Brazilians Working With Americans/Brasileiros que trabalham com americanos [Portuguese on title page only]

Cultural Case Studies/Estudos de casos culturais

By Orlando R. Kelm and Mary E. Risner

Publication Year: 2007

Doing business internationally requires understanding not only other languages, but even more so the business practices and cultures of other countries. In the case of Brazilians working with Americans, a fundamental difference for all parties to understand is that Brazilian business culture is based on developing personal relationships between business partners, while American businesspeople often prefer to get down to hard “facts and figures” quickly, with fewer personal preliminaries. Negotiating such differences is crucial to creating successful business relationships between the two countries, and this book is designed to help businesspeople do just that. Brazilians Working With Americans presents ten short case studies that effectively illustrate many of the cultural factors that come into play when North American business professionals work in Brazil. The authors summarize each case and the aspects of culture it involves, and American and Brazilian executives comment on the cultural differences highlighted by that case. A list of topics and questions for discussion also help draw out the lessons of each business situation. To make the book equally useful to Brazilians and Americans (whether businesspeople or language students), the entire text is presented in both English and Portuguese. In addition, Apple QuickTime movies of the executives' comments, which allow viewers to see and hear native speakers of both languages, are available on the Internet at www.laits.utexas.edu/orkelm/casos/intro.html.

Published by: University of Texas Press

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Contents | Sum�rio

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Preface

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pp. vii-viii

Brazilians Working With Americans: Cultural Case Studies is a collection of ten short case studies designed to help readers understand some of the cultural factors that come into play when North American business professionals work in Brazil. The ten cases are based on actual experiences that Brazilian executives relate about their work with North Americans. The ...

Pref�cio

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pp. ix-x

Brazilians Working With Americans: Cultural Case Studies � uma cole��o de dez pequenos estudos de casos que foram desenhados para ajudar os leitores a entender alguns dos fatores culturais que aparecem quando profissionais americanos trabalham no ambiente de neg�cios brasileiro. Os dez casos s�o baseados em experi�ncias verdadeiras que

Acknowledgments

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pp. xi-

Our appreciation goes to a number of colleagues and friends who assisted in the development of this project. Vivian Flanzer (University of Texas), Milton Torres (Faculdade Adventista da Bahia), Geovana Hill, Elissandra Capps, and Paula Vieira Fava all helped to review the cases and to assist in the Portuguese translations. Professors Ant�nio Barbosa Lemes J�nior and Cl�udio Miessa Rigo, both from the Federal University of ...

Agradecimentos

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pp. xii-

Nossos agradecimentos v�o para um grande n�mero de colegas e amigos que ajudaram no desenvolvimento desse projeto. Vivian Flanzer (Universidade do Texas), Milton Torres (Faculdade Adventista da Bahia), Geovana Hill, Elissandra Capps e Paula Vieira Fava ajudaram a revisar os casos e na tradu��o para ...

1. The Pressure’s On

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pp. 1-17

One of the North American executives in this case, John, is very detail oriented and extremely organized. When Brazilians describe North Americans, they often comment about their organizational skills: rational, methodical, and having a “bullet-points” orientation. Although these skills are admired, they may not necessarily transfer well to Brazilian ...

2. World Ship

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pp. 18-34

This case begins with an American perception that policy changes at World Ship will help it to be more productive. The new policy divides clients into three categories based on the revenues produced. Each category of client receives a different level of attention from World Ship sales personnel. It is interesting to talk to North Americans who have never worked ...

3. Burger World

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pp. 35-53

Burger World had been successful in the large metropolitan areas of Brazil but encountered difficulties when the company tried to expand into the smaller cities of the interior. Because these cities lacked a tradition of fast food or of family dining, the company needed to introduce a whole series of activities to customers, from training them to use drive-thru windows to ...

4. Electro World

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pp. 54-70

Brazilians often comment that, although they never want to see a return of the hyperinflation that used to exist in Brazil, those years taught them how to work in adverse conditions. Making a profit during inflationary times was difficult, something that North Americans just do not understand because they have never lived through it. In this case Carlos Lacerda, the ...

5. Petro Fibras

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pp. 71-90

In this case Renan Zettu’s German roots and southern Brazilian background help create a whole new image of Brazilian professionals. His discussion of employee benefits, human resources (hr) policy, and union activities also paints a new image of Brazilian companies. All of the executives’ comments touch on the difference between workers’ unions and company unions. All address the relative complexity of the system as well as the importance of finding ...

6. World Car

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pp. 91-109

As Fábio Martínez observes in his comments, “This case is a classic example of what happens when the home office trusts a few executives to direct a project.” Despite all of the hints and feedback that the small pickup would be a hard sell, World Car pushed the idea through with the attitude that the Brazilians would love it when they saw the final product. Besides ...

7. Donut World

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pp. 110-127

In this case, Donut World found ways to combine Brazilian and American culture to create a unique blend of both. Nothing illustrates this combination better than its pão de queijo donut. As Wendy Anderson observed, “It makes my mouth water, and I would like to try it. . . . Someone should try to bring it here.” From the flavors to the physical setting to advertising ...

8. Pizza World

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pp. 128-145

This case describes a number of difficulties that Pizza World encountered upon entering the Brazilian market. Brazilian-style pizza is very different from American-style pizza. North Americans find it difficult to visualize a pizza with corn, onions, and catupiry (a Brazilian cheese). It is not that Americans do not like Brazilian-style pizza, but they do not associate it ...

9. World Auto Parts

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pp. 146-165

The World Auto Parts case illustrates several things that a small firm can do right when making a decision to partner with Brazilians. All of the executives who comment on the case, both Brazilian and North American, agree that World Auto Parts took the time necessary to select a good partner. Most of the executives also appreciate the way that World Auto ...

10. Eco-Amusement World

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pp. 166-183

This case addresses the complicated issue of achieving sustainable development as Eco-Amusement World attempts to build an ecological theme park in the Amazon. It also tackles the issue of how to improve a local economy while at the same time attempting to preserve the environment. Some of the executive comments cast strong doubt on the wisdom and ...

Glossary: English-Portuguese

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pp. 185-187

Gloss�rio: Portugu�s-Ingl�s

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pp. 188-189