Venezuela

1. Venezuela By: Miranda Verbeten

2. Capital: City of Caracas

3. Primary Language: Spanish (Mexican) EXAMPLES: • Good Morning- Buenasdias • Fruit- Fruta • Water- Agua

4. Caracas Cathedral Located in the historic center of the capital Caracas, with hand-caved alters and fine pieces of religious art. Despite past wars and earthquakes, the cathedral still has most of it’s original structure.

5. Parque Los Caobos Located in the Caracas as well, it is one of the oldest and most popular parks in the city. Many bicyclists, runners, strollers, and tourists visit for the weekend and holiday performances like mimes, puppets, and plays.

6. National Venezuelan Cuisine Arroz con leche (rice with milk): A popular dessert in many Latin countries Most foods are more Caribbean than Latin in it’s style and flavor. For example; corn, beans, tomatoes, peppers, and squash. Fruit is also very common and widely consumed, especially coconut. Arroz con Camarones y Coco (Rice with Shrimp and Coconut): Shows a strong Caribbean influence, common dish in Venezuela, where all the ingredients are readily available.

7. Stereotypes by Americans of Venezuelans: • “Venezuelans don’t have much respect for appointments and think nothing of arriving late.” Noted for being social, they believe they have time for everyone they meet and even if they are late they will never rush out on a conversation without it being complete. • “Venezuela is always in the process of approaching stability and then fragmenting into squabbling chaos.” Much of the instability is due to outside forces rather than their past of revolutions and politics. The President Maduro is attempting to limit foreign companies interference in their country.

8. Superstitions: • Walking around the house dragging your suitcase behind you will bring you travel opportunities • Seeing a grasshopper in the morning brings good luck • If a person’s right palm stings or itches then they will soon receive money *Venezuelans’ strong belief in preserving and embracing the diverse cultures of Native Indian, African, and Hispanic ethnicities leads to many broad beliefs.

9. Hand Gestures • Placing your thumb between your middle and index finger while making a fist is goodluck • Pointing with your index finger is bad form, instead you should point with your entire hand and your palm facing flat • The “okay” sign is extremely rude

10. Business Etiquette Body Language • Venezuelans talk very close and find it rude to back away during a conversation • Body language is very important in their culture and is almost always noticed and analyzed • Meeting Somebody: Firm handshake with direct eye contact and a smile (friends usually meet with a hug and kiss on the cheek) • Greet elders or the most prominent member first, and address with their honorary title followed by their first surname (“Doctor Brown”) • Say goodbye to each person individually • Gifts are personal and never given at work, only during long lunches or events • Business cards include profession and education qualifications because status is very important

11. Business Relationship Building • Networking is important, they want to do business with people they know and trust. • Most people need a local reference to conduct business • Interpersonal skills are sometimes more important than professional skills, knowledge, and experience (developing strong bonds is key to business) *Different than most South Americans, they like to get right to the point and avoid small talk regarding business. They are natural leaders of conversation.

12. Communication Styles in Decision Making • Vague conversation until they know you, then they value open and frank discussions without the visitor dominating topics • Sensitive subjects spoken about lightly and indirectly, and silence is used to convey a negative message • Usually several meetings to gain a personal connection before business transactions • They prefer face to face interaction than email or phonecalls • Never use a “take it or leave it” attitude while conversing, always let the Venezuelan lead conversation *Business conversations are usually in English, while written documents are in both English and Spanish

13. Power Structure in Decision Making • Small number of senior executives make final decisions, and usually only meet with equal counterparts • Proposals go through many bureaucracy levels before reaching the top decision makers, so it could be a very long process

14. American Communication Styles • Very direct and overly-friendly introductions • Very comfortable with doing business over email or a phone call, but prefer short and to the point responses (sometimes without any greeting) • Expect intelligent and clear communication that is not rude but efficient and fast • Ask personal, intrusive questions even though a response is not required • Prefer English as a primary language for all communication, usually intolerant of non-English speaking people

15. American Power Structures Depends on the type if business: • Large companies usually have a hierarchy where top level executives make decisions • Informal organizations usually gain input from lower level employees and managers before making a decision • Small, family-owned businesses leave the decisions solely to the owner or person in charge

16. Venezuelan Business Culture VS. American Business Culture They are both extremely different; Venezuelans believe in personal, face to face communication while Americans prefer fast, indirect communication. Another difference is that Venezuelans have adapted English and Spanish into their business culture, and the United States only uses English.

17. Most Popular Social Network Sites: Internet Penetration Rate: 44% (2012) Google.com Facebook.com Youtube.com Twitter.com • In 2014, Venezuela is known to have one of the slowest internet connections of 1.7 mbps (global average=20mbps)

18. Power Distance Dimension: 81 *Less powerful people accept and understand that power is distributed unequally • All levels of power in the country share the understanding that inequality is a fact of life • People with more power will have more control over the group that accepts inequality • The President has and will have the most power, and will usually stay in term for a long period of time avoiding the relinquish of his power

19. Masculinity Dimension: 73 *Masculine society is driven by competition, achievement, and success. *Feminine society has primary values of caring for others and the quality of life • Venezuela is a masculine society with very competitive, status-oriented people • Although they are competitive, they are collective, meaning that they challenge other groups or social classes outside of their own

20. Pragmatism Dimension: 16 *How society uses their past to deal with challenges of their present and future. Normative (Low) societies maintain many honorable traditions, and Pragmatic (High) societies encourage modernizing for the future. • Venezuela is Normative and respects traditions, while having little worry for saving for their futures • Many are interested in quick results rather than future oppurtunities

21. Indulgence Dimension: 100 *The way people control their desires and impulses • Venezuelans are extremely optimistic and are usually in positive moods, they can base their desires off the fun in life rather than the stress of the future or challenges • Find leisure time, acting as they please, and spending money however they wish of great importance to enjoy life

22. Venezuela Vs. USA- Power Distance Dimension • The U.S. scored an average 40 vs. Venezuela’s 81, the United States has a pretty equal belief among it’s society in equal AND unequal power distribution • Since Venezuelans mostly believe unequal power distribution is a part of life, the United States would not be as easily controlled as a whole due to the fact that not everyone would agree with the one holding the most power

23. Venezuela Vs. USA- Masculinity Dimension • The United States scored a high 62 compared to Venezuela’s high 73, they are close in range so both countries will be driven by success and competition. • The difference in the two countries’ is that the United States is more individualistic, so their society is drive by each individual striving for their own personal achievement and challenging other individuals. Venezuela is more collective and strives for success as a whole, challenging other groups instead of individuals

24. Venezuela Vs. USA- Pragmatism Dimension • The United States scored a 26 compared to Venezuela’s 16. The United States’ society is very practical, and understands the difference between good and evil as their traditional values. Venezuela believes in preserving their traditional values, but theirs are a lot older in culture because of the United States’ primarily white cultural background. • Both Venezuela and United States’ societies work toward short-term goals and quick results/outcomes

25. Venezuela Vs. USA- Indulgence Dimension • The United States scored a 68, just above the line for indulgent rather than restraint, and compared to Venezuela’s high 100 score they are both believers in receiving what they desire. • The difference between the two is that since the United States is not as high on the scale, the society believes in “work hard, play hard” where they work for their desires. Venezuelans are strong believers in relaxing and spending money as they please.

26. Venezuela Current Events • September 23rd, 2014: Clorox company announced it’s closing in Venezuela because the government’s controlled prices caused millions of dollars in losses. • July 25th, 2014: Aruban officials say they have arrested former Venezuelan intelligence chief Hugo Carvajal at the request of American authorities, who have accused him of involvement in drug trafficking.

27. Works Cited • Alexa Internet, Inc. (2014). Alexa - Top Sites in Venezuela. Retrieved October 10, 2014, from http://www.alexa.com/topsites/countries/VE • Caracas Metropolitan Cathedral in Caracas, Venezuela [Photograph]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://http://static.panoramio.com/photos/large/7016655.jpg • Creative Commons. (2007, May 9). Internet in Venezuela. Retrieved October 10, 2014, from https://readtiger.com/wkp/en/Internet_in_Venezuela • Hofstede, G. H. (1991). Cultures and organizations: Software of the mind (3rd ed.). London: McGraw-Hill. • hugo-carvajal-mugshot [photograph]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://http://tribunapr.com/2014/07/27/aruba-liberara-a-exgeneral-venezolano-vinculado-al-narcotrafico.html • New York Times Company. (2014). Venezuela News - Venezuela Facts & Latest News - The New York Times. Retrieved October 12, 2014, from http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/venezuela/index.html • Parque Los Caobos [Photograph]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://guiacaracas.com • Solusource. (n.d.). Country Profile: Venezuela. Retrieved from https://solusource.com/tominfo/CountryProfiles/Venezuela.pdf • World Trade Press. (2014). United States of America. Retrieved from http://www.globalroadwarrior.com.ccbcmd.idm.oclc.org/ContentInfo.asp?iso3ltr=USA&nid=13.04&cid=156&next_nid=13.05&parent=Business Culture • World Trade Press. (2014). Venezuela. Retrieved from http://www.globalroadwarrior.com.ccbcmd.idm.oclc.org/ContentInfo.asp?action=flags&cid=159