Business Meetings

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 710.

Business Cards

o There is no formal ritual surrounding exchange of cards.
o It is a good idea to take plenty with you as it still forms the basic means of keeping contact details as opposed to electronic means.
o Give and receive cards with your right hand.

o To arrange a meeting in Azerbaijan an introductory letter is needed outlining your company, history and the purpose of your visit.
o It is always a good idea to have such correspondence translated in Azeri to ensure they understand and it also makes you stand out.
o There is a certain amount of protocol one has to follow in meetings as Azeris are quite sensitive to status, title, who sits down first, enters the room first, etc. It is best to follow the lead.
o Politeness is important and is all part of the relationship building process.
o Discussions will often start slowly over tea and the topics of discussion may be completely irrelevant. However, this is the make or break part of your relationship - if you can not strike up a rapport the chances of doing business together are slim.
o Always maintain eye contact while speaking since Azeris take this as a sign of sincerity. If someone does not look them in the eye while speaking, they think the person has something to hide.
o Decisions are reached slowly.
o Never appear impatient or attempt to rush an Azeri to make a decision.
o Expect a great deal of bargaining and haggling. - Azeris are are tough negotiators.

However, the word "culture" is most commonly used in three basic senses:

§ Excellence of taste in the fine arts and humanities, also known as high culture

§ An integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for symbolic thought and social learning

§ The set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution, organization, or group

When the concept first emerged in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Europe, it connoted a process of cultivation or improvement, as in agriculture or horticulture. In the nineteenth century, it came to refer first to the betterment or refinement of the individual, especially through education, and then to the fulfillment of national aspirations or ideals. In the mid-nineteenth century, some scientists used the term "culture" to refer to a universal human capacity