So, it's a good thing there are books like this to help relieve our gauche-ness and keep the egg off our faces whether traveling or putting our businesses out on the Internet.
An alphabetical listing from Argentina through Venezuela, each country section has a small line map with the name of the capital city located inside.
They all begin with a short cultural note, followed by:
=> Country Background: Short history; Type of government; Language; Religion; Demographics.
=> Cultural Orientation: Cognitive styles; Negotiation style; Value Systems.
=> Business Practices: Appointments; Negotiating; Business entertainment; Time (in relation to Greenwich Mean Time).
=> Protocol: Greetings; Titles/forms of address; Gestures; Dress; Gifts.
Things you might not know include:
=> more than 14 major languages are spoken in India
=> in Ecuador, make appointments about 2 weeks in advance
=> literacy is almost 100% in Russia
=> Danes tend to get down to business right away, with a minimum of small talk
=> in Malaysia, one who expresses anger in public has shamefully lost face
=> nearly all Egyptians speak Arabic. Most business people who deal with foreigners speak English, French, or both
The appendix contains interesting & valuable information, too. I especially liked the pictures of phone, electrical, & ground adaptors. There's an entire page of metric equivalents for those who don't use them daily. Morrison includes a page about travel medical insurance, too.
What's missing? Information about African countries is nearly non-existent. Other than Egypt, no other country is covered, not even South Africa.
And, if you're looking for in-depth information about online courtesies, you'll have to dig deep to find them. There are few.
