Here’s something no business school tells you before your first international meeting:
Respect doesn’t translate.
You can walk into a boardroom in Tokyo doing everything you’d do in a New York meeting — confident handshake, get-to-the-point energy, first-name basis from the jump — and communicate the exact opposite of what you intended. Not because you were rude. Because “professional respect” is not a universal language. It’s a local one.
For business students heading into a global economy, this is one of the highest-leverage things you can learn — and one of the hardest to learn from a textbook. It’s the kind of intelligence that comes from being in the room. From sitting across a table in Milan or Reykjavik and watching how the culture actually moves.
That’s exactly what GLO study abroad programs are designed to give you. Not just a passport stamp but a reference point. Here’s a primer on five countries where GLO operates, and what “respect” actually means in each one.
Japan: Respect Is Ritual
In Japan, respect is not an attitude. It’s a practice, and it lives in the details.
The business card exchange (meishi koukan) is the clearest example. You present your card with both hands, text facing the recipient. You receive theirs with both hands, study it carefully, and place it on the table in front of you. You never write on it. You never slide it into your back pocket. The manner of gift and card presentation is crucial in Japan, these moments communicate that you take the relationship seriously.
Japanese professionals are known for their calm, collected demeanor in business communications. Handshakes sometimes occur, but you should let the Japanese person initiate them. Bowing is standard; the depth of the bow signals relative status. Hierarchy is observed strictly — in seating arrangements, in who speaks first, in who enters the room first.
Silence during negotiation is perhaps the biggest adjustment for American students. Patience is a sign of respect and seriousness in Japan, quick decisions are seen as impulsive. When a Japanese counterpart goes quiet, they’re not stalling. They’re thinking. Filling that silence with more talking is one of the most common, and costly, mistakes foreign professionals make.
What disrespects looks like: Rushing the process. Using first names without invitation. Treating the business card carelessly. Pushing for a quick decision.
Italy: Respect Is Relational
Walk into an Italian business meeting having never met your counterpart before, skip the small talk, and open straight to the proposal. You’ll lose the room before you’ve said a word.
In Italy, business is personal — and respect is built through relationship before transaction. The concept of bella figura (making a good impression) governs everything: how you dress, how you carry yourself, how you treat the waiter at a business lunch. You are always being assessed, and the assessment isn’t purely professional.
Titles matter enormously. In Italy, expensive gifts early in a relationship can be inappropriate — but failing to use someone’s professional title when they have one is worse. Dottore, Ingegnere, Avvocato — these aren’t formalities. They’re acknowledgments of the person’s achievement, and using them signals that you’ve done your homework.
The meal is sacred. An Italian business lunch is not a working lunch — it is relationship-building, full stop. The business conversation will come, but only after the relationship has been established. Rush it and you’ve shown that you value the deal more than the person. In Italian business culture, that ordering matters enormously.
What disrespect looks like: Skipping pleasantries to get to business. Dressing casually. Ignoring titles. Showing impatience during a meal.
France: Respect Is Intellectual
France has a reputation for formality, and that reputation is earned, but it misses the deeper point.
Businesses in France are typically hierarchical and centralised. Decisions are made at the top of the company. Addressing someone as “Monsieur Dupont” or “Madame Laurent” rather than jumping to first names is acknowledgment of rank. Trust is earned through proper behaviour and demonstration of courtesy and formality.
But here’s the part that surprises most American students: debate in French business culture is not a breakdown in the relationship — it’s a core part of how professionals test ideas, demonstrate competence, and build credibility. If a French colleague pushes back hard on your proposal in a meeting, that’s not hostility. That’s engagement. They’re taking you seriously enough to argue with you.
The French are often impressed by those who exhibit good debating skills — for them, this demonstrates that the debater has an intellectual grasp of the situation and possible ramifications. Showing up underprepared, unable to defend your position with data and logic, is one of the fastest ways to lose credibility in a French professional environment.
What disrespect looks like: Moving to first names too quickly. Presenting without supporting logic. Interpreting debate as conflict and backing down. Skipping the “bonjour”, a greeting before any interaction is expected; skipping it can be seen as rude.
South Africa: Respect Is Communal
South Africa’s business culture doesn’t operate on a single axis. It’s shaped by a complex history, a multilingual society, and a philosophy that fundamentally reframes what respect even means: Ubuntu.
Ubuntu, the belief that “I am because you are”, speaks to the fact that we are all connected, and that one can only grow and progress through the growth and progression of others. In business practice, this means respect is not just about hierarchy — it’s about collective acknowledgment.
During discussions, give your full attention to the person speaking and listen courteously. Respect is paramount. When making a suggestion or criticism, comment on the idea and not the person voicing it. Avoid showing favour or preference to certain individuals — give everyone an equal opportunity to speak. Do not interrupt people when they are speaking.
South Africans tend to speak in a very direct, honest way during business negotiations. Any ambiguity or vagueness on your behalf may be interpreted as a sign of untrustworthiness, dishonesty or lack of commitment. Transparency earns respect here. Evasiveness costs it.
What disrespect looks like: Dominating the conversation. Showing favoritism in who you engage. Being vague or noncommittal. Ignoring the community dimension of decision-making.
Iceland: Respect Is Egalitarian
Walk into an Icelandic company and you might not immediately be able to tell who the CEO is. That’s intentional.
Iceland’s business culture mirrors its unique landscape. Equality is key, with flat organizational structures where everyone, including the CEO, is a valuable team member. In a country where nearly everyone is on a first-name basis — yes, even with the boss — your ability to navigate Iceland’s egalitarian ethos can make or break your working relationships.
This is one of the biggest culture shocks for students arriving from more hierarchical business environments. Deference to rank doesn’t read as respectful in Iceland — it can read as passive or disengaged. Employers prioritize collaboration over competition, and active listening, being well-prepared, and staying calm are the pillars of respectful engagement.
Iceland’s workplace culture blends respect for structure and professionalism with a strong emphasis on equality and open communication. Modern organizations value approachability, teamwork, and flexibility. If you have an idea, you’re expected to say it — regardless of your title or tenure.
What disrespect looks like: Over-formalizing interactions. Deferring unnecessarily based on title. Staying quiet when you have something to contribute. Performing status rather than demonstrating substance.
The Through Line: Cultural Fluency Is a Career Skill
Here’s what all five of these cultures have in common: they will reward you for understanding them and work against you when you don’t.
The professional who walks into a Tokyo negotiation with patience and ritual awareness. The one who sits through a long Italian lunch without glancing at their phone. The one who can hold their ground in a Paris debate without flinching. The one who gives the room in a Johannesburg meeting. The one who speaks up in Reykjavik without waiting for permission.
That person has something a résumé line can’t fully capture, and something employers are actively looking for. NACE research consistently shows that cross-cultural communication and global fluency rank among the most in-demand competencies in new graduates. Most students arrive without them.
GLO study abroad programs close that gap, not through lectures about culture, but through immersion in it. Company visits. Business seminars. Real conversations in real boardrooms with real professionals who operate by these unwritten rules. That’s how cultural fluency actually forms: by living it, not reading about it.
This blog series covers five destinations where GLO operates. Each one is a different education in what it means to connect across cultures — which is, increasingly, the most important business skill you can have.
Your Questions, Answered
How do you show respect in Japanese business culture?
In Japan, respect lives in ritual and patience. The business card exchange — meishi koukan — is a ceremony: present and receive with both hands, study the card carefully, never write on it. Bowing replaces handshakes as the standard greeting, and hierarchy governs who speaks first, where people sit, and who enters the room. Silence during negotiation signals serious consideration, not disengagement. Patience is the highest form of professional respect. GLO study abroad programs in Japan put students in real business environments where these dynamics play out live.
What does respect look like in Italian business culture?
In Italy, respect is relational and built before business begins. Titles — Dottore, Ingegnere, Avvocato — must be used when applicable. Business lunches are relationship-building events, not working meetings, and the conversation follows the relationship rather than preceding it. Bella figura — making a good impression in dress, manner, and conduct — governs every interaction. GLO Italy programs give students direct exposure to these norms through company visits and cultural immersion.
How is respect expressed in French business culture?
In France, respect means intellectual engagement and proper formality. Use “Monsieur” and “Madame” with surnames until invited otherwise. Debate in meetings is not conflict — it’s how competence is demonstrated. Arrive prepared to defend your position with data and logic. Greet with “bonjour” before any interaction. GLO study abroad programs in France help students understand the difference between French directness and American informality — a distinction that matters enormously in professional settings.
What is Ubuntu and how does it affect South African business culture?
Ubuntu “I am because we are” — is the philosophical foundation of South African workplace respect. It means everyone at the table deserves to be heard, transparency is non-negotiable, and the collective matters as much as the individual. In meetings, listen fully, criticize ideas not people, and give everyone equal speaking space. GLO’s upcoming South Africa program will introduce students to this business culture firsthand.
How does respect work in Icelandic business culture?
Iceland runs on egalitarianism. CEOs and interns share first names from day one, and flat organizational structures mean everyone is expected to contribute ideas regardless of title. Respect isn’t shown through deference — it’s shown through preparation and participation. Staying quiet when you have something valuable to say is more disrespectful than speaking up. GLO Iceland study abroad programs give students direct exposure to this radically collaborative business culture.
Why do business students need to understand cultural differences in respect?
Because a behavior that signals confidence in one culture signals disrespect in another — and you won’t always get a second chance to recover. Employers rank cross-cultural communication among the most in-demand graduate competencies, yet most students enter the workforce without real international experience. GLO study abroad programs build this fluency through business immersion, not tourism — so students arrive in the workforce ready to work across cultures from day one.
Which GLO study abroad programs focus on international business culture?
GLO offers study abroad programs in Japan, Italy, France, Iceland, and South Africa, among other destinations. Every program integrates company visits, cross-cultural business seminars, and destination immersion — making GLO one of the most business-focused international study program providers available to college students. Founded in 1977, GLO has 33,000+ alumni across 650+ seminars.
Ready to Learn It Firsthand?
Reading about cultural respect is a starting point. Actually sitting in a Tokyo boardroom, sharing a meal in Milan, navigating a Johannesburg consensus discussion, or speaking up in a Reykjavik startup — that’s where the learning becomes permanent.
GLO study abroad programs are designed for exactly this: business students who want more than a classroom and more than a vacation. We’ve been building that experience since 1977.
GLO — Global Learning Opportunities. Study abroad programs built around real business immersion since 1977.
