Utah Business

When conducting international business you need to be aware of cultural differences in how business is carried out in other countries.

One of the first things you should not overlook is that some cultures have a different definition for their standard work week.

Unfortunately, it is not that simple. The differences in standard work weeks are varied.

There are two advantages to reading further:



You can easily annoy prospective clients by not respecting their standard work schedules.

You can get more value out of adjusting the time, or day, or even the week you choose to communicate with your foreign clients.



Different Days Of The Week

Some countries do not have the same work week. Monday through Friday is common in English speaking countries.

In Muslim-majority countries the legal work week in the Middle East is not the same as many other countries.



It is Saturday through Wednesday in Algeria and Saudi Arabia, so their weekend is Thursday and Friday.

It is Saturday through Thursday in Iran so their weekend is Friday (however, many government offices and private companies are closed on Thursdays)

It is Sunday through Thursday in Egypt, Syria, United Arab Emirates so their weekend is Friday Saturday



Shorter Work Week

Fridays are not always a good time to schedule international telephone conferences. In some countries employees traditionally work an hour or a half day less on Fridays. The time difference between participants can create bad feelings, or low attendance.

The American state of Utah , state employees started following a “TGIT” experiment earlier this year. As in: “Thank God It’s Thursday.”

In a yearlong experiment aimed at reducing the state’s energy costs and commuters’ gasoline expenses, Utah is about to become the first state to switch to a four-day workweek for thousands of government employees.

They will put in 10-hour days, Monday through Thursday, and have Fridays off, freeing them to golf, shop, spend time with the kids or do anything else that strikes their fancy. They will get paid the same as before.

Government Employees And Local Customs

The example above is about state employees.

In many countries government employees work slightly different work weeks compared to people in the business sectors. And the professional categories of “government employees” is not the same in every country.

Some countries have very strict laws about working on the weekend, where everything is closed.

Lighter Work Months

And don’t forget cultural differences on when people traditionally take their annual vacations. In France many people take their annual vacation in August.

In a not so distant past, business in Paris was considered as coming to a total standstill in August every year. Although this is not 100% true across all industries today, you still need to factor this in. And driving in Paris in August is still different than the rest of the year.

And there are also countries where the work schedule is influenced by religious events over several weeks in a year.

Develop Your Basic International Skills

Of course the list above can be useful.

But do not rely solely on this list, or any other list you may find, when planning your calendars. It is always best to ask the people concerned yourself.

In fact, the key to this article is something else.

It is important to develop your international awareness to different lifestyles and different business environments.

Imagine if you want to develop your client relationships with someone whose weekend is different than yours.





How would he feel if you called him on his weekend?





How would he feel if you called him during his work week, but it was your weekend?





You can symbolically meet your client on his ground, by going out of your way to call him on his day at work and your day off.



Many delays happen in international business development simply because business are unaware of the local work week schedule.

Imagine if you need something important from someone minutes before the end of his work week or the beginning of his month long vacation?



Is it a good idea to schedule an important cold call on September 1st to someone who has probably been out of the office most of August or who is trying to catch up with colleagues for the first time in a month?



As you become familiar with different work habits you will begin to acquire basic international business skills.

Respect for differences in standard work schedules is one of the first steps. This respect also leads to maintaining an open mind and the flexibility to deal with different business environments.

Are you committed to speeding up your international sales cycles?

Learn how to combine cross-cultural marketing tools and international sales strategies for faster sales.

Join us on the International Sales Road Map.

Would you like to develop your international business? Are you a beginner at international sales and marketing? Read the Beginners Guide Discover Your International Business.

Utah is a beautiful state with breathtaking mountains, and phenomenal skiing. When you think of Utah, you don’t think of alcoholics and drug addicts. But the reality is that people with addictions live everywhere. If you know it’s time to clean up and you are ready to make the change then it’s time to find a Drug and Alcohol treatment center in Utah . Alcohol is a psychoactive drug. A psychoactive drug is an agent that provides pleasure or to make pain go away, and may cause physical dependence and tolerance, with a tendency to up the dose as tolerance is built. An alcoholic is a person who drinks alcoholic substances habitually and to excess or who suffers from alcoholism. Alcoholism is a chronic disorder characterized by dependence on alcohol, repeated excessive use of alcoholic beverages, the development of withdrawal symptoms on reducing or ceasing intake, and a decreased ability to function socially and vocationally. Alcohol such as beer, wine, and liquor is the most commonly abused drug in this country. Alcohol is a legal drug and it is a very socially accepted which makes it easy to obtain and easier to become an addict. An addict is a person who is addicted to an activity, habit, or substance. Finding treatment centers that fill your needs is important for your recovery.

Alcohol is a highly addictive substance, and as with any drug you choose to do, if you become hooked on alcohol you are a drug addict. Addiction is the compulsive need for and use of a habit-forming substance, characterized by increased tolerance and by well-defined physiological symptoms upon withdrawal. Withdrawal is the physical and psychological reaction that a person who is addicted to drugs or alcohol experiences when they abruptly discontinue their use. It may be easier to call your self an alcoholic, or say you have alcoholism, but in reality you are a drug addict, however, you are ready to change that, right? You’ve tried before, but can’t? You realize that you can’t do it on your own, and you need help? Drug and alcohol rehab in Utah is what you need. Now that you are ready to start your life over, sober, you need to find a treatment center.

Detoxifying by yourself can be difficult to do. Doing it alone can make a person decide that drinking alcohol is a much better alternative than putting your body and mind through the pain and misery of sobering up. This is why it is hard to stop using drugs and very mentally tasking. Drug detox is a good way to start. There are many long term treatment centers to choose from in Utah.

Our federal, and your state, constitution promises you certain rights in order to insure you receive a fair trial. Make you sure you understand and exercise them.

The Bill of Rights

Most people assume that if the government charges them with a crime, they will be found guilty and go to jail. A Utah criminal defense attorney may prevent that from happening, starting with your trial rights. Three of your most important rights are the right to:

confront witnesses; a jury trial and jury unanimity; a speedy trial;

Confront Witnesses

Our Constitution’s Confrontation Clause guarantees us the ability to look our accusers in the eye. This means that any witnesses against you must show up at your trial and testify against you. It also promises that your Utah criminal defense attorney will have the opportunity to question them.

A good Utah criminal defense attorney will always use this particularly powerful section of the constitution because it prevents “hearsay.” Hearsay is when someone testifies about an event or circumstances that he has no personal knowledge of. For instance, a witness—let’s call him Tom—cannot testify that “My mother told me she saw John at the store.” To be valid, the government would need to call Tom’s mother and ask her exactly what she saw.

Then Tom’s mother would be subject to your cross examination. Your Utah criminal defense attorney can ask: How did she know it was John? How far away was she when she saw John? Does she wear glasses? Did she make eye contact? How long did she see John? Seconds? Etc.

Eye witness testimony is notoriously unreliable and State v. Clopten, the Utah Supreme Court recently acknowledged as much.

Jury Trial and Jury Unanimity

A reliable Utah criminal defense attorney will almost always ask for a jury trial. You are entitled to a jury where you are charged with a crime that may include jail time. Surprisingly, this includes most traffic tickets!

This right is important because a Utah criminal defense attorney understands that if she convinces one person of reasonable doubt as to your guilt, you win. This is because the constitution guarantees jury unanimity.

Jury unanimity means that all of your jurors (in Utah, there are typically must agree that you are guilty of the charged crime. Without total unanimity, you cannot be found guilty.

Speedy Trial

A smart Utah criminal defense attorney knows that speedy trial rights are a double edged sword. No one wants to have charges hanging over their heads for months or even years. But there’s an old saying amongst defense attorneys, “Unlike wine, cases get worse over time.”

Why? Because often people’s memory fade, evidence gets lost, people move, cops retire, victims change their mind, etc. As long as a defendant is free on bail, time only benefits him. Remember, the burden is on the government to prove you did something wrong; you do not have to prove your innocence.

A Utah criminal defense attorney will help you assert your rights and maybe even more importantly, show you when to waive some rights. To have all your questions about constitutional rights answered, contact an attorney.