PORTUGAL | Internship: At work | Cultural standards
Cultural Standards
According to Hofstede’s model, Portuguese society can be described as conservative, traditional and collectivist.
1) There’s a tendency to minimise or even avoid the possibility of unknown situations.
2) Importance is given to hierarchy and formality.
3) There’s a predominance of masculine values in the work environment where, even though women represent half the work force, there are still few women who hold positions of power.
4) In work and business situations the tendency is to be part of a group; personal relationships are important and valued amongst work colleagues and associates.
5) Even though the Portuguese work to attain long-term objectives, they expect to obtain immediate results.
Portuguese Society and Culture
Family oriented
Family is viewed as the foundation of the social structure and the basis of stability. The individual takes from the family their social network and guidance. Loyalty to family is more important than any other social relationship, even work and business. Nepotism is seen as a positive thing; it’s important for the Portuguese to feel comfortable with and trust those they maintain any kind of relationship with.
Formal relationships
Portugal is a traditional and conservative society. Relationships between people start off in a formal way, and little by little become more informal. However, politeness and courtesy are fundamental in order to maintain a good relationship.
Hierarchic structure
Both society and the business world are stratified and vertical. Importance is given to hierarchy, and rank and position are respected. In the business world, power and authority usually reside in one person.
Business Culture and Relationships
Portuguese business culture is still viewed by many as anti-competitive. Aspects such as bureaucracy, disorganisation, nepotism, lack of transparency, lack of a long-term strategy, a slow and inefficient justice system, among others can describe the image that many have of the Portuguese business culture. However, what many may interpret as a lack of willingness to do business may be nothing more than fear of risk and of the unknown. The Portuguese need to feel comfortable with whom they work with and do business with. Once this initial barrier has been surpassed, their willingness to learn and respect for their business partner are evident giving way to establishing new contacts and creating new business opportunities.
Cultural Strengths
- Personal relationships are important in working and business environments, and the Portuguese are sincere in their intentions.
- Even though the Portuguese are a relaxed culture and not much for planning, they’re quite good in dealing with last minute problems that may arise.
- The Portuguese are psychologically and socially well adjusted, with a good balance between home and work, family and business.
- They dislike confrontation. They’re a peace-loving society and try to resolve conflicts through dialogue, negotiation or avoidance.
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They like to learn and get to know new ways of doing things. They’re flexible and adapt well to new realities.
Management
In Portugal, many businesses are family-run, which means they are traditionalist in business management and in business dealings. This occurs more often in companies located in the north of Portugal. Some aspects that are more evident in the management process are:
- conservatism (there is a fear of risk, the unknown is not welcome);
- lack of a long-term strategic vision (immediate results are expected even when there is a long-term plan in place);
- an authoritarian approach in decision-making and problem solving processes (the person in charge is the one who makes decisions, there is little interest in obtaining the opinions of others);
- nepotism (work with those you know, hire those you know and whom you trust).
However, this situation is not applicable to the whole business world in the country. There are many companies, SMEs and large companies, national and multinational, that have an open and liberal view of the business world. They give importance to new ideas, technologies, methods, concepts, products and people. There are many programmes and incentives to support the setting-up of new companies and businesses based on innovative concepts.
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Dress code
In Portugal, there is no mainstream dress code for all sectors, companies and labour force. In the financial sector and at management level people dress formally and presentably. An example is bank personnel who dress formally at all times. Some companies have a ‘dress-down’ day policy where people can dress casually once a week. In other sectors, such as education, commerce and service providers’ personnel dress more casually but still presentable. Other services may require uniforms, like the postal services or public transportation.
Titles and Greeting
In Portugal, titles are respected. The polite way to greet someone is by using the honorific title according to gender, ‘Sr.’ (Senhor) when addressing a man, ‘Srª.’ (Senhora) or ‘D.’ (Dona) when addressing a woman, followed by their surname. This form is used when addressing someone with no academic education. People with academic education are treated by the corresponding honorific title followed by ‘Dr.’ (Doutor) or ‘Drª’ (Doutora) for someone with a general degree, ‘Engº’ (Engenheiro) or ‘Engª’ (Engenheira) when addressing someone with a degree in engineering, ‘Arqº’ (Arquitecto) or ‘Arqª’ (Arquitecta) when addressing someone with a degree in architecture.
When meeting someone for the first time, the person should be treated formally, by ‘você’. You should only address someone informally, by ‘tu’ when invited to do so. The same applies to the use of given names, you should only address people by their given names when invited to do so.
In business situations, a handshake between the participants is the norm. In more personal settings, it’s common for men to greet each other with a hug or between men and women by two kisses on the cheek.