SPAIN INTERVIEWS TOPIC 08
Comparing National Versus Corporate Styles.


Spanish Executive Opinions

• Raimón Vidal
• Javier Cantera
• Juan Carlos de la Osa


Key vocabulary related to this topic


Cultural points related to this topic

Raimón Vidal
España, Barcelona
"En la experiencia en nuestra empresa es que en las empresas americanas cada una tiene..."
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Javier Cantera
España, Castilla y León
"Bueno, la idea de que existe una diferencia entre una cultura americana y una cultura europea..."
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Juan Carlos de la Osa
España, Madrid
"Sí, yo creo que las dos influyen, las dos influyen definitivamente..."
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adaptar to adapt
apreciable (adj) valuable, estimable
cambiar to change
claro (adj) clear
definido (adj) defined
enseguida (adv) right away
estilo (m) style
fijo (adj) fixed
filosofía corporativa (f) corporate philosophy
fruto de su historia (m) result of its history
imagen corporativa (f) corporate image
influir to influence
ir por encima to go on top of
meter to put in, insert
moldear to mold, i.e., change
orientar to focus on, orient towards
pauta (f) norm, model, standard
pauta cultural (f) cultural norm
proceso de socialización (m) socialization process
rasgo (m) feature
trascultural (adj) transcultural
Juan es un poco gordito. Juan is a little chubby.
María es más alta que Susana. María is taller than Susana.
Pepe tiene los ojos claros
y la tez blanca.
Pepe has light colored eyes
and white skin.
Mi tío es bastante peludo, alto y de barba abundante. My uncle is very hairy, tall, and with a full beard.
Mi prima es muy bonita, rubia y de nariz fina. My cousin is pretty, blonde, and has a thin nose.

Is it better to think of national cultures or corporate cultures? That is to say, for example, are their certain qualities of IBM, Dell, Apple, etc. that are typical of that company? Some say that corporate style is a better indicator of how someone will act than his or her national culture. Javier Cantera states that he knows right away whether a representative is from Coca Cola, Pepsi Cola, or Schweppes. He believes that their "own personal culture creates their own way of thinking" that is more important than the national culture. Juan Carlos de la Osa, however, suggests that it is hard to know which one is more dominate; both national and corporate cultures come into play. The observations help in tempering the idea that Americans are all one way and the Latins are all another. As Raimón Vidal observes, "you can't put all Americans in the same sack."