MT220 Unit 3 Cultural Comparison Example

A Visit, a Meal and a Slower Yes: A Unit 3 Cultural Comparison of Selling Roasters in the US and Colombia

[Student Name]

Purdue University Global

MT220: Global Business

Unit 3 Cultural Comparison

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[Date]

Cascade Drum Works and the buyers described are composite and illustrative; the cultural patterns are generalizations from the sources and vary widely among individuals and regions; the sources cited are real.

Two Frameworks

Hall (1976) observed that in some cultures a listener reads a great deal from who is speaking, where and in what relationship, while in others the spoken or written words carry nearly all of the meaning; he called these high-context and low-context. He also contrasted monochronic time, in which people do one thing at a time on a schedule, with polychronic time, in which several conversations and relationships run at once and schedules bend to people. The United States sits toward the low-context, monochronic end; Colombia sits toward the high-context, polychronic end.

Hofstede (2001) offers a second lens. On his scales, Colombia scores far lower than the United States on individualism, about 13 against 91, and higher on power distance, about 67 against 40, and on uncertainty avoidance, about 80 against 46. Those three differences predict much of what follows: buyers who decide with family and trusted partners, who defer to the senior person in the room and who want to reduce risk before committing to an unfamiliar supplier.

Lewis (2006) cautions that such frameworks describe tendencies, not individuals, and that a seller should treat them as hypotheses to test with each buyer.

First Contact

At home, Cascade's first contact is usually an email from a cafe owner who has seen a machine at a trade show or online, followed by a phone call and a quote. In Colombia, a cold email from an unknown foreign company is easy to ignore. Introductions through a trusted person, a cooperative, a coffee association or another grower carry far more weight. The operating change is to work through introductions: ask the growers who sent inquiries to introduce Cascade to neighbors, and attend regional coffee events in person.

Meeting Pace

US buyers expect a short meeting that gets to specifications and price. Colombian growers are likely to expect the first meeting to be about getting to know each other, often over a meal at the farm, with business coming later or at a second meeting. Rushing to price can read as disrespect. The change is to plan two visits for every serious buyer and to budget the time and travel that requires.

Who Decides

A US cafe owner usually decides alone or with one partner. On a Colombian family farm, the decision may involve several family members and a senior figure whose approval is needed even if a younger relative leads the conversation. The change is to identify early who will decide and to make sure that person hears the proposal directly, not secondhand.

How Agreement Is Expressed

In a low-context setting, yes means yes. In a high-context setting, a polite yes may only acknowledge the proposal, and a reluctance to say no directly can leave a seller believing a deal is closer than it is. The change is to read agreement from actions, such as a request for a formal quote, a visit to see a working machine or a deposit, rather than from words alone.

The Written Contract

US buyers expect the contract to carry the deal, with detailed terms. Colombian buyers may see the relationship as the real agreement and the contract as a formality, and may expect flexibility later if circumstances change, such as a bad harvest. The change is to keep the contract clear but short, explain each term in conversation and build in a sensible payment schedule that anticipates harvest timing.

Staying in Touch After the Sale

At home, after-sale contact is mostly service calls. In Colombia, a buyer who has made a large purchase from a foreign company is likely to value continued personal contact, a call during the harvest, a visit when the technician is nearby, as proof that the seller will stand behind the machine. The change is to schedule relationship visits, not only service visits, and to have a Spanish-speaking contact who knows each buyer by name.

In Tacoma the contract closes the sale; on a farm near Pereira the relationship does.

A Note on Region

Colombia is not one culture. Business in Bogota, the capital, moves faster and more formally than on a farm in the coffee axis, and buyers in Medellin are known for direct commercial talk. The patterns above fit rural growers best, which is where most of Cascade's inquiries came from. A cafe chain owner in Bogota may buy much the way an American cafe owner does, and the firm should not apply the farm approach where it does not belong.

What Changes for the Firm

The comparison points to three practical changes. Cascade needs a Spanish-speaking person, employed or through a distributor, who can build relationships over months rather than weeks. It needs a longer and more expensive sales cycle in its plans, with two or more visits per sale. And it should expect fewer, larger and more loyal customers than at home, since a grower who trusts the firm is likely to recommend it to neighbors.

References

Hall, E. T. (1976). Beyond culture. Anchor Press/Doubleday.

Hofstede, G. (2001). Culture's consequences: Comparing values, behaviors, institutions, and organizations across nations (2nd ed.). Sage.

Lewis, R. D. (2006). When cultures collide: Leading across cultures (3rd ed.). Nicholas Brealey.