Hey Mitchell,
Thank you for the information which is really helpful. Yes I totally agree with you that this is part of the Portuguese culture and that as a newcomer it’s better that I adjust and even master the culture.
But I’d also like to say that I grew up on 3 continents and lived in many countries and I personally speak 5 languages fluently, so my comments here are not really from an American perspective which I clearly do not represent. I highly value the importance of intercultural understanding in international business and I’ve always taken my cultural experiences as a strength in doing business with people from all over the world which I enjoy so much.
I do think punctuality and fulfilling promises are universal values in the environment of international business, however. These are not just American values, but the universal bottom lines of how people do business in the international environment.
The other point is that no culture is free from negative aspects. Sexism and male superiority have long been an integral part of the Korean culture, but recently they chose to change. When we see an aspect of the culture that may make our country less competitive in its economic production and a thus lower standard of living in the long term, surely we can tell people it’s just our culture so everybody has to be OK with it, or it’s up to us to reflect on ourselves and see if this part of our culture could be improved.
But again, I totally agree with you that if I come live in Portugal, I will need to get used to and even master this part of the culture. It’s adventurous but I’m sure I will enjoy it.
I am always eager to learn and thank you for the communication which I really appreciate.
Yours,
Davin