How important are personal connections in Ukraine?

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 405.

Ukrainians' sense of personal responsibility

A fundamental difference between Ukrainians' and westerners' mindset is that westerners tend to take on a greater amount of individual responsibility and rely somewhat less on groups, while the opposite is true in Ukraine. If doing business in Ukraine, you will likely get used to "outside forces" always getting in the way of partners' work and keeping them from fulfilling their responsibilities and meeting expectations. A common culprit are government bodies that drag out bureaucratic matters or unexpectedly demand additional paperwork and formalities. Often Ukrainian organizations foresee problems but hope for the best and don't warn their partners of possible difficulties until they are already underway.

I don't know of any way to avoid this problem. My advice is to simply take initial promises and high hopes with a grain of salt, realizing that Ukrainian business and government are full of unexpected "nuances" that get in the way of doing things quickly and efficiently.

To manage one's affairs in a society that is always in a state of semi-disarray due to incomplete and illogical regulatory systems, Ukrainians rely on the power of personal contact. Contacts in government bodies are particularly prized, as relations between government and business are frequently antagonistic. In addition, Ukrainians prefer arranging meetings in person to discuss business and make joint decisions, whereas phone conferences and online discussions are now commonly used in the West. Perhaps Ukrainians are right in preferring meetings in person; only in person can one adequately judge others' intentions and trustworthiness and resolve concerns. Ukrainians pay more attention to emotional aspects of communication rather than excluding them from business as is the case in many western countries. Many foreigners find this a waste of time, but fun nonetheless!