Brazil - Working and dealing with the Brazilians

Who should attend ?

Company managers and staff working and dealing with the Brazilians

Objectives

The aim of this seminar is to significantly improve the participants’ effectiveness in their professional relationships with the Brazilians, enabling them to be operational right from the start.

At the end of this training, participants will have acquired insights and techniques to:

• Be aware of their own cultural baggage
• Fully understand Brazilian context and culture
• Analyse possible situations in which misunderstandings may arise and identify ways of communicating
• Reduce stress and misunderstandings
• Decipher and understand Brazilian decision-making and negotiation processes

Programme Outline

Module 1 : Understanding cultural differences

1. Intercultural awareness : the key to success in international business

• Taking stock of one's own cultural baggage
• The basics of effective intercultural management
• Identifying and going beyond cultural stereotypes

2. Key aspects of Brazilian culture

• A multicultural colossal nation, a variety of regional tendencies
• The impact of Portuguese colonization
• The Brazilian federation: a balance of powers
• Mercosul, NAFTA and international perspectives
• Social classes and inequality: the Brazilian pattern
• The question of the pharmaceutical industry in the economic system

3. The impact of values and behaviour patterns on professional dealings and relationships

• Conviviality, humour and hospitality physical closeness
• Religious traditions : a component of every daily behaviour
• A powerful patriarchal structure, the claim of emotions
• A Latino culture embedded with American and European influences
• An informal but resilient hierarchy

4. The Brazilian corporate world

• Small and medium firms, multinational groups
• A paternalistic orientated structure
• Reliability and flexibility: “Jeitinho” and “malandragem”
• Brazilian trade unions in the corporate world
• The impact of bureaucracy and administration

Module 2 : Succeeding in work with the Brazilians

1. Effective communication with the Brazilians

• Inter-individual socialization and the importance of networks
• The impact of mass-media communication
• Humour and allusions
• The characteristics of Brazilian Portuguese

2. Adapting your working methods

• Endorsing trustful cooperation: the reign of “Persolanismo”
• Delegation and consensus
• Empowering one’s authority: the Brazilian “Jogo de cintura”
• Respecting one’s age and status
• Supporting individual aspirations
• Handling conflicts: patience, mediation and honour

3. Successful meetings and negotiations with the Brazilians

• Identifying decision-makers: the characteristics of Brazilian “despachantes”
• Improving one’s credibility: accuracy, punctuality, harshness
• Understanding written contracts, their interpretation and implications

4. Final handy tips

• Caution, patience and humility
• Protocol and etiquette
• Social standards, gifts, business cards, dress code, etc
• Sensitive subjects: politics, history, religion
• Humour: a double-edged sword