Cultural awareness or cultural knowledge is becoming increasingly important in today's global economy. The sentiment that because the "world is getting smaller" our differences are becoming less obvious is recognised as flawed. As people interact and do business across cultural boundaries more often, cross cultural differences become more acute.
Businesses now accept that equipping people with the appropriate cultural awareness can and does impact business operations positively. This guide to doing business in Hungary offers a taster of some of the information a cultural awareness briefing would provide.
In this guide we provide some very basic tips for people doing business in Hungary. It is important to bear in mind that all we offer are generalisation of Hungarian culture and society and do not in any way mean to stereotype the Hungarian people.
Meeting and Greeting
When meeting business personnel a handshake is expected. A man should however wait for a woman to extend her hand before doing so although with the younger generation this may not be an issue.
When doing business in Hungary you would need to be aware of appropriate titles; this is an indication of the fact that Hungarian society can be quite hierarchical. Obvious titles such as Doctor, Professor, Director, etc should be used with surnames. If you are unaware of any title then use the surname with Mr (ur), Miss (kisasszony) or Mrs (surname + ne; i.e. Mrs Smith would be Smithne).
Bring plenty of business cards and present them to all you meet. Although it would be a nice touch to translate them into Hungarian, it is not really necessary.
Relationship Building
Prior to doing business in Hungary you will need the help of a local representative. This individual can help approach businesses, make appointments, act as an interpreter and be a decent source of cross cultural knowledge.
Once you have built some contacts you need to invest time in strengthening relationships. Although Hungary is not as relationship driven as say the Middle East, a certain amount of trust needs to be in place before serious business can take place.
A relationship is built over a lot of food, drink and entertainment. Meals are the time to get to know your future partner(s). Try and avoid taking business at meals. Good topics of conversation are horses, food and wine.
Negotiating
A lasting effect of the Communist era has been that negotiations can still be cumbersome affairs. The combination of slow decision making, an aversion to risk and plenty of red tape means you need patience. However, if the chemistry is right this can be reduced.
Doing Business in Hungary
Although not a comprehensive guide to doing business in Hungary the above cross cultural knowledge can go a long way in helping you understand how business gets done in Hungary. For more information please visit our Hungary Country Profile.
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