Argentina – all important honour

Argentina – all important honour

Argentina is a country located in south-eastern South America and is bordered by Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, Uruguay and the South Atlantic Ocean. The population is around 43 million and the capital city, Buenos Aires, is the most visited city in South America. Roman Catholicism is the official religion although other world religions, notably Islam, have become more popular over the last couple of decades.

Manufacturing is the largest goods-producing sector in the nation’s economy and includes food processing, beverages, tobacco, motor vehicles and parts, textiles and leather, chemicals and pharmaceutical, steel, aluminium and iron. Argentina is also one of the top five wine-producing countries in the world and has a strong agricultural economy, exporting soybean, wheat, cotton and citrus fruits.

The family is the centre of Argentine life and the heads of powerful families command widespread respect but with this comes a responsibility to care for others and to maintain personal and family honour. Honour is all-important and it routinely affects day-to-day life at home, in the community and in business.

Argentina has recently made great leaps towards gender equality. It has a female president, two female Supreme Court Judges, a female minister of security and a quota mandating that at least one third of senate and congressional seats are filled by females. More Argentine women than men are enrolled in secondary and tertiary education.

There is a hierarchical business culture. Argentinians expect to deal with people of similar status and decisions are made at the top of the company. Business often moves slowly as it can be bureaucratic. Argentinians do not like to disagree openly, therefore it would be a mistake to assume everything is going well just because no one challenges what you say.
Be punctual for meetings but bear in mind that in some older organisations you may well be kept waiting. Do not immediately begin discussing business; small talk helps to establish a rapport.

Share your Argentinian business experiences.

Sources: Wikipedia, Kwintessential, The Argentina Independent