Global Business Culture Analysis: Greece, Research Paper Example

Introduction

Globalization specifically opens up the doors towards business development for different countries around the world. Greece, being one of the most comprehensively growing nations in Europe is currently being considered by most international investors as the directed location for their expansion. However, like other nations that have specific requirements, Greece also requires a recommended recognition of business culture from its investors. This imposes the fact that for one business entrepreneur to be specifically successful in the country, being knowledgeable about the people’s culture is a must. Discussed within the context of this written work are the different dimensions of development that involve several points of consideration for an assured growth of an investment in Greece.

A Background on Greece

Covering an area of 132000 square kilometers of the extreme southeast area of Europe, Greece stands to be the regions entry point from several country borders including Albania, Bulgaria, Turkey, the Mediterranean Sea, the South Ionian Sea and FYROM (Kalaitzidis, 2010). These entry points then puts Greece in the position of making consistent capability for Europe to grow its economic dependability in a national scope. On the other hand, in a more localized approach, this fact provides a defining point from which Greece is identified to be the epicenter of business investments in the country.

Currently, there are 11 million residents in the country and are still increasing in number through the years. (Kalaitzidis, 2010) These residents are considered homogenous which means that even though it is a relatively small part of Europe, it provides a warm and cozy delight to foreign investors for residency.  With an unemployment rate of 8.1% in 2007, the country holds a larger percentage of the people who are self-employed (Kalaitzidis, 2010). Engaging in direct business operation a large part of the country’s residents earn their own money through operating their own business entities which are most often than not merged with other internationally operating organizations. Although French and German are the basic languages spoken in the country, English also remains widely spoken making it a viable place for foreign investors.

The Greek Culture and Economy

The past decade held a promising economic picture in involving Greece within the most comprehensive era of growth. With an increasing state revenue from foreign investments, the nation’s GDP increases by 2.3% every year (Kalaitzidis, 2010). At present, the aspect of development that is considered to fully boost the country’s economy is that of education. Being established as the international center of education, it still holds the ancient reputation of being the central point of excellence. Other strong industries in the country include tourism, shipping and deliveries and commercial banking. Some other aspects of development include the sectors of agriculture, the manufacturing industry and high tech construction services.

With privatization becoming the current campaign of the government in Greece, public transportation and other public utilities are at the verge of being merged in operation with private entities in the country. Bidders to these privatizations campaigns are made available to foreign investors hence creating opportunities for those wanting to penetrate the Grecian market through investment. True, with a new form of economic and social reforms needed to support the emerging economy of Greece, the current conditions of the country are being adjusted to host more foreign investors’ values expecting revenues and returns to fuel the country’s need for development. Providing business hubs for both local and international investors, Greece opens its doors to numerous possibilities that cater to the capability of the country to engage in developmental procedures for the sake of business advancement.

Understanding the Business Culture

Greeks are noted for their patriotism. This means that even thoughthe country has recently opened its doors to international engagements, it still remains strongly rooted to its original descents and traditions. It is for this reason that international investors or foreign business partners should know better in dealing with the Greeks through attaining their considerable approval within the course of others respecting their belief of patriotism and their respect for their country and its roots of development. Unlike other regions in Europe, the Grecian culture for business remains strongly aligned within its traditional conditions.

Being traditional as it is, management of businesses in Greece remains strictly hierarchical. This means that most of the decision making procedures incurred by operating businesses in the country are centralized rather than scattered towards the organization’s members. Business negotiations are often handled by a central administration and talking with the wrong person in the line would render the negotiations worthless. Even when dealing with foreign partners, the Greek members of the organization and likely that of the members of the employee or staff body would likely recognize hierarchy of command within the country rather than those operating outside.

With a paternalistic and directive management approach, most businesses in the country are built under strong boss-culture. Rather than recognizing group effort, most organizations in the country adhere to the power of one superior who has control over the operations of the business. Hence, if a foreign investors hopes to create a business hub in the country, a consideration about creating an operating administration based on the boss-development should be given particular attention to. In line with this, specific instructions should be made to make sure every expectation is met.

Unlike other countries, Greek business owners and partners value personal relationship highly. They do believe that it is with the capability of each party to create a strong personal bond between each other that could further strengthen the business. With consistent opposition to the neutral culture of most businesses in the west, Greek business operators hope to establish close and strong relationships with their partners. From the roots of their culture, managers expect loyalty while in turn responding to the values of their subordinates.

Formal meetings are not held regularly in most business structures in Greece. Most often than not, these meetings are only held when the organizations already face crucial stages of decision making. During such meetings, important points are expected to be presented. In instances when open forums are allowed, members of the meeting should be ready to speak out and receive harsh criticism when necessary. This culture in most meetings allows the management to find the most comprehensive decision based on debates and arguments.

Conclusion

As it could be observed from the discussion presented herein, the Greek business culture remains strongly rooted to the country’s traditions and its beliefs towards paternalism and patriotism. Recognizing all these aspects of the Greek culture imposes on the capability of a foreign business partner to not only embrace the process of management the country recognizes but also to incur relative development that would ensure the organization’s growth towards assured success in the nation. Believably, adjusting to the business norms of the country would allow a foreign partner to make closer connections with the nation’s most considerable sources of business success.

References

Clogg, Richard (2002). A Concise History of Greece (Second ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. This reading provides a considerable source of understanding that represents the development of Greece from the point of its establishment as a nation towards its growth into an economic power of Britain. This offers a great deal of development for the research to see how the Greeks lived by then and what particular business values have accompanied them from the past and even towards the current state of their business.

Kalaitzidis, Akis (2010). Europe’s Greece: A Giant in the Making. Palgrave MacMillan Publishing. Showing how strong the competition is in the international market and identifying the elemental functions from which the said nation grew into a powerful source of national income, this reading imposes of the “rags-to-reaches” pathway that Greece took towards the current years of its national progress.

Invest in Greece Agency. Doing Business In Greece. http://www.investingreece.gov.gr/files/publications/DoingBusinessInGreece_230709.pdf. (Retrieved on October 15, 2011).  Found in this website is a valuable collection of information that could provide business enthusiasts hoping to enter the Grecian trade with the needed guideline they have to comply with to make sure that they are creating good partnership with the Greek counterparts in the country.

World Business Culture. Background To Business in Greece. http://www.worldbusinessculture.com/Greek-Business-Style.html. (Retrieved on October 15, 2011). In this website, remarkable statistics have been used to relevantly connect the past, current and future expectations in the economy of Greece and how business personnel could best gain an edge through utilizing these points of statistical data.