Brazil Culture & Business Etiquette

Tamara Ninkovic, Anda Telman, Brendan Jones

Brazil

Located in South America

Current population is over 200 million people

Official language is Portuguese

Latin American’s largest economy (7% GDP growth rate)

Basic Cultural Values

Hierarchical:

Strict organizational hierarchy and chain of command

Decisions made at the most senior levels

Power and authority is not diffused

Inequalities are accepted

Relationship-orientedSocial and family oriented

Basic Cultural Values

Uncertainty Avoidance

Need for rules and structure

Avoid uncertainty and risk

Ways of Thinking

Long-term Orientation

Goals, plans, and decisions

Time Orientation

Flexible

Acceptable and Unacceptable

Acceptable Unacceptable

• Formal attire• Give the Thumbs Up• Use Senor and Senora• Physical contact• Close proximity• Be introduced• Talk about:

• Family and children• Weather • Travel • Soccer

• Give the O.K. sign• Using pushy or aggressive

selling techniques• Initiate confrontation• Don’t talk about:

• Argentina• Politics• Religion• Poverty• Rainforest• Brazil’s class system

Inconvenient Business Time

Brazilian Carnival

Month of February

Christmas

New Years

July Summer Holiday

Entertaining and Gifts

Entertaining

Dining out (lunch and dinner)

Drinking alcohol is acceptable

Gifting

Not necessary during first meeting

Avoid black & purple

Personal gifts

Non-Task Sounding

Long courting process

Informal meetings

Proper business etiquette

Intermediaries help bridge the gap

Information Exchange

Communicate directly with top executives

Limited information given

Explanations are given first than negotiations

Means of Persuasion

Aggressive and often impatient

Openly emotional and passionate

Give reasonable feedback about offer

Terms of Agreement

In-depth understanding about person and contract

Don’t attempt to ‘rush-in’ or push signing

Presence of a local legal expert

During the signing

During gift exchange

The End

References

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Argonaut. (2013). Doing Business in Brazil. Retrieved October 25, 2013, from Argonaut: https://www.argonautonline.com/doing_business_brazil

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Kwintessential. (2013). Intercultural Management - Brazil. Retrieved October 26, 2013, from Kwintessential: http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/intercultural/management/brazil.html

Oliveira, L. (2004, July 29). International Gift Giving Etiquette - Brazil. Retrieved October 28, 2013, from 1 World Global Gifts: http://www.1worldglobalgifts.com/brazilgiftgivingetiquette.htm

Siddiqui, A. (2013). Business Negotiation in Brazil. Retrieved October 24, 2013, from http://www.slideshare.net/akeebsiddiqui/business-negotiation-in-brazil

The Hofstede Centre. (2013). 5D Model - Brazil. Retrieved October 25, 2013, from The Hofstede Centre: http://geert-hofstede.com/brazil.html