Our  Culture Quiz  offers an opportunity to assess your cross-cultural experience and skills.  You will be asked three questions for each of six of the US' most relevant business partners' cultures: China, France, Germany, India, Japan, and Spain.  The questions cover the areas of negotiation practices, presentation styles, and levels of formality.  You can leave answers open when unsure.

1. China
 

a.  Negotiations in China are best conducted on a one-on-one basis, since people generally prefer getting to know you well.

         True        Not true
 

b.  When starting a presentation in China, it is helpful to spend significant time discussing the history of your company.

         True        Not true
 

c.  Chinese banquets tend to be lengthy and tiresome, but it is ok to excuse yourself politely if you need to be well rested for the following day's interactions.

         True        Not true
 

2. France
 

a.  French negotiators may start debating your first agenda point even after you already covered and agreed on the first five points.

         True        Not true
 

b.  In front of a French audience, present your points and ideas in a very logical fashion, even if doing so may be seem a bit boring.

         True        Not true
 

c.  As the French are proud of their lifestyles, don't be surprised if someone quickly invites you to his or her home.  They love "showing off" a little.

         True        Not true
 

3. Germany
 

a.  When engaging in business negotiations in Germany, it is a good idea to avoid last-minute changes.

         True        Not true
 

b.  Germans pay much more attention to the underlying ideas and intentions of a presentation than to the details of what is being shown.

         True        Not true
 

c.  In Germany, even if a boss is wrong on an issue, people will hesitate to speak up, because Germans tend to be obedient.

         True        Not true
 

4. India
 

a.  Indian negotiators will make it clear when they don't like your proposed terms.

         True        Not true
 

b.  One should use lots of humor when presenting in India, because people there are very friendly and like to laugh.

         True        Not true
 

c.  In India, it's ok for bosses to be authoritarian as long as they are competent in their work area.

         True        Not true
 

5. Japan
 

a.  It is a good idea to bring a legal counselor along for business negotiations, as the Japanese prefer to define all contractual details precisely.

         True        Not true
 

b.  When presenting to a Japanese audience, expect several interruptions because they will want to discuss many details.

         True        Not true
 

c.  It is easy to pick out the decision maker when meeting with a group of employees of a Japanese company.

         True        Not true
 

Once you have made your inputs, clicking the Submit button leads you directly to the evaluation page.  Should any of your responses be incorrect, you will learn about the reasons right away.

6. Spain
 

a.  Spanish negotiators rarely compromise, so a tit-for-tat strategy of offering concessions and expecting reciprocity will not work well.

         True        Not true
 

b.  When presenting in Spain, expect people's attention to span only about 20-30 minutes.

         True        Not true
 

c.  When meeting someone in Spain for the first time, emphasize your position and title. Spaniards pay a lot of attention to such aspects.

         True        Not true