Sadiq (22) Shaswathi (23) Sathpreet (24)

INTRODUCTION
Located on the southern tip of Africa Home to 42 million people 75% African, 13% Caucasian(some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, Western Asia (the Middle East), Central Asia), 8% Mixed Race, 3% Indian Became independent in 1950 System of apartheid until 1994 Now fully representative democracy Capital Pretoria (executive) Bloemfontein (judicial) Cape Town (legislative) Ethnic groups 79.5% Black 9.0% White 9.0% Colored 2.5% Asian Currency Rand (6.5Rupees) Religion 68% Christianity, 2% Muslims, 1.5% Hinduism

HISTORY
Apartheid
Racial segregation of blacks and whites
Similar to the separation experienced in America, but more harsh. All South Africans racially classified into one of three categories: white, black (African), or colored (of mixed decent).

Laws began in 1948 and racial discrimination was institutionalized

Touched every aspect of social life
Prohibition of marriage between non-whites and whites Sanctioning of white-only jobs All blacks were required to carry ``pass books'' containing fingerprints, photo and information.

NOW
CurrentlyBlack majority Vs White minority Wide disparities in education, health care and the economy widely favor the 13% of the population who are white. An estimated 40% or more who are black cannot find work. 8% of the population, almost entirely white, control 90% of the wealth. 50% of the population, mostly blacks, live in poverty, and live in shacks, outbuildings, and huts. But, the black middle and upper class is expanding and 6% of black are now classified as wealthy.

Employment by sector:
agriculture 30%, industry 25%, services 45% World's largest producer of platinum, gold, chromium U.S. is now the largest source of new investment in South Africa

Challenges: Unemployment & Crime Poor education systems Housing shortages Health care challenges (HIV/AIDS) Shortage of skilled labor
Due in part to lack of sufficient educational institutions

Business Customs in South Africa

Arrange meeting before discussing business over phone. Make appointments as far in advance as possible. Maintain eye contact, shake hands, provide business card Maintain a win-win situation Keep presentations short

Dream- A Rainbow Nation

It is difficult to impart advice on how to interact with 'South Africans' due to there being no real representative of a true 'South African' other than a member of the white Afrikaner, black African, Indian, Cape-Malay and other communities. To add to the complexity there are also marked differences between rural and urban dwellers. Speaking on general terms those in rural areas are seen as outgoing yet conservative while those in the cities are more flexible in thought but often more concerned with material wealth. In addition to the multiple cultures there are also numerous languages spoken in the country. The government officially recognizes 11 languages. English is the language of commerce.

MEETING & GREETINGS

There are as many ways of greeting one another as there are cultural groups in South Africa. However, the common approach is to shake hands. Some women may not shake hands and merely nod their head. Men may kiss a woman they know well on the cheek in place of a handshake. People are, on the whole, fairly relaxed and informal in the business environment; when meeting people it is considered good form to engage in some personal dialogue based around one another's health, family, leisure time or sport. They often use metaphors and sports analogies to demonstrate a point. Getting straight down to business and rushing through these social niceties is marked as ill-mannered and may cause you to be perceived as uninterested.

 Do not present gifts with the left hand Most South Africans, regardless of ethnicity, prefer faceto-face meetings to more impersonal communication mediums such as email, letter, or telephone. It is often difficult to schedule meetings from mid December to mid January or the two weeks surrounding Easter, as these are prime vacation times. Business meetings can be held over lunch or dinner in a good restaurant. Business cards are normal practice but little ceremony surrounds their exchange. The usual rules apply, i.e. treat the card with respect and store away properly rather than in a pocket. A short comment on the card is also polite.

 Male dominance. Women have yet to attain senior level positions. If you send a woman, she must expect to encounter some condescending behavior and to be tested in ways that a male colleague would not. Decision-making may be concentrated at the top of the company and decisions are often made after consultation with subordinates, so the process can be slow and protracted. Although the majority of businesses work in English, there may be occasions where having materials translated into Afrikaans could make a good impression. Business attire is becoming more informal in many companies.

COMMUNICATION
Generally speaking the South Africans are direct (and often loud) communicators but they are also very aware of what, how and to whom something is being said. People will be conscious of what may or may not make someone uncomfortable. The communication style is very much dependent on the level of a relationship; the closer people are the more comfortable they will be with speaking openly and honestly. Although South Africa is a transactional culture, meaning they do not require a history with people in order to do business with them, they are a personable people that have deeply routed traditions.

 South Africans follow the European approach to personal space, meaning people keep their distance when speaking. Unlike Latin or Arab cultures they do not appreciate touching and the like. Good topics of conversation include food, sports, South African wines and international travel. Topics to avoid are comparing cities as people are very proud of their own cities. Do not raise controversial subjects such as race relations or local politics.

POWER DISTANCE
South Africa scores 49 on this dimension which means that people to a larger extent accept a hierarchical order in which everybody has a place and which needs no further justification. Hierarchy in an organization is seen as reflecting inherent inequalities, centralization is popular, subordinates expect to be told what to do and the ideal boss is a benevolent autocrat.

INDIVIDUALISM
South Africa, with a score of 65 is an Individualistic society. This means there is a high preference for a loosely-knit social framework in which individuals are expected to take care of themselves and their immediate families only. In individualistic societies offence causes guilt and a loss of self-esteem, the employer/employee relationship is a contract based on mutual advantage, hiring and promotion decisions are supposed to be based on merit only, management is the management of individuals.

Masculinity / Femininity
South Africa scores 63 on this dimension and is thus a masculine society. In masculine countries people live in order to work, managers are expected to be decisive and assertive, the emphasis is on equity, competition and performance and conflicts are resolved by fighting them out.

Uncertainty avoidance
South Africa scores 49 on this dimension and thus has a preference for avoiding uncertainty. Countries exhibiting high uncertainty avoidance maintain rigid codes of belief and behavior and are intolerant of unorthodox behavior and ideas. In these cultures there is an emotional need for rules (even if the rules never seem to work) time is money, people have an inner urge to be busy and work hard, precision and punctuality are the norm, innovation may be resisted, security is an important element in individual motivation.

Long term orientation

The long term orientation dimension is closely related to the teachings of Confucius and can be interpreted as dealing with societys search for virtue, the extent to which a society shows a pragmatic future-oriented perspective rather than a conventional historical short-term point of view.

KFC

INTRODUCTION
Founded - 1930 (North Corbin, Kentucky) Founder(s) - Harland Sanders Headquarters - Kentucky, U.S. Revenue US$520.3 million (2007) Employees - 24,000 (2007) 30000 restaurants in 90 countries

 Kentucky Fried Chicken culture believes in effective operation centered on quality customer service despite differences of culture or language . Expatriate policy of KFC Company As part of KFC policy employees undergo several trainings at different levels before they get promotion For the front line people the training deals with issues as sexual harassment , hiring and firing practices , interpersonal relationships and conflict resolution. These front line people will take the responsibility in providing trainings for their employees using training manuals and product guides.

 KFC has developed a support structure that trains and motivates general managers ``with generous reward programs as they lead teams in different branches across nations . The internationalization of human resource management has increased the scope of traditional HRM At KFC, HR practitioners not only manage people from their home country, but one that involve managing many diverse nationalities, with which the culture of staff and employees are already wellknown or predicted.