The business environment and practices differ sharply between French and the US cultures. For instance, the French people often draw a clear line between private and personal life from the public and professional life. On the contrary, the line stated above is blurry in the US culture as individuals tend to mix personal life and professional life. While Americans put much emphasis on the respect for time, especially during business meetings, the French people are informal on issues to do with time. Notably, Americans prioritize punctuality, and any form of lateness is treated with the high level of seriousness it deserves. Culprits of such misconduct must apologize to the stakeholders in the meeting and explain the reason for lateness. On the other hand, the French culture do not put much focus on punctuality as expected and anyone doing business with a French should be aware of the issue and not expect any apologies for …show more content…
According to Adams et al. (1996), the French culture often attributes the success of an individual to his/her financial strength, family reputation, and level of education. On the contrary, the American people perceive success of the people on an individual basis, especially on who they are and not their families. The latter culture focuses on providing equal opportunities for all the people, irrespective of race, gender, and social status. While the French people stress on formality, including in greetings, meetings, dress code, and the general behavior, the Americans are often casual, and believe that formality is “un-American.” Previous studies affirm that French are the most patriotic people in the world as they take pride in their country and national culture. On the other hand, Americans value individual achievements, thus take pride in personal accomplishments and not a group or communal