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Crystal Senter
University of Phoenix
Cultural Orientation Training 2
Preparation
Strategic Goals
The Strategic Goals of Wal-Mart in Argentina in to create jobs within each country that contains
stores as well as promote from within stores (Wal-Mart Corporate, 2014). The cultural dynamics
of Argentines is to be close with their business associates in aspect of personal space which
can provide a feeling of being too close compared to other countries (Argentine Communication
Styles, 2013). The effects of this business dynamic is that those from the United States might
become uncomfortable with the level of closeness and lack of personal space that Americans
Wal-Mart Argentina has three important goals that are important to the culture of the people of
Argentina. Those three goals are: Social Responsibility, Environmental Responsibility and
Corporate Responsibility. The employees of Wal-Mart in the United States have similar goals as
their Argentine counterparts, which has been theme of Wal-Mart for many years. The biggest
differences between the Americans and Argentines are how much aid is given to the specific
organizations in Argentina and Wal-Mart as the countries vary in size and economies. Since the
goals are very similar, the American counterparts will be able to relate to the Argentine
counterparts to be able to provide any aid the Argentines would need in any crisis.
Current State
1. Do you feel you could work with others from different countries?
1 2 3 4 5
2. Do you feel you could work with those who has different personal space boundaries from
your own?
1 2 3 4 5
3. Do you feel that you could communicate with others who speak a different language than
your own?
1 2 3 4 5
4. I know what is expected of me to learn about other cultures to enhance relations between two
different countries.
1 2 3 4 5
5. The cultural needs of the company are more important than my own.
1 2 3 4 5
6. I enjoy working with and learning from others from different cultures and backgrounds.
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5
8. I can identify the differences between my country and a different countries customs and can
1 2 3 4 5
Research
Communicative Styles
The potential conflicts between Argentina and Unites States have to do with personal space
boundaries. As stated in the Preparation area, people of Argentina enjoy and thrive on more
closeness and lack of personal space than their American counterparts. Both Americans and
Argentines enjoy lively conversations and meetings that are boisterous and informative.
Business Ethics
Americans are accustomed to working a certain, set schedule. Typically known as 9 to 5, where
Americans work 9 am to 5 pm, people from Argentina are completely different. Argentine
employees tend to work long hours and have meetings that can happen at 8 pm on a regular
basis. Argentine customs also tend to follow that the host sits down first before everyone else in
the room does because rudeness would be implied otherwise (Argentina Business Etiquette and
Culture, 2013).
Business Culture
Argentine businesses tend to have meetings at restaurants, mostly at dinnertime and try to
avoid lunch meetings, since most employees go home for lunch to spend time with families
(Argentina Business Etiquette and Culture, 2013). Americans tend to be the complete opposite,
having meetings during the workday, particularly with lunch meetings. Argentine people enjoy
Cultural Orientation Training 5
dinners with local wine and beef or steak and consider American wine and beef to be inferior
Training
Participants
The employees that should participate in this training are those who will travel often to Argentina
to help with the business relations for the company between the two companies. Since Wal-Mart
is a large company, it is unlikely that those who actually work in the stores such as cashiers,
stockers and other hourly paying jobs will be doing any of the traveling or need to participate in
the training compared to upper management such as CEO’s and other positions of that nature.
Behaviors
The behaviors that the trainees will have to learn will be to reduce the need for personal space
and the typical corporate structure that Americans are accustomed to. The trainees will also
need to be comfortable with going to later dinner meetings and business functions. Luckily, most
Argentine business people speak many languages, not just the national language which is
Spanish. Since most Argentine business people are well educated, they tend to know Spanish
and English fluently as well as others based on nationality (Argentine Communication Styles,
2013).
Exercises
The trainees can learn several different non-verbal traits to be able to fit in well with their
Argentine counterparts. One of these examples is to learn to not only shake hands, but at the
same time touch the shoulder with the hand that is not shaking to show as sign of friendship and
goodwill (Argentina Business Etiquette, 2013). Americans and Argentinians have very similar
Cultural Orientation Training 6
styles of verbal communication and business etiquette. Both Americans and Argentinians
require that meetings be set up ahead of time with appointments and that those appointments
Resources
The trainees can use several resources to help provide a smooth period of visiting Argentina.
One tool the trainees can use is the Internet. While not every article can be trusted, most
website can give insight on what is essential for business practices to see the differences
between the two countries. Another resource the trainees can use is to visit Argentina before
any official meetings so that the trainees can immerse themselves in the culture and see first
Assessment
Once the training is complete, the employees can complete the same Likert-scale that was
shown previously to see if their scores improve or decline. The purpose of the training is to
improve the scores of the employees so that the trainees can embrace the culture of Argentina
and be able to provide both countries opportunities that would otherwise not exist. By using the
training program to help immerse and give better understand to the American employees, the
employees will have an easier time adapting to other countries and cultures should the need
arise.
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References
In this section: Business Culture in Argentina. (2013, January 1). Business Communication
http://www.worldbusinessculture.com/Argentine-Business-Communication-Style.html
Nicol, J. (2013, January 1). Argentina Business Etiquette & Culture. Argentina. Retrieved June
Walmart Corporate - Walmart International – Argentina. (2014, January 1). Walmart Corporate -
http://corporate.walmart.com/our-story/our-business/international/walmart-argentina