Barry Tomalin uses the ECOLE principle to help prepare for doing business in other countries. These five topics can be used to build profiles of your business partner and help identify areas where there are the most differences that could lead to misunderstandings
E Expectations
C Communication patterns
O Organisation
L Leadership and decision making
E Etiquette
14..1 – Expectations
Relationship/tasks
Equality/hierarchy
Risk-embracing/risk-averse
14..2 – Communication patterns
Direct/indirect
Formal/informal
Emotional/neutral
14..3 – Organisation
Teams/ individuals
Time tight/time loose
Holidays/daily organisation
Stay late/leave on time
14..4 – Leadership
Top-down/delegation
Implementation/delegation
Gender and ethnicity in management
14..5 – Etiquette
Greeting and leave-taking
Dress code
Gift-giving
Hospitality
Tomalin B . and Nicks M 2014 World Business Cultures -A Handbook Thorogood Publishing Ltd. London