The document discusses the significant role of culture in international business, emphasizing that understanding cultural differences is crucial for success in the global market. It outlines the concept of culture as a collective identity that guides behavior, communication, and interaction among individuals in varied societies. Additionally, it distinguishes between explicit and implicit cultural elements, highlighting their importance in navigating intercultural relationships and business practices.

1. THE IMPACT OF
CULTURE IN
INTERNATIONAL
BUSINESS

2. Culture as the core characteristic of each nation strongly
influences the shaping of the identity of an individual, a
group and society as a whole. In the business world, culture
can be seen through the features of a unique and
recognizable organizational culture. Contemporary society
increasingly pays attention to culture, cultural values and
understanding of cultural differences. Accordingly, a good
knowledge of a nation's culture becomes the main
prerequisite for business survival on the global market as
well as a prerequisite for a successful business. The cultural
influence on international business as a process of equal
relationships is an optimistic assumption of merging of
diversity and mutual approach through active interaction
and mutual respect regardless of cultural diversity. There is
an increasing need to strike a balance between cultural
differences. Interculturalism as a dynamic process implies a
relationship, i.e. interaction, exchange and perspectives
characterized by meetings of culturally diverse individuals
based on plurality of relations with pronounced openness
and social dimension of dialogue between cultures.
Particular emphasis should be placed on the need to
understand the complexity of the cultural environment and
the specificities arising from diversity in the global
marketplace. The international environment is a place or an
environment with cultural diversity and a multitude of
cultural differences in language, customs, values and
principles. Culture is, above all, a key player in business on
the international scene. If a foreign investor "pauses" with
the culture of the other community, he has succeeded in
the business scene. In order to understand the importance
of culture in various business co-operations and "games",
one should first consider what culture is all about and what
its core features are. The concept of culture is of great
importance to any nation or people because it describes all
the customs, habits and mentalities of a society that has
existed for many decades. The Definition of Culture by
(Haralambos, 1980) refers to culture as a way of life of
members of society; a collection of ideas and habits that
members of the society learn, share and convey from
generation to generation.

3. Many societies and cultures have cultivated and preserved
culture for years, decades or hundreds of years, and it has
become an established tradition that has been cumulatively
transmitted from the knee to the knee, from generation to
generation. Culture implies the identity of a community, i.e.
the identity of every individual living on a particular
geographical destination. According to Haralambos (1980),
culture is a "draft for life" that is adhered to by members of
a given society. Haralambos, (1980) considers that culture
has two essential characteristics; first it must be learned,
and then it is common. Man has no instincts to manage his
actions; its behavior must be based on the guidelines that
have been learned. In order for society to function as
effectively as possible, the learned guidelines must be
shared. Without a common culture, members of a society
would not be able to communicate or cooperate, and this
would lead to chaos and anarchy. According to many
authors, culture is the model of all adaptations: material or
spiritual, which society accepted as a traditional way of
solving the problems of its members. Culture encompasses
all institutionalized ways such as beliefs, norms, values and
cultural assumptions that regulate behavior. Culture
determines how members of a particular society think and
feel. It directs the actions and defines the worldview of the
community. In 1871, Tylor defines culture as a complex
entity that includes knowledge, beliefs, art, law, mood,
custom, and every other ability and habit that man acquires
as a member of a community (Haviland et al., 2005). From
this definition it is evident that culture does not imply just
one dimension of cultural essence, but culture is a set of
dimensions or a set of elements that make that culture
unique. Culture implies a collective consciousness of a
nation or a nation. Collective consciousness therefore refers
to mentality, way of thinking, decision making, behavioral
rules in a sufficient situation. The concept of collective
consciousness (Hofstede, 1996) is called a collective
programming of consciousness that differentiates members
of a human group from members of the other group. The
concept of programming consciousness in this case
signifies consciousness, that is, the knowledge that a
community came to because of certain conditions that

4. preceded the perception and understanding of the world
around it. Factors that most often affect collective
awareness and awakening consciousness are natural
factors. For example, the factors are: relief, geographic
destination, or climate. In some cases, the risk factor can
also affect the creation of a certain consciousness, that is,
thought or culture.
The mentioned characteristics refer to all cultures, not
individual cultures of particular nations or peoples.
According to the aforementioned statement (Hofstede,
1996) that culture is the collective programming of
consciousness, it is understood that it is not the property of
an individual but of a group. Therefore, the culture of
society, not individual categories, and as such is divided
into individual members of society. One of the basic
functions of culture implies communication with the world,
which contributes to greater closeness between the
knowledge of a culture. Culture is a category that is not of a
naughty category. Members of different cultures often have
different perspectives and assumptions about the same
thing (e.g. in India is the cattle of the sacred animal, while
in the west the cow is only an animal). Culture implies
durability. In other words, it is conveyed from generation to
generation or from knee to knee. The culture is of a frame
and an open character and is in a constant process of
forming. Every generation adds and carries their own
culture by changing its identity. The dynamics of culture
are reflected in this, in gradual and evolutionary changes
over time. The basic division of cultural dimensions includes
explicit and implicit. Of course this is the basic model that
has been accepted almost everywhere in the world with
some minor exceptions. Thus, two important dimensions of
culture pertaining to the observational level and the level
of explanation of cultural values, forms, relationships and
processes are explicit and implicit cultures. According to
(Hofstede, 1996), we differentiate between explicit and
implicit culture. Explicit culture is available for empirical
and scientific scrutiny. It is a culture that is at the level of
the general well-known, and implies certain norms or
patterns of behavior such as respecting the rules of proper
bargaining or some "business bon- ton".

5. Explicit culture implies a general pattern that is perceived
as a common thread for all cultures of the business world.
The implicit culture encompasses hidden, directly
inexplicable cultural creations, most commonly on the level
of symbolic relationships such as insights, values,
behavioral models, norms, legends, myths, humor, etc.
Implicit culture also includes some elements to be
considered when getting to know us foreign culture. For
example, knowledge and belief that are characteristic of a
particular society and include all acquired knowledge,
beliefs, superstitions and myths. Then there is also a system
of evaluation, i.e. a decision on what is interpreted as good
or bad in a particular culture. The system of values of a
particular culture directs members of the same thing to be
pursued, for which to fight. The fact is that in each society
there are certain values as more or less dominant values.
Generally accepted values represent social ideals that are
set as a model and task in front of individual members of
society. In addition to the values of the standards or the
regulations and standards adopted by the members of the
company or group. These are implicit or explicit rules that
set up different groups to regulate the behavior of group
members. Standards tell how to behave or how to behave in
different situations.
REFERENCES
Hofstede, G. (1996). Cultures and Organizations: Software of
the Mind, Intercultural Cooperation and Its Importance for
Survival. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Haralambos, M. (1980). Sociology: Themes and
Perspectives, New Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Haviland, W. A., Fedorak, S. A., Crawford, G. W., Lee, R. B., &
Haviland, W. A. (2005). Cultural anthropology. Toronto:
Nelson.