Macedonia Case

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Macedonians can be profiled as high-context communicators. As is typical in high context communication styles, many things do not need to be said to be understood; Words are not necessary to convey meaning (Neuliep 59). Based on these understandings and our findings, Macedonian people are a culture of rich value with many learned beliefs and values. Macedonian people will alter the way they speak to you based on your personal relationship with them. Generally if they do not know or feel comfortable with you there will be a lack of communication all together (Kwintessential). It is recommended to do your research and invest time in finding out what common values and belief systems exist for the people you are conducting business with in order to develop that trust in your relationship.

Another high context communication trait is the perception of tone and volume of one’s voice being interpreted as rude, direct and ultimately impolite. This is a huge factor in communicating business ideas and general matters with Macedonians. The individual must be conscious of what they say and when it is better to not say anything at all, as to avoid being perceived as overcompensating with irrelevant filler (Kwintessential). Non-verbal communication is more predominant however when it comes to social interaction it seems Macedonian people can be more direct and verbal (Culture Crossing). Our executives will adapt the former statement regarding tone and voice volume. This will be done to help communicate our ideas and ventures effectively to our Macedonian counterparts. When conducting our business in Macedonia we will be taking the latter into great consideration in relation to customer service with our clientele.

In Macedonia, business culture follows a hierarchy but before any major decisions are made a general consensus amongst all affected members of the team must be made. Managers or business leaders are highly respected by their subordinates but will consult with the group to hear everyone’s opinions pertaining to the matter at hand before making a decision (Kwintessential). This will be essential to us as “foreigners” trying to communicate and respect our Macedonian business partners.

Ethnocentrism is generally known to be a belief that one group is superior in importance to others. An ethnocentric individual is well-known to be critical in relation to specific ethnic groups. These criticisms define cultural identity through language, religion, behaviours and customs. William G. Summer coined the term when observing how people differentiate themselves from other groups. He states the "further characterized it as often leading to pride, vanity, beliefs of one's own group's superiority, and contempt of outsiders. " On a global scale modern Greeks consider Macedonians to be co-national whereas acient Greeks consider them to be non-Greeks. In society