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Meeting and Greeting
The handshake is the common form of greeting.
The British might seem a little stiff and formal at first.
Avoid prolonged eye contact as it makes people feel uncomfortable.
There is still some protocol to follow when introducing people in a business or more formal social situation. This is often a class distinction, with the 'upper class' holding on to the long-standing traditions:
Introduce a younger person to an older person.
Introduce a person of lower status to a person of higher status.
When two people are of similar age and rank, introduce the one you know better to the other person.
Gift Giving Etiquette
The British exchange gifts between family members and close friends for birthdays and Christmas.
The gift need not be expensive, but it should usually demonstrate an attempt to find something that related to the recipient’s interests.
If invited to someone's home, it is normal to take along a box of good chocolates, a good bottle of wine or flowers.
Gifts are opened when received.
Dining Etiquette
Unlike many European cultures, the British enjoy entertaining in people their homes.
Although the British value punctuality, you may arrive 10-15 minutes later than invited to dinner. However, if going to a restaurant be on time.
Table manners are Continental, i.e. the fork is held in the left hand and the knife in the right while eating.
The fork is held tines down so food is scooped on to the back of the fork. This is a skill that takes time to master.
Remain standing until invited to sit down. You may be shown to a particular seat.
Do not rest your elbows on the table.
If you have not finished eating, cross your knife and fork on your plate with the fork over the knife.
Indicate you have finished eating by laying your knife and fork parallel across the right side of your plate.
Toasts are given at formal meals.
When in a pub, it is common practice to pay for a round of drinks for everyone in your group.
If invited to a meal at a restaurant, the person extending the invitation usually pays. Do not argue about the check; simply reciprocate at a later time.
Business Etiquette and Protocol
Greetings
A firm handshake is the norm; there are no issues over gender in the UK.
People shake upon meeting and leaving.
Maintain eye contact during the greeting but avoid anything prolonged.
Most people use the courtesy titles or Mr, Mrs or Miss and their surname.
Wait until invited before moving to a first-name basis. People under the age of 35 may make this move more rapidly than older British.
Business cards are exchanged at the initial introduction without formal ritual.
The business card may be put away with only a cursory glance so don’t be offended if not much attention is paid to it.
The British Communication Style
The British have an interesting mix of communication styles encompassing both understatement and direct communication. Many older businesspeople or those from the 'upper class' rely heavily upon formal use of established protocol. Most British are masters of understatement and do not use effusive language. If anything, they have a marked tendency to use ‘qualifiers’ such as 'perhaps', ‘possibly’ or 'it could be'.
When communicating with people they see as equal to themselves in rank or class, the British are direct, but modest. If communicating with someone they know well, their style may be more informal, although they will still be reserved.
Written communication follows strict rules of protocol. How a letter is closed varies depending upon how well the writer knows the recipient. Written communication is always addressed using the person's title and their surname. First names are not generally used in written communication, unless you know the person well.
E-mail is now much more widespread, however the communication style remains more formal, at least initially, than in many other countries. Most British will not use slang or abbreviations and will think negatively if your communication appears overly familiar.
Building Relationships
The British can be quite formal and sometimes prefer to work with people and companies they know or who are known to their associates. The younger generation however is very different; they do not need long-standing personal relationships before they do business with people and do not require an intermediary to make business introductions. Nonetheless, networking and relationship building are often key to long-term business success.
Most British look for long-term relationships with people they do business with and will be cautious if you appear to be going after a quick deal.
Business Meetings
If you plan to use an agenda, be sure to forward it to your British colleagues in sufficient time for them to review it and recommend any changes.
Punctuality is important in business situations. In most cases, the people you are meeting will be on time. Scots are extremely punctual. Call if you will be even 5 minutes later than agreed. Having said that, punctuality is often a matter of personal style and emergencies do arise. If you are kept waiting a few minutes, do not make an issue of it. Likewise, if you know that you will be late it is a good idea to telephone and offer your apologies.
How meetings are conducted is often determined by the composition of people attending:
If everyone is at the same level, there is generally a free flow of ideas and opinions.
If there is a senior ranking person in the room, that person will do most of the speaking.
In general, meetings will be rather formal:
Meetings always have a clearly defined purpose, which may include an agenda.
There will be a brief amount of small talk before getting down to the business at hand.
If you make a presentation, avoid making exaggerated claims.
Make certain your presentation and any materials provided appear professional and well thought out.
Be prepared to back up your claims with facts and figures. The British rely on facts, rather than emotions, to make decisions.
Maintain eye contact and a few feet of personal space.
After a meeting, send a letter summarizing what was decided and the next steps to be taken.
* Currency - the currency of the UK is the Great British Pound. Use the free currency converter to compare to dollars, GBP, etc.
* Weather - visit Yahoo!'s up to date Weather for the UK (although it's probably raining!).
* Dialling Code - the international dialling code for the UK is +44.
* Time - UK is at GMT.
United States of America
The United States of America is the fourth largest country in the world (after Russia, Canada, and China). It consists of 50 states plus Washington D.C. (a federal district) and four outlying territories (Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa).
http://www.ego4u.com/en/read-on/countries/usa
Facts and Statistics
Location: North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
Capital: Washington, DC
Climate: mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest.
Population: 301,139,947 (July 2007 est.)
Ethnic Make-up: white 81.7%, black 12.9%, Asian 4.2%, Amerindian and Alaska native 1%, native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander 0.2% (2003 est.)
Religions: Protestant 52%, Roman Catholic 24%, Mormon 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 1%, other 10%, none 10% (2002 est.)
Government: Constitution-based federal republic
Language in the USA
The United States does not have an official language, but English is spoken by about 82% of the population as a native language. The variety of English spoken in the United States is known as American English; together with Canadian English it makes up the group of dialects known as North American English. Spanish is the second-most common language in the country, spoken by almost 30 million people (or 12% of the population).
American Society and Culture
Diversity
America is ultimately a nation of immigrants and as a result is a cultural mish-mash in every sense of the word. Not only is the country populated by people from foreign countries but all Americans in one way or another trace their ancestry back to another culture, whether Irish, German, Italian or Scottish. Looking around any major city one will notice the ‘melting-pot’ that it is.
Informal and Friendly
Most people who come to the United States may already know a few things about the people through TV. Although this is of course a skewed reality some of the stereotypes are true, especially American friendliness and informality. People tend to not wait to be introduced, will begin to speak with strangers as they stand in a queue, sit next to each other at an event, etc. Visitors can often be surprised when people are so informal to the point of being very direct or even rude.
Time is Money
The country that coined the phrase obviously lives the phrase. In America, time is a very important commodity. People 'save' time and 'spend' time as if it were money in the bank. Americans ascribe personality characteristics and values based on how people use time. For example, people who are on-time are considered to be good people, reliable people who others can count on.
The Family
The family unit is generally considered the nuclear family, and is typically small (with exceptions among certain ethnic groups). Extended family relatives live in their own homes, often at great distances from their children.
Individualism is prized, and this is reflected in the family unit. People are proud of their individual accomplishments, initiative and success, and may, or may not, share those sources of pride with their elders.
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