Stan Gore, an engineer for a Chicago-based international construction company, w

Question

Stan Gore, an engineer for a Chicago-based international construction company, was working with a French firm on a two-year building project in Bordeaux France. After several months on the job, Stan was invited to attend a wine tasting party reception the French firm was hosting for the local subcontractors in Bordeaux France. Upon entering the formal wine party, a female manager of the French firm approached Stan to welcome him by kissed him in the cheek, Stan quickly retreated but the female manager moved forward approaching other cheek, which she kissed as well. At that point, Stan was a little bit unaware of what was going on and backed away a little more to try to talk normally but the female manager kept moving forward to kiss Stan again in the other cheek for the third time. After the last kiss on the cheek, Stan proceeded to tell her in English that he is married and this behavior is not acceptable to him. After Stan comes home to Chicago, the French firm requested to remove Stan from the project. Stan was confuse what went wrong.

Question 1: How would you explain this situation to Stan? Question 2: Please explain French business culture etiquettes.

Explanation / Answer

1. The situation can be explained to Stan in the context of cultural differences and nuances of that of America and France. In France it is common for friends and relatives to greet each other by kissing on the cheeks. This French custom is called ‘faire la bise’.

Stan misinterpreted the greeting that was accorded to him by the female manager and his rejection of the greeting was considered rude and ungentlemanly in the French cultural context. As per the French culture Stan was rude and his behavior was not socially and culturally acceptable. Stan was being removed as he was guilty of not showing appreciation for a common French practice in which friends, relatives and colleagues greet each other by skiing on the cheeks.

2. French business cultural etiquettes are more formal than American business cultural etiquettes. Superiors are always addressed as Monsieur or Madame. This is considered as a polite as well as a formal way of greeting seniors in an organization. Another important aspect of the business cultural etiquette in France is that a greeting should be followed by a brisk but light handshake. Thirdly dressing, appearance and body language are highly important. On business meetings people are expected to be dressed formally, even on Fridays. Appearance has to be neat and tidy and body language should be upfront, confident but not aggressive. In subsequent meetings the handshakes will be replaced by la bise (kiss on the cheeks) as the level of acquaintance increases between the two people.

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