Hungary: Talented Nation, Unfortunate Decisions
“Life is a series of choices, we try to teach our students how to think, how to decide. They will not learn this by accident…” Read more »
Quality of a Leader
Where will the Hungarian soul take the nation from this point forward?
Hungarians have used their freedom to change governments well. In the second half of the 20th century Hungarians had very few opportunities to change governments. Since the change from the long time communist government Read more »
Business People About Hungarians
One European businessman said, “Hungarians are wonderful people socially, but you better be careful when you do business with them. They do not have the same kind of ethics as in the West. Culturally and socially they are western, but in the way they do business they are more Eastern than Western. Read more »
Hungarian Doctors and the Medical System
In the medical profession, most of the comments about the doctors were positive.
Unfortunately, the comments about the facilities they work in were less than positive. One American doctor said, “Hungarian doctors try whatever it takes to make a patient well, whether it would be dietary change, a lifestyle change or whatever would improve Read more »
Behavior in the Workplace: How Hungarians Work
Regarding behavior in the workplace foreigners made observations about how Hungarians work.
The bridges that span the Danube in Budapest are beautiful and show not only wonderful engineering but also beautiful creativity. One cannot help but notice the delicate femininity of the Erzsébet Bridge constructed in honor of the beautiful empress. Read more »
Entering The Hungarian Pharmaceutical Industry
During the last decade, the introduction of new innovations in Hungary has led to the restructuring of a variety of sectors, such as the pharmaceutical industry. The most successful examples of testing new approaches to conducting business can be found in Read more »
No Chance of Contagion
I found this picture on the internet a couple of years ago - I’m sorry about not remembering the source. I love it, however, pretty expressive…
Living on the Borderlines of Europe
Where do the fundamental traits of the different European cultures come from?
The dotted lines on the map of Europe are in many cases the product of historical accident: primarily acts of violence, but also dynastic marriages or sheer happenstance. Still, our frontiers rarely conform to the cultural realities. Read more »
Uncertainty Avoidance Defined
People vary in the extent that they feel anxiety about uncertain or unknown matters, as opposed to the more universal feeling of fear caused by known or understood threats. Cultures vary in their avoidance of uncertainty, creating different rituals and having different values regarding formality, punctuality, legal-religious-social requirements, and tolerance for ambiguity.
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Individualism vs. Collectivism Defined
Individualism in cultures implies loose ties; everyone is expected to look after one’s self or immediate family but no one else. Collectivism implies that people are integrated from birth into strong, cohesive groups that protect them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty. Read more »
Key Questions for Your Effectiveness
Key questions in the areas of Individualism, Power-distance and Uncertainty avoidance. Read more »
Task and People-Orientation Compared
The West is, by in large, a goal-oriented society while the East is relationship-oriented. In other words, a Westerner gains value from the product, while the Easterner gains value from the relationship. Read more »
Power Distance: How Much Respect there is for Position?
The Hungarian love of freedom and independence often hardens into rugged and proud individualism, which rejects guidance or discipline, military or political. Only leaders with great personal appeal were able to unite Hungarians for any considerable length of time. Read more »
Authority and Leadership: The Ideal Boss in Hungary
International businessmen and missionaries alike typically come with the misconception that Hungary (as a CEE country) must be a high-authority, hierarchic society, and try to work under this assumption. Read more »
Attitude to the New and the Unknown
Cultures with a high level of uncertainty-avoidance prefer stable rules and long-lasting relationships. Any uncertainty can express itself in higher anxiety than those from low uncertainty avoidance cultures. Read more »
Value-Related Problems
People in Hungary seek long-term relationships. They will invest time and emotions in people who can potentially stay around for a lifetime. Read more »
Hungarian Culture: Why it is as it is?
Hungarian culture (due to its location and history) has always been at the crossroads between eastern and western cultures, has functioned as a bridge between East and West, integrating characteristic features of both. What is Hungarian culture like? Read more »
Summary of Business Culture
Exporters, importers, investors, missionaries and English-teachers new to Hungary will be confronted by a novel blend of cultural characteristics in Hungary, a culture which is in certain respects unique. The aim of our “business culture” articles is to prepare you to do your particular business successfully in this challenging context. Read more »
The Concept of Time in Hungary
Hungarian business culture is more and more monochronic. That means that in professional roles and in the business-context, most Hungarians place a high value on punctuality, schedules and deadlines. Read more »
Formality, Status & Hierarchy
Hungarians are more formal than Danes, Australians or North Americans - more like the French and Germans, for instance. Read more »
Relationship Drives the Business in Hungary
As with most markets outside northwestern Europe, North America and Australia, it is vital to have established relationships in Hungary. Also, “who you know” counts for a great deal. This contrasts with the situation in deal-focused cultures such as that of Germany, where such contacts are always helpful but hardly essential. Read more »
Meeting People
Informal greetings between men and women friends and relatives are often a kiss on the cheeks, first left, then right. Kisses on the cheeks are not appropriate between men, except for close relatives and certain groups. Read more »
Names & Addresses
When introduced, address your counterparts by their professional or academic title plus family name. Colleagues, friends and relatives address each other by first names.
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Formal or Casual?
How you dress mostly depends on the purpose of the meeting or presentation. It may be more formal the first day of your visit and casual the other days: it would go from a business suit to a more creative ensemble. Read more »
Business Entertaining in Hungary
Food and drink is an important part of everyday life, but the real purpose of the occasion is that Hungarians need to cultivate the personal relationships that are crucially important in a business relationship. We want to know what sort of person you are and whether we can do business with you before talking about it. Read more »
Conversation Soft Spots
Business is not usually discussed at the ‘business dinner’, which is reserved for relaxing and getting to know one another. Read more »
Public and Private Spheres
Hungarian people bring to the workplace fewer private matters than Americans do, and you will rarely see family pictures on the desk.
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Body Language, Nonverbal Communication
Differences in the way people communicate often cause misunderstandings, which is why business visitors should have some understanding of the basics of Hungarian nonverbal behavior. Of course, as with any business culture, you will find plenty of individual variation. Read more »
Presentation Styles & Challenges
In what way should presentations and seminars in Hungary be different from those in the US? In America, you usually talk for ten minutes and then start everyone in an exercise. In Budapest, however, if you don’t give your Hungarian audience a 40 minute background of history, philosophy, and theory, they will think what you are about to say is probably not established. Read more »
The Use of Humor
Sarcasm is one of the many intellectual weapons Hungarian people love to use.
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The Language of Business
People who are very good in reading and writing a foreign language, might encounter hardships in verbal communication. They may not understand as well as you think they do. Read more »
Decesion-Making
Hungarian decision-making process is relatively long, with a greater need for information in a risk-averse culture.
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Business Negotiations in Hungary
When entering a negotiation, keep in mind that Hungarians like to disagree for the sake of discussion and new ideas. Hungarians do not hesitate to interrupt, argue and criticize if they feel it is needed. Read more »
Feedback & Self-Esteem
There is an obvious cultural difference between European and North American cultures, is feedback and in relation to this, the concept of self-esteem.
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How to Make Hungarians Like You
Give Hungarian people a good chance to get to know you. Do not rush the relationship.
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Cultures: Quality and the Perfect Cup of Coffee
The “perfect” cup of coffee is served a different way in virtually every part of the world. Each person’s definition of high quality is determined by their home culture.
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