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Spain's Social Organization and its Effect on New Business Operations

Introduction

Spain is a geographically diverse country that has a culture deep-rooted in tradition. The influences that Spain has undergone all through its history have impacted the Spanish culture. Therefore, the Spanish people have diverse personalities and identities. For a new business to be successful in the Spanish society and business world, it is imperative that the entrepreneurs have cultural competence and business etiquettes.

Body

Spanish Culture - Key Values

According to Bruton (1994), the Spanish people give immense importance to personal pride especially high up in the organizational hierarchy and in families, the latter of which will do anything for their honor. Consequentially, avoidance of losing face through any means be it criticism or embarrassment is necessary at all costs. The business implication of this high value of personal pride is that a project is presented such that it is understandable. This is to ensure avoidance of embarrassment arising from misapprehension. Also, due to this value they give high importance to control and cultural competence, especially at the management level. Similar to their behavior in familial settings, in the business context too the Spanish insist that everything is going as planned even if it is not, which might create a potential pitfall for a new business especially as a failure of oversight.

The Spanish culture is a mixture of both individualistic and collectivistic values. They put a lot of emphasis on the individualistic attributes like character and social status, which is given a lot of importance in all families. On the other hand, there still exists an influence of collectivist values because of the country's past where family bonding was very strong. Family values and a sense of group belonging are a critical part of Spanish society. As a result, relationships are important components of the Spanish culture. In the context of business, individualism is dominant i.e. personal attributes and professional competence plays a great role in the management. The Spanish management in most organizations does not favor group decision making and lack team orientation (House, et al., 2004). Where in a new business, you need the combined effort of all your employees to make it work out through the initial stages.

One of the primary elements of Spanish culture is their prudence towards new ideas. The Spanish avoid ambiguity although a risky situation that is a bit familiar might be accepted. For a start-up business, this value perhaps holds the most importance because this is directly related to their chances of acceptability in the society. House, et al. (2004) discuss that for managerial purposes, uncertainty avoidance means a strict adherence to organizational rules, regulations, and policies in order to maintain a structure and control. Here, we see that Spanish managers prefer precise solutions to problems and give precise instructions to minimize conflict. More importantly for a new business the acquiescent nature of Spanish towards initial business plans is habitually held up by a measured and cautious approach to final decisions.

The extent to which ...