International Business and Country’s Culture Impact

Abstract

International business is very important, nowadays. Businesses, now, compete and operate in an international market. Globalization has created new challenges for managers. Different countries have different cultures, and this make culture a challenge for businesses and managers who operate in international business. They have to pay more attention to the differences of countries cultures they operate with. Sometimes, differences may be seen as insignificant, but they can cause troubles if you don’t respect them. Culture’s differences may create misunderstandings, conflict, anger even stress in the workplace. People in different culture have different attitudes and behaviors. Organizations have to pay importance to differences in a) communication, b) attitudes c) workplace etiquette d) language.
Albania, after 90’, has been an attractive destination for foreign investors. Many investors came in Albania due to her strategic geography position, cheap labor price, informal market, etc.
In this paper we will analyze culture’s dimensions according to Hofstede model. Then, we will compare Albanian culture to Italian culture, because Italy is the country which has the majority of foreign companies in Albania.