AJ Brown
Ruby Chang
Jeff Kalvik
Melissa La
Introduction
 Language:
Portuguese
 Ease of doing business


2010 – 124th in the world
2011 – 127th in the world
 Population:
193.7 million
 Gross National Income Per Capital: $8,070
US
 Predominant religion: Catholic
Introduction
 Main






Export:
Aircraft
Automobile
Textile
Coffee
Soy bean
Orange juice
 Main




Import:
Machinery
Transport electrical
equipment
Chemical product
Oil
Important Dates for Brazil
 Carnival

46 days before Easter
 Easter
 Day
of the Dead – November 2nd
 May 1st – Labour Day
Timing

Most Brazilian cities working hours are 8:30am
to 5:00 pm


Time goes at a slower pace in Brazil.



an hour or 2 for lunch.
Schedule appointments 2-3 weeks in advance
and confirm once you have arrived.
Leave extra time for meetings since they can go
long.
Although most social events will start much
later than the official start time, it is good idea
to arrive at any business functions on time
Basic Cultural Values
 Hierarchical



Status-driven
Vertical Hierarchy
Male domination of management roles
Basic Cultural Values
 Relationship


Oriented
Get a Brazilian to introduce you
First impressions are important
Basic Cultural Values
 Principal

Driven
“For friends, everything. For enemies, the
law.”
 Bargaining

Culture
World-famous negotiators
Basic Cultural Values

Dress Codes

Men
Conservative Dark Suits
 Two-piece vs. Three-piece


Women
Feminine and elegant
 Hair Done Up, Manicures expected


Overdress rather than underdressed
Ways of Thinking

Individualistic VS Collectivistic


Reductionist VS Holistic


Brazil’s National Motto: Ordem e Progresso (Order
and Progress)
Sequential VS Circular


Do what is best for the group
They think about all possible outcomes.
Future-oriented
What To Do

Physical Contact



Eye contact





Stand close
Touching is acceptable
Frequent
Staring conveys sincerity and respect
Take business card while maintaining eye contact; look
at card; place card in front of you on table
Do wear muted colors
Socialize after meetings
What Not To Do

Speak Spanish. They speak Portuguese.
Rush through meetings

Tipping is option






Don’t tip taxi drivers
Do tip hotel porters
Wear green and yellow together
Yawn or stretch in public
Eat while on public transit
Actions
 Good
I
Luck
Don’t Know
 Agreement
 Okay
sign
Gifting Practices
 Not
necessary
 Can be seen as a sign of bribery
 Gift only during social gatherings
 No Purple or Black coloured gifts
 Don’t give handkerchiefs (grief) and
knives (ending relationship)
 Give gifts to children
Entertainment Practice
 Objective
of business meals are to get to
know the other party better
 Don’t initiate business conversation
 Keep the conversation at the social level
and if business is to be discussed, wait until
the coffee is served
Food and Dining
 Coffee


Always accept it when offered
Represents initial contact/personal
invitation to a beginning of a relationship
 Rejecting
drink or food from a Brazilian is
seen as being offensive
Food and Dining
 Brazilians
 Correct
 Never
value dining etiquette
use of utensils
use your hands when eating
Food and Dining
 Men

Beer is perceived as a Man’s drink
 Women


Wine
Alcoholic beverages and spirits
 Upon
toasting, take a sip to show a
gesture of respect
Interpretation of Ethics
 Oral


statements are not dependable
Brazilian mostly rely on hand shakes and
oral agreements
Make sure you get written agreements after
 Bribery
is common in negotiation
 Lying is common in negotiation
Communication
 Good



Conversation
Soccer
Family
Children
 Bad





 Main
Conversation
Argentina
Politics
Poverty
Religion
Rain Forest
communication will be face-to-face.
 Men are more credible than women.
Negotiation

The Despachante
Long courting process
Informal
Let Brazilians introduce the basic topic

Means of Persuasion



 Patient
and questioning
 Men have more credibility than women
Negotiation
 Terms



of Agreement
Brazilians value long term relationship.
Building relationships
Relationships come first, second and third in
Brazil. Time spent working on the
development of long-term friendly relations
is never a waste of resource.
Four Principles
 Be
Open-minded
 Be Adaptable
 Be Flexible
 Be Patient
Sources







Management Review; Sep66, Vol. 55 Issue 9, p60, 3p
Business Kwantlen
Persuasive communication By James Brian Stiff, Paul
A. Mongeau
http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Collectivist_and_in
dividualist_cultures
http://www.analytictech.com/mb021/cultural.htm
http://www.communicaid.com/access/pdf/library/c
ulture/doing-businessin/Doing%20Business%20in%20Brazil.pdf
http://www.maria-brazil.org/business_in_brazil.htm
http://www.worldbusinessculture.com/Business-inBrazil.html