Country Guides

 

Country Guides Overview

Same trip. Different rules, region by region.


Business etiquette doesn't change country to country at random — it clusters. Here's how the four regions in Culture Compass differ on communication, hierarchy, trust, and pace, with a direct line to every country guide.

Region 1. Americas

Americas

Directness and pace vary sharply within the region: the U.S. and Canada move fast on low-context, task-based footing, while Brazil slows down for relationship-building and reads situations more than statements. Know which country you're in before you get to the point.

United States

Canada

Brazil

Region 2. Europe

Europe

Europe splits roughly north-south. Germany, the UK, and the Netherlands run direct, evidence-based, and task-oriented on a linear clock. France, Italy, Spain, and Turkey lean high-context and relationship-first, with more elastic timelines — even where the feedback style itself is blunt, as in France.

United Kingdom

Germany

 Netherlands France
Italy Spain Turkey

Region 3. Asia Pacific

Asia Pacific

Hierarchy and indirect communication run through most of the region — China and South Korea decide top-down, Japan seeks consensus, and India blends top-down calls with flexible timing. All four build on relationship trust. Australia is the outlier: direct, collaborative, and task-based, closer in style to the Americas or Northern Europe than its neighbors.

China

Japan

 South Korea India
Australia

Region 4. Africa

Africa

Covered here as a single continental guide, the throughline is relationship-first, consultative decision-making with indirect communication and flexible scheduling — patience and personal trust-building matter more than a tight agenda.

Africa

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