Intercultural Differences POLAND & RUSSIA

POLAND

Population: 38,635,000 Capital: Warsaw 1.6 million Main cities: Krakow 0.8 million, Wrolaw 0.6 million Currency: Zloty, Groszy Fertility rate: 1.39 Life expectancy at birth: 74 years Main religous group:Roman Catholic (98,8%) POLAND General Information

POLAND lost independence in World War II became a communist country under the control of the former Soviet Union freed itself in 1989 by the democratic party “Solidarnosc” accepted in the EU in 2004

usually handshake flatter women by a kiss on the hand personal title use, Mr (Pan), Mrs (Pani) followed by the first name or surname hugs (also men) POLAND Culture: Greeting

while eating no conversations large vodka consumption, toast to the guest vodka bottle has to be emptied POLAND Culture: Cuisine

punctuality is vital for establishing your reliability begin and end business with a small gift building individual business relationships particular attention and respect must be paid to older people negotiations are reserved and thoughtful POLAND Culture: Business

Do use personal titles Personal titles use, Mr. (Pan), Mrs. (Pani) followed by first name or surname title: director, doctor (in business) Do try to learn some basic Polish words greeting phrases: Dzień dobry (hello), Dobry wiecz ó r (good evening), Do widsenja (Good-bye) POLAND Do ’ s and Don ’ ts

Do smile and maintain direct eye contact during your conversation Don't be surprised if after the first meeting your partner engages more friendly conversation once initial relationship has been established Don't over compliment Don't try to hide your feelings and emotions POLAND Do ’ s and Don ’ ts

POLAND Kroków

POLAND Kroków stare miasto old town

POLAND Kroków stare miasto old town

POLAND Szczawnica

POLAND Dunajec

POLAND Dunajec

POLAND Dunajec

POLAND Szczawnica

When entering the meeting room in Poland, if there are people you do not know, you should wait for a third person to initiate introductions ? POLAND Polish Culture Quiz – true or false?

POLAND Polish offices operate an open door policy where you are free to enter and discuss business at any time Polish Culture Quiz – true or false?

POLAND If you are invited to a Polish home, a small gift such as a bottle of wine or flowers for your host is generally expected Polish Culture Quiz – true or false?

Meetings are often scheduled for a Sunday when people have more time do discuss business matters. POLAND Polish Culture Quiz – true or false?

POLAND It is quit acceptable to greet your Polish business colleagues with three “ air kisses ” Polish Culture Quiz – true or false?

RUSSIA

Population: 142,754,000 Capital: Moscow 10,5 million Main cities: St. Petersburg 4,7 million, Novosibirsk 1,4 million Currency: Rubel, kopek Fertility rate: 1.34 Life expectancy at birth: years Main religous group: Russian-orthodox (66%) RUSSIA General Information

Boris Yeltsin established the Russian Federation in 1992 after the decay of the Soviet Union in 2000 Vladimir Putin became President Russian economy increases by 5 % to 10 % RUSSIA

when welcoming people, consider the ranking order and say the name with the titel of the person give a strong handshake as it shows character polite to name people by first name + “ owitsch ” (men) / ” ovna ” (women) RUSSIA Culture: Greeting

Russian cuisine with high fat content  impolite not to try large vodka consumption  always after a toast drinking vodka always goes in hand with eating more people drink tea than coffee it is allowed to smoke during the whole meal RUSSIA Culture: Cuisine

important to make gifts (but no vodka!) Russians show great hospitality Russians are rather conservative  better to wear conservative clothing with ordinary colours  you should not wear shorts, short skirts, clothings RUSSIA Culture: Other

punctuality very important negotiations take longer than in Germany with more restaurant attendance timetables aren ’ t binding  more flexible Russians are rather neutral confidence and personal relationship are very important RUSSIA Culture: Business

never drink alcohol alone never give away yellow flowers  symbol of misfortune RUSSIA Don ’ ts

RUSSIA St. Basil's Cathedral and the Spasskaya Tower of the Kremlin

RUSSIA Rostov-na-Donu

RUSSIA Kamchatka

RUSSIA Moscow State University

Russians like to get gifts in form of vodka! RUSSIA Russian Culture Quiz – true or false?

When greeting people it is always “ ladies first ” ! RUSSIA Russian Culture Quiz – true or false?

Russian negotiations take longer than in Germany! RUSSIA Russian Culture Quiz – true or false?

Russians like to critic often and directly during a negotiation! RUSSIA Russian Culture Quiz – true or false?

Lukas and Vicky say “Dzienkuje” and “Спасибо!“ for your attention POLAND & RUSSIA