country analysis for expatriates poland

ASSIGNMENT #4INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

COUNTRY ANALYSIS FOR EXPATRIATE (POLAND)

SUBMITTED TO: REHAN AHMADSUBMITTED BY: NEELAMROLL NO: 10 “A”M.COM 4

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESSCOUNTRY ANALYSIS FOR EXPATRIATE (POLAND)

BRIEF INTRODUCTION OF POLAND

oland is one of the largest countries in central Europe (312.700 Sq, Km; 38.2 million people). Country has large deposit of hard and brown coal, copper, sulphur, zink, lead, silver, magnesium and rock salt. Moderate climate, with relatively and winters and

warm summers and 29% of the country covered by forests benefit in fruits and vegetable of unique taste and make the country interesting tourism destination. Poland’s labour force is generally well educated and highly qualified. The number of young people seeking better and/or higher education has been constantly increasing since the beginning of the transformation. The relatively low labour cost and easy access to skilled workers are important assets for prospective foreign investors, expatriates and participatory in regions with industrial tradition (jagannath).

P

FACTS AND STATISTICS ABOUT POLAND

LOCATION: Central Europe

CAPITAL: Warsaw

CLIMATE: Temperate with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters with frequent precipitation; mild summers with frequent showers and thundershowers (world businessculture).

RELIGIONS: Roman Catholic 89.8% (about 75% practicing), Eastern Orthodox 1.3%, Protestant 0.3%, other 0.3%, unspecified 8.3% (world business culture).

ETHNIC MAKE-UP: Polish 96.7%, German 0.4%, Belarusian 0.1%, Ukrainian 0.1%, other and unspecified 2.7% (world business culture)

LANGUAGE(S): Poland

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THE ECONOMY

Currency: Zloty Inflation: 0.70% GDP: US$430bn GDP per heads: US$11,270 Exchange rate: 1 Zloty = 34.33 PKR Employment (% of total):

Agriculture 15 Industry 31 Services 54 Unemployed 8

IMPORTANCE OF TIME

Poles have quite interesting approach to time people are in a hurry all the time, everybody rushes, cannot wait. Queuing & waiting is the worst thing can happen to any Pole.

Business-wise everybody is on time! Take it to the second. Time is money and Poles know it(expatsguide).

BUSINESS HERIICHECY

Decisions are made at a senior level, normally guided by rules and regulations. Bargaining is not commonly used as a negotiation strategy.

MEETING, GREETING AND USE OF TITLES

Greetings are generally reserved yet courteous. When greeting someone a good handshake, direct eye contact, a smile and the appropriate greeting for that time of day will suffice(expatsguide). Titles are often used in business situations and are considered highly prestigious. Academic titles are often used before the surname and it might be seen as disrespectful to dispense with this formality.

BUSINESS DRESS

Business dress in Poland is formal and conservative; business people tend to wear dark suits and ties.

GENDER EQUALITY

Women have equal business opportunities to men, although most high-ranking positions are still held by men.

LANGUAGE BARRIER

The language is one of the biggest issues for foreigners in Poland. Polish is difficult for speakers both from the point of view of grammar and pronunciation.

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EDUCATION SYSTEM IN POLAND

Poland’s public education system has undergone many positive changes in recent years, and tuition is free to all children resident there, including expats, due to the language barriers, the majority of expats opt to send their children to international schools in Poland (expatarrivals).

AVAILABILITY OF HALAL FOOD

There are not many Muslims in Poland so halal food is not a big concern for many people

COST OF LIVING:

In the 2012 Mercer Cost of Living survey, Warsaw, Poland's most expensive city, ranked 153rd of 214 cities across five continents. Salaries in Poland are among the lowest in Europe, and most locals end up spending nearly 40 to 50 percent of their salaries on housing(expatarrivals).

Eating out and buying groceries is generally cheaper than in Western European cities, but purchasing imported articles will be significantly more expensive

TRANSPORTION COST

Petrol prices in Poland are on par with the rest of Europe, while public transportation tickets are still relatively inexpensive.

CONCERNS FOR POLAND EXPATRIATES

Re-establishing a Social Life Missing Family & Friends Career Concerns Cultural Adaptation Standard of Living Harm done to spouse’s career and employment

MY DECISION

Although work opportunities for foreigners appear to be on the rise, but those looking to relocate will still face a number of realities that can quickly move from "a challenge" to "a hardship".

I will not accept this offer because of high cost of living, language barriers and being a Muslim, non-availability of halal food. The organization is providing various allowances but monetary benefit is not everything that an employee wants.

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Bibliographyexpatarrivals. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.expatarrivals.com/poland/moving-to-poland

expatsguide. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://expatsguide.pl/local-culture

jagannath. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://jagannath-dutta.blogspot.com/2011/12/brief-introduction-about-poland.html

world business culture. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.worldbusinessculture.com/Business-Facts-and-Figures-on-Poland.html

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