Values and attitudes as previously mentioned family

Values and Attitudes
As previously mentioned, family and personal relationships are highly valued in the
culture of Chile. These relationships once established are maintained for a long if not indefinite

GLOBAL BUSINESS CULTURAL ANALYSIS: CHILE 14
period of time. The strength of this closeness with one another can be seen in the sports of Chile
as most Chileans that are active belong to certain teams or clubs and will most often stay with
that organization (Aizawa & Whatley, 2006, p. 9).
This strong sense of personal relationships and family plays a large role in the business
community of Chile and this can be evidenced through the managers of the companies within
Chile. The managers in Chilean companies tend to have more personal “relationships with their
buyers and sellers than do American managers” (2006, p. 9). Chilean managers will conduct
business with companies in which they feel the managers of that company are a part of their in-
group. This closeness to each other as a small group of people likely explains the positive
behaviors of most Chileans as well as the strong solidarity and harmony that can be viewed in
Chile (2006, p. 9). Cortes stated in her work that a sense of uncertainty can arise from dealing
with strangers over fear of transgressing on someone’s beliefs, values and attitudes (Cortes,
2003, p. 216).
Manners and Customs
The business manners and customs in Chile along with its values give the Chilean
economy a perception of being slower paced. The Chilean economy does move more slowly
than the economy of the United States and many other global economies due to some differences
in values, manners and customs. It is sometimes said that Chileans just do things their own way,
even when conducting business with global businesses (Kelm, 2011, p. 86). This however does
not seem to deter companies from wanting to do business in or with Chile.
Chilean religious customs heavily affect the local business economy in Chile, mostly due
to the religious holidays which most Chileans celebrate with their family and close personal

GLOBAL BUSINESS CULTURAL ANALYSIS: CHILE 15
friends. Most Chilean companies are closed for these holidays to allow the workers to be with
their family.
Another business custom practiced in Chile that affects the work output of its workers is
their belief that everyone should go sit down at a restaurant for lunch with close friends and
colleagues (2011, p. 87-88). This means workers will be away from the job for an extensive
amount of time, instead of just taking a quick lunch break to eat something at the office in order
to keep the work output up. Of course the Chileans are more relaxed when they return to the job
than someone who would stay at work and eat lunch on the go would be. The lower amount of
stress and feeling of being more relaxed may lead to increased productivity.