

Originally posted by RACooper
I used the term Europeans because that is how they identify themselves... the Brits, Dutch, French, and Germans see themselves as having more in common with each other... and because they have been grouped that way by the others as well. I worry that it is too "clique-y", with Canadians and Europeans vs Americans at the office... but that is the way it's shaping up.

As for the comment about corporate America being more hardworking, that is actually the opposite of the general attitude towards the "rift"... general the complaint has been that the Americans will just throw more money at the problem or customers instead of actually working through the problem. But again that is just repeating what I have been told, from both a middle and upper management level...

For the most part I'd have to disagree with you. Of course our opinions differ with our experiences but my father has been doing business in Europe most of his life and considering he is a dual citizen (America and Germany) I'm going to take him on what his experiences are and have been. He has also given training sessions on this exact topic to employees ofhis former company because they did so much business in Europe (Germany, France, Spain, Switzerland, Netherlands). He told me that he often found that many people in Europe got quite upset when other people simply grouped them as "one culture." Whether they identify with it or not or define themselves as any type of "clique" they infact tend to distance themselves from other business cultures in Europe.

As for throwing out money to solve a problem, all I really have to say is you have to spend money to make money. And I stand by the statement that many business cultures in Europe can sometimes resent the fact that sometimes Americans work harder (not all the time).

Of course I can't generalize because not everyone is the same, not all Americans turn a blind eye to other business cultures. Had that been the case i wouldn't be replying now.

Not to keep using my father, but he had several clients in France, Spain and Italy and he ran into problems a few times. A few times he had been working on deals where the party just up and left for vacation without any notice or warning (mid-deal). One guy in France left for two months without notifying my father (in which during that time the deal was supposed to be finalized). He also had no way to get in touch with the individual.