Business Communication Essentials

Seventh Edition

Chapter 1
Professional
Communication in
Today’s Digital,
Social, Mobile
World
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Communication
•
Communication is the process of transferring information and meaning
between senders and receivers, using one or more print, oral, visual, or
digital media.

•
The essence of communication is sharing—providing data, information,
insights, and inspiration in an exchange that benefits both you and the
people with whom you are communicating.

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The Basic Communication Model

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The Basic Communication Model
1. The Sender Has an Idea
2. Sender Encodes Idea as a Message
3. Sender Produces the Message
4. Sender Transmits the Message
5. Audience Receives Sender’s Message
6. Audience Decodes the Message
7. Audience Responds to the Message
8. Audience Gives Feedback to Sender

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What Makes Business Communication
Effective
•
● Provide practical information. Give recipients useful information, whether it’s to help
them perform a desired action or understand a new company policy.
•
● Give facts rather than vague impressions. Use concrete language, specific detail,
and information that is clear, convincing, accurate, and ethical. Even when an opinion is
called for, present compelling evidence to support your conclusion.
•
● Present information in a concise, efficient manner. Concise messages show respect
for people’s time, and they increase the chances of a positive response.
•
● Clarify expectations and responsibilities. Craft messages to generate a specific re-
sponse from a specific audience. When appropriate, clearly state what you expect from
audience members or what you can do for them.
•
● Offer compelling, persuasive arguments and recommendations. Show your readers
precisely how they will benefit by responding the way you want them to respond to your
message.

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Communicating as a Professional
•
Professionalism is the quality of performing at a
high level and conducting oneself with purpose and
pride.
It means doing more than putting in the hours and
collecting a pay- check; true professionals go
beyond minimum expectations and commit to
making meaningful contributions.

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Elements of Professionalism

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Document Critique
•
The following document may contain errors in grammar, capitalization, punctuation,
abbreviation, number style, word division, and vocabulary.

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Solution

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Adopting an Audience-Centered Approach
•
Successful business professionals take an audience-centered approach to their
communication, meaning that they focus on understanding and meeting the needs of their
readers and listeners.
•
Providing the information your audiences need is obviously an important part of this
approach, but it also involves such elements as your ability to listen, your style of writing
and speaking, and your ability to maintain positive working relationships.
•
An important element of audience-centered communication is etiquette, the expected
norms of behavior in a particular situation.
•
In today’s hectic, competitive world, the notion of etiquette might seem outdated and
unimportant. Some people might even consider such “rules” a threat to their individual
freedom of expression.
•
However, the way you conduct yourself can have a profound influence on your company’s
success and your career. When executives hire and promote you, they expect your
behavior to protect the company’s reputation. The more you understand such
expectations, the better chance you have of avoiding career-damaging mistakes.

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Social Communication Model
•
In a larger sense, it also helps represent the traditional model of much
business communication, which was primarily defined by a publishing
or broadcasting mindset.
•
Externally, a company issued carefully scripted messages to a mass
audience that often had few options for responding to those messages
or initiating messages of their own.
•
Customers and other interested parties had few ways to connect with
one another to ask questions, share information, or offer support.
•
Internally, communication tended to follow the same “we talk, you listen”
model, with upper managers issuing directives to lower-level
supervisors and employees.

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Social Communication Model
•
in recent years, a variety of technologies have enabled and inspired a new
approach to business communication. In contrast to the publishing mindset, this
social communication model is interactive, conversational, and usually open to
all who wish to participate.
•
Audience members are no longer passive recipients of messages but active
participants in a conversation.
•
Social media have given customers and other stakeholders a voice they did not
have in the past.
•
And businesses are listening to that voice. In fact, one of the most common
uses of social media among U.S. businesses is monitoring online discussions
about a company and its brands.
•
Inside companies, social media make it easier for employees to voice concerns
and frustrations, increasing the chances that man- agers will address problems
that are getting in the way of people doing their jobs.

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Social Communication Model
•
Instead of transmitting a fixed message, a sender in a social
media environment initiates a conversation by sharing
valuable information. This information is often revised and
reshaped by the web of participants as they share it and
comment on it.
•
People can add to it or take pieces from it, depending on
their needs and interests.
•
Just as Web 2.0 signified the second generation of World
Wide Web technologies (blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other
social media tools), Business Communication 2.0 is a
convenient label for this approach to business
communication.
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Social Communication Model

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Social Communication Model
•
Potential problems include
– information overload,
– fragmented attention,
– information security risks,
– distractions that hurt productivity,
– the need to monitor and respond to numerous
conversational threads,
– blurring of the line between personal and professional
lives, which can make it difficult for people to disconnect
from work.

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Social Communication Model
•
Instead, a hybrid approach is emerging in which
some communications (such as strategic plans and
policy documents) follow the traditional approach,
while others (such as project management updates
and customer support messages) follow the social
model.

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Social Communication Model
(in Practice)

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Committing to Ethical Communication
•
Ethics are the accepted principles of conduct that govern
behavior within a society.

•
Ethical behavior is a companywide concern, but because
communication efforts are the public face of a company,
they are subjected to particularly rigorous scrutiny from
regulators, legislators, investors, consumer groups,
environmental groups, labor organizations, and anyone else
affected by business activities.

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Committing to Ethical Communication
•
Ethical communication includes all relevant information, is
true in every sense, and is not deceptive in any way.

•
In contrast, unethical communication can distort the truth
or manipulate audiences in a variety of ways.

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Unethical Communication (1 of 2)

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Distinguishing Ethical Lapses from
Ethical Dilemmas
What’s an Ethical Dilemma?
• Choosing From Among Conflicting Alternatives
What’s an Ethical Lapse?
• Making a Choice That’s Clearly Unethical

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Distinguishing Ethical Lapses from Ethical
Dilemmas
•
Some ethical questions are easy to recognize and resolve, but others
are not. Deciding what is ethical in complex business situations is not
always easy.
•
An ethical dilemma involves choosing among alternatives that aren’t
clear-cut. Perhaps two conflicting alternatives are both ethical and valid,
or perhaps the alternatives lie some- where in the gray area between
clearly right and clearly wrong.
•
Every company has responsibilities to multiple groups of people inside
and outside the firm, and those various groups often have competing
interests.

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Distinguishing Ethical Lapses from
Ethical Dilemmas
•
For instance, employees generally want higher
wages and more benefits, but investors who have
risked their money in the company want
management to keep costs low so that profits are
strong enough to drive up the stock price.
•
Both sides have a valid ethical position.

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Distinguishing Ethical Lapses from Ethical
Dilemmas
•
Unlike a dilemma, an ethical lapse is a clearly unethical
choice.
•
With both internal and external communication efforts, the
pressure to produce results or justify decisions can make
unethical communication a tempting choice.
•
Telling a potential customer you can complete a project by a
certain date when you know you can’t is simply dishonest,
even if you need the contract to save your career or your
company. There is no ethical dilemma here.

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Making Ethical Choices
• Have you defined the situation?
• Why are you communicating?
• What impact will your message have?
• What good or harm will be achieved?
• Will your assumptions change?
• Are you comfortable with the decision?

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McDonald’s Australia 2020 TV Ad
The communication process describes the interactions between a sender and a receiver of
a message. Let’s watch the video "The Communications Process and IMC." Later, analyze
the commercial using the communications model.
https://youtu.be/oM9P1J2MGWI

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In-class Assignments
Video-Related Questions-1
• https://youtu.be/oM9P1J2MGWI

1. Who are the sender and receiver of the commercial?

2. Why are marketers at McDonald's concerned about the
encoding and decoding of the commercial?
3. What is the central message of the commercial?

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Key Aspects of Cultural Diversity
• Cultural Context • Age Differences
• Legal and Ethical • Gender Differences
• Social Customs • Religious Differences
• Nonverbal Signals • Ability Differences

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Cultural Context

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33
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 Concepts Of Culture And Ethnicity
• Culture- a set of values, beliefs &
traditions that are held by a specific
social group and handed down from
generation to generation

• Dominant group- the group within the

culture that has the authority to control
the value system.

• Minority group- usually has some

physical or cultural characteristic that
identifies the people within it as
different

34
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35
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 36

Elements of Culture
– Material life (technologies that are used to produce, distribute,
and consume goods and services)
– Language (language has two parts: the spoken and the silent
language)
– Aesthetics (ideas and perceptions that a culture upholds in
terms of beauty and good taste)
– Education (One of the major vehicles to channel from one
generation to the next)
– Religion (community’s set of beliefs relating to a reality that
cannot be verified empirically)
– Value System (values shape people’s norms and standards)
– Social Interaction (social interactions among people; nuclear
family, extended family; reference groups)

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 37

Cross-Cultural Comparisons
 Cultures differ from one another, but usually share
certain aspects. Recent social psychology research
reveal key cultural differences between East (high)
and West (low) context cultures in how people
perceive reality and reasoning.
 High-context cultures: Interpretation of messages
rests on contextual cues; e.g., China, Korea, Japan.
 Low-context cultures: Put the most emphasis on
written or spoken words; e.g., USA, Scandinavia,
Germany.
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 38

Cross-Cultural Comparisons

High context Japanese

IMPLICIT Arabian
Latin American
Spanish
Italian
English (UK)
French

English (US)

Scandinavian
German
Low context
Swiss EXPLICIT

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 39

Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions

• Power Distance
– measures the extent to
which the less powerful
members of organizations
and institutions (like the
family) accept and expect
that power is distributed
unequally. This represents
inequality (more versus
less), but defined from
below, not from above.

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 Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions
• Individualism/Collectivism
– The degree to which individuals are integrated into
groups

40
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 Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions
• Masculinity/ Feminism
– focuses on how extent to which a society stress achievement

41
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 High Masculine Low Masculine (Feminine)
social norms ego oriented relationship oriented
quality of life and people are
money and things are important
important
live in order to work work in order to live

politics and economics economic growth high priority environment protection high priority

conflict solved through force conflict solved through negotiation

religion most important in life less important in life

only men can be priests both men and women as priests

work larger gender wage gap smaller gender wage gap

fewer women in management more women in management

preference for higher pay preference for fewer working hours

family and school traditional family structure flexible family structure

girls cry, boys don’t; boys fight, girls

both boys and girls cry; neither fight
don’t
failing is a disaster failing a minor accident
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 Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions
• Uncertainty Avoidance/ Risk Taking

43
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 Hofstede’s Cultural Dimensions
• Confucian Dynamism: Long-term Outlook, work ethic

• Also known as Long Term Orientation is a national culture dimension which describes
the extent to which individuals within the culture focus on the short-term and immediate
consequences versus take a long-term focus.

44
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 Understanding The Culture

• Having an
understanding of
the culture can
actually become a
firm’s competitive
advantage.

45
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Adaptation to Cultures
• Global marketers need to become sensitive to
cultural biases that influence their thinking,
behavior, and decision making.
• Culture is key pillar of the marketplace.
• Self-reference criterion (SRC): Refers to the
people’s unconscious tendency to resort to their
own cultural experience and value systems to
interpret a given business situation.
• Ethnocentrism refers to the feeling of one’s own
cultural superiority.
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Adaptation to Cultures
• Because of that, firms in diversified
cultural environment should take
into account all
opportunities, threats and
challenges…
• It is true for the international
companies…
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 Cultural And Ethnic Influences On Entering
Another Country
• Gender Roles- It is important to know who is the dominant
figure in a family

• Language and Communication- Some customer may not

be able to speak the English Language

• Socio-economic conditions

48
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 Characteristics
• Japanese people never look deeply to your eyes

• In some Arabic culture, women cannot go outside without a

man

• Religious Muslims do not drink alcohol and drugs

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 If You Want To Make An International
Agreement (Tricks Or Hints)
• Germany: You must be timely
• France: You must wear an official dress (suit up)
• Italy: While at a business dinner, keep talking about Italian
food
• Russia: While negotiation if they doing hand contact or
touch your shoulders, they start to trust you
• Saudi Arabia: During the greetings kiss three time (never,
ever try to kiss a woman)

50
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 Business Culture in Turkey
Did you know about the business culture in Turkey?
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51
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 International business in Turkey
• To succeed with any potential venture in a thriving
new economy, understanding the Turkish culture,
the people, etiquette and the way they do
business is essential.

• The first section focuses on the attitudes and

values of the Turkish people. Business ethics will
then be examined, introducing the typical cultural
and ethical differences that you may encounter
when doing business in Turkey.
52
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 Cultural taboos

• By understanding Turkish culture and abiding by the

appropriate etiquette, you can gain respect from the
people of Turkey.

• Being a Muslim country, religion plays a major role in

people’s everyday lives and it also shapes their values and
ideals.

53
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 Cultural taboos
• Certain issues that are considered inappropriate and should be avoided when
communicating with Turkish people:
– Family is sacred; don’t disrespect their family.
– Turkish people stand close to you during a conversation. It is normal in
Turkey to have very little interpersonal space and not something to be
apprehensive about.
– Discussing business right away without getting to know your partner first.
– Using pressure tactics, such as imposing a deadline.
– Showing a lack of respect for cultural values and adopting a patronising or
authoritarian attitude.
– Talking about sensitive historical issues, such as the Armenian issue or
the division of Cyprus.

54
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 Cultural taboos
• Certain gestures and body language have different meanings varying
from rude to insulting and offensive, such that the following should be
avoided:
– Standing with your hands on your hips or in your pockets.

55
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 Cultural taboos
• Certain gestures and body language have different meanings varying
from rude to insulting and offensive, such that the following should be
avoided:
– Pointing at someone with your finger.

56
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 Cultural taboos
• Certain gestures and body language have different
meanings varying from rude to insulting and offensive,
such that the following should be avoided:
– Showing the soles of your feet.

57
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 Cultural taboos
• Certain gestures and body language have different
meanings varying from rude to insulting and offensive,
such that the following should be avoided:
– Making the ‘”OK’” sign with your hand.

58
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Cultural taboos
• Blowing your nose is also very rude in Turkey…

• Don’t do it during a business meeting….

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 Cultural taboos
• Understanding Turkish culture, in order to avoid
misunderstandings and showing a lack of respect for
Turkish beliefs and views, will help to develop business
relationships and maintain future ties.

60
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 Business Culture
• Business culture in Turkey is characterized by:
– business communication,
– business etiquette,
– business meeting etiquette.

61
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 Business Communication
• Face-to-face communication
 Non-verbal Communication
 Verbal Communication
• Language matters
• Business relationships
• Business contact
• Personal titles

62
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 Business Communication
• It’s important to know the habits and communication patterns of the
country you are doing business with.

• Effective communication can bring you closer to making a business

deal successful.

• Turkey has many traditional beliefs and values, therefore an

understanding of its culture will bring you closer to future business
success.

63
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 Face-to-face communication

• As personal relationships are very important for Turks, a

number of verbal and non-verbal communication habits
should be considered when doing business in Turkey.

64
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 Non-verbal Communication
• People greet each other by shaking hands or by kissing on both
cheeks.

• When an elderly person enters a room, it is expected that you will

stand up in order to greet them.

• Crossing your arms or putting your hands in your pockets while

facing or talking to someone is impolite.

• Tipping your head forward means ‘yes’, but lifting your head
backwards and raising your eyebrows means ‘no’
65
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 Non-verbal Communication
• Staring is common among the Turkish people, so don’t be concerned if
you are stared at.

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 Non-verbal Communication
• It is unfriendly to step backwards if a Turk is standing close
to you, as they tend to stand quite close when speaking.

• It is important to maintain direct eye contact while

speaking, as a sign of sincerity.

• The use of hand gestures and facial expressions in

conversation is very common.

67
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 Verbal Communication
• When communicating with Turkish people first impressions
are important.

• So, a good way to make a good first impression is to speak

highly of Turkey, its natural resources, people, geographic
importance and your personal experiences as a visitor.

• Showing interest and excitement at tasting the local foods

and demonstrating knowledge of the language will also
make a good impression.
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 Verbal Communication

• It is best to avoid speaking about religion and politics

during the initial meetings. These are highly sensitive
topics that require local knowledge and an appreciation for
the views of your host.

• Humour is greatly appreciated, although any jokes should

be tempered with respect and consideration for your
business partners.

69
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 Language matters
• The official language of Turkey is Turkish.

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 71

Language matters
• English is taught in most of
the public secondary schools.
French and German are also
being taught, but the majority
of the students choose
English.
• However, German has
become quite popular in
recent years due to the great
mobility of Turkish workers to
Germany and contact with the
language.

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 72

Language matters
• Although many young people have
a fairly good command of the
English language, the older
generations may not.

• Therefore, when dealing with

senior managers in most
companies, it is recommended to
use an interpreter in order to avoid
misunderstandings or
misinterpretations.

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 73

Business relationships
• Personal relationships in Turkey
are developed to strengthen
business relationships.
• You have to win Turkish people’s
trust before doing business with
them.
• In fact, a business relationship is
a personal relationship and by
winning your business partner’s
friendship and trust, that does not
necessarily mean that they will
trust anyone else from your
company.

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 74

Business relationships
• The Turkish business environment
exhibits much respect for rank,
education and authority.

• It is usual that the most senior

person in the company makes the
decisions.

• However, the decision maker will

often involve other people in the
company in that process due to the
Turkish culture’s strong sense of
collectivism.
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 75

Business relationships
• In the Turkish business culture, the
distinctions between the
professional and personal domains
of life are not clearly defined and
may overlap.
• As a result of the value placed on
the family unit in Turkey, the most
senior business person is viewed
as a father or mother figure who
should consider the well-being of
their employees’ family and social
duties.”
• In Turkey, age is considered a sign
of wisdom and should be respected
in all aspects of society.
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 76

Business contact
• Turkish people are rather
experienced in working
with foreign businesses.
• Foreign managers consider
Turks flexible and practical.
• The best way to approach
them is by phone and
email in the early stages,
then by following up with
direct communications.

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 77

Business contact
• When interacting with colleagues
and acquaintances, an arm’s length
is an appropriate amount of
interpersonal space.
• However, personal space is closer
for Turks than what would be
considered usual for many
foreigners; so this can be a little
awkward for some people.
• For closer relationships like friends
and family members, interpersonal
space becomes even smaller and
there is a reasonable amount of
touching.

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 78

Personal titles
• In Turkish business practices,
addressing a Turkish professional
by his or her occupational title
alone, such as ‘Doctor’ or ‘Lawyer’,
is considered respectful.
• You may also hear the phrase
‘efendim’, meaning ‘my master’,
which Turks use quite often as a
polite way of addressing people
they do not know personally.
• It is typically heard from waiters,
secretaries, taxi drivers, doormen,
shop staff and service workers.

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 Business etiquette

• Corporate and social responsibilities

• Punctuality
• Gift giving
• Business dress code

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Corporate and social responsibilities

• Corporate social responsibility has
become a vital and popular issue in
Turkey.
• It has become apparent to
businesses that developing
sustainability of resources is as
important as financial sustainability.
• Business interest in corporate
sustainability and corporate social
responsibility is growing in Turkey.

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 81

Punctuality
• Turkish people are very traditional
and formal when doing business.
• Therefore, scheduling appointments
in advance is important.
• Furthermore, Turkish people value
punctuality, and expect international
professionals engaging in business
with them to do the same.
• If for some reason you are going to
be late, it is essential to call ahead
as soon as possible with a
reasonable explanation.

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 82

Gift giving
• In business relationships, gift giving is not
generally practiced.

• If you decide on giving a gift, it won’t be viewed

as an insult, but avoid expensive gifts and
choose something small, such as a souvenir
from your home country.

• For social occasions like birthdays, weddings,

religious ceremonies, gift giving is normal.

• It is customary to bring a gift when going to a

Turk’s home for dinner.

• The most common gifts are pastries, or items for

the home.

• When somebody gets married or has a child,

he/she brings chocolate or Turkish Delight to the
business meeting.

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 83

Business dress code

• Styles of business attire in Turkey,
particularly in the larger cities, are pretty
much the same as in other developed
countries.

• Men wear a conservative suit and tie, while

women normally wear business suits with
either a skirt or pants.

• During the summer, lighter clothes are

acceptable; men can wear a shirt and
trousers without a jacket and perhaps even a
tie, depending on the formality of the
business.

• Women can wear lighter clothes, without a

jacket but making sure not to wear anything
too tight or revealing.

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 Meeting etiquette
• Business meetings

• Importance of business meetings

• Business meeting planning

• Negotiation process

• Meeting protocol

• How to run a business meeting

• Follow up letter after meeting with a client

• Business meals

• Business meeting tips

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 85

Business meetings
• Meetings are important for Turkish
business people.
• It would be a good idea for meeting to
be scheduled one to two weeks in
advance to avoid Turkish holidays.
• It is recommended to send details
about the people who will be coming to
the meeting, including their positions,
titles and responsibilities.
• Although Turks are not vey punctual,
they expect foreign visitors to be on
time. The meeting may start later than
scheduled, but be patient.

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 86

Importance of business meetings

• The initial meetings are usually
formal, as business is a serious
matter and must be treated that
way.
• So it is important to avoid being too
casual and friendly, despite the
personal relationship that might
have been developed.
• Initial meetings hardly ever lead to
decisions and are used primarily as
ways to get to know each other.
• So don’t try to limit the discussion
to business only.

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 87

Importance of business meetings

• At the start of the meeting, it is expected for
you to greet your Turkish counterpart with a
firm handshake.

• For the Turkish women, men should wait for

the woman to offer her hand first.

• Small talk is good to enter into conversation

with before beginning business discussions.

• Presentations should be short and to the

point.

• The proposal should be clearly structured

and presented.

• Visuals in a presentation always help, so try

using good, clear graphics with less text.

• It is also a good idea to translate important

materials to Turkish, in order to get your
message across.
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 88

Business meeting planning

There are various issues to consider when
setting up a meeting with your Turkish
counterpart:
– Schedule meetings ahead of time –
at least one to two weeks in
advance and confirm by email or
telephone call.
– Learn the proper titles, positions
and responsibilities of the people
you are meeting with and the proper
pronunciation of their names
beforehand. You can use
professional or occupational titles to
address a Turkish business person.
– Make sure that your first contact is
through a third party that is well
respected. Trade shows, embassies
and banks can provide contacts
who can open doors and introduce
relevant business partners.
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 89

Business meeting planning

• Avoid making appointments during
Turkish holidays.

• Most businesspeople in Turkey speak

some English, French and/or German.
However, it is advisable to ask if an
interpreter will be needed.

• Punctuality is important. If you expect to

be late, you should call ahead and give
an explanation.

• Be familiar with the people in your

prospective business partner’s
organization and their level of importance
in the management hierarchy.

• Titles, such as Doctor or Professor, are

appreciated, and are often used without
adding the person’s family name.

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 90

Negotiation process
• The negotiation process may take longer
than usual.

• Turkish business people do not like to be

put under pressure and do not like
deadlines.

• Therefore any attempt to hurry the process

will only produce negative results.

• Being patient is an asset when negotiating

with Turkish counterparts.

• The financial benefits are not the only

aspects of the negotiating process that
should be stressed; power, influence,
honour, respect are non-financial incentives
that will also influence the business
decision.

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 Negotiation process
• There are still many family run
businesses in Turkey, although
there are many big multinationals
where a more corporate culture is
visible.
• Turks want to do business with
those they are keen to, trust, feel
comfortable with and can provide
a long term relationship.
• If they sense that you are hiding
something, you will most likely be
rejected.

91
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 Negotiation process
• Decision making in Turkey can be slow. Be
prepared to meet several times before the
actual bargaining or negotiation stage.

• You will probably meet with less senior

members of a family, before meeting with the
key decision-makers.

• As negotiations proceed and you have been

accepted as being trustworthy and your
proposal is financially feasible, then it is likely
you will meet the executives or senior
members.

• Decisions are ultimately made by the head of

the family or company.

92
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 93

Meeting protocol
• When greeting Turkish people in a
professional setting, formal forms of address
should be used. The first name is never used
on its own. ‘Ms.’ or ‘Mr.’ is added to your
given name.

• So, Mr. Ben Smith could be addressed as Mr.

Ben or Mr. Smith, but never as ‘Ben’. It is
correct to address a Turk as ‘Mr. Ahmet’ or
‘Ms. Ayşe’, but it is also acceptable to use the
‘Ahmet Bey’ or ‘Ayşe Hanım’ as forms of
address.

• If you speak Turkish, use the formal ‘siz’ and

not ‘sen’ form of the verb to refer to the
second person, even if you know your
contact quite well. It is expected to greet the
most senior person first as a sign of respect,
before greeting everyone else in the room
individually. The most common greeting is
‘Merhaba’.
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 94

How to run a business meeting

• For Turks, the first meeting is more social than
business. Their aim is to get to know you and
it is extremely rude to insist on talking about
business right away.

• Courtesy is crucial in business, so the ability

to listen and show patience are the two
qualities that the Turks appreciate most highly.

• You may be asked about your family,

interests, cultural and historical questions
about your home country, or sports.

• Don’t be afraid to ask the same questions.

Turkish people like talking about their family
and personal interests. When speaking it is
important to maintain eye contact since this
conveys sincerity and helps build a trusting
relationship.

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 95

How to run a business meeting

• Business is taken very seriously
in Turkey and meetings will have
formal protocols and agenda
that should be respected.

• However, business may or may

not get discussed in the first
meeting as agenda items may
not be strictly adhered to.
Therefore, you should let your
Turkish counterpart lead the
discussion.

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 96

How to run a business meeting

• Presentations should always be short
and to the point. Make sure that you
have a clearly structured proposal.
• Avoid using too much text since Turks
like to communicate visually and orally.
• Instead, try using diagrams and
graphics wherever possible, and avoid
complicated expressions and difficult
words.
• It is important that your proposal clearly
shows the mutual profitability and
benefits of any agreement or
partnership, since Turks are serious and
astute in business.

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 97

Follow up letter after meeting with a client

• After the meeting, negotiations and
discussions will continue before
reaching a deal or establishing a
partnership. You should maintain
personal contacts and share all the
relevant information about the
negotiation or the project.
• Throughout the negotiation, you should
remain patient, calm, and understand
that delays may occur.
• If the negotiation is finished with a deal
being reached, you should prepare a
written contract, which will be strictly
followed and respected by your Turkish
counterpart.

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 98

Follow up letter after meeting with a client

• Turkish business people believe that the
principal strength of an agreement is in
their partners’ commitment rather than the
actual documentation.

• Nevertheless, the agreement may be

lengthy and detailed. It is recommended
to have a local legal expert review the
agreement, before the actual signing of
the contract.

• However, it is not recommended to bring

your legal representative to the
negotiation table, as it could be taken as a
sign of distrust.

• There may be times when a signed

contract is broken or needs to be
modified, so being flexible and
maintaining trust is important to nurturing
an ongoing business relationship.
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 99

Business meals
• In some companies, tea is served
without asking.
• We eat warm meal both in lunch and
dinner.
• Business entertaining usually occurs
in restaurants. For Turks, the meal is
a time to relax and engage in some
good conversation and build the
relationship on a more personal
basis.
• They are proud of their cuisine, so
wherever possible try to emphasise
your appreciation of the food.

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 100

Attitudes towards business meals:

• Do not offer to pay; the host always pays for
the meal. The concept of sharing a bill is
completely unfamiliar to them.

• It is polite to thank the host and return the

invitation at the next possible occasion.
When you are the host, you should choose a
good restaurant and inform the restaurant
that you will be paying the bill.

• Business can be discussed during the meal,

but it is advisable to let your host direct the
topic of conversation.

• At the end of a meal, tea or Turkish coffee

will be served. Turkish coffee is a national
drink, so it is important to try it at least once.
In fact, drinking coffee is gesture of
hospitality and you must always accept a
drink of tea or coffee, even if you just take a
few sips.
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 101

Restaurant Etiquette
• Be punctual for lunch or dinner. If the
invitation was for 8pm, then you must
arrive at 8pm.

• Do not eat or drink before the oldest

person at the table has been served and
started to eat or drink.

• Chicken, lamb and fish often form the

base of the main course in Turkish
cuisine, while pork is expressly forbidden
for religious reasons.

• Smoking is rather frequent at meals, so

don’t be surprised if they take breaks
between courses to have a cigarette.

• It is expected that guests will finish all the

food on their plates and it may cause
offence if you do not.

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 Business meeting tips
• Appointments are necessary, but first meetings are generally more social

• Turkish people usually do business with those they trust, like and respect.

• Dress conservatively: suits with tie for men and smart outfits for women are
preferred.
• Be punctual, but don’t expect punctuality from your Turkish counterparts.

• Don’t use high pressure tactics in order to close a deal, as it may turn against
you.
• Decision-making is a slow process, so be patient.

• At meetings, documentation should be provided in both English and Turkish.

102
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 Business meeting tips
• Lunches and dinners are for creating personal relationships. Don’t talk about business
during a business meal unless the subject is brought up by your business counterpart.

• A clearly structured and well presented proposal is very important, but not the only factor
taken into account in making business decisions.

• Small talk is useful for opening communication with most Turkish people.

• When greeting, always greet the oldest person first; Turks have a great respect for the
elderly.

• Exchanging gifts is not necessary in the Turkish business culture, although they would
be accepted with gratitude.

• Maintain eye contact while speaking.

• Speak slowly enough to ensure that you are understood, but without appearing
patronising.

103
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Carly Fiorina: Ethics in a Corporate Life
https://youtu.be/RhLSAepoaM8

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In-class Assignments
Video-Related Questions-2

• https://youtu.be/FtY6Ccs0q2g

1. Summarize the main idea presented in the video.

2. Do you agree with what is said in the video?
3. Do you have any experience doing business in Turkey or
with a Turkish person? If yes, how was it?

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In-class Assignments
Video-Related Questions-3
•https://youtu.be/RhLSAepoaM8

4. Determine why ethics in business matters and how

would you apply ethics to your management style?

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