International Business Etiquette: Latin America

Ann Marie Sabath, the Amy Vanderbilt of international etiquette, provides a concise, up-beat and authoritative guide to Latin American social and business etiquette. Her manual covers dos and don'ts, and includes basic data about each country, including history, air travel, telephone, currency, holidays, language, religion, time zones and weather. In a compact 221 pages, she presents an informative outline that will help you act appropriately at work and play in 14 Latin American countries. We [...] recommend this book to those who work with people from Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela, and to those who travel to these countries on business. Have a good, safe trip, or as they say in Latin America, Vaya Con Dios.

International Business Etiquette is an informative mix of fact and opinion about doing business in Europe. With each chapter devoted to one country, the factual sections provide data on airports, currency, weather and other general travel topics. The far more entertaining opinion sections provide a subjective overview of local customs and manners relevant to conducting business within each country's borders. Taken as a whole, the chapters provide a good preview of what business travelers can expect once they set down across the pond. While we [...] recommend this book to any professional with a European trip on the calendar, International Business Etiquette also will provide an enjoyable diversion for any curious readers, who are bound to pick up some useful tips and interesting cocktail conversation.

Ms. Sabath did a wonderful job on the business etiquette as it pertains to the various countries; however, she should have omitted political opinions (and historical facts) as she commonly suggests business travelers to do.The first section of each chapter provides a very brief look at the history, economy and politics of a given county, which is an integral part of understanding the people that one deals with. It is an injustice to the uninformed reader to only cover this in a short page or two, as most countries in Latin America have over 500 years of history and deeply rooted politics. Additionally, Sabath frequently distorts historical facts and injects political viewpoints. An example of this is shown by the statement on how the Chilean Marxist President, Salvador Allende, "imposed his rule on the county," which led to instability and a poor economy. Allende was the first, if not only, democraticly elected president from the Communist party not only in the hemisphere, but in the world. I would suggest that business travelers who want historical and political information to seek it out from more informed and comprehensive sources.Given this minor shortcoming and impossible task of summarizing 500 years of history and politics into a few paragraphs, Sabath does a commendable job of informing the public of all the little things one needs to know when doing business in Latin America--hence the four stars.

I first read Ms. Sabath's book on business etiquette in Asia and the Pacific Rim, and decided to read this one as well. I like this one better based on the material about countries where I have done business in Latin America. In fact, it filled in some information that had puzzled me -- why some business women had continually been grabbing my arm during discussions. This apparently is quite common in some Latin American countries. My wife had found this habit more than a little distressing to her. I'm sure she will be more comfortable on future business trips knowing that this is normal. I have often wished that there was an outstanding source on business etiquette in various countries, and have searched in vain for one. I was quite interested to read this one to see if it would fulfill my needs. Obviously, I could not evaluate the advice for countries where I have not done business so I checked out the countries where I had done business. The results left me pretty pleased.Issues that came up were addressed and in ways that seemed accurate based on my experiences. For example, if you go to Ecuador, your wardrobe will have to either accommodate the damp chill of Quito or the tropical humidity of Guayaquil.On the other hand, the proper way to work with Chileans is still a mystery to me, even after reading this book. Well, one book cannot do everything.The book is solid as far as it goes, and it attempts to cover the waterfront (14 countries and 24 subjects per country). That's probably the reason why the book is pretty basic in approach. You will get good help here on important subjects like how many hours of time difference (so you don't call at the wrong time, although this isn't often a big problem with Latin America), how dates are written down so you can decipher the messages you get, when holidays are so you won't offend someone by suggesting a meeting on an important religious or national holiday, and gift-giving etiquette (an area where Americans often err). I do suggest that you acquire this book to have these basics available near to your computer and telephone at work. Also, the bibliography seems to provide a list of longer books on each geographic area. Those books may give you more details. There's probably no substitute for speaking with a business person from the country before you go, and getting advice from the concierge at a good hotel once you're there. Naturally, if you are fortunate enough to have colleagues in your company who work there already, they can fill you in. So this book is primarily aimed at those without a local operation. Some of the better sections included information about what are appropriate conversational topics, rude gestures and actions to avoid, punctuality, seating etiquette, the special issues for women in business, and the weather conditions you can expect. A book like this is a good reminder of how much we are conditioned by our culture. If

A quick read of the section on Belgium provided valuable insight and helped with preparation for an executive level meeting. I adjusted my attire for the more formal environment and prepared handouts to address all issues planned for discussion as suggested. The meeting went extremely well, we solidified our relationship with this global account and secured a $1.5 million order.